Happy Saturday... sort of. I'm now officially finishing up 3 weeks of being sick and I'm still not over this crud. I don't remember ever having a bug hang around and have me down for so long.
Anyway, I'm determined to be well soon. Like tomorrow soon because I have 8 orders next week. EIGHT. It's been more than a month since I had a weekend overbooked that busy and I can't do that many cakes while sick and tired... so I will be better. I'm determined.
But just because I'm feeling not-so-hot, doesn't mean you shouldn't be feeling fantastic.... and these cake balls... they will make you feel fantastic!!
So I thought I'd share this super simple (cheater) recipe for German Chocolate Cake Balls. It's so, so easy... I wonder if it even qualifies as a "recipe"!
Oh, and these photos aren't great - they were taken with my phone. Back a few weeks ago my littlest helper decided to pour a glass of sweet tea on my fancy camera. Don't let that sweet smile fool you... he's a mess!! {I do have my camera back now - but you'll get to see several cake pics that were taken in the interim... some of them are pretty sad}
So I was left only with my phone and a cheap point-and-shoot... and considering that, the pictures aren't too shabby!
Don't forget that you can hover over any of my pics and Pin them!! 🙂
See how moist and dense and and mmmmm that looks? Yeah - they're good!
Did I miss anything? Do you have any questions about this recipe? Please leave them in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer and help out!
Here's a printable recipe for you (not that you'll need it!):
OH... I am in no way affiliated with Pillsbury - I just really prefer that brand for most of my caking! You can use any brand you like and I'm sure they'll be great!
PrintRecipe
German Chocolate Cake Balls
Ingredients
- Pillsbury German Chocolate Cake Mix
- Pillsbury Coconut Pecan Frosting
- Dark, Milk, or Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips {I prefer Semi-Sweet}
- Flaked Coconut
- Chopped Pecans
Instructions
- Bake the cake according to the box directions. Allow it to cool, then crumble it into a large bowl.
- Mix in the can of frosting - it's best to do this with your hands. I mush it all together until it's really well combined and has uniform texture.
- Roll the "dough" into balls - I like them just slightly larger than 1" each. Chill them. While they're firming up in the frig, melt the chocolate in the microwave in a glass bowl.
- Dip the chilled balls in the melted chocolate then place them on wax paper. Sprinkle with coconut and chopped pecans before the chocolate sets.
- After they're "dry"... enjoy! Try not to eat too many at once!
karenb
Your Cake Pops look incredible!!! I'll have to make them.
Have you tried making cake balls without adding the frosting? I won't use canned frosting because it has transfat, so I was excited to find a recipe for cake balls that does not use frosting! After the cake is baked and slightly cooled, cut it up and put in a food processor with plastic blade. The food processor makes the cake very fine and it just holds together on its own! No frosting needed!!! You don't even taste any difference!!
Rose
I've never heard of making them without frosting... very interesting!! I'll have to try it sometime! I actually hate canned frosting for 99% of the time and I normally use homemade buttercream (I'm sure it still has trans-fats) for my cake balls/pops, but for the German Chocolate, I like that the coconut and pecans were already in the canned frosting and the flavor was amazing!!
karenb
I bet you could process the coconut and pecans in the food processor using a metal blade. Switch to plastic blade and process cake with coconut pecan mixture and it would all come together.
I make my cake pop "batter" in the food processor all the time. It actually is a lot quicker than mixing by hand and the mixture is much finer. Let me know if you try it - I doubt you'll ever go back to hand mixing or adding frosting!
Debbie
Do you mix the can of frosting into making the balls. I have never made them
Debbie
Im sorry do you add the whole can of frosting to make the cake balls
Rose
I did! You could start with about half and see if you need more.
Rose
Yes!
Allison
I randomly came across this page while looking for a German chocolate recipe and saw your question. Yes there is a way, I successfully did this last weekend. After baking the cake, put it in an airtight plastic bag and freeze overnight. The ingredients in the cake won't harden completely and should still be soft enough to crumble. While the cake is still cold, crumble into a bowl and immediately start rolling the balls, really pack them in your hands. For whatever reason, the moisture of the frozen cake holds. pPlace the cake balls in freezer for 15 min to ensure they stay together before coating. Hopefully this works for you!
Lauren
I don't know if not using frosting for this particular recipe would work. The coconut Pecan frosting is a big part of the German chocolate "taste". But you could make homemade frosting if you wanted to get fancy!
Michelle
Rose,
These look amazing! German Chocolate is my absolute favorite. Especially the frosting! I can’t wait to try the recipe. Thanks so much for linking up to Creative Thursday. Can’t wait to see what you share next week! Have a wonderful weekend
Michelle
Mrs. Delightful
This looks delish!
Mrs. Delightful
The Better Baker
Absolutely fabulous! Pinning and making soon too. Congrats on being featured at Show Me What Ya Got Tuesdays....
Brooke
I made these with a few adjustments:
- I used the new Duncan Hienes mix and icing.
- When the box called for water in the batter, I used milk
- added one extra egg
- and instead of oil, I used butter and doubled it.
The cake balls turned out absolutely delicious!!! Thank you for sharing!
Rose
Awesome! 🙂
Amanda
About how many cake balls does this recipe make?
Rose
I think it made around 40-50. It will vary a bit depending on how big you make them.
Amanda Vaughn
Ok, thank you!
Brooke Ann
I am new to making cake balls, and was wondering how you dip the balls in chocolate then transfer to wax paper while keeping the chocolate look smooth (no push off print on them)?
Rose
It's not easy! One trick I've learned is to actually put them on a lollipop stick, like a cake pop, but then after they're hard, slip them off the stick. It worked beautifully for this cake ball cake, so that's how I've been doing it since. If that's not an option, it's just a matter of practicing a lot until you master it (I know that's not terribly helpful).
Rachel J
I use a fork that my husband altered for me. He cut the middle two tines out of a 4-tine fork and slightly turned the remaining two outer tines so that they 'cup' the ball and easily let the ball roll/slide off. You can buy a dipping fork like this (no altering by a handy husband needed) in the same aisle that you find the chocolates and cake decorations stuff at big box retailers. (I found one at Wally World)
Jessica Lynn
I use two plastic forks to dip my cake pops and use the tip of the fork to push the candy off the other fork. if done carefully there is very little push off evidence!
Cant wait to try these!
Rose
Great idea!!
Socorro
Hi Always Love your stuff!!! Ive used Wilton Melts but find that they done melt soo well anymore what do you suggest for smooth chocolate
Rose
A couple of months ago, I wrote a post about that here: How to Thin Wilton Candy Melts for Perfect Cake Pops
Betty Critchlow
Another great post....Betty in Indiana
Rose
Thanks!
Pamela
I just printed off your German Chocolate Cake recipe to try and then saw the German Chocolate Cake Ball one. They are a little different, but I was going to try to make the balls out of the cake recipe and the homemade frosting. Looks like it would be too much frosting to add, but the cake recipe makes more cake(three instead of two). I was thinking that I would add a store bought amount of frosting (15 oz) and another half of that (~7 oz, for the extra cake layer) to the cake. If I cool the left over frosting it might dollop on top of the balls well also. See any issues with that or suggestions?
Rose
Sounds like a good plan to me!
Dawn
Can you suggest a frosting to use that has "no nuts". I have a friend who loves German Chocolate, however, has nut allergies. Trying to figure this out! Do you know if the cake mix has any "nut product" mixed in? Thank you, Dawn
Stephanie
German chocolate cake is my absolute fave- thanks for sharing!
Beverly
I have been making cake balls lately and these are definitely going to be my new version. Love German chocolate cake. Pinning.
Thanks for sharing Wake Up Wednesday,
Bev
Cynthia Rusincovitch
German chocolate cake is my mom and dad's favorite and I know they would love these! Making note of these for their anniversary! Thanks for linking up with Delicious Dishes Recipe Party!
Jamie
Those look delicious! My husband will love them - pinning to try! Thank you for sharing with us at the #HomeMattersParty
Dee
My kids would love these! Thanks for sharing at Merry Monday! 🙂
GRAMS SHIRL
CAN THE COMPLETED (DIPPED & DECORATED WITH SPRINKLES OR WHATEVER) BE FROZEN WHEN COMPLETED---I NEED TO DO OVER 100 AND ALSO HAVE TO TRANSPORT THEM ABOUT 3 HOURS AWAY--THANKS
Rose
No, if you freeze them, the chocolate will crack.
Liz
When you say use a can of frosting-- how much of the can do you use? All of it or ? thank you for your time!
Rose
I usually end up using a whole can, but if you're concerned, start by mixing in part of it - maybe a third, then continue mixing and adding until you get a good dough consistency!
Carol
I just attempted to make these because my husband loves German Chocolate cake and so do I. However, the dipping in frosting did not go so well, could you please provide a little more direction on your technique.
Thank you.
Terrie
It's actually dipped in melted chocolate, not frosting
April
Would these be good dipped in white chocolate?
Rose
YES!
Carrie Logan
Hi,
I just came across this recipe and it was exactly what I was looking for! If stored in the refrigerator, how far ahead of time can I make them?
Thanks!
Rose
I would say probably 2-3 days?! I'm not 100% certain.
Kimberly D Makay
Stumbled across your recipe to do something different than the traditional GCC. I am not a baker AT ALL but I can follow a recipe like there is no tomorrow and only about 20% comes out wrong lol. I am curious if butterscotch chips would taste good as a coating instead of chocolate chips. I don't know what flavor combinations work but really want to try it. Thoughts please?
Kimberly D Makay
I am in no way a baker and I'm not really good with flavors but I'm wondering if using butterscotch chips in place of chocolate chips for the melted coating. Thoughts?
Rose
Hmmm - I've never used butterscotch chips in that way so I'm not sure. But if it'll hold, I'm 100% sure it'll be delicious!
denise
Cake mix and canned frosting.....nope, I don't call that a "recipe".
Mojoblogs
This looks really good. Cannot wait to try this. Thank you for sharing this.