Rich Chocolate Cake Balls

Creative:

I sometimes make desserts and treats and think, "I can't believe I haven't put this on my blog yet!" This is one of those desserts. I LOVE cake balls. Which is shocking, beings as my first attempt turned into the epic "fish balls", referred to often in my family circles. Another story for another time. But I'm glad I tried again because these things are amazing.

I made these moist, rich chocolate cake balls for Easter this year. The fun thing about cake balls is that there are HUNDREDS of different flavors of cake, frosting, and coating to use. Wilton brand carries a plethora of white chocolate flavored candy coatings in different colors so they can be used for any occasion. I have used pink and baby blue for chocolate-covered marshmallows and Oreos, yellow and pink for these Easter balls, and the classic milk chocolate and white chocolate for these and other truffle-like treats. 

I turned to my all-time favorite chocolate cake recipe for these: Shon's Birthday Cake. I simply halved the recipe and baked it in a 9-inch round cake pan for the allotted time in the recipe. After letting it cool. I whipped up 1/3 batch of classic Buttercream Frosting and folded it into the cake...using my hands. This is a messy step, but very fulfilling. At this point, feel free to grab a huge spoon full and give it a good taste ;)

After rolling the messy cake into 1-1 1/2 inch balls, place them on a cookie sheet and place in the freezer for at least 30 minutes to make them easier to dip. When chilled, soften some candy coating (I used Wilton for these) in the microwave and let cool slightly before dipping each cake ball into the filling, coating completely. (Only take a few out of the freezer at a time if this is your first time. This keeps them from getting too warm to work with). After coating the cake balls, place them on waxed paper to harden and put sprinkles of your choice on the top before they dry, like I did with edible pearls. Or, you can let them harden completely and swirl extra candy coating over the top. 

One last step to make these extra special: put each individual ball into its own cute mini cupcake liner. That is the icing on the cake - ball - as far as presentation is concerned. For fancy events like Easter, place a big pile of balls on a cake platter and use as a centerpiece. Friends and family at the table will gush over it.

  

Compassionate:

These are a fun treat to make for any special occasion, especially since there are SO MANY different flavors and colors to experiment with! But they don't have to be just for special occasions. Sometimes I like to make these for visiting and home teaching treats, or even just a backyard barbecue. Once you get the hang of it, cake balls are a blast to make and share with others. 

Happy:

After an amazing ham Easter dinner this year, complete with a backyard Easter egg hunt and candy, I think these were a fun treat to send home with the families that joined us for our Easter celebration. I know the kids loved them...especially right before bedtime :)

Give these a whirl! And if you experiment with other cake and frosting flavors, let me know how they turn out. I'd love to increase my cake ball repertoire.