circus animal cake balls

Are you surprised I made more cake balls? Haha they are like, my go-to dessert. I've been getting bored with baking lately, and wanted to try something a little bit different. So… introducing… circus animal cake balls! I've heard of Oreo cake balls, so I wanted to see what these would taste like. This was also my first time using cream cheese instead of cream cheese frosting. I'm still undecided about which is better. (Red velvet cake balls need cream cheese frosting allll the way though.)

So, read a long if you'd like the recipe and tips on how to make smooth cake balls!

1 / Grind 16 oz (one bag) of Mother's circus animal cookies in a food processor. I like chunks, so I didn't process it too long, but it's up to you.

2 / Mix circus animal crumbs with 12 oz (one package) of cream cheese at ROOM TEMPERATURE. Room temperature is key, folks. It will make your life 10x easier. I used an electric mixer for this because I have baby arms and get tired using a wooden spoon. 

3 / Roll into balls and place on a cookie sheet. I ended up having 40 balls, but I like to make them small (because cuteness, ya know?) so it's really up to you.

4 / Melt white chocolate almond bark in the microwave in a paper cup. I like to use a paper cup because it makes your chocolate go further because you can use more of it due to the skinny cup instead of a wide bowl.  *I also like to use a paper cup because after about three rounds of heating the chocolate up, the bottom of the cup will burn a little bit and I absolutely love the smell of burning paper/campfire.* I usually put it in for one minute, and if it isn't all melted I'll put it back in for another 30 seconds. Mix one or two drops of red food coloring into the melted chocolate to get a pink color. 

5 / Ok, here's the trick to getting smooth cake balls that don't have a ton of chocolate build up at the bottom. Before you pick up the cake ball, smash it onto the cookie sheet a little bit, so it has a flat-ish bottom, not too flat, but just flat enough that it will sit like you want it to. Dip the opposite side (not the flat-ish side) in the chocolate and wave it around in a circle to get any excess chocolate off. Place flat-side down on a cookie sheet and allow to cool. This will make the tops of your cake balls really smooth! I added more chocolate to the tops of mine because I forgot to add sprinkles, but if you do this it will make them smooth.

6 / Do that to all of the cake balls, and the start back at the beginning (the chocolate should be dried) and dip the flat side in chocolate and set flat side down.

7 / Let the chocolate harden and you're done! I like to keep them in the fridge, because there's just something about warm cake balls that grosses me out 100%. 

I hope you enjoy! 

XOXO

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