NYC has finally started to feel a bit like winter….now that it’s end of Feb (almost March) AHEM* almost St. Patty’s day. Since Valentine’s Day, I’ve been a little interested (okay, more like crazy) with cake pops. There’s something really sweet and fun about a little key lime cake pop rolled in a creamy white chocolate ganache.
Now I don’t know about you, but I had no idea what a cake pop was until my old boss bought it for me from Starbucks. And it was pretty damn amazing nevertheless. How convenient is it to have a little bit of a bite sized cake at the tip of a lollipop stick? I have to admit, it was a bit embarrassing but also cute that a handful of coworkers thought these were “cute lollipops.” Now what the hell is a cake ball, really? From my understanding, it’s a baked cake + frosting rolled in a ball and coated in chocolate/candy. Because I’m not a big fan of store bought frosting, I used this heavenly cream cheese frosting from Allrecipes. Although it took me a handful of attempts, I do want to share a few handful of tips that I found were helpful:
1. Don’t rush through any of this! (It may take about 2-3 days)
1a. Allow the butter and cream cheese to really soften by sitting them out in room temperature for at least half an hour.
1b. Enable the cake to cool down completely.
2. When mixing the cake mix, do remove the edges so that the filling is an even texture and a ball could really form.
3. When mixing the cake chunks with the cream cheese frosting, add the cream cheese frosting in gradual increments to desired texture.
4. Scoop the cake balls with a scooper or your hands and chill them in the fridge for at least half an hour or freezer for about half an hour to firm up.
5. Chocolates are all different cocoa percentages and can contain more/less oil and lead to completely different results for coating. While I love making ganache, a good white chocolate to heavy cream ratio is 3:1.
Anyway, do enjoy making these and have fun with it! While you could certainly substitute the white chocolate ganache for candy melts, do play with the consistency on a couple before committing to a whole batch! These cake balls can also be in room temperature for up to 2 weeks, refrigerated for up to 3 weeks. Happy baking!
Key Lime Cake
Ingredients
- 1 C olive oil
- 3 lg eggs
- 1 1/3 C milk
- 2 tbsp lime zest
- 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
- 1 1/2 C sugar
- 2 C flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
Directions
Preheat oven to 325 F.
Whisk 1 C olive oil with 3 lg eggs, freshly squeezed lime juice, and fresh lime zest in a bowl.
In another bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Gently fold into the mix with the olive oil, eggs, lime juice, and lime zest.
Pour the cake batter into greased cake pans and bake for 20-25 min or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Set aside to cool for 30-40 min.
Key Lime cake pops
Ingredients
- 1 Key Lime cake (recipe above or store bought baked)
- 8 oz. cream cheese
- 1/2 C butter, softened
- 1 1/2 C confectioners sugar
- 1 tbsp fresh lime zest
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 C White chocolate (amount may vary depending on brand)
- 1 C Heavy cream
- 2 tbsp Freshly grated lime zest
Directions
Gently remove the edges of the cake that’s been cooled down and put aside. (This enables for an even texture in the cake balls)
Transfer the cake to a large bowl and crumble the cake.
In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, and gradually stir in the confectioners sugar. This will be the frosting.
Add 3/4 C of the cream cheese frosting to the cake batter and mix well. If it’s too dry, add another 1 tbsp of cream cheese frosting.
Shape into 3/4″ balls by using a cookie dough scooper and/or with hands. Put into fridge for about 1 hour to firm up.
Melt white chocolate, preferrably on a double broiler. Dip lollipop or candy stick in about 1/4-1/2″ inch, then spoon over some white chocolate to cover it. Gently tap the side of the bowl to remove excess.
Sprinkle the cake balls with lime zest.
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