The Sweet Southern Roots of Cake Pops

We like learning about where things come from. Baking, in general, has a rich history that’s almost as old as humanity itself. Part of it has to do with the fact that most recipes in the history of eating have been “handed down.” This tradition has been turned upside down and put on steroids since the internet and the invention of recipe blogs. Regardless, the idea is the same: create something wonderful and share your method!

The history of the cake pop takes you down a path of both age-old tradition and modern-day blogosphere notoriety. Today’s ever-popular cake pop was made so by Angie Dudley, aka “Bakerella.”  Dudley started a recipe blog circa 2007 after taking a cake decorating class and she is, for all intents and purposes, the creator of the cake pop. Her story is precious.

Was she the first person to stick a cake ball on a stick? Maybe yes, maybe no. However, she was the first one to make the adorable concoction and post it on her blog. They went viral and within months this charming home-baker found herself standing next to Martha Stewart, showing the Food Network family how to make her delectable treats. People couldn’t get enough, and now over a dozen years later, they are still one of America’s most favorite treats that are just about as sweet as she is.

But what about the cake ball? Where did THAT come from? Most of us probably remember them surfacing around the mid-2000s, as one of those things that circulate birthday parties and school bake sales.  A little digging into the Bakerella blog and you find an older post of hers featuring cake balls.  According to her blog, she sampled the recipe at a party two years prior.  While Angie Dudley certainly made them cuter and easier to eat, she did not invent the cake ball.

Finding out where the cake ball came from is a little more challenging task than the blogosphere and articles featuring its successor on a stick. Even the Wikipedia page offers little enlightenment, particularly when all of the reference articles lead to 404 pages.

“Cake balls were originally created from the crumbs of leftover or stale cake to prevent waste.”

This implies that the cake ball simply “was.”

Our research team scoured the 22 pages of search results looking for any recipe or reference to the cake ball pre-2005 (when they showed up at the said party that Angie Dudley first tried these delightful confections). All we could find was a very old article on one of those sites that catalog old internet pages.

The baker from the (now closed) Cake Ball Company in Dallas started selling them in 2006 and mentioned she grew up eating them. After combing the comments, we find that they are, indeed, an old Southern tradition:

“Sherry” says, “…theyre[sic] a really old southern recipe that went by the wayside when fancy cakes came into style in the 50's. My great grandmother had a recipe for them (from the 1900's) but they didn’t call them cake balls then…”

Apparently in the south, cake balls have simply just been a thing. Let’s all take a little part In the cake ball/cake pop renaissance and order a bouquet.