Updated 12/2025: Since this recipe was shared originally back in 2017, it has become one of our most loved posts on the blog! We are constantly asked how we make our famous cake balls, and we are so happy to share how you can recreate these beauties yourself with our step by step guide below. With that in mind, we decided to give this popular post a little “face lift” with some updated photos as well as simplified some of the steps below to make it even easier for you to recreate our fan favorite balls. This is the cake ball recipe that started it all, providing a spring board for other flavors that have become fan and family favorites including Pumpkin Cake Balls, Funfetti Cake Balls, Lemon Velvet Cake Balls, and so many more! Be sure to check them all our under our “Balls” category from the homepage. Enjoy!
Before this post, we never thought we would be able to make our own cake balls. Like many, we always thought about trying to make some from scratch, but never got around to it. Knowing what we know now, we had to share how easy it is to make these amazing creations at home! We cannot stress enough how easy it is to make them, and they are so much better homemade than bought from a store.
Cake balls are awesome because you have so many options. First, you pick a cake flavor. Next, pair it with your choice of frosting. Last, choose your dipped chocolate coating flavor. In three steps, you can create endless combinations. For our first attempt we chose to start with chocolate cake, chocolate frosting, and used chocolate melting wafers for dipping. Can you tell we love chocolate? 🙂
The fact that they are bite sized pieces of cake did not help our diets, but they have definitely become a favorite dessert option for any type of occasion. We hope you find them just as easy to make as we did. We just made these delicious treats and gave them out as Valentine’s Day gifts — so cute! Let us know which combination you decided to make in the comments of this post, or share with us on Instagram or Facebook with #crumbsandchaos and tag @the_crumbsandchaos! Happy baking!
Get the recipe below!
What You Need:
Our Classic Chocolate Cake
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups (265g) all-purpose flour
- 1 2/3 cups (340g) white granulated sugar
- 2/3 cup (60g) unsweetened natural cocoa powder
- 2 tsp (12g) baking soda
- 1 tsp (4g) baking powder
- 1/2 tsp (1.5g) kosher salt
Wet Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (120ml) vegetable oil
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 1 1/2 tsp (6g) pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (240ml) whole milk
- 1 cup (240ml) hot water with instant coffee
Chocolate Frosting
- 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3 cups (360g) powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup (45g) unsweetened natural cocoa powder
- 3 Tbsp (45g) whole milk, room temperature
- 2 tsp (8g) vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp (1g) kosher salt
Chocolate for Dipping/Topping
- 24 oz. (680g) Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Melting Wafers
- 2 Tbsp (27g) vegetable oil
- Sprinkles (optional)
Step by Step:
- Bake The Cake:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spray 2 9-inch Round Cake Pans with Baker’s Joy or your preferred pan release. Set aside.
3. Go ahead and remove your butter from the fridge (for the frosting) and set aside on your counter so that it can begin to warm to room temperature.
4. Place eggs in a separate bowl, and beat them lightly. Set aside.
5. Measure out 1 cup (237g) of hot water and dissolve your instant coffee in it. Set aside.
6. In a large bowl, add all your dry ingredients together (flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt) and thoroughly combine.
7. Next, stir in your wet ingredients one at a time in the following order (thoroughly combining after each addition)…vegetable oil, eggs, vanilla extract, milk, and lastly, your hot coffee. Please be aware that the hot coffee will make your batter very thin. This is exactly how it should be, so don’t panic!
8. Fill your cake pans equally with your cake batter. Bake cakes for 30-35 minutes, using a toothpick to test if the batter is ready (if the toothpick comes out clean, they are done baking). Allow your cakes to completely cool (I placed mine in the fridge to speed up this process). - Make Your Frosting: Cream your room temperature butter with a hand or stand mixer until smooth. Add in your powdered sugar, cocoa powder and salt, then mix in your milk and vanilla extract until you create a light and fluffy texture. Set aside.
- Make Your Cake Balls: Break your cakes up into chunks and place them into a large bowl. Add in your frosting and stir until incorporated. If you have a stand mixer, you can simply add the cake and frosting to your mixing bowl and mix on low for a minute to fully mix together in no time. Next, place your cake and frosting mixture in the fridge for at least 30 – 45 minutes (or you can leave it in the fridge overnight – our recommendation). This will help firm up your mixture in order to form the balls easier. Once firm, start forming 1 inch balls from your mixture and place each ball in a shallow baking pan lined with parchment paper. Cover and return your cake balls to the fridge to firm up for another 30-45 minutes (or, again, you can leave them overnight to chill and firm up).
- Dip Cake Balls: Melt your Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Melting Wafers according to the package. The only note I have on this step is to not overheat. Start with 1 minute, stir, and then return the chocolate to the microwave for additional 30 second intervals until the chocolate is melted all the way through and smooth. You don’t want to overheat because it will make the chocolate too thin (or it will create a thickness that does not coat the cake balls with a smooth surface). Once melted, stir in your 2 Tbsp (27g) of vegetable oil to help make the chocolate smooth. Use a fork or dipper to begin dipping each chilled cake ball into the chocolate. Let remaining chocolate run off back into the bowl and simply place each ball on the parchment paper to harden. We like to use a toothpick to slide each ball off the fork and onto our parchment paper. If you want to add sprinkles or any type of topping, add it right after you place each cake ball onto the parchment before it hardens. Continue until all cake balls are coated with chocolate. Voilà! Now, you have homemade chocolate cake balls!
You can store these in an airtight container for up to a week (mine were eaten well before that!). You can also place in an airtight container and keep chilled in the fridge. I personally LOVED the chilled option. 🙂
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Note: We love getting creative with how we decorate our cake balls. You will notice we notoriously drizzle most of our creations with dark or white chocolate once coated, then top while still wet with various sprinkle options, depending on the occasion. We are sharing some of our custom creations below for a bit of fun inspiration! Let me know which ones you love the most in the comments, or create yours and tag us with @the_crumbsandchaos.
Homemade Chocolate Cake Balls
Ingredients
CHOCOLATE CAKE
Dry Ingredients:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour 265g
- 1 2/3 cups white granulated sugar 340g
- 2/3 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder 60g
- 2 tsp (12g) baking soda
- 1 tsp (4g) baking powder
- 1/2 tsp (1.5g) kosher salt
Wet Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil 120ml
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1 1/2 tsp (6g) pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup whole milk 240ml
- 1 cup hot water with instant coffee 240ml
CHOCOLATE FROSTING
Dry Ingredients:
- 3 cups powdered sugar 360g
- 1/2 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder 45g
- 1/4 tsp (1g) kosher salt
Wet Ingredients:
- 1 cup unsalted butter 226g, room temperature
- 3 Tbsp (45g) whole milk room temperature
- 2 tsp (8g) vanilla extract
CHOCOLATE FOR DIPPING:
- Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Melting Wafers 24 ounces
- 2 Tbsp (27g) vegetable oil
- Sprinkles optional
Instructions
Bake The Cake:
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Spray 2 9-inch Round Cake Pans with Baker’s Joy or your preferred pan release. Set aside.
- Go ahead and remove your butter from the fridge (for the frosting) and set aside on your counter so that it can begin to warm to room temperature.
- Place eggs in a separate bowl, and beat them lightly. Set aside.
- Measure out 1 cup of hot water and dissolve your instant coffee in it. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, add all your dry ingredients together (flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt) and thoroughly combine.
- Next, stir in your wet ingredients one at a time in the following order (thoroughly combining after each addition)…vegetable oil, eggs, vanilla extract, milk, and lastly, your hot coffee. Please be aware that the hot coffee will make your batter very thin. This is exactly how it should be, so don’t panic!
- Fill your cake pans equally with your cake batter. Bake cakes for 30-35 minutes, using a toothpick to test if the batter is ready (if the toothpick comes out clean, they are done baking). Allow your cakes to completely cool (I placed mine in the fridge to speed up this process).
Make your Frosting:
- Cream your room temperature butter with a hand or stand mixer until smooth. Add in your powdered sugar, cocoa powder and salt, then mix in your milk and vanilla extract until you create a light and fluffy texture. Set aside.
Make Your Cake Balls:
- Break your cakes up into chunks and place them into a large bowl. Add in your frosting and stir until incorporated. If you have a stand mixer, you can simply add the cake and frosting to your mixing bowl and mix on low for a minute to fully mix together in no time. Next, place your cake and frosting mixture in the fridge for at least 30 – 45 minutes (or you can leave it in the fridge overnight – our recommendation). This will help firm up your mixture in order to form the balls easier. Once firm, start forming 1 inch balls from your mixture and place each ball in a shallow baking pan lined with parchment paper. Cover and return your cake balls to the fridge to firm up for another 30-45 minutes (or, again, you can leave them overnight to chill and firm up).
Dip Cake Balls:
- Melt your Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Melting Wafers (24 ounces) according to the package. The only note I have on this step is to not overheat. Start with 1 minute, stir, and then return the chocolate to the microwave for additional 30 second intervals until the chocolate is melted all the way through and smooth. You don’t want to overheat because it will make the chocolate too thin (or it will create a thickness that does not coat the cake balls with a smooth surface). Once melted, stir in your 2 Tbsp of vegetable oil to help make the chocolate smooth. Use a fork or dipper to begin dipping each chilled cake ball into the chocolate. Let remaining chocolate run off back into the bowl and simply place each ball on the parchment paper to harden. We like to use a toothpick to slide each ball off the fork and onto our parchment paper. If you want to add sprinkles or any type of topping, add it right after you place each cake ball onto the parchment before it hardens. Continue until all cake balls are coated with chocolate. Voilà! Now, you have homemade chocolate cake balls!
