Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Red Velvet (and another) Chocolate Covered Cake Truffles

I've been seeing recipes for these little balls of goodness for months now. The first time I noticed one, I about had a heart attack. My favorite dessert item, packaged neatly in a layer of chocolate? Sold.
 
I’m sure you have seen them too, and if you haven’t, look for them online. Search cake ball. I happen to like the sound of cake truffle, because I’m boujie. Although mine are obviously five star, I think there are a few better shots of them somewhere.

 


The very cool thing about this recipe, aside from the taste and portability, is the versatility. Do you like carrot cake? You can make it into a cake truffle. Prefer devil’s food? You can make that into a truffle.

And it doesn’t stop there. You can use any flavor frosting as well. Vanilla, buttercream, strawberry—you name it.

I decided to make two kinds. Obviously I had to make a red velvet with cream cheese frosting version, and since I wanted to go in another direction, I went with a yellow cake with chocolate frosting.

Even though this recipe was made by a boxed cake and frosting, I’d be lying to you if I said it was a breeze (for me at least). So I will give you the step by step, and also some hints if you’re as dysfunctional as I was being.

Tip number 1: Buy the correct ingredients. I originally started with Baker’s Chocolate, and ended up with a jagged, melty mess. Go for microwavable candy wafers.

The correct chocolate is used on the right, obviously.
Tip number 2: Don’t necessarily add the entire container of frosting. If you do this, your cake ball might be a little too gooey. It will still taste absolutely amazing, but will form better with less.

Tip number 3: Work in batches and take the time to keep everything cool in the refrigerator or freezer. A frozen cake truffle is a workable cake truffle.

Tip number 4: Try a couple dipping techniques, and see what works the best for you!

Okay, onto the recipe, which makes about 24-36 truffles, depending on the size.


What ya need:
1- 18 oz box cake mix (your choice!)
1- 16 oz container prepared frosting (your choice, again!)
1- 16 oz bag meltable candy wafers (try a craft store)

What ya do:
1. Prepare the cake as directed on box using any of the recommended pan sizes. When cake is finished baking, allow to cool completely.
2. When cooled, crumble the cake into a large bowl and stir in the frosting until well blended. Use your hands, and be  like me. As mentioned earlier, you may not need all of the frosting.
3. Allow this mixture to cool up to a half hour before forming your balls. Once cool enough to form, roll into desired size and place on parchment paper and into the freezer. Allow to freeze at least one hour and up to overnight. (This helps with step 4)

4. Melt the chocolate wafers in a microwavable bowl or in a double boiler until smooth. (Here is where it gets tricky). You can either dip your truffles into the chocolate using a fork or toothpick to hold them, drop them in and spoon chocolate over them, or do the chocolate in small batches and pour it over the truffles. I think the drop and spoon method worked the best for me.

5. Place on waxed paper to set. Add any additional embellishments!

Though it was a bit time consuming for me, these were a hit. Very moist centers with a candy coated crunch. I think I will definitely try these again, with my own adjustments. You can really get creative with these, especially because the candy wafers come in a variety of colors.

Give these a try, you’re going to love them!



10 comments:

Rick said...

Those are so good. Yet messy.

Courtney said...

Ahh - these look so good! I've seen them around for months now, too. I've just always been intimidated by the mess they make! I might just have to suck it up and finally try them!

Anonymous said...

These look yummy and fun! haha, Great pictures!

Anonymous said...

These look yummy and fun! haha, Great pictures!

The Chocolate Priestess said...

Those look fun to make and good to eat. Thank you for sharing.

Suchitra Vaidyaram said...

Yum...looks swell, gotta try this!

Monet said...

So your pictures made me laugh...and made my stomach rumble! I would have a hard time not eating a whole plate of these. They would be so fun to just pop into my mouth. Thank you for sharing another great recipe. You are adorable!

Anonymous said...

Yum! I've been seeing these everywhere, too, and I want to try them! Yours look great. I love the devil's food/cream cheese frosting combo!

Mackenzie @ The Caramel Cookie said...

I love these! I am actually making some tonight for a party tomorrow!

The cookin cutie said...

I've made these before and they are delicious! I rolled a whole bunch of them for Christmas one year... they get pretty labor intensive though! I see you're in Fairfax (me too!) you should try shopping at Fran's... they have EVERYTHING you can ever imagine when it comes to baking!