Easy Gluten-Free Birthday Cake Balls

I'm finally sharing my Easy Gluten-Free Birthday Cake Ball recipe on the blog because you guys overwhelmingly chose it over salmon bites, chia pudding, and overnight oats!! YOU GUYS - these BALLS. I feel like this convo is taking a turn for the hilariously raunchy, and I kind of love it. Few words about these delicious balls - they're a convenience food. The ingredients may not be 100% perfect, but they're gluten-free, and meant to be made and consumed for special occasions (or if you're like me every single day until they're gone lol). My recipes aren't and won't ever be about perfection, but they do focus on cost effeciency and time saving when possible! I hope YOU LOVE THEM AS MUCH AS I DO!

I’m not sure where or when my obsession with cake balls was born, but the age old question is WHY ARE THEY SO DAMN GOOD?? I mean, essentially, they’re just cake all mixed together - but they’re BETTER than cake. HOW. WHY. These are questions we may never know. I don’t make the rules, I just follow them ya’ll.

My favorite cake balls of all time, are of course from Starbucks - and this remake was inspired by those little pink pops you can find in the pastry shelf at your local Starby’s (anyone else call it Starby’s???). They’re super easy, and a little messy to make, but would be a fun quarantine activity with your littles, and a cool alternative to the traditional birthday cake if you have one to celebrate coming up!

You absolutely CAN put a stick in these balls and make them into pops, but really, it’s just more work. If you want to make pops, you’ll need something like a styrofoam board to stick them in while they dry, and you’ll want to coat the end of each stick in melted candy bark first prior to inserting them into the ball and then coating the ball with candy coating. If you skip this step, you’re balls won’t stay put on the stick. Again, I don’t make the rules, I just follow them, and honestly, we skip the sticks because the balls are perfect as is!

Ok, so without further ado, here’s my beloved Easy Gluten-Free Birthday Cake Ball recipe! I cannot tell you how much we loved these cake balls. We loved them a little TOO MUCH, and as a family we scarfed these down in less than two days, which I don't recommend lol. Why they're definitely "better for you", they aren't what I'd consider a health food! My kids even said over and over, these are better than the ones at Starbucks, and I have to agree!

EASY GLUTEN-FREE BIRTHDAY CAKE BALLS

Ingredients:

One box of gluten-free cake mix (we used THIS one, but any vanilla or funfetti brand you can find should do the trick! I've linked HERE to some other options!)
One (10-16 oz) container of vanilla frosting (I've linked to several cleaner brands HERE)
One package of white chocolate candy coating (I've linked some options HERE, but note that most store-bought almond barks do have soy and/or palm oil, you can always make your own if you prefer. For us because we don't eat these often, convenience wins!)
One package of dye-free sprinkles (I prefer THESE when I can find them)
Safer red-dye (we used THESE to create our pink hue - you can always opt out of a color for your coating and just go with white if you'd like!)

Directions:

Bake your cake according to the instructions on the package. Take it out, then let it cool completely.
Once your cake is cool, crumble it with your hands in a large mixing bowl until it consists of only crumbs.
Add the entire can of frosting to the cake crumbs and then mix well. I used my hands!
Once the cake and frosting is incorporated well, line a baking pan with parchment paper, and then use your hands to make golf ball sized cake balls. Place each ball on the parchment lined pan.
Once you've made all your balls, place them in the fridge/freezer until they've firmed up.
Once they're firm, remove them from the fridge. Follow the instructions on the candy coating package to melt.
If you'd like to add color to your candy coating, slowly add and mix in drops until your desired color is reached.
Take each ball and dip into the coating. I used a fork to help turn the balls, so they're completely coated. Shake excess coating back into the bowl, and place your ball back on the parchment paper. Shake your sprinkles on to the balls while they are still wet.
Continue until all of the balls are coated and sprinkled, then place your balls back into the fridge to firm up.
I kept our balls refrigerated until they were ready to be eaten! You could take them out 30 minutes before eating if you'd like them to be more room temp.