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Brownie Balls Versus Cake Balls: A Valentine’s Day Showdown
This weekend, my kids and I set out to make brownie balls with my favorite brownie recipe. Brownie balls are the cake balls’ darker, more mysterious cousin, and they happen to exist because I, personally, don’t like cake balls. I know, right? Am I the only person on the planet who thinks that they are so overly sweet I can feel the diabetes kicking in the minute I take a nibble?
Nothing against the cake ball, though. If you like them, go for it. If you’ve ever seen Bakerella’s cake ball designs, you’ll know exactly how cute they can be. So, I set out to make a cake ball that I was interested in consuming. The answer, of course, was to use one of my favorite standby desserts, the brownie.
Brownies are naturally sticky and gooey, so there’s no need to go adding in extra frosting to get them to stick together. Instead, just cut the pan into squares, give the edges to your edge-loving husband and mash the insides into the perfect cake ball – err, brownie ball shapes.
I kept it simple this time, opting for just good ol’ fashioned spheres that I dipped into two colors and sprinkled with a few Valentine’s Day sprinkles, lovingly applied by my daughters while the boys hovered and stole brownie bits.
Brownie Balls
1 8″ pan of your favorite brownies (I used these dark chocolate brownies)
15-20 4″ sticks (available at Michaels and baking supply stores)
2 cups candy coating melting disks in color of your choice
2 tablespoons sprinkles
Remove outer crust of the brownies and set aside. This can be eaten at any time. Go to town. place the rest of the brownie in a medium-sized bowl. Use a fork to mash it up into crumbles. Grab a small amount and roll into quarter-sized balls. Place a stick in each ball and press around base to hold steady. Place on lined cookie sheet and freeze until firm.
Over a double boiler, melt melting disks or chocolate. You can use a small amount of vegetable oil or shortening to thin the disks for easier coverage, if desired. Dip frozen brownie balls into the melted chocolate, evenly coating. Spin lightly to remove drips and then sprinkle with decorations of your choice.
Stick the sticks into a piece of foam to hold in place while you wait for them to set. When set, you can serve at will.
Makes 15-20 brownie balls.
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12 Comments
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Katie Goodman and wenderly, Shaina Olmanson. Shaina Olmanson said: I made brownie balls for Valentine's Day w/ kids. Think cake ball but brownies. http://bit.ly/hGKfoq {new post on @Babblefood} [...]
Tweets that mention Brownie Balls versus Cake Balls | The Family Kitchen -- Topsy.com commented on Feb 14 11 at 3:58 pmAmber | Bluebonnets & Brownies commented on Feb 14 11 at 3:30 pmI totally agree. I’m not a cake ball fan. But I would be all over these!
Donna commented on Feb 14 11 at 3:37 pmI make a very similar recipe and they are a staple on our Christmas cookie platter :-) Great with crushed peppermints on top at Christmas!
Amanda commented on Feb 14 11 at 3:46 pmI think I would Definitely prefer brownies to the cake version! :)
Tracy commented on Feb 14 11 at 7:12 pmWow, I’ve never tried brownie balls before! Yum!
Sylvie @ Gourmande in the Kitchen commented on Feb 14 11 at 10:06 pmOh, I don’t know if a could choose between them! I guess I would go for cake balls for vanilla and brownies balls for chocolate.
Brenda @ a farmgirl's dabbles commented on Feb 14 11 at 10:52 pmI’ve been wanting to try brownie balls myself. My girls would have way too much fun with this!!
Valerie commented on Feb 15 11 at 12:32 pmThanks for the great idea! I like cake balls, but cringe at adding all that frosting. I’ll make these instead, next time! :-)
melissa schlau commented on Feb 15 11 at 12:54 pmAlthough I make cake pops a lot and actually sell them I am not a big fan, like you said just too sweet. Just an FYI, for all those out there that make cake pops or in this case brownie pops instead of putting them in styro foam to dry which can be costly go to your favorite home repair store like Home Depot and get a scrap piece of wood drill holes in it the same size as the sticks, works like a charm and the holes don’t get bigger each time you put a stick in it…mine holds 33 at a time and costs all of 52 cents!
naomi commented on Feb 15 11 at 2:07 pmI’m not a huge cakeball fan, but I do love me some brownie balls! YUM!!!
Karen@Mignardise commented on Feb 16 11 at 2:10 pmWhy didn’t I think of that?
kuchen Pops commented on Mar 07 11 at 7:13 pmWe make cake balls on a regular basis and if you are following the directions on line you will certainly get a toothache. Way to much icing in those recipes. We have been constantly told how smooth and truffle/brownie like our cake balls are. As one of our customers puts it “Brownie on a stick yummy!” To make the best cake ball put in the desired amount of icing you feel is necessary to make the balls shape, trust me it’s less than a quarter of the amount the recipes all state you should be using.
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