Cake Balls

Book excerpt: Food author Dede Wilson presents a delectable dessert baking book with Cake Balls: More Than 60 Delectable & Whimsical Sweet Spheres of Goodness. Just as delightful to eat as they are portable and fun to make, cake balls have been making appearances across the country in bakeries, upscale restaurants, children’s parties, and weddings. Innovating mom and prolific home baker, blogger, and author, Dede Wilson ushers in this popular trend in baking with over sixty delicious and decadent recipes. Cake balls are a combination of crumbled cake and frosting rolled into generous bite-size rounds and then dipped in a coating, usually dark, milk, or white chocolate. There is a cake ball for every party, holiday, bake sale, and any other occasion, and these sweet treats are sure to be a standout in an array of ordinary baked goods. Cake Balls begins with nine basic cake recipes and ten basic frostings, ganaches, and glazes, which Wilson spins, with some design tricks and extra ingredients, into sixty-three distinctive creations, each handsomely photographed in full color. The recipes include kid-friendly ideas, such as Jam-Filled Cake Balls, S’mores, and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cake Balls; sophisticated treats like Cocoa-Dusted Truffle Cake Balls and Cranberry-Toffee-Walnut Cake Balls; and whimsical creations like Teddy Bears, Cake Ball Pumpkins, and the statement-making Cake Ball Tower, made of cream puffs. Wilson offers inspiration for baking pros with tips for original cake ball inventions, and guidance for rookies and bakers-on-the-go with tips on making cake balls from a mix.