I have a really fun game for you.
Pick a cool and cloudy morning. One where you wake up excited to spend the day wrapped up in a warm hoodie and bum around the house.
Take the cozy vibe up a notch by lighting as many yummy-scented candles, like Vanilla Cupcake and Warm Vanilla Sugar, as you can.
Get super inspired by your neighbor’s tree and make the overly ambitious plan to spend the morning making Fall-inspired Pumpkin Cake Balls. You’ve never made them before, and you know there’s quite a few steps involved, but they’ll be totally worth it.
Take a box of spice cake mix and, instead of using eggs and oil like the box calls for, use a can of pumpkin instead. You’ll save calories and it’ll be SO FALL!
Feel your mouth water as even more sweet, spiced scents waft from the hot oven and into your kitchen as the cake bakes for 35 minutes.
Then feel like you just wasted the last hour by crumbling it up into a bowl.
Feel better by mixing an entire container of cream cheese icing into the crumbles.
So much for saving calories…
Place the bowl into the fridge to let the cake mixture firm up so you can roll it into balls, then realize your crisp, Fall-like morning has turned into a hot & sticky summer afternoon and your house is now 80 degrees inside.
Blow out aforementioned candles, as the scent and heat are making you a little nauseous at this point.
Go outside to finish reading Sarah’s Key and come back in a little depressed over the entire subject matter, and ending.
Roll the sticky mess that has become your cooled cake + icing into a million little balls and wonder how even an army could ever finish them all.
Attempt to melt white chocolate to cover said million balls with.
Fail miserably.
Whip up a glaze comprised of powdered sugar, maple syrup and water to cover the balls with instead. Give it a taste, start jittering from the immediate sugar buzz, but move forward with glazing them anyways.
Spend 40 minutes repeating this process wondering the whole time why you ever thought it would be a good idea to make powdered sugar glazed cake balls – they’ll never harden and you’ll be left with mushy sticky balls.
Step back, assess the situation, and realize that’s exactly what you’ve got.
And, great. They look exactly like Swedish meatballs. You’ve made sticky, glaze-covered, pumpkin meatballs.
Imagine how hilarious it would be to actually stick a toothpick in these, take them to a party on a platter, then watch people’s faces when they bite in and realize they’ve got a gooey, overly-sweet, pumpkin-spiced cake lump, instead of a savory, juicy meatball.
Boxed cake mix: $2.09
Cream cheese icing: $1.99
White chocolate chips: $3.49
Time wasted: 4 hours
Seeing the above situation happen to Ben when he gets home from work…PRICELESS.
MUWAHAHAHAHAHA! I think I might tape this!!!!! Is that mean?!
Red Velvet Cake Balls | Iowa Girl Eats 12.12.2012
[…] I had almost an entire red velvet cake leftover to make Red Velvet Cake Balls with! Now, the last batch of cake balls I tried to make was also an epic failure (stay with me.) First of all, I baked them on a nauseatingly hot August […]
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Cari 01.07.2012
I love love love this post! I’m miserably sick and unable to sleep so I’m going through your old posts from before I discovered your blog, and this really made me laugh and laugh and laugh! The way you described it from start to finish was wonderful, and I can totally relate. Thanks for the laugh :)
My Favorite Christmas Cookie | Iowa Girl Eats 12.13.2011
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Bekah 08.16.2011
I use Paula Deen’s recipe for Pumpkin bars and her cream cheese frosting recipe for my cake balls. And then just cover them in almond bark or baking melts. They’re amazing! I lighten up the cream cheese though.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/pumpkin-bars-recipe/index.html
Things I Almost Got Away With | Iowa Girl Eats 08.16.2011
[…] Trying to trick my husband who knows all and sees all. Ask and you shall receive: Failed Swedish Meatball Trickery. […]
NICOLE 08.15.2011
Best recipe ever is 1 box of spice cake mix, 1 can of pumpkin and chocolate chips….and bake into muffins at 350 for like 20 minutes! My fav! I eat them with honey!
State Fair Favorites | Iowa Girl Eats 08.14.2011
[…] HE READ THE BLOG. Ben totally knew what I was up to with the pumpkin cake meatballs and even went so far as to put a mangled ball up to his lips (…) before saying, "Did you […]
Ashley @ Coffee Cake and Cardio 08.13.2011
This is just too funny. At least your can laugh at a failed experiment!
Dawn Patricia 08.13.2011
There is a recipe for cake balls on Allrecipes and most of the negative reviews come from people who were unable to melt chocolate chips to roll the balls into. I’m one of those people who tried to make cake balls with semisweet chocolate chips. You need to use the little wafers they sell with the cake decorating supplies at Walmart, they melt into a watery consistency and work like magic. I LOVE how you salvaged the situation! Looks fab!!! :)
elise 08.13.2011
i just died laughing while reading this. oh man. hahah. please tell me you got the taste test reaction on video!
Tracy @ Tracy's Treats 08.13.2011
Those look so yummy! I was actually thinking about making red velvet cake balls the other day!
nicole 08.13.2011
I use 1/2 chocolate chips, 1/2 almond bark it’s a good flavor and easy to work with.