Strawberry Cake Balls (Made with Cake Mix)
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Scrumptious strawberry cake balls feature tender cake combined with a creamy strawberry filling and coated in rich chocolate. You’ll need just 4 simple ingredients for the perfect bite-sized dessert.
From the first bite, you will fall in love with our strawberry cake truffles. And these irresistible cake balls are an easy treat for celebrations, potlucks or simply satisfying your sweet tooth. They are sure to become a family and guest favorite!
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We’re sharing tips to help you get the best results with this recipe. If you don’t need the tips, scroll to the bottom for the full recipe and a printable recipe card.
We used freeze-dried berries in place of fresh strawberries in this easy recipe. The freeze dried berries add the perfect amount of strawberry flavor without worrying about the juice from the fresh fruit affecting the texture of the filling. But don’t worry, they’re still bursting with strawberry flavor!
Back in the winter I made peppermint cake balls and Biscoff truffles. And these red velvet cake balls are perfect for Christmas and Valentine’s Day. So next up is a Spring and Summer version, like these zesty lemon cake balls. These are a fun treat for an everyday dessert, but are also great for baby showers, birthday parties, and get-togethers.
Craving more strawberry flavor?
Strawberry Cake Balls Ingredients
- boxed cake mix – I used Betty Crocker vanilla cake mix.
- cream cheese – make sure to allow time for it to soften so it’s easier to mix.
- freeze-dried strawberries – adds strawberry flavor without making the batter soggy like fresh berries would.
- vanilla melting wafers – I used the Ghirardelli brand.
- Wilton red candy melts – these are used to decorate the strawberry cake pops.
Get the complete ingredients & directions in the recipe card below.
How to Make Strawberry Cake Balls with Cake Mix
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
We’re going to start by heat treating the cake mix. Spread the dry cake mix onto the prepared pan and bake for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely before proceeding.
While the dry cake mix is cooling, use an electric mixer set to medium speed to beat the cream cheese in a large mixing bowl until smooth.
Fold the heat-treated cake mix into the cream cheese using a rubber spatula. Finish mixing with the hand mixer until it’s a dough-like consistency.
Stir in the freeze dried strawberries.
Cover the cake batter and chill for 2 hours in the refrigerator.
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or wax paper. Use a 1.5 tablespoon cookie scoop to portion out the dough. Roll dough between the palms of your hands. Place the cake balls on the baking sheets. Set aside for 15 minutes, to allow the dough to rest and expand.
Melt the white candy melts on the stovetop using a double boiler or microwave in 30 second intervals in a microwave safe bowl, stirring in between cook sessions, until melted.
Place a dough ball on a fork and dip into the melted wafers until it’s fully covered. Lift the cake pop out and gently tap the fork on the edge of the bowl to let the excess chocolate drip off. Place the coated cake ball on the parchment-lined baking sheet.
Repeat with the remaining balls, spacing them 2 inches apart on the lined pan. If using the optional garnish, immediately sprinkle on additional crushed freeze-dried berries before the coating sets up.
Garnishing and Decorating Ideas
I use a couple methods for decorating the strawberry cake pops.
Sprinkle on crushed freeze dried berries for a simple garnish. You’ll want to do this right after coating the pops so the crushed berries stick to the coating.
Or you can decorate with melted chocolate for a fancier look. Simply melt the red candy wafers in a small bowl before transferring to a piping bag to decorate the tops.
Why Heat Treat the Cake Mix?
The dry ingredients need to be heat treated because it contains unbaked flour. Traditionally when making cakes the batter gets baked so this step isn’t necessary.
However, since these cake balls are technically “no-bake” we have to heat treat it to kill the bacteria in the flour that could lead to salmonella.
Tips for Making Cake Balls with Strawberry Cake Mix
- If preferred, heat treat the cake mix in the microwave by placing it in a medium bowl and microwaving for 3 minutes. Stir every 30 seconds to ensure it’s heating evenly and there are no hot spots.
- Don’t skip chilling the dough, as it makes the cake balls easier to work with.
- Letting the dough balls sit after rolling gives them time to expand and also helps to avoid cracking the chocolate after they are coated.
- These need to stay cool. If you are serving for a crowd, leave them in the fridge until you are ready to serve to avoid the chocolate melting or sweating.
Recipes Substitutions and Variations
- Cake mix: swap the vanilla for strawberry cake mix, lemon, or chocolate. These are all delicious with the strawberry flavor.
- Chocolate coating: I prefer using Ghirardelli wafers (or their white chocolate chips) to coat the truffles because it’s a higher quality chocolate and easy to work with.
- Omit the freeze dried strawberries – if you don’t want to use these, go with a strawberry cake mix instead and leave these out.
- Decorating: Wilton candy melts are great for decorating. Feel free to swap out the red candy melts for other colors to make festive holiday sweet treats. If you want to add any garnishes like cake crumbs, cookie crumbles, or sprinkles just be sure to add or dip them before the chocolate sets up.
- No bake strawberry cake pops – when you are ready to coat the balls, dip the end of a lollipop stick into the melted chocolate, then insert into the cake ball. Dip the cake ball as usual, then place the cake pop in a stand while it sets up.
How to Store Leftover Cake Balls
Store set cake balls in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
These bite-sized Strawberry Cake Balls are sure to become a family favorite. The delightful combination of fluffy cake, cream cheese and strawberry flavor makes them perfect for parties or to satisfy your sweet cravings.
More Delicious No Bake Sweet Treats
- No Bake Lemon Icebox Pie
- Summer Berry Cheesecake Salad
- Red White and Blue Pretzel Salad
- No Bake Eclair Cake {Homemade Glaze}
Strawberry Cake Balls
Ingredients
- 15.25 ounce box vanilla cake mix, I used Betty Crocker
- 8 ounce block cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- ½ cup freeze-dried strawberries, roughly chopped
- 2 10- ounce bags Ghirardelli vanilla melting wafers
- ½ cup Wilton red candy melts, optional for decorating
- Crushed freeze dried strawberries, optional for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Heat treat the cake mix: line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread the cake mix onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.
- As the cake mix cools, place the softened cream cheese in a medium mixing bowl and beat with a hand mixer on Medium-high speed until it’s smooth and creamy.
- Add the cooled cake mix into the bowl, folding it into the cream cheese by giving it a couple turns with a rubber spatula. Finish mixing with your hand mixer on Medium-high speed until it’s fully combined and a dough-like consistency.
- Fold in the freeze dried strawberries until fully combined.
- Cover the cake mix dough with plastic wrap and allow it to chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
- Once chilled, line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Use a 1 ½ tablespoon cookie scoop to portion the dough and place dough balls onto the baking sheets. Using your hands, roll each portion into smooth and even balls. Set aside for about 15 minutes, to allow the dough to expand. This reduces the chances of the coating cracking.
- Prepare a double boiler on the stovetop to melt the vanilla melting wafers or use a microwave safe bowl and microwave on a low setting in 30 seconds increments, stirring between each time, until fully melted. The double boiler method works best as it keeps the melted wafers at a consistent temperature.
- Place one dough ball on a fork and carefully lower it into the melted vanilla wafers, making sure it’s fully covered. Lift it out and gently tap the fork on the edge of the bowl or pot to remove any excess coating from the dough ball. Place the coated balls onto the lined baking sheet.
- Repeat with the remaining dough balls, spacing them about 2 inches apart on the tray. If using the crushed freeze dried strawberries, immediately sprinkle them on top of the prepared dough balls before the coating dries.
- Place the red candy melts in small microwave-safe piping bags and microwave on a low setting until fully melted, massaging the bags to ensure the candy melts have completely melted..
- Cut a small piece from the tip of the piping bag and drizzle onto the chocolate coated cake balls.
- Allow the cake balls to set completely before storing or serving.
Notes
- Substitute other cake mix flavors like strawberry, lemon and chocolate mixes.
- The cake mix can be heat-treated in the microwave if preferred: place cake mix in a microwave-safe bowl and heat for 3 minutes, stirring the cake mix every 30 seconds to ensure it is heating evenly and to avoid hot spots. Allow to cool as directed.
- Don’t skip chilling the dough – it makes it easier to roll the dough into balls.
- The dough balls will expand a bit after you’ve rolled them. To avoid cracking, let them sit for 15 minutes before dipping them into the melted wafers.
- I don’t recommend using fresh berries with this recipe because the juice will make the cake balls soggy.
Nutritional Estimate
Nutritional information is provided as a reference, using an online calculator. We recommend verifying the information independently for accuracy.
