Description
Celebrate the 4th of July with these festive 4th of July Cake Balls, featuring vibrant red, white, and blue layers of moist cake mixed with creamy cream cheese and coated in smooth vanilla melting wafers. Perfect for parties and patriotic gatherings, these bite-sized treats are fun to make and even more fun to eat.
Ingredients
Scale
Cake Mix and Coloring
- 15.25 ounce white cake mix, plus ingredients on box needed to make it
- Red food coloring
- Blue food coloring
Filling and Coating
- 8 ounce block cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 10 oz bag Ghirardelli vanilla melting wafers
- ½ cup red candy melts
- ½ cup blue candy melts
- Red, white, and blue sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat oven: Preheat the oven to 350°F or follow the temperature on the cake mix package. Lightly grease three 8×8 inch baking pans and set aside.
- Prepare cake batter: In a large bowl, combine the cake mix with the ingredients called for on the box and whisk until smooth batter forms.
- Color batter: Divide batter evenly into three bowls. Leave one plain, mix red food coloring into the second bowl and blue food coloring into the third. Add coloring 5 drops at a time mixing until desired hues are reached, using separate spoons for each.
- Bake cakes: Pour each colored batter into its own greased pan. Bake for 16 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean and tops look set.
- Cool cakes: Remove pans from oven and let cool completely on wire racks.
- Crumble cake: Once cooled, crumble each cake into separate bowls.
- Beat cream cheese: Using a hand mixer on medium-high speed, beat cream cheese until smooth and creamy.
- Mix cream cheese with cake: Divide cream cheese into three portions. Add one portion to each crumbled cake and mix until fully incorporated, cleaning the mixer or spatula between colors.
- Form cake balls: Line two baking trays with parchment paper. Take one-inch chunks from each color and roll together with hands to form multi-colored balls. Place balls on prepared trays.
- Chill cake balls: Refrigerate cake balls for 1-2 hours until firm to maintain shape for dipping.
- Melt coating: Using a double boiler or microwave on low/defrost, melt white melting wafers until smooth, stirring every 30 seconds.
- Dip cake balls: Place a cake ball on a fork, dip into melted coating, tap to remove excess and thin coats, then place back on tray. Immediately top with red, white, and blue sprinkles. Repeat with all balls.
- Set coating: Chill dipped cake balls in refrigerator for 15 minutes to allow coating to firm up.
- Serve: Keep cake balls refrigerated until ready to serve and enjoy your festive treat!
Notes
- Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days to maintain freshness.
- Use separate utensils for mixing colored batter to avoid color bleed.
- Chilling the cake balls thoroughly before dipping ensures better shape retention and coating finish.
- If white melting wafers are unavailable, white chocolate chips can be substituted but may need careful melting to avoid burning.
- Store cake balls in a single layer to prevent sticking together.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cake ball
- Calories: 150 kcal
- Sugar: 12 g
- Sodium: 110 mg
- Fat: 8 g
- Saturated Fat: 4 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 18 g
- Fiber: 0.5 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 25 mg
