Since Valentine's Day is just around the corner I thought it was only appropriate to send out a little love... cake ball style. Originally I had all the intentions of making cake pops, but when it came down to it, I just didn't have the energy. It's much easier to just coat cake balls in chocolate as opposed to putting them on a stick and then coating them with chocolate. Sometimes the chocolate drips, sometimes a ball or 2 can fall off the stick, it's just more of a hassle. I also had the intentions to send my little Valentine's treasure to a few friends and family. I like to do that for holidays, but it didn't work out either. I'm batting 1,000. Everything started out great, I started working on my treats with plenty of time to complete, package and send them out to get to my recipients by Tuesday. But, then I had to work, and go to the gym (Week 15 of shedding for the wedding complete!), and Rollins had to make an unexpected trip to the vet (don't worry everything is fine) and I didn't have the energy to finish them. You may see lack of energy is a recurring theme. I need more sleep, I know. It's something I'm working on. I ended up finishing my cake balls on Saturday. I set a few aside to take to my future in-laws since we'll be visiting them in a few days, and the remaining balls made an appearance at work this morning. People love treats bright and early on a Sunday morning.
Now, are you wondering how to make these little morsels? I'm sure everyone at this point is familiar with the phenomena that is cake pops (or balls in this case), but in case you aren't I will give you a brief cake ball breakdown.
You will need:
1 box of cake mix
1 can of frosting
2 lbs of meltable chocolate coating (I like Make N' Mold from A.C. Moore)
sticks (if you're making pops)
sprinkles (if you want to get a little fancy and decorate)
wrappers and ties (if you want to package them up)
1. Bake the cake according to the directions on the package and let it cool completely.
2. After the cake has cooled, crumble it into a large mixing bowl. Then mix in frosting (you won't use the entire can, a little more than half will be fine).
3. When the cake and frosting are combined begin rolling into balls, about 1 inch in size. Place them on a cookie sheet covered with wax paper. Then put them in the freezer for 15-20 minutes (it's easier to coat them in chocolate if you do this).
4. While the balls are freezing melt the chocolate according to directions on the package.
5. If you are making balls you can just roll the balls in the chocolate and set them back on the wax paper on the cookie sheet to set. If you're making pops, dip the end of the stick in melted chocolate and then push it into the cake ball. Do this with all the cake balls and return them to the freezer to set. Once they are set, dip them in melted chocolate, tap off excess and stick them in a piece of foam to set. If you want to add sprinkles do it before the chocolate sets.
That's all you need to know... have fun spreading the love!
