I admire anyone who has the patience to make Cake Pops. I really do.
I’m just not that patient when it comes to tediously decorating things that I want to stuff in my face.
The thought of dipping, sticking, balancing, and making intricate designs on a sticky ball of chocolate really doesn’t send me running to the kitchen. Cake balls, on the other hand, are an impatient girl’s best friend. You don’t need sticks, Styrofoam, or much patience at all.
Cake balls are traditionally made with just a few ingredients: a baked cake, a tub of frosting, and chocolate for dipping. You simply crumble up a baked cake, mix in frosting, shape into balls, and dip in chocolate. This, my friends, is a recipe that’s just begging to be played with!
I have a bit of a confession first though. This recipe actually started off as an actual cupcake recipe. My plan was to create gluten-free and vegan hostess cupcakes. I adapted my vegan chocolate cake recipe using an all-purpose gluten-free flour which was kindly sent to me by a Canadian GF flour company called Cuisine Soleil.
The GF cupcakes:
The GF flour worked quite well and tasted lovely, however the cupcakes were a tad bit delicate for what I was trying to do (stuff them with coconut whipped cream). I’d like to play around with my own gluten-free flour mix at some point, but that will probably take some development. Since I didn’t want to share a recipe with you that I wasn’t fully happy with, I decided to turn lemons into lemonade…
Enter cake balls. The perfect solution for any crumbly baking outcome!
With cake balls, we don’t need to worry too much about making the “perfect” cake since we’ll be crumbling it to pieces anyway. You can use almost any flour you wish without much worry. Instead of using frosting – which didn’t really appeal to me in an already sweet cake – I used full-fat coconut milk (the cream portion only) as the binding agent. By using coconut cream the sugar content is lowered greatly. [If you’d like a refresher on how to use coconut cream, see this post.]
Unlike baking a normal cake, no self control is required with cake balls because you can sample away and no one will be the wiser!
The amount of coconut cream you use will depend on how sticky your want your batter. My first batch had a bit too much coconut cream (and stuck to my hands a lot when rolling). I think I used about 1 cup of coconut cream in my first trial. For the second batch, I used 1/2-3/4 cup of coconut cream and it was the perfect consistency. The amount you need will likely vary based on what type of flour you use in your cupcakes. You’ll have to eye ball this one and just add a little bit at a time. Eric and I both preferred the trial using less coconut cream, so I suggest adding it slowly and only use just enough.
Mix the coconut cream into the crumbled cake with your hands and then roll it into balls. These two pictures below are from my first trial. As you can see the dough looks a bit too sticky. My second trial was much more crumbly/dry in texture.
Now simply freeze the balls and then dip them into melted chocolate!
I wanted to naturally colour some shredded coconut, so I smashed a raspberry into a few tablespoons of coconut. It worked like a charm – no red food colouring needed. I also used chopped walnuts and natural sprinkles (the brand is Let’s Do…Sprinklez).
The texture of the cake ball is a bit like a truffle with a firm shell and a soft middle. Eric wasn’t a fan of the mushy texture in my first batch, but after I reduced the coconut cream in my second batch he enjoyed them a lot. You can play around with the amount to suit your own preferences.
Vegan and Gluten Free Chocolate Cake Balls
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Yield: around 24 cake balls
for the cake:
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/3 cup grapeseed oil (or other light-tasting oil of choice)*
- 1/2 tbsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup organic cane sugar (or unrefined sugar like coconut sugar)
- 1.5 cups gluten-free all purpose flour (I used Cuisine Soleil) or flour of choice
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder, sifted
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp fine grain sea salt
for the cake balls:
- 1 can full-fat chilled coconut milk (do not use light coconut milk) (I only used 1/2-3/4 cup cream)
- 200-225 grams non-dairy semi-sweet chocolate chips or dark chocolate
- 1 tsp coconut oil, to thin out chocolate
- toppings: shredded coconut, chopped nuts, sprinkles, etc
1. Chill can of coconut milk overnight in the fridge. Preheat oven to 350F and spray a muffin tin with oil. You can also bake a whole cake instead of cupcakes, but the cooking time will likely be longer.
2. In a large bowl, stir the milk with the apple cider vinegar. Let it sit for a few minutes to curdle – this makes vegan buttermilk.
3. With an electric beater, beat in the oil, vanilla, and sugar into the almond milk mixture.
4. Add the dry ingredients (gluten-free flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt). Beat mixture until smooth.
5. Evenly distribute the batter among the cupcake tin. I like to use an ice cream scoop with a spring release button. Bake cake at 350F for about 20-23 minutes, or until the cake springs back when touched.
6. Cool cupcakes for 5 minutes in the tin and then carefully transfer to a cooling rack for another 10 minutes. Crumble cake into a large bowl.
7. Scoop out coconut cream from the can (if you need a refresher, see this post). Add a little bit of cream at a time to the crumbled cake and mix it in with your hands. You will only need to use enough to make it come together (I used about 1/2 – 3/4 cup coconut cream) and you don’t want to oversaturate the cake with cream.
8. Shape dough into 1-inch balls and freeze the balls for 30-60 minutes until firm.
9. Melt chocolate and coconut oil in a small pot over lowest heat. When 2/3 of the chips are melted, remove from heat, and stir until chips are melted. Dip the balls into the chocolate with a fork and swirl around until fully coated. Tap off excess and transfer to a cooling rack so the chocolate can drip off (put paper towel underneath). Sprinkle with chopped nuts, coconut, or sprinkles. Transfer to fridge or freezer until the chocolate is set. Store in the fridge until ready to enjoy.
For approx. nutritional info, see here.
Note: I imagine coconut oil or extra virgin olive oil both work fine as subs for grapeseed oil.
Moral of the story….when life gives you a crumbly cake or brownie, make cake balls!
Chocolate covered is all I had to read, but the cake ball part doesn’t hurt, either. Such a simple recipe – and just begging to be made for Valentine’s day!
I love that the cake recipe is not complicated – and that all I have to do is squish it in a bal in case it turns out ugly! :)
I totally admire anyone who is able to make desserts that normally contain dairy, vegan. I am just not creative enough when it comes to vegan baking. Thank goodness people like you exist! ;)
These are the most delightful little creations! Perfect for Valentines Day ;) I’m a big Apple Cider Vinegar fan but didn’t realise you could use it in baking. What does the ACV do here exactly (what does it add to the recipe)?
Thanks Angela.
While everyone else can say they look delicious, and they do; I actually made these last night, and they are amazing! I love that they’re so pretty too; they really have that wow factor. I used a little more than half a cup of coconut cream, and they were perfection. The center was some sort of brownie-truffle-cake amalgamation. So good!
Hey Nichole, Oh Im so glad to hear that! Thanks for reporting back :)
These sound amazing!!!
This is the best gift you could have given me for my name day ;)! Thank you Angela! I’ll make these soon, I can’t wait! I’ve been wanting to make cake balls forever but I’m lactose and gluten intolerant so I had given up on them! Thank you! Valentina :)
Great idea! A good alternative to making a whole cake, and feeling like you have to eat it all within a few days! (Well, that’s how I feel, anyway!) I’m gonna make these for my birthday to share! :)
I love cake pops, they’re a great gift and/or party food but I agree, unless you’ve got a “ruined” cake, they’re a bother to make! :P
Ha ha! This is soooo similar to my vegan, gluten-free carrot cake cup recipe experience this week. I too was hope to make a mini gluten-free carrot cake cupcake for all of my “diet”/gluten-free colleagues at work for a monthly birthday party we celebrate on a monthly basis. My “cupcakes” turned acted the very same way and I ended up turning them into carrot cake balls with a white chocolate frosting. Gluten free flours are very hit and miss. It causes for a lot of improvisation, but there is always a win in the end!
First of all: Thank you Angela for your lovely blog, you were one of my biggest inspirations (and help!) when going vegan two years ago.
I’m an absolute baking beginner. But trying! :) Do you think that this recipe would aslo work with oat flour?
greetings from Finland, Sanna
Thank you Sanna, I appreciate it!
Oat flour would likely yield a heartier, denser, and more rustic texture/taste. If that’s not a problem for you, then by all means feel free to experiment. Goodluck!
I totally agree – cake pops are delicious but way too much work! Can’t wait to try this!
Great variation!
They look delicious and I will have to try!
Thanks for sharing! =)
x
I so agree. The first time I read a recipe on cake balls I think I got about half way through and thought “yea that’s not happening…” Cupcakes for all.
These are adorable! I’m always looking for a good all-purpose GF flour. Thanks for the recipe :)
Also, I was flipping through a past U of Guelph alumni magazine this weekend and saw a feature on you. I felt proud to be Gryphon!
Aw thank you Allison!!
Holy. Yum.
This will be a great recipe to break me about of my single-serving “____-in-a-mug” rut that I’ve been in lately. Can’t wait to try these out!
In terms of creating your own gluten-free mix, my sister (who is currently studying to be a nutritionist) runs a gluten-free baking blog called Cakes “N” Bakes (http://cakesnbakes.wordpress.com/) where she converts recipes and creates some of her own. She bases most of her baking on a mix that is:
2 cups brown rice flour (extra finely ground)
2/3 cup potato starch
1/3 cup tapioca starch
And her stuff comes out amazing! (Especially her cake). I know gluten free baking can be super tough, so lots of luck and can’t wait to see the good things that come out of your experimentation!
These look PERFECT! YUM! <3
I made these tonight and they turned out PERFECTLY! I loved the texture and flavor. Amazing. Thank you so much for the recipe! I can’t wait to watch people devour them and then tell them they’re vegan ;-) sneaky sneaky!!
This recipe is delicious… I made heart shaped cupcakes for my kids using spelt flour… Huge hit… My husband was amazed at how moist and delicious they were, he couldn’t believe they were vegan and gluten free…
Just a quick not, Cheistina, spelt is a type of wheat, so it is not gluten free.
Those look so perfect for Valentines day. Your pictures are so awesome. :)
Made these to bring in for my co-workers today and they have been a major hit! I almost couldn’t relinquish them from my grip…
I lightened up the recipe too and they were still amazing and chocolatey and all for only 98 cals! I subbed applesauce for the 1/3 c. of oil and only needed 1/3 cup of coconut milk…I also used sprouted spelt flour so not sure if that made any difference.
Absolutely amazing, thank you Angela!!
So glad to hear they turned out so well! Thanks for letting me know about the oil. I suspected they would work but it’s good to know from someone who tried them :)
I didn’t realize you could reform crumbled cake into cake balls! This creates so many possibilities!
These look delicious, and as a foodsniffr, I find the ingredients totally luscious ( except for the sugar :(
Agree with the last commenter that coconut cream as icing is an awesomely healthy idea.
@foodsniffr
Hi Angela! Long time lurker, first time commenter. These look amazing, and I’d love to make them for my kids (who have crazy food allergies). One ingredient that they can’t have is almond milk. Could I substitute coconut milk instead? Thanks! :)
Yes you could for sure! I hope you all enjoy them :)
I made these for my family and friends for Valentine’s Day and they received rave reviews from all! They were fun to make with my daughter. Thanks for this easy and delicious receipe.
Is it possible to make this w/o the sugar?
You could swap for an unrefined sugar like coconut but I wouldnt leave it out
Angela, you are brilliant!!! I had to make cake pops for my daughter’s 8th birthday – kids have this tendency to motivate you like nothing else. Anyways, just looking at the recipes and the amount of sugary icing that had to go into them to bind the cake crumbs was spiking up my blood sugar levels)))). I opted for the cake pop maker that I borrowed from a neighbour. It’s a device that kind of works like a waffle maker except it has these “wells”, you drop the batter in, close the lid and 3 minutes later you have the cake balls. My problem with it was that you have to rely on their recipes because they won’t come out perfectly round if your batter is too heavy or too light. The other concern is the teflon coating which is not exactly harmless. I figured one time was enough. Your idea of using coconut cream for binding blew me away. It means we can do them again and have real fun making a big mess in the process! And the raspberry coloured coconut shreds!!! It’s so clever and so simple. I ask myself how come it did not occur to me? My daughter is allergic to food colouring, I have used “Sprinklez” but the colours are a bit dull. This sounds so much better! Thank you for your tireless creativity.
Oh, and I forgot to mention, I came across this formula somewhere on gluten free blogs for creating your own gluten free flour mix: 40% starch (like tapioca or arrowroot) and 60% non gluten flour mix (amaranth, quinoa, sorghum etc.). Some people are saying that with that mix you can skip xanthan gum. In any case, I am sure you’ll experiment with it and let us know how things turned out. ;-)
These were so unbelievably delicious and a perfectly portioned treat. I am still in awe over how good they were. I had them as a sweet with coffee for an afternoon get together and no one could believe they were vegan. I made some plain, and then did toppings on others of coconut, coconut and chopped toasted almonds and pink sea salt. Perfect!
Oh. My. Goodness. I finally got around to making these and now my husband, kids, and I are demolishing the entire (double) batch. I coated them with powdered sugar/cocoa/vanilla soy milk frosting instead of chocolate. Sooooo good!
I made these this past weekend. Although I didn’t take the time to make mine as pretty, they were AMAZING!!!! Highly recommend everyone make these! :)
Hello you have the most amazing recipes thanks so much for sharing love love love your stuff…
I made the cupcakes and used
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup teff flour
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1 tsp xanthan gum
And coconut oil not grasped oil
I am naming all the changes because im not sure which on made the difference but the result was a wonderfull CAKE that held together…
Beautiful , light, and rose well so well im sure it would work as a cake not just cupcakes…
Thanks again
tabitha
Great to know, thanks!
Your website is just fantastic. To be able to make gluten free, dairy free cakes like that is just amazing. I am knew to GF & DF through my own choice to try and help with my RA. I still don’t exclude it altogether as it takes time to change. I made these wonderful mouthfuls of delight today for my sons Foreverday tomorrow (celebration of the day he came to live with us, he’s adopted). They are fantastic. Thank you for all the wonderful things you make. I wish I could send you a piccy, but I don’t know how to on here :)
I made these for a wedding shower this weekend and they were a hit! They also were the only vegan option for sweets at the shower which meant I both made them, and ate my fair share. Or maybe more than my fair share. I blame you.
Just made these and they are fantastic! Have to admit I couldn’t stop eating them along the way!
Hi. Looking forward to making these for my birthday! Can I use stevia instead of cane sugar? If so, how much? THANKS!
I could not find your nut-free alternative, which I thought you mentioned there was one. Not only do we have gluten issues, we have dairy and nut allergies as well. It would be great to try this in a way my family could enjoy!
Thanks.
Hi Kim, For a nut-free version you can swap the almond milk for another non-dairy milk (such as soy or coconut) and them omit the nuts on the topping. Hope this helps!
Hi!
Question….can I use soy milk instead of almond milk?
Thanks!!
Christina
actually…just read the post above mine!! hahah never mind!
Hi Angela!
Is there a way of making these without Almond Milk? My husband has a nut allergy and he loves cake!
Steffie
Hey there, Yes I think you could use another non-dairy milk in its place (like soy or coconut milk, for example) enjoy!
I’m Allergic To All Cane Sugar So The Semi-Sweet Chocolate Is A No Go. PAlm Sugar Is Ok THough. Any Suggestions THat Won’t Cost Me An Arm And A Leg? THank You
every time I try to make these, the batter pours over the pan in the oven:( what am I doing wrong?
Loved this recipe! However I didn’t actually make them into cake balls instead I just made the chocolate cake recipe and then dipped them in melted chocolate with coconut oil and it was simply delicious!
would brown rice flour or buckwheat or spelt work ok? or do you think it would affect the taste/texture?
just made this as a cake! baked perfectly at 25 mins. and then i topped it off with your buttercream icing.
husband doesn’t even like cake, but LOVED this.
thank you! thank you! your recipes are such a blessing.
would you consider putting carb counts with your recipes. My daughter is type on diabetic and we carb count to calculate insulin. Many thanks
I used regular flour but these t.urned out so good! Everyone at work thought they were amazing
These are amazing and delicious!!! Wonderful recipe and such a great way to salvage crumbly cake!
Do you have any tips or tricks for getting the chocolate coating so even and smooth looking? Mine do not come nearly as pretty as yours do. Thanks!
I just made these for a friend’s birthday…and had to taste one. They are AMAZING!!!!!