Cake Balls – The Red Velvet Version

***UPDATE: See this post about our new eating habits. (7/10/11)

I had no intention of doing this post. I know that cake balls (also called Cake Truffles) are very popular……at least I thought so. When I had a coffee party here recently, I found out that several of my friends had never made OR had cake balls. After I picked my jaw up off the floor, I knew my mission in life had been set before me…..I would tell the oblivious world of cake balls! I must get rid of all crimes against humanity, starting with these. It’s a rough job, but someone has to eat it….I mean, do it. Oh, and if you have no restraint, you might want to leave – now. Pick up your things and go. Do not read any further. Thank you.

This is all you need. Well, sorta. You need the stuff to prepare the cake mix too….so, let’s just pretend it’s setting there. You can use any flavor that you’d like. I’ve made tons of different types and flavor combinations. I just happened to want to make Red Velvet this time. I think they turn out the prettiest. Any time I decorate a cake and have some left over (from topping an uneven layer), I make these or a Punch Bowl Cake. People, never let your cake scraps go to waste! That would be wrong….so very, very wrong.  I’ve made chocolate, vanilla, butter pecan, well……I’ve made a zillion kinds. They all turn out great. What can be wrong about cake and chocolate mixed together? That’s a rhetorical question.

Bake your cake however you like….we’re just going to mess it up, so it doesn’t have to be pretty, just done. Get a big mixing bowl and crumble it in there. All those times your mom told you not to play with your food does not apply here. If you have children, they would really enjoy this part…..if you can trust them not to eat it…..or maybe you can’t trust yourself either. If that’s the case, maybe Cake Balls aren’t for you. Crumble it until it looks fine like this.

Okay, I know most people use a tub of store bought icing for their cake balls. I thought that made them entirely too sweet…..at least too sweet to eat five, so I thought I would use this instead…..the first time I did it, it turned out GREAT! I was so excited! I thought I had changed the wide world of cake balls – and then the bomb dropped. Someone else had already thought of it. Oh well……no millionaire status for me. If you use creamer, they won’t be overly sweet like the icing version. But you can use icing if that’s what you have. Just use one tub of icing per cake box. I used Caramel Apple for this because I love pairing chocolate and caramel together – and we all know that Red Velvet cake is just chocolate cake with a ton of red food coloring in it (you did know that, right?). Let’s not think about what our insides look like after eating it. Thank you. Using creamer allows you to come up with all sorts of flavor combinations! Just think about all the different coffee creamer types…..Irish Cream, Hazelnut, Italian Sweet Cream, Crème Brulee. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh baby, I’m getting excited!

You’ll want to add enough creamer so that your crumbs begin to stick together and get doughy. It will look and feel like play dough. I love play dough! I can’t wait until Annie is ready for it….Mommy is ready NOW! Ya know, I have bad flash backs to when I was little though. My Mama used to tell me that if I ate play dough, it would give me worms. I was scared to death of the stuff………my Mama lied to me to keep me from eating it. Oh well, it worked. Thanks Mama! I’m worm free!

If you want your cake balls to be of similar size, you can use a cookie scoop. It will also help you get them more round while rolling them. Roll the dough into balls. You’ll get a BUNCH. If you find that your dough isn’t sticking together well, add more creamer.

Put your rolled balls onto a wax paper lined cookie sheet. I had two when I was done. Stick them in the freezer for an hour or two. We need to let them get firm so that they’ll be easier to dip.

When you’re ready to dip, melt your chocolate in the microwave. I used almond bark, a 16 ounce pack. You can use real chocolate, but this is much cheaper. Cheap! Cheap! There’s always a bird living here.

Any time that you’re going to dip something, like cake balls, pretzels, or your fingers, make sure you use a taller container. That will help you get a good depth so that things are easier to dip. I almost always use this measuring cup because it’s tall and I can reheat my chocolate if needed.

Now, dip each one in the melted chocolate. It will set up very fast because they are so cold, so you need to work quickly.

Put them back on the cookie sheet to finish setting up. You won’t need to put them in the fridge just yet.

This is the reason I used white chocolate with the Red Velvet. If you’ll look close, you can see little red sprinkles in the coating. After the first couple that you dip, your chocolate will begin to get crumbs in it. I think it looks very pretty in the coating. If you use brown chocolate for this version, you won’t see that…..but they’ll still taste pretty stinking awesome.

Okay, I know what you’re thinking. This is NOT a bag of that. It’s a little bag that I put a chunk of chocolate in and melted it in the microwave. Y’all should know by now that I have to decorate everything. It’s a desire I cannot overcome…..sorta like I can’t not stop at that yard sale. You can use any type of bag that you have….my decorating bags were downstairs and I didn’t want to get them. I improvised. Cut the very tip off one of the corners. Make sure it’s really small or your decoration will turn into a blob.

Drizzle the chocolate over the top of each cake ball. Isn’t that cute?! I love it……if you were using dark chocolate, you’d do this part with white. Let them stand until the topping sets up.

You’re done! Aren’t they pretty? They make a lovely presentation. I love using them as hostess gifts. You’ll need to store them in the fridge. I like taking mine out for a bit before I eat them so they soften up a tad, but Barry will eat them straight out of the fridge. I know your mind is churning with all the different combos you could make……go forth and bake! And if my friend Rebecca Jackson is reading this – you can make these, Honey! Make them for your friends and they’ll think you turned into Martha Stewart.

I have saved the world!