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    Home » Recipes » Desserts

    Fried Cake Bites — At Home Carnival Food

    By: Jessica · Posted: Jun 16, 2017 · Updated: Dec 29, 2022 · This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

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    Jump to Recipe 7 comments
    5 from 2 votes

    Fried Cake Bites — At Home Carnival Food: A sweet treat that your taste buds will fall in love with, and it will BLOW your mind how easy they are!

    Fried Cake Bites - Carnival Food at Home

     

    Fried Cake Bites

    Oh friends… I couldn’t keep this from you any longer, and I may have stumbled upon a guilty pleasure that will engage your taste buds on so many levels.

    While at the grocery store the other day, walking past the

    “Oooops, I Baked Too Much”

    sign, I saw this incredibly delicious cake sitting all by its lonesome on the shelf, with a bright yellow price tag. The cake was marked down so cheap that I didn’t think twice about putting it in my cart (with no plan in mind for this sweet treat at all).

    The next day when my gal pal Kate came over (on the day where we get crafty in the kitchen), we started pondering over how we could use this cake for something incredible. Well friends, the thought “Fried Cake Bites” came to mind, and we ran with it. I can’t WAIT to show you how easy this was, and I especially can’t wait to hear how much you’re a new fan of fried cake bites too!

    Fried Cake Bites Tutorial:

    Alright, we’re going to keep things super simple here and you’re going to LOVE the outcome.

    Fried Cake Bites - Using a store bought cake to make this super easy.

    Frosted Store Bought Cake

    You’re MORE than welcome to make your own cake and add your own frosting for these, but it was insanely easy to just use a store-bought frosted cake. The cake we used was a 2 layer, 8-inch vanilla cake with vanilla icing. But any flavor should do.

    Stir/mash until frosting is evenly distributed with cake.

    Fried Cake Bites - at home carnival food

    Although a store-bought cake makes things super easy, these cake bites wouldn’t be NEAR anything special without the other stars of the show that make them to-die-for.

    • LouAna Peanut Oil –  See notes below
    • Pancake Mix
    • Egg
    • Milk
    Peanut Oil for fried cake bites dessert idea

    LouAna Peanut Oil

    You’re going to use 2 teaspoon of Peanut Oil and mix it in with the pancake batter, but you’ll also use 2 cups of the oil to fry the cake bites in.

    Fried Cake Bites - Carnival Food at home

    Cake Bite Batter + Assembly

    Using your hands, roll up individual cake bites into about one-inch balls and set aside.

    In a separate bowl, mix together the 2 teaspoon oil, egg, milk, and pancake mix.

    Fried Cake Bites
    Fried Cake Bites - Carnival Food dessert idea

    Fry those Babies

    Heat up 2 cups of Peanut Oil in a pan/skillet (my favorite to use for these is cast iron), over medium-low heat. To test to see if the oil is ready (and not too hot), drop in a dab of the batter to make sure it’s ready for frying.

    Once the oil is ready, dip each cake bite into the pancake batter and gently place each cake ball in to the pan.

    Fry for one minute, rotating often, until each cake bite reaches a golden brown. Place fried cake bites on to a plate lined with paper towels to absorb excess oil.

    Fried Cake Bites - easy dessert idea

    Remove from pan and allow to cool for a few minutes, and sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired.

    Fried Cake Bites - easy dessert idea

    I Mean… For Real…

    Are the insides of these a glance at Heaven or what? You could even dip them in to a fun ice cream topping for some extra tastiness, or eat them just like they are.

    TIP: These are not the best leftover (just like any of your favorite carnival food), so make sure you make yourself sick eating as many as you can right away. 😉

    Fried Cake Bites - easy dessert idea

    If you love fun dessert recipes like these, then you’re also going to really love this cakesicles recipe!

    Recipe

    Fried Cake Bites - easy dessert idea

    Fried Cake Bites

    Jessica Burgess
    Fried Cake Bites — At Home Carnival Food: A sweet treat that your taste buds will fall in love with, and it will BLOW your mind how easy they are!
    5 from 2 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 20 minutes mins
    Cook Time 10 minutes mins
    Total Time 30 minutes mins
    Course Dessert
    Cuisine American
    Servings 25 cake bites (number may vary based on size)
    Calories 181 kcal

    Ingredients

    • 1 premade 2 layer 8-in cake frosted
    • 1 egg beaten
    • 1 cup milk
    • 2 cups pancake mix
    • 2 cups + 2 teaspoons peanut oil divided
    • powdered sugar for garnishing if desired

    Instructions
     

    • Crumble store-bought cake in a large bowl
    • Stir until frosting is evenly mixed with the cake
    • Roll cake mixture in to one-inch balls
    • In a separate bowl, mix together egg, milk, pancake mix, and 2 teaspoons of oil.
    • Heat 2 cups of oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-low heat.
    • Test oil by dropping in a dab of the batter to make sure it’s hot enough, or not too hot.
    • Roll each cake ball into pancake batter, then place in oil.
    • Fry each cake ball for about 1 minute, rotating often, until golden brown.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1cake bite | Calories: 181kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 14mg | Sodium: 227mg | Potassium: 53mg | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 50IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 80mg | Iron: 0.6mg

    Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.

    Keywords cake bites recipe, easy dessert for kids birthday party, easy dessert for party
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
    Fried Cake Bites - Carnival Food at home

    I can see fried cake bites making an appearance at your next family gathering, or at a future birthday party! (Or on a random weekend in your house, just because you want something fun & sweet!) I can’t wait to hear how you topped them, or if you prefer them plain!

    Thank you so much for coming by! If you’re in the mood for more recipe browsing, you can see all of our recipes here on the blog:

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      5 from 2 votes (1 rating without comment)

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    1. Sarah says

      May 04, 2025 at 7:02 pm

      Rolled then in cinnamon sugar.

      Reply
      • Jessica says

        May 05, 2025 at 8:47 am

        Yum!! That sounds delicious!

        Reply
    2. Courtney D. Moseley says

      September 24, 2019 at 4:04 pm

      I’m going to try this for my “State Fair of Texas” themed teacher luncheon on Thursday with the leftovers of my husband’s strawberry cake that I made for his birthday. I was getting really fancy and carved it up and everything and have TONS left over. I’ll let you know how it turns out! 😉

      Reply
      • Jessica says

        September 25, 2019 at 3:05 pm

        Oh my gosh, using strawberry cake sounds amazing! Yes do! I’d love to hear how it turns out!

        Reply
    3. Dorothy Boucher says

      February 05, 2019 at 12:21 pm

      5 stars
      Yum!! Looking forward to trying out this recipe with the grandchildren, maybe adding some tasty sprinkles or some fun! garnish LOLL.

      Reply
    4. Carolyn says

      July 15, 2017 at 12:05 pm

      Can regular oil be used instead of peanut oil want to make and don’t want to have to go by special oil

      Reply
      • Jessica says

        July 15, 2017 at 12:53 pm

        Yes of course! Vegetable oil would work just fine!

        Reply

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