Soft and fudgy in the center with a snappy, melt-in-your-mouth white chocolate coating, these cake balls are the perfect little holiday treat. Just big enough to pop in your mouth—or sneak into your pocket when no one’s looking—they come together faster than you think. Here’s how to make them smooth, festive, and perfectly coated every time.
I’m not usually the kind of person who will suggest you make a cake only to mush it into balls and call it dessert when we’re fortunate enough to live in a world where there are eclairs, pies, tarts, and ice cream.
But there comes a time in every home baker’s life when the cake falls apart or there’s too much left of it or you’ve found yourself knees-deep in cake scraps after assembling the real thing, and now are at a loss for what to do with it. Because tossing cake scraps would be preposterous, such a thing would never even cross your mind.
So you make cake balls, obviously, the only reasonable outcome, the quicker way to get rid of it. You find out that, surprisingly, squeezing cake scraps into balls and coating them in chocolate actually somehow turns them into something else entirely. Suddenly it’s more than just sensible cake, they’re fun cake balls! White chocolate cake balls that are fun, festive, and perfectly bite-size.
It’s like Jesus multiplying five loaves of bread and two fish to feed a large crowd. And that’s the Christmas spirit, isn’t it? Giving and receiving and receiving and giving and sharing?
Something like that.
12 Days of Christmas Desserts: Festive Recipes for the Holiday Season
Welcome to Day 1 of 12 Days of Christmas Desserts! For twelve consecutive days (god help me), I’ll be sharing recipes to inspire you this holiday season. I had to really wear my editor cap this time and resist the tropical-adjacent recipes (I’m looking at you strawberry tart and coconut cobbler), but we’ll get to them eventually.
This series will cover the holidays’ most beloved, cozy flavors, from chocolate to peanut butter to meringues. Today’s recipe is white chocolate cake balls, one that couldn’t be easier to make and, most importantly, qualifies as a great family project.
Everyone can get involved – I’m talking about the kids, and even the cousins who seem to have two left hands or butter for fingers. Anyone can roll cake into balls, dip them in chocolate, and top with some festive sprinkles.
I love baking projects that involve the whole family or a group of friends, where the stakes are low and the result never disappoints. I mean, it’d be really hard to mess this one up!
How to Make These Cake Balls
Unlike most recipes online, these cake balls are bound together by the power of whipped ganache, not frosting.
When I first made these, I couldn’t find any recipes that didn’t use frosting as a binder. Believe it or not, I’ve never bought store-bought frosting, but I completely understand the appeal. No matter how I slice it, any other method I suggest here would never beat the convenience of opening a container of frosting and dumping it into a bowl.
But the thing is, store-bought frosting is basically oil, sugar, stabilizers, and preservatives whipped together and emulsified. You can’t control the amount of sugar – and the amount of sugar cannot be ignored if you don’t want your cake balls to be overly sweet.
So the answer to that problem is something far more delicious and quite effortless in the grand scheme of things: whipped ganache! Of course, homemade frosting would be the most obvious option here, but if, like me, you’re not the biggest fan of frosting (since it’s basically butter and sugar beaten together), whipped ganache is a much creamier version, with a velvety taste that i find far superior than plain frosting.
Whipped ganache works so well here not only for its silkier texture, but also because it’s considerably less sweet. It adds richer flavor and depth to the final product, giving you cake balls that taste more like a truffle–cake hybrid.
Ingredients & Step-by-Step Instructions
This is a simple whipped vanilla ganache, where warm heavy cream and white chocolate are mixed together, chilled, then whipped.
For this recipe, we’re using a 1 part heavy cream : 2 parts chocolate ratio — thick enough to be incorporated into the crumbled cake and stable enough to hold its shape as cake balls.
After the cream and chocolate are fully combined, chill until it reaches a scoopable consistency, about 45 minutes to an hour. Then, using a hand mixer or a whisk, whip to medium peaks.
For the cake, you can use a boxed mix or bake a simple vanilla cake. Crumble the cooled cake into a large bowl, then add the whipped ganache a little at a time, mixing on low speed until the mixture holds together when pressed. Make sure to stop before it gets too sticky or wet.
Roll the mixture into balls, chill, and then it’s dipping time!
Variations
Visually, I like sticking with matching colors: white chocolate ganache with vanilla cake, dark chocolate with chocolate cake, and so on. But nothing’s stopping you from thinking outside the box and mixing and matching flavors and colors.
Other variations include red velvet, funfetti, almond cake, and—if you’re catering to a more grown-up palate—you can pair any of these with a coffee ganache for a slightly bittersweet finish.
Tips for Perfect Cake Balls
Make sure everything is cooled: let the cake cool completely before adding the ganache. Warm cake and cool ganache are a terrible combo—you’ll end up with a melty mess. When everything is the right temperature, rolling into balls is a breeze.
For a smoother texture, try to break the cake into fine crumbs; they incorporate much better with the ganache.
Chill: working the dough and shaping it into balls inevitably warms everything up. It’s important that the cake balls get a chance to chill before you dip them into melted chocolate.
For an elegant, wintery theme, I like using pastel-colored sprinkles, but go all-out Christmas if that’s your vibe.
You’ll quickly notice the recurring theme here: temperature. Just like you don’t want the cake to be warm when mixing in the ganache, or how you want the balls to chill after rolling, you also don’t want them to be too cold when dipping them into chocolate.
If there’s too big a temperature difference, the coating sets too quickly and unevenly. Sometimes the coating might even crack once the cake balls expand as they warm up.
To avoid cracking, make sure the cake balls aren’t frozen and the chocolate isn’t too hot.
And finally, for an even simpler method, you can simply use cake-pop molds!
Tips for Smooth, Even Dipping
Use a fork: since these aren’t cake pops, a regular fork is your best friend. Lower each cake ball into the melted chocolate with a fork, lift it out, then tap the fork gently on the edge of the bowl to let the excess drip off.
Don’t swirl: rolling the cake balls around in the chocolate creates uneven patches. Just lower, lift, and tap.
Thin the chocolate if needed: if the coating feels too thick, add a tiny splash of coconut oil or a bit more melted chocolate to loosen it. You want a fluid, pourable consistency that coats without clumping.
Wipe the bottoms: slide the dipped ball off the fork using a toothpick or the tip of a knife, then give the bottom a little swipe on the edge of the bowl so you don’t end up with “feet” (that little puddle of chocolate underneath).
Decorate right away: sprinkles only adhere when the chocolate is still glossy. If you wait, they’ll bounce right off.
Let them set at room temp: chilling too soon can cause cracking. Let the chocolate firm up naturally, then chill later if needed.
That’s it for day 1. A humble little cake ball, resurrected from the ashes of leftover cake, dipped, sprinkled, and suddenly festive. If you give these a try, let me know how they turn out. See you tomorrow for day 2!
You Might Also Like…
Chocolate Peppermint Sandwich Cookies: crisp, chocolatey, and filled with a creamy peppermint cream — the kind of cookie that tastes like December in one bite. Perfect for gifting!
Best Films to Watch This Holiday Season: a short, very opinionated roundup of the movies that actually make the holidays feel like the holidays. Bring blankets, snacks, and someone who won’t talk through the good parts.
Peppermint Mocha Latte: a cozy, café-style peppermint mocha you can make without leaving the house. It’s chocolatey, minty, and dangerously habit-forming.
Holiday Butter Cookies: soft, buttery cookies that melt the moment they hit your tongue — the classic kind you make once and then immediately wonder why you don’t make all year.
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Ingredients
- For the Cake Balls:
1 standard vanilla cake, baked and fully cooled (1 × 9-inch round, boxed or homemade)
sprinkles
- For the Whipped White Chocolate Ganache:
200 g white chocolate, finely chopped
100 g heavy cream
- For the Coating:
300–400g white chocolate
Directions
Make the whipped ganache: heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan until simmering (do not let it come to a boil).
Meanwhile, place the chopped white chocolate in a heatproof bowl.
Pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Let sit for 1 minute, then stir slowly until completely smooth and glossy. Add vanilla and a pinch of salt.
Cover and refrigerate for 45–60 minutes, or until the ganache is firm but scoopable.
Using a hand mixer, whip the chilled ganache on medium speed until medium peaks form. Do not overwhip — it should look creamy and fluffy, not stiff or grainy.
Make the cake ball mixture: crumble the cooled cake into a large mixing bowl. Break it up into fine crumbs for the smoothest texture.
Add the whipped ganache a few spoonfuls at a time, mixing with a hand mixer on low or using a spatula. Keep adding ganache until the mixture is moist and holds its shape when rolled into a ball (it should resemble a soft dough). Stop adding once the mixture holds together when pressed without feeling sticky or wet.
Roll and chill: roll the mixture into small, uniform balls (using a cookie scoop or a tablespoon) and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or until firm.
Melt the chocolate: in a microwave-safe bowl or using a double boiler, melt the chocolate coating in 20-30 second intervals, stirring well between each, until smooth and completely melted.
Dip the cake balls: work in small batches, keeping the remaining cake balls chilled. Place a cake ball on the tines of a fork and submerge into the melted chocolate. Gently tap the fork on the edge of the bowl to remove any excess coating. Slide the dipped ball onto a parchment sheet using a second fork or small offset spatula.
Decorate and set: immediately add any desired sprinkles or decorations while the chocolate is still wet. Let the coating harden at room temperature or refrigerate for about 10 minutes.
Cake balls will last up to 1 week in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
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