Rainbow Cake Balls are a colorful, no-bake treat that's perfect for rainbow parties, St. Patrick's Day, and so much more!
These Rainbow Cake Balls only require 3 simple ingredients: cake mix, cream cheese, and white melting wafers! Of course, you will also need a rainbow of gel food coloring and rainbow sprinkles to top them off. The cake balls are so easy to make that even the kids can help!
To make the delectable cake ball dough, combine the powdered cake mix* and cream cheese in a medium mixing bowl using a hand mixer or stand mixer. The dough should be smooth and soft. If you want to add in extra flavor, add a teaspoon of your favorite extract to the mix.
*Because this is a no-bake recipe, you will be eating the cake mix raw. If you are concerned about raw flour, pour the cake mix powder onto a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or a sheet of parchment paper and bake for 5 minutes before mixing it with the cream cheese.
Form the dough into a ball, and split it into six even pieces. I would also recommend getting out six smaller bowls to place each portion of dough.
Mix each portion of dough with gel food coloring in the mixing bowl. Make sure to wash and dry the mixing bowl in between each color so you don't end up mixing any colors together! Place each ball of colored dough into a separate bowl. Cover the bowls with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Take small pieces of red dough and flatten them out into a disc shape and place them on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or a sheet of parchment paper. Repeat the process for each color of dough, and stack the discs together in rainbow order (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple. Gently roll each stack of dough into a ball.
Chill the rainbow balls of dough in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. This chilling step is VERY important! Not only will it help the balls to hold their shape, but the dough is less likely to crumble apart and fall into the melting wafers when dipping, making the coating clumpy.
Melt the white melting wafers in the microwave or a double boiler until smooth. Place the rainbow balls, one at a time, onto a fork and dip it into the melted wafers until completely coated. Place the ball back onto the baking sheet.
While the cake balls are still warm and melty, immediately top with festive rainbow sprinkles. Aren't they the cutest?!
Let the Rainbow Cake Ball coating set completely before serving. To make the process quicker, just pop them into the refrigerator.
Rainbow Cake Balls
Servings: 20 cake ballsPrep Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Cool Time: 2 hours
Ingredients:
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened (room temperature)
- 15.25 oz box white or vanilla cake mix
- Gel food coloring - red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple
- 20 oz vanilla melting wafers
- Rainbow sprinkles
Directions:
- Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or a sheet of parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Spread the cake mix powder onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes. This will heat the raw flour in the mix to remove any bacteria. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and allow it to cool completely.
- In a medium mixing bowl, beat the softened cream cheese until smooth and creamy.
- Add the cooled cake mix powder to the cream cheese and beat until combined and has a soft, dough-like consistency.
- Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and divide it into 6 equal portions.
- Place one piece of dough into the mixing bowl. Add a few drops of one color of food coloring, and mix until fully incorporated. Place the colored dough into a smaller bowl and set aside.
- Rinse and dry the mixing bowl.
- Repeat steps 6-7 until you have 6 balls of dough in the colors of the rainbow.
- Cover the bowls of dough with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
- Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or a sheet of parchment paper.
- Separate 1-1 ¼ inch pieces of the red dough and lightly flatten them out with your fingers. Place them on the lined baking sheet 1-2 inches apart until you have used up all of the red dough.
- Repeat this process for each color of dough and stack it on top of the red pieces in rainbow order (orange, yellow, green, blue, purple).
- Once stacked, gently roll and form each one into balls with your hands.
- Place the rainbow ball back onto the lined baking sheet and refrigerate for another hour. This chill time will help keep their shape and hold together for dipping.
- Melt the melting wafers in the microwave for 30-second intervals. Stir well after each interval until completely melted and smooth.
- Place one rainbow ball onto a fork and dip it into the melted wafers. Remove any excess coating, and place it onto the baking sheet. Immediately top the cake balls with rainbow sprinkles.
- Repeat for the remaining cake balls.
- Allow the rainbow balls to set completely for about 5-10 minutes before serving. To speed up the process, place them in the refrigerator.
- Keep the rainbow cake balls refrigerated until ready to serve.
Tips:
- Variations: Change up the cake pop flavor with 1 teaspoon of your favorite extract!
- Storage: Refrigerate cake balls in an airtight container, lined with a paper towel, for up to one week.
If cake balls are left at room temperature the dough can expand, making the coating crack. - Freeze: Once the coating has set, cake balls can be frozen in a large zipped-top freezer bag for up to 6 weeks. Thaw them overnight in the refrigerator before eating.
Not only are these Rainbow Cake Balls incredibly festive, but they are a simple and sweet treat to share at a St. Patrick's Day or rainbow-themed party! If you decide to give this recipe a try, I'd love to hear all about it! Please share your creations on Instagram, Facebook, or leave a comment/photo on the project pin on Pinterest!
Looking for more Rainbow recipe inspiration?
Check out this collection of OVER 100 creative rainbow crafts and recipes!!
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These are so cute and look so much more complicated to make. I pinned for future use.
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