Strawberry Cake Balls Food

STRAWBERRY CAKE POPS RECIPE

Steps:

• Put ½ lb of strawberries in a blender or food processor and make a puree, making about a ½ cup or a little over. Simmer this in a pot over low-medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes OR until you are left with about 1/4 cup of puree left. Remove this from the heat and let cool completely. I put mine in the fridge/freezer to speed up the process. You can make this the day before to ensure that it cools completley in the fridge overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease a 9x9 round cake pan with non stick spray.
• In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk until combined and set aside.
• Using an electric mixer, in a large bowl cream together the room temperature butter and sugar until smooth (about 2 minutes). Add in the egg white and beat on high speed until combined (about 2 minutes). Add in the vanilla and greek yogurt, mixing until combined. Slowly add in the dry ingredients until just incorporated. Slowly pour the milk in while your mixer is on low speed, just until it's combined. Be careful not to overmix! Mix in the completely cooled ¼ cup of strawberry puree until just incorporated. You can add a few drops of red or pink food coloring here as well if you would like to have a more pink cake.
• Pour batter into the greased cake pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If you notice your cake starting to brown a bit too much on top, you can cover it with tinfoil while baking.
• Allow the cake to cool completely in the pan on a wire cooling rack.
• Using a blender or food processor, blend the freeze-dried strawberries into a powder. You should have about a ¼ cup. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, cream the butter using an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Add the powdered sugar, strawberry powder, 2 tsp of milk, and vanilla. Mix on medium-high for about 2-3 mintues, until smooth and creamy. If needed, add another 1-2 tsp of milk to get the right consistency.
• Once your cake is completely cooled, crumble the entire cake into the bowl of frosting, making sure there are no large lumps. If you had any hard/burnt pieces of cake, feel free to discard them. Turn the mixer on low until the cake and frosting combine.
• Measure 1 tbsp of cake mix and roll into a ball, then place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Place the sheet in the freezer for about 30 minutes, or the fridge for an hour. Cake pops come together easier when the cake balls are very cold.
• Once they are chilled, melt the chocolate melts or chips in a deep measuring cup (I use a 2-cup one linked above). If using chocolate chips: reminder to use ½ tbsp oil for each cup of chocolate melted.
• Take your cake balls out of the freezer. Dip the tip of a lollipop stick into the chocolate and press into the center of the cake ball, inserting about halfway through. Repeat for all the cake balls and place back into the freezer for another 10-15 minutes.
• Taking about 3-4 cake pops out of the freezer at a time, dunk the cake pop into the chocolate coating fully, making sure to get all the way to the lollipop stick. Gently tap the stick on the side of the measuring cup to remove excess coating. Place your cake pop either upright in a styrofoam board or a box (see pictures above) or you could always place them down on another parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Decorate each one immediately as they dry pretty quickly since they are cold. Cake pops should be completely dried within an hour. I like to keep mine in the fridge before serving.

STRAWBERRY CAKE BALLS

Steps:

• Prepare cake batter and bake as directed. I often use a 9 x 13 cake pan as I find this is easiest.
• Once cake has cooled, scoop it out of the cake pan and into the bowl of an electric mixer.
• Stir together the strawberries and kirsch or jam (if using).
• Add the frosting and the strawberries mixture to the crumbled cake; mix on low to medium speed until a pink dough forms. This can also be done by hand, but may not be mixed as well and will take longer.
• Cover with cling wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
• Roll into @ 1 inch balls and place on parchment paper laying on a sheet pan. Freeze the balls for at least 1 hour.
• Right before removing cake balls from freezer, melt chocolate (if in the microwave, melt in 30 second increments until melted completely).
• Using a fork, dip balls in chocolate and gently flip it around, just until coated. Lift it out with the fork, allowing any excess chocolate to drip off. Decorate as desired, refrigerating immediately after for at least a few minutes.
• We like these best chilled, but they can also be kept at room temperature.

STRAWBERRY CAKE POPS

Steps:

• Add the strawberries to a small saucepan with 1 tsp of water and cook them over medium heat, for about 10-15 minutes, until softened. Either using an immersion blender, or placing the strawberries into a blender, blend the strawberries until smooth. Return the strawberries to the pot and simmer for 10 more minutes. Remove from heat and allow it to cool.
• Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease and flour an 8 or 9″ cake pan and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or using a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until light and creamy, about 1 minute. Add the egg and vanilla, and mix together. With the mixer running on low, slowly mix in half of the dry ingredients. Add the buttermilk, followed by the remaining dry ingredients, and then the strawberry puree. Mix just until combined. Pour the cake batter into the prepared cake pan, and bake for 28-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool for 10 minutes, before inverting it on to a cooling rack to cool completely, about 2 hours.**
• In the bowl of stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or using a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter on high for 1-2 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add in the powdered sugar, followed by the strawberry puree. Mix until thoroughly combined and smooth.
• Crumble the cooled cake into a large mixing bowl, and stir in the strawberry buttercream until mixed together. 1 tablespoon at a time, roll the mixture into balls and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Once all the balls are rolled out, place the baking sheet in the fridge for 2 hours to firm up. Remove the pan and re-roll the balls with your hand to create firm, smooth balls. Place the pan back in the fridge.
• Melt half the chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave, in 30 second intervals and at half power.*** Once the chocolate is smooth and runny, remove a few cake pops from the fridge. Dip a lollipop stick about a half inch into the melted chocolate, then carefully insert it into the middle of a cake pop. Holding it by the stick, dip the cake pop directly into the melted chocolate, covering it right to the base of the stick. Tap the cake pop lightly against the side of the cup to remove any excess chocolate. Add sprinkles immediately after dipping, if you're using. Place the cake pop to dry into a styrofoam block or cardboard box with some small holes poked into it. Repeat with the remaining cake pops, heating the other half of chocolate up when the melted chocolate begins to run low. Once the cake pops are dry, remove and enjoy!

CAKE BALLS

Steps:

• Bake cake according to directions on package.
• Let cool completely.
• Crumble cake mix in large bowl and mix in container of icing.
• Mix well (I find it is easiest to use hands).
• Refrigerate for approximately 30 minutes or until it will hold together when rolled into a 2 inch ball.
• In saucepan over low heat or double boiler, melt almond bark.
• Roll cake mixture into 2 inch balls.
• Dip balls in melted almond bark and set on waxed paper to dry.

STRAWBERRY CAKE FROM SCRATCH

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two 9 inch round cake pans.
• In a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugar and dry strawberry gelatin until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Combine the flour and baking powder; stir into the batter alternately with the milk. Blend in vanilla and strawberry puree. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.
• Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a small knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow cakes to cool in their pans over a wire rack for at least 10 minutes, before tapping out to cool completely.