Red velvet cake balls are irresistibly good. Under the crunch of the vanilla candy coating lies a moist cake, made extra decadent with a homemade sweet and tangy cream cheese frosting.
Why this recipe works
The marriage between red velvet cake and chocolate-coated cake balls creates these perfect little morsels. They have everything you look for in the big version – cream cheese frosting and soft red velvet cake. Plus, they come together easily using a boxed cake mix!
Ingredients you will need
Get all measurements, ingredients, and instructions in the printable version at the end of this post.
Ingredient Info and Substitution Suggestions
CAKE – This recipe uses one 13.25 ounce box of red velvet cake mix, plus the ingredients listed on the back of the box. You can certainly make a red velvet cake from scratch if preferred.
FROSTING – Homemade cream cheese frosting is really simple to make. Butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt are all you need. Make sure your cream cheese and butter are at room temperature before mixing for the best consistency.
CHOCOLATE – We used white almond bark to coat the cake balls in but you can also use vanilla candy wafers (candy melts). Although it’s definitely possible to use white chocolate chips for this recipe, I would recommend using either almond bark or candy wafers instead as white chocolate chips don’t melt as easily and aren’t designed for dipping. Vegetable shortening is added to the almond bark to help create a smooth consistency. Feel free to substitute white regular or dark chocolate if preferred!
How to Make Red Velvet Cake Balls
These step by step photos and instructions are here to help you visualize how to make this recipe. You can Jump to Recipe to get the printable version of this recipe, complete with measurements and instructions at the bottom.
- Preheat the oven to 350° F and grease a 9×13-inch baking dish.
- Prepare and bake the cake according to package instructions.
- Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack while preparing the cream cheese frosting.
Making the Frosting
- Beat together the butter and cream cheese in a mixing bowl or stand-up mixer until light and fluffy.
- Mix in the vanilla extract and salt.
- Slowly add in powdered sugar, ½ cup at a time, and continue to mix until smooth. Set aside.
- Once the cake has cooled, crumble it in the baking dish using a fork and transfer the crumbs to a large mixing bowl. Set aside 1/3 of a cup of the crumble (this will be your topping).
- Add all but ½ cup of the cream cheese frosting to the crumbled cake and mix with a soft silicone spatula. Make sure the mixture is well combined.
TIP – I recommend adding only part of the frosting to the cake crumbs. If you feel you need more frosting, add a ¼ cup at a time until you reach the desired consistency. It’s better to add too little and keep adding small amounts of frosting than having too much frosting and the cake balls don’t form properly. If your cake is on the drier side after baking then you can add in all the frosting.
- Using a small cookie dough scoop, drop evenly sized pieces onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet.
- Roll the mounds between lightly moistened hands to get them a nice and smooth-shaped ball.
- Place the cake balls in the freezer for 1 hour to allow them to firm up.
Assembling the Red Velvet Truffles
- Set aside 2 of the 12 squares of almond bark. From the remaining 10 squares, place 5 of them in a microwave-safe bowl and heat for 30-second intervals, continue until the mixture is smooth. Add in 1 tablespoon of the vegetable shortening and stir until combined.
- Place a cake ball on the end of a fork and dunk it into the melted candy, making sure the entire ball is coated. Tap the fork against the edge of the bowl to remove any excess coating. Transfer the cake ball to a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Continue to dip the remaining cake balls into the melted candy, melting the remaining 5 squares of almond bark when needed.
- Take the remaining 2 squares of almond bark and heat them in the microwave until melted. Pour this mixture into a plastic piping bag (or zippered sandwich bag) and snip off the end to create a very small opening.
- Drizzle the cake balls with the melted candy and immediately sprinkle with the remaining cake crumbs.
- Allow the cake ball coating to dry at room temperature and for the candy coating to set before eating.
Frequently Asked Questions & Expert Tips
Vegetable shortening or coconut oil are your best options for thinning out the almond bark since vegetable oil has a tendency to ‘yellow’ the almond bark coating.
You can place any red velvet cake balls you don’t eat in the refrigerator for up to 6 days in an air-tight container. It is best to keep them refrigerated instead of placing them on a counter for storage, as they contain cream cheese, which could spoil.
Don’t skip this step! Freezing your cake balls for 1 hour before dipping them into the melted almond bark makes for easier and smoother coverage of the cake ball. It’s easiest to work in batches by keeping the uncoated cake balls in the freezer and only removing 5 or 6 at a time to coat them, this ensures they stay firm.
Yes, absolutely. You can prepare them a day in advance and store them in an air-tight container kept in the refrigerator. I would recommend removing them from the fridge 30 minutes before enjoying.
Yes, you can freeze the cake balls before they’ve been dipped in chocolate coating. Place them in a large ziptop bag and store in the freezer for up to 2 months. Remove from freezer and dip in chocolate.
To make these into cake pops, place a lollipop stick into the chilled cake ball so it is upside down on the tray. Use your finger or a spoon to place a small amount of melted chocolate where the stick and the ball meat. Let it set for 2 minutes. This will act as a glue to keep the pop stick in place while you coat the rest of the cake ball in additional chocolate. Turn the stick after coating the ball fully to encourage excess chocolate to drizzle off.
Serving Suggestions
Garnish red velvet cake balls with a drizzle of melted white chocolate and a sprinkle of extra red velvet cake on top. You can also top with red sugar crystals or sprinkles.
Red velvet cake balls are great for all occasions. Bridal or baby showers, potlucks, birthday parties, holidays – you name it. You can easily decorate them to match sports team colors and holiday themes by using different colored sprinkles or drizzling with colored white chocolate.
They are extra adorable as edible gifts when popped into cellophane baggies and tied with a bow. Enjoy!
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Red Velvet Cake Balls
IMPORTANT – There are often Frequently Asked Questions within the blog post that you may find helpful. Simply scroll back up to read them!
Print It Rate ItIngredients
- 13.25 ounce red velvet cake mix plus ingredients on the back of the box
Cream Cheese Frosting
- ¼ cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 4 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Candy Coating
- 24 ounces white almond bark divided. 12 squares
- 2 Tablespoons vegetable shortening divided
Things You’ll Need
- Stand mixer or hand mixer
Before You Begin
- Make sure your cream cheese and butter are at room temperature before mixing for the best consistency.
- Freezing your cake balls for 1 hour before dipping them into the melted almond bark makes for easier and smoother coverage of the cake ball. It’s easiest to work in batches by keeping the uncoated cake balls in the freezer and only removing 5 or 6 at a time to coat them, this ensures they stay firm.
- We used white almond bark to coat the cake balls in but you can also use vanilla candy wafers (candy melts). Although it’s definitely possible to use white chocolate chips for this recipe, I would recommend using either almond bark or candy wafers instead as white chocolate chips don’t melt as easily and aren’t designed for dipping.
- Vegetable shortening is added to the almond bark to help create a smooth consistency.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F and grease a 9 x13-inch baking dish.
- Prepare and bake the cake according to package instructions.
- Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack while preparing the cream cheese frosting.
- For the cream cheese frosting, beat together the butter and cream cheese in a mixing bowl or stand-up mixer until light and fluffy.
- Mix in the vanilla extract and salt.
- Slowly add in powdered sugar, ½ cup at a time, and continue to mix until smooth. Set aside.
- Once the cake has cooled, crumble the cake in the baking dish using a fork and transfer the crumbs to a large mixing bowl. Set aside 1/3 of a cup of the crumble (this will be your topping).
- Add all but ½ cup of the cream cheese frosting to the crumbled cake and mix with a soft silicone spatula. Make sure the mixture is well combined.TIP – I recommend adding only part of the frosting to the cake crumbs. If you feel you need more frosting, add a ¼ cup at a time until you reach the desired consistency. It’s better to add too little and keep adding small amounts of frosting than having too much frosting and the cake balls don’t form properly. If your cake is on the drier side after baking then you can add in all the frosting.
- Using a small cookie dough scoop, drop evenly sized pieces onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet.
- Roll the mounds between lightly moistened hands to form into smooth-shaped ball.
- Place the cake balls in the freezer for 1 hour to allow them to firm up.
- Set aside 2 of the 12 squares of almond bark. From the remaining 10 squares, place 5 of them in a microwave-safe bowl and heat for 30-second intervals, continue until the mixture is smooth. Add in 1 tablespoon of the vegetable shortening and stir until combined.
- Place a cake ball on the end of a fork and dunk it into the melted candy, making sure the entire ball is coated. Tap the fork against the edge of the bowl to remove any excess coating. Transfer the cake ball to a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Continue to dip the remaining cake balls into the melted candy, melting the remaining 5 squares of almond bark when needed.
- Take the remaining 2 squares of almond bark and heat them in the microwave until melted. Pour this mixture into a plastic piping bag (or zippered sandwich bag) and snip off the end to create a very small opening.
- Drizzle the cake balls with the melted chocolate and immediately sprinkle with the remaining cake crumbs.
- Allow the cake ball coating to dry at room temperature and for the candy coating to set before eating.
Expert Tips & FAQs
- You can place any red velvet cake balls you don’t eat in the refrigerator for up to 6 days in an air-tight container. It is best to keep them refrigerated instead of placing them on a counter for storage, as they contain cream cheese, which could spoil.
- Optionally prepare them a day in advance and store them in an air-tight container kept in the refrigerator. I would recommend removing them from the fridge 30 minutes before enjoying.
- You can freeze the cake balls before they’ve been dipped in chocolate coating. Place them in a large ziptop bag and store in the freezer for up to 2 months. Remove from freezer and dip in chocolate.
Nutrition
Kristen Rittmer
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