Freezing Cake Balls

Decorating By mamakiddx3 Updated 31 Jan 2011 , 2:57pm by DianeLM

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mamakiddx3 Posted 26 Jan 2011 , 5:40pm
post #1 of 17

I am fairly new to making these. I am trying different combos right now. I am my first batch lastnight and got a little over 50 out of it. I didnt want to coat them all the same way so I wanted to freeze some of them. I know that you can freeze a cake once it is baked and then decorate it later so I was wondering if I could freeze cake balls without the chocolate coating? Please let me know as I am trying to perfect this and start selling in my area.
Thanx again

16 replies
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DianeLM Posted 26 Jan 2011 , 7:09pm
post #2 of 17

I have tons of naked cake balls in my freezer all the time. I freeze them on a baking tray, then place the frozen balls in vacuum seal bags. I just grab and dip as I need them.

It's risky to freeze already dipped balls as the filling tends to expand and crack the coating. That said, I accidentally left 40 dipped and decorated cake balls in the freezer for two weeks and none of them cracked. Have no idea why. icon_smile.gif

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pattycakesnj Posted 26 Jan 2011 , 7:25pm
post #3 of 17

I agree with Diane, I freeze the naked cake balls all the time and they are ready to dip whenever I need them.

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cheatize Posted 27 Jan 2011 , 4:12am
post #4 of 17

Make sure you label them with the date and the flavor. I just gave a gallon sized bag of them. It contained several flavors that I forgot to label and darned if I can identify one of the flavors. icon_smile.gif

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robinseggs Posted 28 Jan 2011 , 2:06am
post #5 of 17

I've read if you freeze them too long it will cause the coating to crack when you dip them. Do you have this problem? I have a large order and would love to make them early and freeze but I didn't want my coating to crack.
Also, you say you freeze them on a cookie sheet. Do you cover them somehow? or should I place in a zip lock bag?
Thanks
Robin

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robinseggs Posted 28 Jan 2011 , 2:08am
post #6 of 17

Sorry nevermind the cookie sheet question. I just went back and read to use a vacuum seal bag. I suppose if I'm only freezing for about 3 days I could use a zip lock???

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DianeLM Posted 28 Jan 2011 , 2:54pm
post #7 of 17

How long you freeze them has nothing to do with the coating cracking. It's how long you let them THAW. If you dip them straight out of the freezer, the coating will crack whether it's been 3 days or 3 years.

I'm glad you did ask about the cookie sheet. No, I don't cover them at all while they're on the cookie sheet. It only takes a couple of hours for them to freeze solid. Then, I dump them into the vacuum bags.

You can absolutley use ziploc bags if you're only going to be freezing for less than 2 weeks.

I have to remember to add this disclaimer whenever we talk about freezing. I use a commercial freezer. NOT a frost-free. If you're using a frost-free freezer, your results may vary.

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robinseggs Posted 28 Jan 2011 , 4:08pm
post #8 of 17

Diane
How long do you let them thaw? Also I've been inserting a toothpick to dip and if they are to thawed they fall off. How do you dip?

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motherofgrace Posted 28 Jan 2011 , 4:32pm
post #9 of 17

I actually dip mine from frozen all the time and have never have an issue with cracking......

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robinseggs Posted 28 Jan 2011 , 5:06pm
post #10 of 17

How do you dip? What kind of chocolate are you using? I use the chocolate candy coating from Kroger. I insert a toothpick and dip?

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robinseggs Posted 28 Jan 2011 , 5:07pm
post #11 of 17

I meant to also add that they are cracking using this method and chocolate.

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motherofgrace Posted 28 Jan 2011 , 7:20pm
post #12 of 17

I use the bulk chocolate from superstore. And I use a toothpick

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dchockeyguy Posted 28 Jan 2011 , 7:36pm
post #13 of 17
Quote:
Originally Posted by DianeLM

I have tons of naked cake balls in my freezer all the time. I freeze them on a baking tray, then place the frozen balls in vacuum seal bags. I just grab and dip as I need them.

It's risky to freeze already dipped balls as the filling tends to expand and crack the coating. That said, I accidentally left 40 dipped and decorated cake balls in the freezer for two weeks and none of them cracked. Have no idea why. icon_smile.gif




This is unlikely the cause. Very few things actually expand when you freeze them, most contract. Water is the main exception to the expanding rule due to the molecular structure of water. If your cake balls are expanding when frozen, you must have a lot of water in them.

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DianeLM Posted 28 Jan 2011 , 9:53pm
post #14 of 17
Quote:
Originally Posted by dchockeyguy

Quote:
Originally Posted by DianeLM

I have tons of naked cake balls in my freezer all the time. I freeze them on a baking tray, then place the frozen balls in vacuum seal bags. I just grab and dip as I need them.

It's risky to freeze already dipped balls as the filling tends to expand and crack the coating. That said, I accidentally left 40 dipped and decorated cake balls in the freezer for two weeks and none of them cracked. Have no idea why. icon_smile.gif



This is unlikely the cause. Very few things actually expand when you freeze them, most contract. Water is the main exception to the expanding rule due to the molecular structure of water. If your cake balls are expanding when frozen, you must have a lot of water in them.




That's a good point and probably explains why my forgotten balls didn't crack.

As for the ones that did crack, obviously a difference force is at work. Probably a simple case of hot and cold reacting in the classic kaboom. icon_smile.gif

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motherofgrace Posted 28 Jan 2011 , 9:57pm
post #15 of 17

I do find that if my chocolate is straight out of the micro wave there can be cracking.

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robinseggs Posted 31 Jan 2011 , 2:45am
post #16 of 17

Diane,
I bought a food saver vacuum sealer today and when I vacuum packed my cake balls (and I froze them overnight first) it distorted the shape of the cake ball. I had to take them all back out of the bag and reroll. Do you ever have problems with this? This is the first time I've use a vacuum sealer. I even try to stop it early and in order to get all the air out it distorts the shape of the ball a little.
Also on the food saver bags it is textured on the inside on one side and that imprints onto my dough???

Any tips on vacuum packing would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again
Robin

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DianeLM Posted 31 Jan 2011 , 2:57pm
post #17 of 17

Robin, I am sorry you are having trouble with the vacuum sealer. I have the same problem with my NEW one. The old vacuum sealer you could stop before all the air was sucked out. There's supposed to be a way to do it with the new models but it's still hit or miss. I think I'm just going to call FoodSaver and hope someone over there knows how to use the darn thing.

In the mean time, arrange your cake balls in a single layer in the bag before sealing. Try not to let them get piled up during the vacuum process.

Allegedly, if you hold the "instant seal" button at the same time you're pressing down on the machine, it will stop before the air is completely sucked out. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't.

The good news is, slight distortion will not show up after dipping and the imprinted pattern will never show up after dipping.

For all its flaws, vacuum sealing is still the best way to freeze cake balls for extended periods of time, even if you have to re-roll a bit after they've thawed.

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