Red Velvet Cake Balls

Last week, some of the fantastic ladies in my office invited me to participate in a baking contest. (Apparently they liked my Buffalo Chicken Dip so they wanted to see if I had sweets in me....) We stumbled upon this recipe for Red Velvet Cake Balls and before you could say Red Velvet Cake Balls the competition was on. So on Sunday of last weekend (yes, this post is VERY overdue....) before the Giants game I gave it my best shot.

My commentary will be in grey italics below and please excuse the iphone pictures...I have a hard enough time getting around the kitchen, let alone remembering to take pictures...I usually grab my iphone out of my purse and call it a day.

Ingredients:

• 1 box red velvet cake mix, and ingredients to make the cake
• 1 can (16 oz) cheese frosting
• 1 lb candy coating (I used vanilla flavor from AC Moore)
  
• Sprinkles or small candies to decorate (optional)

Preparation:


1. Prepare and bake the red velvet cake mix according to the directions of the package for a 9x13 cake. Once baked, allow the cake to cool completely. Okay easy enough, I can handle this.

2. Crumble the cake into a large bowl and work it with your hands until it is in small pieces. If desired, reserve a few spoonfuls of crumbs to use as decorative toppings on the finished truffles. Again, easy, but your hands will get REALLY red from this. Also, no need to save crumbs...use sprinkles instead!

3. Spoon the frosting into the bowl and stir with a rubber spatula until the mixture is well-combined. It should be very moist and hold together if you squeeze a ball of cake between your fingers, but not too wet or greasy. If the cake mixture is still a bit dry, add more frosting to get it to the desired consistency. You have to stir for a while...also be wary of roommates who like to stick their hands in the batter while you are stirring....

4. Using a small cookie or candy scoop, scoop out small balls of cake and roll between your palms until they are round. Place the cakes balls on a baking sheet covered with aluminum foil, and refrigerate them for 20 minutes. This is painful, and takes a long time. Also, I made my balls way bigger than they called for because I got tired of scooping them and couldn't imagine dipping them in chocolate to be any easier. Also, you will have a lot of "excess" on your hands, but you need to roll them smooth on the edges...I learned this the hard way when dipping in the chocolate.

5. Place the candy coating in a medium microwave-safe bowl or double boiler and microwave/stir until melted, stirring after every 45 seconds to prevent overheating. I used a double boiler....kept it consistently warm.

6. Using dipping tools or a fork, submerge a cake ball in the melted candy coating. Remove it from the coating and drag the bottom across the lip of the bowl to remove excess coating. Replace the dipped truffle on the foil-covered baking sheet. If desired, top it with a sprinkle of cake crumbs, small candies, or other decorations while the coating is still wet. Repeat with remaining cake balls. This is the most painful and messy part of the entire process. Also, I suggest you enlist a roommate (or two) to help you with this.....due to my balls not being smooth enough (see step 4)....I had to have one roomie smooth out the balls (otherwise lots of "pieces" dropped into the candy....), I coated in the chocolate and my other roomie applied the sprinkles. I was paranoid about the chocolate burning and it was my first time (and they were convinced if they helped they would be able to eat one sooner....), but I could def. handle this on my own next time.

7. Refrigerate the truffles to set the coating completely, about 20 minutes. These cake truffles are best served at room temperature, and can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. Keep in the fridge-they taste WAY better cold! Also, sorry about the lack of pictures...by this time the Giants game was about to start...my hands were totally covered in red something or another....there was vanilla candy coating ALL OVER the kitchen and I had dirtied no less than 50 dishes. BEWARE: You will use a TON of dishes/bowls/utensils during this.

So...of course now you are asking...HOW DID I DO?
Well, duh....

OF COURSE I WON!
(like every other office competition....just because I don't cook dinner for myself on a regular basis doesn't mean when I try it's completely inedible......)

I snapped this picture not even 5 minutes after I walked into the office and someone had already tapped into my stash. Oh well, I don't blame them-they were DELICIOUS (yes, I am tooting my own horn here....) The thick candy coating really helps lock in the moisture and as I said above--keep them in the fridge to ensure freshness. Also, can we talk about how cute they are? (Great job on the sprinkles Roomie!)

I am on such a high from my victory that I am going to attempt to make Mint Chocolate ones next....stay tuned!