We all know that I love cookbooks. I own way too many of them, but can never pass up a chance to get my hands on a new one. So when I was contacted to review Wendy Paul’s latest cookbook – 101 Gourmet Cake Bites – I was super excited!!
Ok, confession time, though. I don’t always love cake bites. I’ve said it before, but they are usually too sweet for me, which is probably a good thing because 1 is plenty. But this book is SO FUN. Forget your normal cake bites that are just decorated all fancy. This cookbook is mostly all about what is on the inside.
I had originally planned on making the Bananas Foster Cake Bites, but when I went to make them, I found out that my husband had eaten the 2 bananas that I had put aside for the recipe. Thank goodness my mother in law brought over a bucket-full of fresh strawberries from her garden just the night before!! I was totally drawn to the fruity section of the cookbook – maybe because it is summer and there is such an abundance of great fruit out there right now. But I can’t believe what a difference it made to add fruit to the inside of these bites. No more boring cake bites!!
This cookbook is full of all sorts of amazing recipes. There are so many different flavor combinations – you can bet that I’ll be trying out more of them. There is also a section of decorated cake bites that are perfect for holidays or special occasions. But the different flavors are what sets this cookbook apart from others for me!
Strawberry Shortcake Cake Bites
from 101 Gourmet Cake Bites
makes 26-40 cake pops
1 box white cake mix
3 eggs
1 teaspoon sea or kosher salt
3/4 cup half-and-half
1/3 cup fresh strawberries, mashed
3/4 cup Vanilla Buttercream (recipe follows)
white melting chocolate
Preheat the oven to 350F. Prepare a 13×9-inch baking pan by spraying with non-stick cooking spray.
Mix together the cake mix, eggs, salt and half and half. Batter will be thick. Pour into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 28-32 minutes. Cool completely.
In a large bowl, crumble the cooked, cooled cake. Add in the strawberries and buttercream. Using the back of a spoon, mix together all ingredients. Form into balls and refrigerate for 1-2 hours or in the freezer for 20 minutes. Dip in melting chocolate.
Vanilla Buttercream
from 101 Gourmet Cake Bites
makes about 3 cups
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 3/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
3-4 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Beat until light and fluffy, about 30 seconds. Stop the mixer and add in the sugar. Mix on low until mostly incorporated. Add in the vanilla and 3 tablespoons of milk, and start the mixer on low and work up to medium until completely incorporated. Add 1 more tablespoon of milk if the frosting is too thick.
I love lemon cake of any king!
I love vanilla cake doctored up with a french vanilla pudding and then colored tie dyed. 😀 I really hope I win this – thanks for the entry! I love your blog and subscribe via RSS! 😀
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C.H.O.C.O.L.A.T.E. baby.
Okay, your cake bites look amazzzzzing! I can’t imagine what other wonderful cake bites are in that book. My favorite cupcake would have to be Hummingbird Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting. They’re to diiiie for!
My favorite cupcakes is a black bottom cupcake.
Cold chocolate cake. The Hershey’s Perfectly Chocolate Cake and Frosting recipe is my fave. Thanks!
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I love anything with strawberries, raspberries or chocolate. So those strawberry cake bites look so good right now!
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LOVE cake bites. Makes me feel like I’m eating sugar responsibly…even if I end up chowing down on a dozen.
Chocolate! Pair it with peanut butter and it’s even better!
I’m not entering the giveaway as I live in Canada, but I just wanted to say this is the best looking cake bite I’ve ever seen. I, too, have never been that fond of them, but I would definitely try this. I hope you make the bananas foster one sometime too. :o) It really looks so delicious. Yum!
I would be in HEAVEN if I won a copy of your book!!
My favorite cake is CHERRY CHIP…
My neighbor once made mint chocolate chip cake bites, they were amazing! I am a mint/chocolate addict.
I love cookies and cream… but these look amazing!
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Keylime!!!
I would LOVE to win this book! I’m addicted to cake bites! My favorites cake flavor has to be by far your recipe for the “Cookies and Cream Cupcakes.” They are so addicting!
P.S – I love looking at your blog for recipes for dinner!! My mouth always waters just reading the ingredients!
I looove red velvet cupcake bites.
I follow you on Facebook (Andi Bauer Trautman)
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Chocolate is my favorite cake.
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I subscribe to your RSS feed. I love these cake bites. I am going to have to make these!!!
My favorite a nice moist carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and shredded coconut.
I love “Wacky” cake (chocolate flavored)!
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Chocolate! Chocolate! Chocolate!
I kid you not – but I am currently eating a cup of so-so strawberry shortcake and now I’m wishing that I have one of these bites instead! I love mini cake bites, and my favorite are Nutella Cake Balls! http://www.confessionsofachocoholic.com/chocolate/nutella-cake-balls
Red Velvet Cake! I follow on Twitter @SimplySoBaking
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My favorite cake bite is one I recently made – Key lime with white chocolate chips….Yum!!
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Red Velvet with cream cheese frosting, dipped in dark chocolate! Just made a batch last night. SIGH!
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I love Red Velvet Cake Bites covered in white chocolate. Thanks for the giveaway!
Any chocolate and peanut butter cake!
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I have so many favorites! Lemon, cookies and cream and vanilla to name a few!
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I agree, they’re usually too rich for me to eat as well. I’ll take a bite, but then either share with the hubs or choke down the second half. But then again, I’d rather make cake than eat it. I’m much more of a pie girl. 🙂
Like most ppl I love anything chocolate
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I’m a facebook fan
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My most favorite flavor of cake is lemon!
You can never go wrong with chocolate!
A while back I made brown butter/salted caramel buttercream cake bites dipped in dark chocolate, so good!
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Oh man, I SO want a cake bite right now.
I’ve only ever made chocolate ones. But by the time I go through all the trouble to make them, they just don’t seem appetizing to me so I don’t ever end up eating them. The bananas foster ones sound delicious though.
It might be easier to tell you my least favorite…. nope – there isn’t one! Reading through this list, I am salivating….
I have not had many cake bites in my day. Just this summer on vacation I had a peanut butter and chocolate cake bite. It tasted just like a peanut butter cup – delicious!
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You can’t beat a dark chocolate cake with raspberry preserves filling…
ahh what a fun book–I love the strawberry shortcake variation and the bananas foster has me curious! My favorite cake is probably my mom’s famous Italian cream cake..wonder how that’d be in a cake ball 🙂
My favorite flavor of cake is chocolate!!
Don’t get me wrong I love a good chocolate anything especially German chocolate cake but with it being summer a light lemon cake sounds even more desirable.
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Chocolate right now.
Red velvet is my absolute favorite flavor! Love it.
I follow you on Facebook.
I follow you on Twitter already.
I subscribe to your RSS.
I love oreo cupcakes!
I follow you on facebook
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red velvet cake bites!
I love strawberry cake! And blueberry cake too!!!!! And I totally subscribe to your newsletter! Love it!
I love spice cakes, anything with a little tang and zip!
I’m a plain old chocolate girl, myself!
I am a lemon girl!
I love oreo/cookies and cream cupcakes!~
fan on Facebook!
added your rss feed to my netvibes~
follow you on twitter (@koskim)
I love chocolate!
I follow you on Google Reader!
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my favorites are either something chocolate or strawberry or a combination of the two.
I am a fan on facebook.
I also subscribe to your emails.
Chocolate, chocolate, and MORE chocolate!
These look gorgeous! I love combination of chocolate and orange!
Deborah, you seriously want me to choose just one cake? That’s like choosing a favorite child.
Wow, I woukd have to say lemon cake with raspberry frosting. It’s kinda weird because I’m such a chocolate girl but I’m not a big fan of chocolate cake.
Call me weird!
I love your cakes and so want this book won or purchased I’m a sucker for portions sizes and little things. 🙂
German Chocolate is my favorite!
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I love spice cake!
These would probably be my favorite even though I haven’t tried them yet! They look so good! I have a baby shower cake order for a little girl and these just might be included…thanks for sharing!
I love dark chocolate and also lemon!
I love red velvet!
Your cake bites mad me drool. =/
I love earl grey cupcakes covered in a lavender white chocolate
My favorite is cheesecake. Makes for delicious bites!
I like a good chocolate cake.
my favorite flavor of cake is Apple Spiced Chocolate
cinnamon maple bacon cupcakes! strange and amazing 😉
My favorite cake is dark chocolate cake with buttercream chocolate icing and dark chocolate chips!!!
double chocolate – yum!
The Strawberry Shortcake Cake Bites look amazing!
Red Velvet with marshmallow buttercream
Any cake that combines blueberries and lemon is my favorite!
A small local bakery where I live makes cake balls and I really like her lemon ones. I’m not usually a fan of lemon things… but man they are good!
Thanks. And good luck to me. 🙂 (big, hopeful smile)
I love German Chocolate Cake.
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My favorite cupcake is chocolate with chocolate frosting.
I love strawberry cake with strawberry icing!
I love Strawberyy Shortcake and cheesecake! yummy!
My favorite is coconut.
Favorite cake is a rich dark chocolate cake with french mousseline mocha buttercream! YUM!!
strawberry is my favorite
When someone asks me what my favorite dessert is, the only appropriate answer to me, seems to be- “Whatever is on my plate!” lol. But I do love Chocolate cake and carrot with cream cheese frosting and…..
Your Strawberry Cake Balls look soo scrumptious! Thanks for the chance to win 🙂
My favorite would be anything with chocolate! 🙂
My favorite is yellow cake with vanilla buttercream.
I love peanut butter cake bites. Just peanut butter, grahams, and maybe a little extra sugar and butter in there, for good measure 😉
red velvet
I love the red velvet, it’s my good old standby.
German Chocolate Cake Bites & Red Velvet Cake Bites! Yummy
I love any and every thing Peanut Butter!
All I can say is CHOCOLATE.. however those strawberry shortcake look mmmm
I like Taste & tell on facebook Jennifer Harriman
I follow on twitter as well @jenharriman123
& I am an email subscriber 🙂
I like the Cupcake Red Velvet!
Red Velvet is my fav!
love German chocolate cake
A Lady Baltimore cake with sea foam icing!
red velvet is my favorite! yum!
i follow u on twitter jmmccarr
I love the red velvet!!!!!
I am following on Facebook also!!!!!
red velvet!
I love a good vanilla cake with homemade chocolate icing.
Follow Taste and Tell on Facebook Lisa W.
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I’m following Taste and Tell on Facebook.
I’m following Taste and Tell on Twitter.
It’s so funny – we made “cake balls” as we call them 5 years ago as favors at my wedding – before all the rage. I’m thinking I should have written this cookbook!
My favorite flavor is anything chocolate, and ALL chocolate.
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I love anything with peanut butter and chocolate.
I subscribe via Rss feed.
I’m a new Twitter follower @GoddessFoodie.
The Raspberry Lemonade cake bites sound good to me!
My ultimate FAVORITVE flavor is red velvet 🙂
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I love red velvet cake!
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Also following you on Facebook.
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chocolate mint or chocolate raspberry
My favorite cake is rum cake. I am asked to make this cake, and bring it to all kinds of functions. It’s so moist and so delicious, you get hooked on it after one bite!
I love just about any cake, but chocolate cake is nearly impossible to pass up.
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My favorite cake bite flavor is chocolate but if I had to choose a flavor outside of cake…..OREO!!!! Yummy!
I like Chocolate Vanilla Layer.
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red velvet is my favorite
I love spice cake with cream cheese icing.
I love vanilla cupcakes.
i like vanilla cake
i like you on facebook
I subscribed by email.
i follow you on twitter
@JCoyne1031
I love chocolate truffle flavored.
i’m a feed subscriber
i’m an email subscriber
Email subscriber.
I love chocolate.
I follow you on twitter.(donnak4)
Cherry is my favorite.
Any chocolate batter is sure to do the trick for me!
I like carrot cake with butter cream 🙂
I really like a brownie type of cake. I had cake pops like those before…sooo good.
I like anything with sugar…with more sugar. Any flavor will do! =]
Can this be done with a from-scratch white cake as well?
I know this is an old post, but I somehow missed it the first time around. Saw the mention on your Bananas Foster post and wanted to ask about the fresh berries … and the interesting cake recipe. I guess by adding the berries, you have to be really careful that the cake isn’t too moist already.
How did you like these? Any idea how long they would last with the berries inside?
Thanks so much. I am planning on trying all three – coconut, bananas foster and these in the near future. I was a die hard cake ball hater until I agreed to make some for a birthday party. Nothing fancy like yours, but I discovered that they aren’t so bad! 🙂
@Martha, I’m not sure how long they would last. I only made a half batch, and they were gone within a day and a half!! The way the recipe is written, the cake batter is a bit more dense, so I didn’t notice that the berries made it too moist. If you try them out, make sure and let me know how you liked them!
How did you get the oh so cute red stripes on top??? Colored frosting???
@Laura, I just used the colored Wilton candy melts. You can usually find them wherever you can buy cake decorating supplies.
I tried making your strawberry shortcake bites, but the balls are very wet an dense.. What did I do wrong?
They taste great though!!!
@Laura, I just remember mine having the consistency of any other cake bite, so I’m not sure what went wrong. I’m glad they tasted great, though!
I simply can’t resist chocolate!!!!!!