"The Cake Ball Company" news and stories

Cake balls, best described as ooey-gooey cupcakes with two tops, have become a certifiable trend in Texas and South Louisiana.

"We've definitely created kind of a craze," admits Robin Ankeny, the baker behind the Cake Ball Company in Dallas, where the local paper recently ran a story on how to make Valentine's versions of the wildly popular treats.

Ankeny started selling cake balls in 2006, inspiring a horde of professional and amateur imitators – and a few detractors: "Put down the cake balls," an Austin blogger pleaded in a recent post bidding good riddance to the past year's fads. The treats were so ubiquitous by Christmastime that the Times-Picayune food editor Judy Walker reported in early 2009 that they "turned up at just about every party or gathering I attended."

Walker admitted she'd never before heard of cake balls, a sentiment shared by food experts across the region. While Ankeny insists cake balls are an old Southern tradition, the treats are still rarely found in states that don't share a border with Texas.