Red Velvet Cake Truffles

 

I went through several trials (and errors) trying to make cake truffles and cake pops. I have a few tips to share so that you don't have to go through the same frustrations - hopefully. These are always a popular treat - the perfect size to satisfy your need for cake, without the need to hit the gym for an extra hour!

Red Velvet Cake Truffles

red velvet cake*

2 tablespoons vanilla buttercream

1 bag vanilla (white) candy melts (or chopped white chocolate)

1/4 bag red candy melts, optional

red sprinkles, optional

*When making cake truffles, I typically just use the "scraps" from whatever kind of cake I'm making. For example, when you trim that mound from a round cake to create a flat cake top, save it for cake truffles. Or if you have some extra batter, just bake it and put it into a bowl when it cools. You can also use any flavor of cake and frosting you like. The technique is the same. There are endless possibilities - so be creative!

Start with pieces of cake in a large bowl. Prepare a cookie sheet by covering it with waxed paper or parchment paper. Get your utensils ready (spoon, bowls, melon baller, etc) because from here on out, your hands will be messy.

Make sure your hands are clean! Use your fingers to break up the cake in the bowl until you have fine crumbs.

Add a very small amount of buttercream frosting (you can use any flavor you like) and work the frosting into the crumbled cake using your fingers. Mix until all of the frosting is evenly distributed. As you are mixing, the cake mixture to see if it will stick into a ball when you squeeze it gently in your hands. If it falls apart, it's too dry. Add a little more frosting (but only a small amount at a time -it's easy to slowly add more frosting if needed... if you add too much, there's no way to reverse it).

 When the cake mixture holds it's shape when squeezed (like below) you are ready to start shaping the truffles.

I use a small melon baller for this next step...Using the melon baller, scoop a small amount of cake mixture and use the baller and the palm of your hand to shape the mixture into a ball.

 Place the ball onto the prepared cookie sheet and repeat until you've used up all of the cake mixture.

Melt the white chocolate in a heat-safe bowl over a pot of simmering water. (You could also melt it in the microwave on medium power in 30 second intervals until melted.)

 

Drop one ball into the bowl of chocolate and use a small fork to gently turn it to coat all sides. Lift the truffle from the chocolate using the fork , tapping on the side of the bowl very gently to shake off excess chocolate. Gently place the truffle on the prepared cookie sheet to dry.

At this point, once the truffles are set, they are ready to eat! But if you want to add a little sparkle (I always like sparkle), Melt a small amount of red candy melts and place the melted chocolate in a small ziploc bag.

Trim one corner of the bag and gently squeeze to drizzle the red chocolate onto the cake truffles. Immediately sprinkle with red sparkle sprinkles if desired. It is important to add the sprinkles quickly because once the chocolate starts to dry, they will not stick.

Enjoy!