Peppermint Bark Cake Balls

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If you’re a fan of peppermint bark, these cake balls are going to rock your holiday dessert trays. Rich bites of creamy chocolate peppermint cake balls are dipped in peppermint white chocolate and then sprinkled with crushed candy canes.

Peppermint Bark Cake BallsThese Peppermint Bark Cake Balls were the happy result when my craving for chocolate cake met my annual holiday indulgence in peppermint bark.

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Let’s just get this out of the way from the start, I have a weakness for cake balls. (You might see them also called cake pops, or sometimes when I’m feeling fancier, I might call them truffles.)

How To Make Cake Balls

I was first introduced to these heavenly little bites of cake and frosting about 15 years ago. I used to make them using the recipe that most people did, take your favorite cake mix and bake it.

Then break the finished cake into crumbs in a big mixing bowl, add a can of frosting and stir everything together. Scoop and roll into small balls and then dip each ball in chocolate. While I’d never turn down one of those cake balls, nowadays my preference is baking from scratch.

Peppermint Bark Cake Balls are a holiday favorite!

Chocolate cake is stirred together with a peppermint cream cheese frosting to make the creamy rich center of these cake ball truffles. Then each little ball is dipped in peppermint white chocolate and sprinkled with crushed candy canes.

The beauty of cake balls is seen in the fact that you can use any leftover chocolate cake: made from scratch, made from a mix, grocery store, or even leftover fancy cake from the bakery. I made a simple chocolate cake for a class I was teaching a few weeks ago and wound up with about half a 9×13 pan leftover.

When I saw it on the counter the next day, I couldn’t resist making a batch of cake balls to share with you. My kids went nuts for these Peppermint Bark Cake Balls. They’re the perfect dessert to keep in the freezer for unexpected guests or for an easy dessert.

No one can resist these Peppermint Bark Cake Balls!

Kitchen Tip: I used this bowl, this mixer, and this scoop to make this recipe.

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Peppermint Bark Cake Balls

2 from 1 vote
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Ingredients 

  • CAKE BALLS:
  • ½ recipe for chocolate cake, about 6 cups of fine crumbs
  • 4 ounces cream cheese room temperature
  • 4 ounces butter room temperature
  • 16 ounces powdered sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
  • COATING:
  • 2 cups white chocolate chips
  • 1/8 teaspoon peppermint extract
  • 4 miniature candy canes crushed

Instructions

  • Break the cake into several large pieces and use your fingers to create fine crumbs. In a separate large mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and peppermint extract. Add the cake crumbs and stir until well combined. Use a cookie scoop to portion into balls and roll between your hands to create smooth cake balls. Place on a parchment lined tray and chill in the freezer for at least 1 hour.
  • Place the chocolate in a glass bowl and heat in the microwave for 90 seconds, as 50% power, do NOT heat at full power. Stir and heat an additional 30 seconds at 50% power. Stir again until smooth. Heat an additional 30 seconds, only if needed. Stir until smooth. Add the peppermint extract and stir to combine. Use two forks to dip the chilled cake balls in the melted chocolate and drain off any excess chocolate.
  • Place the coated cake balls on the parchment and sprinkle with the crushed candy canes. Chill in the refrigerator until firm, at least 1 hour. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to 2 months. Enjoy!

Notes

This recipe is written to include (1/2) of an average chocolate cake, as I've linked to in the above ingredients. If you'd like to make a larger batch of cake balls (or if you simply have more leftover cake to use up), the other ingredients can be doubled accordingly.
Measure the peppermint extract very carefully. Do not measure over the bowl. If you add even a few drops too much, the flavor will change from "mint" to "toothpaste."
Tried this recipe?Mention @barefeetkitchen or tag #barefeetkitchen!

Here are some more desserts you might like:

Cranberry Christmas Cake by Barefeet In The Kitchen

Easy Salted Caramel Fudge by Foodie with Family

Almond Pillow Cookies by The Noshery

Caramel Apples by Simply Recipes

Creamy Peanut Butter Fudge by Barefeet In The Kitchen

Mile High Apple Pie by Comfortably Domestic

Easy Cinnamon Chocolate Toffee by Carlsbad Cravings

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Mary Younkin

Mary Younkin

Hi, I’m Mary. I’m the author, cook, photographer, and travel lover behind the scenes here at Barefeet In The Kitchen. I'm also the author of three cookbooks dedicated to making cooking from scratch as simple as possible.

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    • Mary says

      Yield: (36) 1-inch cake balls or (24) 1.5-inch cake balls

      You’ll use either a 1-inch or 1.5-inch cookie scoop. Enjoy!

    • Denise says

      Hi, when I mixed everything together my cake mixture was pretty mushy and hard to roll into balls. I had to roll them is flour in order to make the balls. Did I do something wrong or is that normal? Thanks!

    • Mary Younkin says

      4 ounce of each. In this recipe, ounces are easier, since the cream cheese packaging typically is marked that way. (That will be 1 stick of butter and 1/2 of a package of cream cheese.)

  1. Robyn says

    I’m unsure what 1/2 chocolate cake means? The recipe I normally use for chocolate cake makes (2) 8in rounds pans. Could I use this whole recipe? Or should I half it to make only (1) 8in round pan?

  2. Amanda H. says

    I had and extra chocolate sheet cake and high hopes for this recipe but it was super disappointing. There is way too much moisture in the mix. I even added more cake crumbles than the recipe called for to try to offset it to no avail. The dough was complete mush and needed to be chilled before it could be rolled into balls. Even after freezing them for hours, the instant the balls hit the warm white chocolate coating they started they reverted to mush. I gave up and threw half the batch out because I was NOT dealing with trying to coat them.
    Maybe this recipe could work if you cut the butter and cream cheese in half but in my case the effort was not worth the reward. I would not attempt it again.2 stars

    • Mary Younkin says

      Hi Amanda, I’m sorry to hear the cake balls didn’t work out for you. I can appreciate your frustration with a recipe that didn’t work out as anticipated. Did you happen to measure the crumbs after crumbling your cake? Did you have at least 6 cups worth? The dough is pretty soft, but it should’ve held it’s shape to be rolled into balls. And after freezing the cake balls, is there any chance you let them rest on the counter long enough to warm up again and soften?