11.21.2011

Secret Recipe Club: Christmas Cake Truffles

. Third time really is the charm.


Don't get me wrong, I was elated with my first two SRC assignments, which produced the Danish Puff and Victoria Sponge Cake.  Both were outrageously delicious and I had such a good time perusing the blogs.

But this time around, the blogger herself, Gloria from The Ginger Snap Girl, truly intrigued me.  Why you ask?  Well we have quite a number of [odd] things in common, which I realized while reading her 'About Me' page.  Let me demonstrate:
  • Gloria has three cats and I have three dogs!  First off, I don't know many people with three of anything.  And second, we both have animals named Oliver!  Crazy.
  • Gloria's husband is from Chicago [hello, my all time favorite city!] while Gloria is from California [whaaaat, my all time favorite state!].
  • Gloria's family LOVES food.  Hmm, I vividly remember mentioning my family's passion for food in one my of posts.  Oh yes, yes I did.  But Gloria didn't really hone her cooking skills until college.  What the...neither did I!!  Sophomore year to be exact.
  • Last but not least, Gloria began blogging in early 2010.  Okay, let's just take a gander over at my archives.  Yep, that's exactly when I started as well.

Is this weird or am I just imagining things?  Pretty amusing to me and needless to say, I loved browsing through Gloria's recipes, which include both baking and cooking dishes.  I have to admit, I was tempted to make some of Gloria's savory dishes for this SRC post because they just sounded so amazing.  Chicken Piccata [I adore capers), Cheeseburger-stuffed Mushrooms, Cheese and Chive Bread, and Garlic Basil Shrimp with Orzo Pasta.  Gah, mouth watering.

But I forced myself to stick to LSM's roots.  And of course, Gloria didn't lack any sweet recipes.  I debated between several items: Chocolate Chubbies, Chocolate Truffle Cookies, or Chocolate Malted Layer Cupcakes.  Obviously the chocolate bug was creeping around...but I ultimately decided on the irresistible Christmas Cake Truffles.  Why?  Well, they're absolutely perfect for the season, duh.  And I've also been dying to make cake balls for some time now but have never gotten around to it.  So here was my chance.  Gloria also provided a beautiful step-by-step tutorial, which was greatly comforting for my first attempt at cake ball-making!


And the results?  Little mounds of rich perfection.  Seriously, if you've never had a cake ball/truffle, you are missing out.  Big time.  These lovelies are truly truffle like, actually not what I was expecting in the least.  The centers are creamy, made so by a mixture of soft red velvet cake and a coconut-marshmallow cream cheese frosting.  And what's a truffle without some chocolate?  Mmhmm, the centers are encased by a layer of scrumptious chocolate.  Cake, special frosting, and chocolate all in one bite.  What's not to love?!

Yet again, I had a fabulous time getting to know a fellow blogger.  Thanks Gloria for the wonderful recipe and tutorial, I can't wait to share these with everyone! .


My Notes:
  • Gloria's recipe called for a boxed cake mix and store-bought frosting, but she mentioned you could use a from-scratch recipe as well.  I opted to use my Red Velvet Cake, the one Robbie made me for my birthday, simply because I loved it so much and knew it would be great.  And it was more than great!  So if you decide to use my recipe, hop on over to the post for directions on how to make the cake and frosting.  It's a fun one, too, there's videos!  Otherwise, reference Gloria's ingredients and directions below.
  • If you decide to use my recipe, you'll also need 2 ounces of red food coloring for the cake.  I put the batter into a 13x9-inch pan and baked at 350°F for 30 minutes, which is when a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake came out clean (from here, pick up at Step 2 below).  While the cake is cooling, make the frosting.  And if you're not a coconut fan, feel free to leave that out of the frosting.  Not saying I encourage you to do so [you'll regret it], but you know, just in case.  I used about 2 cups of the frosting for the filling.
  • For some reason, the filling started to pop out through the chocolate a little bit.  It seems like there was some moisture, so some of the cake balls cracked slightly [see pictures below].  This doesn't effect their outrageous taste whatsoever, but just giving you the heads up! 
  • I realized that this recipe is an ABSOLUTE perfect family activity on say, oh, Christmas Eve?!  Once the filling is ready, everyone can cover and decorate their own cake balls.  What a fun little night!
From The Ginger Snap Girl

Ingredients:
1 box red velvet cake mix (and ingredients on box to prepare cake)
1 container cream cheese frosting
2 (14 oz.)  bags dark cocoa candy melts
Additional candy melts, sprinkles, gels, etc. for decoration

Directions:
1.  Mix and bake cake mix according to box instructions.  Let cool.



2.  Once cooled, cut cake into sections and place cake into food processor.  Pulse until cake is crumbly (or, you can use your hands, fork, etc.).  Place crumbs into a large bowl.



3.  Add about 2/3 of the canned frosting to the cake crumbs and mix to completely combine, until you have a fudge-like consistency.



4.  Using a medium-sized scoop or tablespoon, scoop dough and place cake balls onto parchment- or foil-lined baking sheet (make sure that whatever you place the cake balls on can fit into your freezer!).  Take each ball and roll in hands to form a smooth ball and place back on baking sheet.  Place baking sheet in freezer for 1 hour.




5.  Once ready to decorate, place chocolate candy melts into large bowl and melt in microwave (heat at 30-second intervals until completely melted and smooth).  

PLEASE NOTE! 
If you're using sprinkles, make sure to have the sprinkles ready to use.  The chocolate melts very quickly, so you must decorate the cake balls immediately after covering in chocolate.  I found it best to set up a short assembly line: dip in chocolate, place on parchment paper, and cover with sprinkles.


6.  Place one cake ball into bowl and using two forks, roll ball in chocolate to cover completely.  Using the forks, take cake ball out of bowl, letting excess chocolate drip off, and place onto parchment paper.  Decorate as desired.  Let cake balls set (only a minute or two).



Yield: about 60 cake balls


30 comments:

  1. These are so pretty and festive. And, yummy, I'm sure. Great SRC pick!

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  2. These look so festive and fun! I bet they were delicious!

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  3. These cake truffles are gorgeous! I love the way the red pops out of the dark chocolate.

    Thanks for the recipe! (I always wondered how the cake stuck together...who knew that the key was frosting?) :D

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  4. I love truffles. What a great blog you got for SRC. You picked a wonderful recipe. Thanks for sharing.

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  5. Beautiful truffles Jess! Truffles are one of my favorite Holiday treats to make.
    Robyn
    http://theranchwifechronicles.com/

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  6. What a perfect dessert for the holidays, and extra special because little cooks can help make them. The red velvet cake is so pretty for Christmas and your photos are knockouts. What a great SRC recipe choice.

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  7. They're so pretty! In my experience cake pops/balls/truffles crack when there is too stark a contrast in temperature between the melted chocolate and the balls. Like freezing the balls makes the chocolate crack after dipping, or overheating the chocolate. It's a precarious balance b/c you want the balls cold, and the chocolate melted, but not too cold or too hot!

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  8. Gorgeous, they'd make perfect gifts.

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  9. Enjoyed reading your post! :) I love cake balls but I always try to make them to TAKE somewhere. (Do you know what I mean?) Great SRC post!

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  10. I love making cake ball truffles. Cake and frosting frozen together tastes better than you'd ever think it would! :)

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  11. Yeah! I'm so happy you picked Christmas Cake Truffles. They are so fun to decorate. I was just thinking I need to start planning when I'm going to make a batch (or two) this year.

    You did a fabulous job with them. Nice photo of them on your 3 tier display. I love your bright red cake. Plus you didn't cheat like I did using boxed cake and canned frosting.

    Thank you for the kind words about my blog. I think you are right...we have tons in common. How many people have 3 pets, one name Oliver? :)

    Have a great Thanksgiving!

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  12. I have never tried a cake ball in my life but these look yummy and so festive! I would love to give making them a go. You could also put them on a stick so they were like a popsicle cake ball! :) thanks for sharing your recipe.

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  13. These are so pretty! They look so good too, I love the inside. Yum!

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  14. These look soooo good! Thanks! Shay :) http://raisingdieter.blogspot.com/

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  15. These are so festive and they look truly decadent & delicious :) Perhaps I'll add them to my holiday baking list...

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  16. Jess...those truffles are beautiful!!!! I just recently made red velvet cake balls for the first time. But I love the addition of coconut to the frosting and I wish I had thought of that! This is my first SRC and it's exciting to see what's out there! You both have really great blogs and I hope to be making something from them soon! : )

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  17. These look delicious...and so pretty on a plate at Christmas. I'm going to pin this for sure! Visiting from Strut Your Stuff.

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  18. We featured your beautiful cake truffles on Take Six's FB page!!

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  19. These are beautiful!! Great job!

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  20. yuuum! These look delicious - and great for an edible gift! Thanks for posting.

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  21. These look amazing and so festive! We're featuring them tomorrow at our Seasonal Inspiration party - thanks for sharing!

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  22. Truffles are so hard to find! I love your recipe!

    We are having hosting 12 days of Christmas Goodies, and today is TRUFFLE recipes! We would love for you to come by and link-this up! 

    http://momscrazycooking.blogspot.com/2011/12/12-days-of-christmas-goodies-egg-nog.html

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  23. Ah ha, so that's what holds cake balls together, icing! I've never made them and was wondering. I know they are all the rage. I do think tghe red velvet cake was a great choice!

    First timer at SRC,
    Aimee

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  24. Oh my gosh. Those photos of chocolate truffles just made my heart flutter. I'm swooning. Yes, now I am descending into a deep and perhaps irreversible swoon. Oh my. Help, help, help. I'm drooling.

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  25. You were featured on this week's A Themed Baker's Sunday! But we're keeping the Christmas spirit alive until Christmas Weekend! If you have baking recipes, cooking recipes, or even ideas, bring them over and share with everyone!
    Cupcake Apothecary
    http://cupcakeapothecary.blogspot.com/2011/12/themed-bakers-sunday-17.html

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  26. I love how bright and colorful these cake truffles are!!! I shared them on my Sweet Swap roundup!

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  27. Those look so pretty! And they are delicious!

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  28. Remembering that Christmas is in the Winter in the Northern Hemisphere, is the first validation to why this cake comes out at this time of year.

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  29. your article is amazing, because this is something new when it comes to christmas cake, and I think that I will surely try this out.

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