Easy Lemon Cake Balls Recipe
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These Lemon Cake Balls are an easy dessert that’s perfect for all your spring and summer parties. From their vibrant yellow color to their zesty lemon flavor, these sweet treats are a perfect little bite-sized dessert!
It’s hard to believe these pretty and delicious lemon cake balls are made with a boxed cake mix, but it’s true. They may look and taste like a fancy store-bought truffle, but they’re so easy that they may just become your new favorite dessert recipes!
Moist and delicious lemon cake is crumbled and mixed with rich cream cheese to form these cake balls, which are then dipped in creamy white chocolate. The result is a decadent dessert that’s bursting with fresh lemon flavor.
You’ll love that this delicious treat is so versatile too. They’d be ideal for a baby shower, a potluck, a homemade gift, or even just a delicious snack. You’ll want to keep a batch of these terrific lemon truffles on hand all season long!
Have extra cake mix? Try our Lemon Jello Cake, easy Lemon Bars or the rest of our favorite Lemon Cake Mix recipes!
Why We Love This Recipe
Easy – A few simple ingredients turn a boxed cake mix into a fun dessert that’s incredibly easy to make.
Great for Parties – These delicious lemon cake truffles are the perfect crowd-pleasing dessert that will look and taste great on your party table.
Perfect Size – We love mini desserts and these cute little bite-sized delights are the perfect size. Grab one the next time you need a dessert for a party or just a little something to satisfy your sweet tooth.
Ingredients
- Boxed lemon cake mix
- Water
- Vegetable oil
- Eggs
- Cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- Ghirardelli vanilla melting wafers
- Yellow candy melts
How To Make Lemon Cake Balls
Forming The Cake Balls
Step 1: Preheat the oven and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
Step 2: In a large bowl, combine cake mix, water, vegetable oil and eggs.
Note: You should use the measurements and ingredients listed on the box, if they are different from the ones you see here.
Step 3: Pour batter into a baking dish and bake for the amount of time specified on the box. Remove the cake from the oven. place the pan on a wire rack and allow the cake to cool completely to room temperature.
Step 4: Once the baked cake has cooled, crumble it in the pan.
Step 5: Place cream cheese in a large ball. Use an electric mixer on medium-high speed to beat the cream cheese until smooth and creamy.
Step 6: Add the crumbled cake to the cream cheese and mix together on low to medium speed until well combined. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl, making sure that all the cream cheese has been thoroughly mixed in.
Step 7: Use a 1 ½ inch cookie scoop to form even sized cake balls, then roll the mixture in the palms of your hands to smooth it out. Place on the prepared cookie sheet.
Step 8: Place cake balls into the refrigerator to chill for 2 hours. This will help them to set and keep their shape while they’re dipped.
Decorating The Cake Balls
Step 1: Using a double boiler or a microwave safe bowl, melt the vanilla melting wafers on low heat. Stir often, until the chocolate is fully melted and smooth. (Be careful not to overheat or the melts may seize and thicken.)
Step 2: Dip each cake ball into the chocolate using a fork. Lift and gently tap the fork to remove any excess chocolate.
Step 3: Place the ball back onto the parchment paper lined cookie sheet and repeat with the remaining cake balls.
Step 4: Place the yellow candy melts in a small piping bag or plastic bag and melt in the microwave on a low setting in 30 second intervals. Massage the bag between each interval to ensure that the candy coating melts evenly.
Step 5: Snip a small piece of the corner off the bag. Drizzle the yellow chocolate over the cake balls.
Step 6: Let the balls sit at room temperature until chocolate begins to set. Once set, refrigerate until ready to serve.
Tips & Tricks
- Don’t skip chilling the cake mixture because it helps the cake balls keep their shape during dipping. Otherwise, they may crumble and make a mess as you try to dip them.
- Whether you’re using the double boiler method or microwave method, be sure to heat the chocolate on low heat. High heat can result in the chocolate seizing and clumping.
- You can substitute any flavor of cake to create different varieties of cake balls – this recipe is a great way to use up leftover cake.
- Don’t have lemon cake mix in the pantry? Use white cake mix and add yellow food coloring and a little lemon extract.
- If you don’t have vanilla melting wafers, you can substitute almond bark or white chocolate chips instead.
- Don’t have time to bake a cake from scratch? Crumble a store-bought lemon pound cake instead.
How To Make Lemon Cake Pops
For a fun variation, try adding a lollipop stick and turn this into a lemon cake pops recipe instead. For best results, dip the end of the stick into melted chocolate before pushing it halfway through the ball. This will help keep the cake ball from sliding off as you dip it in the chocolate.
If your chocolate coating is cracking, it’s most likely due to temperature differences. Dipping too cold cake balls into hot melted chocolate could cause cracks to form. This can also happen if you place them in the refrigerator too soon after dipping them.
Store your leftover cake balls in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They should keep for up to 5 days.
Sure – you can skip the yellow coating and decorate these as you would a truffle. Before the white chocolate sets, you can add gold and white sprinkles, mini chocolate chips, chopped nuts, shredded coconut flakes, or lemon zest.
More Cake Truffles and Balls
- 4th of July Oreo Balls
- No Bake Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites
- Easy Oreo Cheesecake Balls
- Peanut Butter Cookie Truffles
- White Chocolate Pumpkin Truffles
Lemon Cake Balls
Equipment
- Double boiler optional
Ingredients
- 15.25 ounce lemon cake mix
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 3 eggs
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened to room temperature
- 16 ounces Ghirardelli vanilla melting wafers
- ¾ cup yellow candy melts
Instructions
Forming The Cake Balls
- Preheat the oven and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine cake mix, water, vegetable oil and eggs. Mix well.Note: You should use the measurements and ingredients listed on the box, if they are different from the ones you see here.15.25 ounce lemon cake mix, 1 cup water, 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 3 eggs
- Pour batter into a baking dish and bake for the amount of time specified on the box. Remove the cake from the oven. place the pan on a wire rack and allow the cake to cool completely to room temperature.
- Once the baked cake has cooled, crumble it in the pan.
- Using an electric mixer on medium high speed, beat the cream cheese in a large bowl until smooth and creamy.8 ounces cream cheese
- Add the crumbled cake to the cream cheese and mix together on low to medium speed until well combined. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl, making sure that all the cream cheese has been thoroughly mixed in.
- Use a 1 ½ inch cookie scoop to form even sized cake balls, and then roll each ball in the palms of your hands to smooth it out. Place on the prepared cookie sheet.
- Place the balls into the refrigerator to chill for 2 hours. This will help them to set and keep their shape while they’re dipped.
Decorating The Cake Balls
- Using a double boiler or the microwave, melt the vanilla melting wafers on low heat. Stir often, until the chocolate is fully melted and smooth. (Be careful not to overheat or the melts may seize and thicken.)16 ounces Ghirardelli vanilla melting wafers
- Use a fork to dip one cake ball into the melted chocolate, then remove and gently tap the fork to remove any excess coating.
- Place the ball back onto the parchment paper and repeat with the remaining balls.
- Place the yellow candy melts in a small piping bag or plastic bag and melt in the microwave on a low setting in 30 second intervals. Massage the bag between each interval to ensure that the candy coating melts evenly.¾ cup yellow candy melts
- Snip off a small piece of the corner of the bag and drizzle the yellow coating over the white-coated cake balls.
- Place the balls in the refrigerator to allow the coating to harden, about 10 minutes. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
Notes
- Whether you’re using the double boiler method or microwave method, be sure to heat the melting wafers on a low heat. High heat can result in the chocolate seizing and clumping.
Nutrition
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Easy Lemon Cake Balls Recipe
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