How to make champagne sugar ball

If you're attending a New Year's Eve gathering, or if you're celebrating any other exciting occasion, these Champagne Cake Balls are a MUST on your party menu! Easy to prepare with a cake mix, they look beautiful and taste even better!

Okay, so before we move completely past the season of holiday indulgences and jump onto a healthy eating wagon, I have one more delicious sweet treat to share with you today.

And believe me -- you don't want to miss this easy Champagne Cake Balls recipe!

Plus, they're portioned into small, bite-sized servings...making it appropriate for those folks who are watching their diets and their calories, too {see how I did that?! Nice logic, right?}. In my opinion, there is always room for cake balls in a balanced diet!

What are cake balls?

Cake balls are little nuggets of goodness that include all of the amazing ingredients from your favorite cake recipe -- in one bite that you can eat with your hands!

How do you make cake balls?

I keep these cake balls easy because they're made with a cake mix! You will need the following ingredients:

• A box of white cake mix
• Champagne, Prosecco or your favorite white wine
• Oil
• Egg whites
• A can of vanilla frosting
• White chocolate chips or candy melts
• Sprinkles!

The baked cake is crumbled in a large bowl and then mixed with frosting. Once chilled, that "dough" is then scooped and rolled into balls.

The balls chill in the freezer to firm up for about an hour, and then it's time to dip!

How to dip cake balls in chocolate chips or candy melts:

You can dip cake balls in melted chocolate chips or candy melts, and the process is the same with either option.

Remove the balls from the freezer. Using one toothpick, pick up the balls one at a time and dip in the melted chocolate. Use a second toothpick to slide the ball off the first toothpick onto the wax paper lined baking tray.

Tip: If using the toothpicks feels tedious, I often just hold the cake ball in my fingers and dip the top of it into the chocolate, covering as much of the cake ball as possible. It's messy, but it works!

Then be sure to top with the sprinkles quickly, before the chocolate starts to harden!

Can Cake Balls be made ahead of time?

Yes! This is another reason that they're perfect for a party -- you can prep them in advance and avoid any last-minute stress!

Can Cake Balls be refrigerated?

Yes! I like to store my cake balls in the refrigerator in order to keep them firm. They also last longer this way!

Can Cake Balls be frozen?

Yes! The dipped cake balls can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months. To thaw, place in the refrigerator overnight.

How long can you keep Cake Balls?

When refrigerated, cake balls will last and stay fresh for at least 2 weeks -- and maybe even longer!

How many Cake Balls per person?

If you're planning a party, it's safe to estimate about 2 cake balls per person. But hey, leftovers keep well -- so extra never hurts!

This recipe yields approximately 44 cake balls, so it's a nice, large batch!

While there's enough alcohol in this recipe to give the cake a delicious champagne undertone, it's not so much that kids will turn away their noses. In fact, it tastes a lot more like a white cake than it does a shot of booze {unlike my Grandmother's Famous Bourbon Balls -- which are definitely geared towards the over 21 crowd!!}.

COOK'S TIPS AND RECIPE VARIATIONS -- CAKE BALLS WITH CAKE MIX:

• If you prefer to make a kid-friendly batch instead, you can certainly just omit the champagne entirely and use water in its place. But then they won't be Champagne Cake Balls!
• Once you have dipped the cake balls in chocolate, be sure to add the sprinkles right away -- before the chocolate starts to harden.
• Try different flavors! These are basically vanilla cake balls, but you can use chocolate cake mix instead of the white cake mix, chocolate frosting instead of the vanilla frosting, or milk chocolate or dark chocolate for dipping (instead of white chocolate).
• Make Strawberry Cake Balls with the champagne and a box of strawberry cake mix!
• Serve Red Velvet Cake Balls by using a box of red velvet cake mix and a can of cream cheese frosting!

Even more easy dessert recipes that you might like:

• White Chocolate Champagne Fondue
• Claudia's Easy Triple Chocolate Cake
• Aunt Bee's 5-Ingredient 5-Minute Cherry Dump Cake
• Chocolate Chunk Rum Cake

If you're attending a New Year's Eve gathering, or if you're celebrating any other exciting occasion, these Champagne Cake Balls are a MUST on your party menu! Thanks to help from a cake mix, it's an easy dessert recipe that you can prepare in advance.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword cake ball recipe, cake balls, New Years Eve dessert

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Chilling Time 4 hours 30 minutes

Total Time 4 hours 40 minutes

Servings 44 cake balls

Calories 140kcal

• 1 (15.25 ounce) package white cake mix
• 1 ¼ cups Champagne or can substitute with an equal amount of water for a kid-friendly option
• ⅓ cup canola or vegetable oil
• 4 egg whites
• 1 (16 ounce) container prepared vanilla cake frosting
• 2 bags (48 tablespoons) white chocolate chips* or an equal amount of white chocolate confectioners coating disks or white chocolate baking bars
• Rainbow sprinkles for garnish

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

• Spray a 13x9-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

• In a large bowl, beat cake mix, Champagne, canola oil, and egg whites at medium speed with a mixer until smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan.

• Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan for about 30 minutes, or until cool enough to handle.

• Using your hands, crumble the cake into a large bowl.

• Using a stand mixer or a hand mixer, combine the can of frosting with the cake crumbs until well combined.  You should have a mixture that resembles cookie dough.

• Place the bowl in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours or overnight, so that it can chill and firm up a bit (this will make it easier to scoop).

• Once the cake dough is cool, line a baking tray with wax paper. Form small round balls with your cake mixture by rolling between your palms or by using a melon baller.** If you're using your hands and they start to get sticky, just keep them slightly damp with water and the cake dough will not stick to them.

• Place the cake balls on the wax paper. Once you have used all of the cake mixture, place the baking tray in the freezer for about 1 hour.

• Melt the white chocolate chips in a glass bowl in the microwave, stirring every 20-30 seconds until smooth.

• Remove the balls from the freezer. Using one toothpick, pick up the balls one at a time and dip in the melted chocolate. Use a second toothpick to slide the ball off the first toothpick onto the wax paper lined baking tray. Tip: If using the toothpicks feels tedious, I often just hold the cake ball in my fingers and dip the top of it into the chocolate, covering as much of the cake ball as possible. It's messy, but it works!

• Add sprinkles to the top of the cake balls before the chocolate has time to set.

• Place cake balls in the refrigerator in an airtight container until ready to serve. They keep well in the refrigerator for at least a couple of weeks!

*You will probably only need about 1 (16 ounce) bag of white chocolate chips; however, I like to melt TWO bags of the white chocolate because it's easier to dip the cake balls when there is plenty of chocolate in the bowl and you're not scraping the bottom.

**I like to use THIS cookie dough scoop so that I don't have to do any rolling. It's smaller than an ice cream scoop, and it yields a perfectly-sized cake ball!

Can Cake Balls be made ahead of time?

Yes! This is another reason that they're perfect for a party -- you can prep them in advance and avoid any last-minute stress!

Can Cake Balls be refrigerated?

Yes! I like to store my cake balls in the refrigerator in order to keep them firm. They also last longer this way!

Can Cake Balls be frozen?

Yes! The dipped cake balls can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months. To thaw, place in the refrigerator overnight.

How long can you keep Cake Balls?

When refrigerated, cake balls will last and stay fresh for at least 2 weeks -- and maybe even longer!

How many Cake Balls per person?

If you're planning a party, it's safe to estimate about 2 cake balls per person. But hey, leftovers keep well -- so extra never hurts!

COOK'S TIPS AND RECIPE VARIATIONS:

• If you prefer to make a kid-friendly batch instead, you can certainly just omit the champagne entirely and use water in its place. But then they won't be Champagne Cake Balls!
• Once you have dipped the cake balls in chocolate, be sure to add the sprinkles right away -- before the chocolate starts to harden.
• Try different flavors! These are basically vanilla cake balls, but you can use chocolate cake mix instead of the white cake mix, chocolate frosting instead of the vanilla frosting, or milk chocolate or dark chocolate for dipping (instead of white chocolate).
• Make Strawberry Cake Balls with the champagne and a box of strawberry cake mix!
• Serve Red Velvet Cake Balls by using a box of red velvet cake mix and a can of cream cheese frosting!

Serving: 1cake ball | Calories: 140kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 0.6g | Fat: 5.9g | Saturated Fat: 2.5g | Sodium: 112.3mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 14.6g

This recipe was originally posted in December, 2014. The photos were updated in December, 2017.