Strawberry Cake Mix Cake Balls made with a vanilla cake mix, cream cheese and freeze dried strawberries. Dip the cake balls in melted chocolate and add some sprinkles. Simple no bake dessert that is perfect for parties and holidays!
We love cake balls and oreo balls because they come together so quickly and everyone loves them! This version is so simple and the freeze dried strawberries go so well with the vanilla cake mix. Simple strawberries and cream dessert!
Strawberry Cake Mix Cake Balls
Strawberry Cake Mix Cake Balls are so easy to make! Usually cake balls are made by baking a cake and then mixing the baked cake with cream cheese. These cake balls are made with just using the dry cake mix. The only baking is heat treating the flour with this easy cake ball recipe. Mix the dry cake mix with cream cheese and freeze dried strawberries and roll the mixture into balls to dip in melted chocolate. Decorate the cake balls with drizzled chocolate, sprinkles and/or freeze dried strawberries.
Ingredients in Strawberry Cake Mix Cake Balls
Vanilla cake mix – You will need a white or vanilla cake mix. You can use whatever brand you’d like, but the mix should be about 15.25 ounces.
Cream cheese – You need to mix an 8 ounce block of cream cheese with the dry cake mix. Make sure that the cream cheese is softened to room temperature before mixing.
Freeze-dried strawberries – Use ½ cup of chopped, freeze dried strawberries to mix in with the cake ball mixture. You can definitely add more if you’d like. If you don’t love having larger pieces, you can crush the strawberries into a fine powder before mixing in with the cake mix and cream cheese. This will make the whole mixture pink and strawberry flavored! You can also use some crushed freeze dried strawberries to sprinkle on top of the candy coating immediately after dipping the cake balls.
Vanilla melting wafers – The melting wafers are melted to make the coating for the cake balls. I prefer to use 20 ounces of Ghirardelli vanilla melting wafers, but you can use any brand of vanilla melting chocolate (Candiquik or almond bark). You can even use milk chocolate if you’d rather!
Wilton red candy melts – Melting some red candy melts provides enough melted candy to drizzle on top of the cake balls. You can use pink candy melts or any other color if you prefer.
How to make Strawberry Cake Mix Cake Balls
HEAT TREAT THE CAKE MIX
Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. You will need to heat treat the cake mix to get rid of any bacteria in the flour before starting.
Once the oven is heated, spread the cake mix onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes. Then remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.
MAKE THE CAKE BALL MIXTURE
As the cake mix cools, place the softened cream cheese in a medium mixing bowl and beat with a hand mixer on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy.
Add the cooled cake mix into the bowl and fold it in with the cream cheese a few times with a rubber spatula. Then finish mixing with your hand mixer on medium-high speed until fully combined and you get a dough consistency. I like to fold with a spatula first to help avoid a flour mess.
Fold in the freeze dried strawberries until fully combined.
LET THE MIXTURE CHILL
Cover the cake mix dough with plastic wrap and allow it to chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
ASSEMBLE THE CAKE BALLS
Once chilled, line two baking sheets with parchment or wax paper and use a 1 ½ tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop the dough and place onto the baking sheets. Roll each of them into smooth and even balls with your hands. Set aside and allow them to expand, about 15 minutes, otherwise you are more likely to experience cracking of the chocolate coating when you dip the balls.
Place the vanilla melting wafers in a microwaveable bowl and microwave on a low setting for 30 seconds increments, stirring between each time, until fully melted.
Place one dough ball on a fork and dip it fully into the melted vanilla wafers. Lift it out and tap the fork gently on the edge of the bowl or pot to help remove any excess coating from the dough ball, then place the coated balls onto the lined baking sheet.
Repeat for the rest of the dough balls and space each one 2 inches apart.
DECORATE THE CAKE BALLS
Before the coating dries, add sprinkles or crushed freeze dried strawberries on top.
If you want a red drizzle on the cake balls, place the red candy melts separately in small microwave safe piping bags and microwave on a low setting until fully melted.
Cut a small piece of the tip of the piping bags and then drizzle onto the remaining already coated cake balls.
Allow to set completely before serving. Store in the refrigerator.
Strawberry Cake Mix Cake Balls
Ingredients
- 15.25 ounce vanilla cake mix
- 8 ounce block cream cheese softened to room temperature
- ½ cup freeze dried strawberries roughly chopped
- 2 (10) oz bags Ghirardelli vanilla melting wafers
- ½ cup Wilton red candy melts
- Crushed freeze dried strawberries for topping
Instructions
HEAT TREAT THE CAKE MIX
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. You will need to heat treat the cake mix to get rid of any bacteria in the flour before starting.
- Once the oven is heated, spread the cake mix onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes. Then remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.
MAKE THE CAKE BALL MIXTURE
- As the cake mix cools, place the softened cream cheese in a medium mixing bowl and beat with a hand mixer on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy.
- Add the cooled cake mix into the bowl and fold it in with the cream cheese a few times with a rubber spatula. Then finish mixing with your hand mixer on medium-high speed until fully combined and you get a dough consistency. I like to fold with a spatula first to help avoid a flour mess.
- Fold in the freeze dried strawberries until fully combined.
LET THE MIXTURE CHILL
- Cover the cake mix dough with plastic wrap and allow it to chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
ASSEMBLE THE CAKE BALLS
- Once chilled, line two baking sheets with parchment or wax paper and use a 1 ½ tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop the dough and place onto the baking sheets. Roll each of them into smooth and even balls with your hands. Set aside and allow them to expand, about 15 minutes, otherwise you are more likely to experience cracking of the chocolate coating when you dip the balls.
- Place the vanilla melting wafers in a microwaveable bowl and microwave on a low setting for 30 seconds increments, stirring between each time, until fully melted.
- Place one dough ball on a fork and dip it fully into the melted vanilla wafers. Lift it out and tap the fork gently on the edge of the bowl or pot to help remove any excess coating from the dough ball, then place the coated balls onto the lined baking sheet.
- Repeat for the rest of the dough balls and space each one 2 inches apart.
DECORATE THE CAKE BALLS
- Before the coating dries, add sprinkles or crushed freeze dried strawberries on top.
- If you want a red drizzle on the cake balls, place the red candy melts separately in small microwave safe piping bags and microwave on a low setting until fully melted.
- Cut a small piece of the tip of the piping bags and then drizzle onto the remaining already coated cake balls.
- Allow to set completely before serving. Store in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
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TIPS FOR MAKING CAKE BALLS
- Chilling the dough helps to make it easier to roll into balls. When you remove them from the refrigerator and roll them, the balls will continue to expand a little bit. If you dip them into the melted wafers before they have had a chance to expand, you are more likely to experience cracking. Let the balls sit for about 15 minutes after rolling them into balls.
- You can use any flavor cake mix and any kind of melted wafers you like. I prefer to use high quality melting wafers like Ghirardelli vanilla or dark chocolate to coat the balls. I like to use Wilton colored candy melts just for decorating as I find it is difficult to reheat and begins to clump faster than Ghirardelli wafers.
HOW TO SOFTEN CREAM CHEESE
Cream cheese is easy to soften – you can set it out at room temperature or soften it more quickly in the microwave.
-To soften at room temperature more quickly, just set the cream cheese on a plate and cut into smaller pieces. The cream cheese should reach room temperature in about 15-20 minutes with this method.
-To soften the cream cheese in the microwave, remove the foil packaging and set the cream cheese in a small bowl or on a plate. Microwave for about 10-15 seconds. If the cream cheese is still cold and hard, continue to microwave for about 5 seconds at a time until the cream cheese is soft throughout. Just make sure not to microwave it too long or it will start to melt!
CAN YOU HEAT TREAT CAKE MIX IN A MICROWAVE?
If you do not want to heat treat the cake mix in the oven, you can also heat treat it using the microwave. Microwave it in a microwave safe bowl for 3 minutes, stirring the cake mix every 30 seconds to ensure it is evenly heated and to avoid any hot spots.
HOW TO STORE CAKE BALLS
Strawberry Cake Mix Cake Balls can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
LOVE STRAWBERRIES? HERE ARE MORE STRAWBERRY RECIPES THAT WE LOVE:
- No Bake Strawberry Jello Pie
- Kool Aid Strawberry Jam
- Strawberry Fluff Salad
- Marshmallow Strawberry Shortcake
- Strawberry Mousse
- Strawberry Pie
- Strawberry Chocolate Bundt Cake
- No Bake Strawberry Cheesecake
- Strawberry Shortcake Oreo Balls
- Strawberry Cheesecake Lush
- Strawberry Shortcake Bars
- Glazed Strawberry Bread
- Strawberry Sugar Cookie Bars
- Strawberry Thumbprint Cookies
- Easy Strawberry Fondue
Strawberry Cake Mix Cake Balls made with a vanilla cake mix, cream cheese and freeze dried strawberries. Dip the cake balls in melted chocolate and add some sprinkles. Simple no bake dessert that is perfect for parties and holidays!
Nicolle says
Yum! These look delish ladies! I’ve never met a truffle I didn’t like and I need to try your recipe! I’d love to invite you to come join my weekly link party that goes every Wednesday-Sunday. I hope you will join us <3
https://www.ourtinynest.com/2023/01/25/weekly-link-party-332/
Marsha says
These were absolutely delicious! Making more for Valentine’s Day.
Katherine says
These cake mix balls are so easy!! Love them.