Insanely Good (and easy) Tiramisu Cake Balls Recipe

Oh my goodness! I have an amazing, easy cake ball recipe to share with you! 

The PTO at my son’s school always puts on a dinner for the teachers during conferences. Since I usually gravitate toward desserts, I signed up to bring some cake balls. And, of course, I had to try something new and different, which led to this easy cake ball recipe!

This time around, the theme was somewhat Italian, with loads of pasta dishes on the menu. So, I decided to experiment a bit. Tiramisu is one of my favorite desserts, and I wondered if I could recreate the idea of it in cake ball form. The short answer is YES! The end result is amazing, and I have tons of requests for the recipe from the teachers. That counts as a win in my book! 

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Yellow Cake (standard 2-layer cake size) – either your favorite recipe or cake mix
• 2 T instant coffee or espresso powder
• 4 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 c Kahlúa
• 3 1/2 – 4 c powdered sugar
• 42 oz baking chocolate or melting discs for coating
• Cocoa powder for decorating

Let’s Get Started!

First, you need to make the cake. I used a recipe from my “Best Recipe Cookbook”, but any yellow cake recipe or box mix will do here. The key is adding the expresso powder or instant coffee to the wet ingredients before mixing everything together. This gives you a nice, coffee flavored cake for the base. 

Side note – this cake is so good my son has requested it for his birthday!

After you’ve added the coffee to the wet ingredients, make the cake as directed. You can bake in layers or in a large pan, whatever you have on hand. The end shape doesn’t matter at all. It will all be crumbled up anyway. 

Let the finished cake cool completely. Then crumble the entire cake into a large bowl. You want it to be very fine, almost the consistency of sand. I find the best way to do this is to break off chunks of cake and rub it between your fingers. Make sure you don’t have any large chunks of cake in the mix. 

Now, it’s time to make the frosting. 

Put your softened cream cheese into a medium sized bowl. Add the Kahlúa and powdered sugar. Start with 3 1/2 cups of powdered sugar and only add more if needed for consistency. Combine using an electric mixer (or a whisk and lots of elbow grease if you don’t have an electric mixer). 

This will not look like a lot of frosting, but it will be enough. The secret to good cake balls is actually less frosting. Too much, and they end up being a gooey mess. You want the frosting to be spreadable, but not so thick that it could stand up on its own. It should also not be so thin that you can pour it out of the bowl.

Add the frosting to the cake crumbles. Mix together using a rubber spatula, spoon or your hands. Honestly, I find that using my hands is the best way to get it all blended together. You want all of the crumbs coated with frosting and the entire mixture to be the same consistency. 

Shape into balls and place them on a lined baking sheet. For smaller, more bite-sized cake balls, use a tablespoon for each ball.  For larger balls, use about 2 tablespoons per ball. Cookie scoops work really well here.

Place your tray of balls in the freezer for several hours, or overnight. They will not solidify completely, but you want them to be frozen to make dipping easier. 

Time to dip!

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler, or a glass bowl on top of a pan of boiling water. You will not melt all of the chocolate at once. Start with an amount that works for the size of your bowl or pan. If you get too much chocolate in there, the sides of the bowl will not be hot enough to melt it all evenly. 

Once the chocolate is melted, start dipping! Work in small batches of 5 or so at a time and keep the rest of the balls in the freezer so they don’t thaw. For a full set of instructions on my technique for dipping, check out my blog post on How to Make Best Selling Oreo Truffles.  Once you’ve dipped 5 balls, dust them with cocoa powder, using a shaker or sieve. You need to shake on the cocoa powder before the chocolate sets, otherwise it will just slide off. If you prefer to drizzle the tops with melted chocolate or white chocolate, wait until they are all dipped and decorate all at once.

Place the pan of coated balls into the freezer for several hours to help the chocolate set. Then, trim any excess chocolate around the edges using a paring knife. 

Serve them at room temperature, or chilled if you prefer. They will keep well in the freezer for several months, assuming they stick around that long!

I hope you give these a try and enjoy them as much as we do! If you make some, please let me know and tag @sugarspiceandyarn on social media.