Description
Delicious and easy-to-make Lemon Cake Balls featuring a creamy cream cheese and lemon cake mix dough, coated in smooth vanilla melting wafers and decorated with bright yellow nonpareil sprinkles. Perfect bite-sized treats with a refreshing lemon flavor and a fun, festive look.
Ingredients
Cake Ball Mixture
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened (room temperature)
- 15.25 oz box lemon cake mix
Coating & Decoration
- 10 oz vanilla melting wafers
- Yellow nonpareil sprinkles
Instructions
- Heat Cake Mix: Preheat your oven to 350°F. Spread the lemon cake mix powder onto a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Bake for 5 minutes to heat-treat the raw flour, eliminating any bacteria. Allow the cake mix to cool completely before using.
- Prepare Cake Ball Dough: In a medium mixing bowl, beat the softened cream cheese until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the cooled cake mix powder and continue beating until the mixture forms a soft, dough-like consistency.
- Form Cake Balls: Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Using a medium cookie scoop, portion the dough and gently roll each portion into balls with your hands. Place the formed cake balls on the lined baking sheet.
- Chill Cake Balls: Refrigerate the cake balls on the baking sheet for 2 hours. This chilling step helps the cake balls retain their shape and makes them easier to dip.
- Melt Coating: Melt the vanilla melting wafers in the microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring after each interval until completely smooth and melted.
- Dip Cake Balls: Using a fork, dip each chilled cake ball into the melted wafers. Tap off any excess coating gently on the edge of the bowl, and place the dipped balls back onto the lined baking sheet.
- Decorate: Pour any leftover melted wafers into a piping bag or ziplock bag and snip off a small corner to drizzle over the dipped cake balls. Immediately sprinkle yellow nonpareil sprinkles on top while the coating is still wet.
- Set and Chill: Allow the coating on the cake balls to set completely at room temperature, or place them in the refrigerator for at least 10 minutes to speed up the setting process.
- Store: Keep the lemon cake balls refrigerated until serving to maintain their shape and freshness.
Notes
- Store cake balls in an airtight container lined with a paper towel in the refrigerator for up to one week.
- Avoid leaving cake balls at room temperature as the dough can expand and crack the coating.
- Once coated, cake balls can be frozen in a zipped freezer bag for up to 6 weeks. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
- Variations include swapping the lemon cake mix for other cake flavors, adding freeze-dried berries to the dough, or replacing vanilla melting wafers with almond bark.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes (plus 1 hour of chilling and dough preparation time)
- Cook Time: 5 minutes (to heat treat the cake mix)
- Category: Dessert
- Method: No-Cook
- Cuisine: American
