Valentine’s Day Chocolate Cake Truffles
Usually I get behind on holidays and can’t get a recipe post together prior to the actual holiday. But this year I’ve got a little something sweet to share with you for Valentine’s Day! In the past, I’ve always put a lot of pressure on having a special Valentine’s Day with flowers, good food, and hopefully some chocolate, but this year the pressure is off. I’m happily engaged, and we’re trying to save money to buy a house, so instead of going out and spending too much on a mediocre dinner, we’re going to stay home and enjoy each other’s company. And LOTS of these cake truffles.
I had originally picked out this recipe to make for an MSPCA bake sale, but given the recent weather, these ended up staying in my fridge and going into our happy bellies. And admittedly I’m so glad that they did! We’ve all seen cake balls before (I renamed them cake truffles, because it sounds a bit classier for Valentine’s Day 
, but believe it or not, I’d never made these until last weekend! I very, very rarely buy anything that you make out of a box, so it was a total deviation from my normal baking habits to buy boxed cake mix and canned frosting, but to make these, you have to do it right!
I went with a chocolate/chocolate combo, because chocolate = love, and I love chocolate. Plus, it’s totally suitable for Valentine’s Day, right? I covered most of them in semisweet chocolate, but a few in peanut butter chips for Kevin, because he’s a PB/chocolate fiend. Yum!
I also picked up some cute heart-shaped sprinkles, because you can’t have a Valentine’s Day dessert without incorporating some hearts in there.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my first cake ball truffle experience. I’ve often thought about having a variation of these as a part of the dessert bar at our wedding, and after realizing how easy they are to make, completely adorable, and really tasty, I think we’re going to have to seriously consider that idea! Just to be sure, I’m going to need to make many more batches over the next few months Nothing like some quality control!
Wherever you are and whatever you do for Valentine’s Day this year, I hope it’s a great one! We’ll be settled on the couch with some bread and cheese, and Kevin promised he’ll watch a chick flick with me. Now that’s a great guy!
Love to you all
Ingredients
- 1 box (18.25oz) chocolate cake mix (follow box instructions for 13 x 9" cake)
- 1 (16oz) can chocolate frosting
- 2-3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
- Optional: sprinkles for decoration
- Wax paper (or parchment paper)
Directions
- Bake cake according to instructions on back of box for a 9 x 13" cake, and allow to cool completely. After cake is cool, crumble in a large bowl until no large cake pieces remain.
- With a rubber spatula (or your hands, if you are feeling adventurous), mix in 1 can of chocolate frosting. Keep mixing until both ingredients are completely incorporated, and you have a uniform mixture.
- Roll large tablespoonfuls of dough into balls (about the size of a quarter), and lay on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper or parchment paper (I used parchment). You should end up with 45-50 balls, depending on how big you make them. Chill for several hours, until firm. (You can also freeze them, if you are in a hurry).
- Melt your chocolate chips in the microwave, starting with 30-second intervals to be sure you don't burn the chocolate, and stirring in between. Once completely melted, start dipping cake calls into chocolate one at a time, using a fork to tap off the excess before returning to parchment or wax paper lined tray. If using sprinkles, be sure to apply them immediately, before the chocolate has time to set and harden.
- Once all cake balls are covered in chocolate, return to the refrigerator and chill until set. Then serve!
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http://twitter.com/kathycancook Kathy Day
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http://megan-deliciousdishings.blogspot.com/ Megan
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http://twitter.com/MichellePC Michelle Collins
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http://www.confessionsofachocoholic.com/ Bianca Garcia
