Someone requested me to make some of my delicious cake truffles that are a big hit at parties and family gatherings and I told them I would make them tomorrow.
Well that didn’t go as planned because when I know I need to do something it stays in my head until it is done. So here it is 2:00 am and I am trying to go to bed. First 30 minutes were ok, I was getting settled in, after that it was just tossing and turning. My mind was thinking ok which ones do I want to make, do I have all of the ingredients to make them, how many am I going to make? All of these questions were going through my head and making me toss and turn trying to go to sleep and not think about it until I woke up. Yea right, that’s what I thought. Wrong, time to get up and get them started or I would not get any sleep. Yep, you guessed it, I got up and started getting my ingredients together. I knew I would have something missing because I had made a batch of these last week using most of the ingredients. Usually I can come up with substitutes but not when it comes to a few things.
Ok I start gathering everything I need to make my truffles but didn’t get very far.
Bowls- check
Cake mix ingredients- check
Frosting- check
White chocolate- check
Toothpicks- check
Gallon size ziplock bag- check
Cookie scooper- check (you can use any size ice cream or cookie scooper you like)
Baking pan lined with wax paper- check
Chocolate- Ut oh- no chocolate
Off to the store again. I start heading to the isle with the chocolate chips and get a little sidetracked by a big sale sign. So of course I followed the signs to the sale items. After spending a few minutes in the sale isle I started heading to the checkout. I almost got there too, until I remembered that I came to the store to get something. Ok so give me a break it’s almost 3:00 am and I am a little sleepy so it took me a minutes to remember what I was there for. I go pick up the chocolate and continue to checkout.
Back at home again, I start by preheating my oven and setting the rest of the ingredients out. To make these truffles you can use your own favorite cake recipe of you can use a boxed cake mix. I made this one from my favorite double chocolate cake recipe. Just make your cake in any pan that you like, it doesn’t really matter what size since you will be crumbling it up later.
I mix up my cake mix and pour it into my 11 x 13 baking dish and put in the oven at 350 degrees and I set the oven timer for 20 minutes, this is the time I start checking it until it is done when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
While the cake was baking I got the rest of the supplies together. Chocolate chips for dipping, toothpicks, white chocolate chips for decorating, ziplock bag, cookie scooper and milk chocolate frosting.
I lined my baking pan with wax paper. This will be used to put your truffles on after rolling them. Now I have all of my chocolate chips into bowls ready to melt and it is just the waiting game for now.
Now’s my chance for Steemit time, yay, time to catch up on some reading and checking out things going on until my oven timer goes off.
Ok the oven timer went off and I checked my cake. Nope not quite ready, almost though so I went to start a load of laundry. That kept me occupied for enough time for the cake to finish baking. Yes it was done and I set it out to cool down enough to handle. More Steemit time and checking emails.
After the cake was cooled off enough to handle, I crumbled it all up into a big mixing bowl. First, cut off the edges that are a little more baked than the rest of the cake. It will not mix well and will make your truffles lumpy.
This is the important part. I added some frosting a little at a time and mixed very well. It usually only takes 1 ½ spoons. If I add too much frosting it will not stick together. The consistency needs to be about like making meatballs. (Hint: If you do add too much frosting, add a small amount of flour to even it back out) But, it is better to add just a little frosting at a time because you can add more but can’t take it back once it is mixed.
After it was mixed up well I put it into a gallon size Ziploc bag. This makes it easier to store as well as easier to use the scooper without all the mess. Ok this part is the longest part done. Now I put the Ziploc bag into the refrigerator for at least an hour, usually I leave it overnight to set up nice. But, since my night was already over I just left it in the refrigerator for an hour.
More Steemit time, Yay. Oh yea and finished the laundry.
I took the Ziploc bag with the cake out of the refrigerator and started making the truffles with the cookie scooper and then rolling them by hand into cake balls. Then placed them all on the baking sheet lined with wax paper. After you have all of them made you place the pan in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
After the 30 minutes or longer, I melted a small amount of the milk chocolate chips. You could use a double boiler to melt your chocolate or microwave for 10 seconds at a time, stirring each time until completely melted. I used the microwave this time.
I took the toothpicks and dipped the tip of them into the melted chocolate and inserted into the rolled cake balls, this makes it easier to dip them. Then I put the pan back into the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
After the 20 minutes, I melted the rest of the chocolate chips to use for dipping. I dipped each cake ball and used a fork to tap the side of the bowl for any excess chocolate to drip back into bowl. You could skip this step if you would like the truffles to have a puddle of chocolate under each truffle. Depending on if you want them to just be round or decorate with a stand. I set them back onto the baking pan and put them back in the refrigerator for another 20 minutes to chill.
Now it was almost time for the best part. I removed each toothpick by slowly twisting it back and forth as I was pulling it up and out of each one. After they were all removed I melted the white chocolate to use for decorating.
Well that was one thing I forgot to add to my list to get ready before I got started. My decorating tools, I forgot I had loaned them out for a previous party. I guess you never remember you loaned something out until the next time you need it yourself. Haha.
No problem, I will improvise. I made my own decorating tools with toothpicks and a Ziploc bag. Usually I make designs based on what the occasion is but this time I just used an abstract design and just splashed the white chocolate in all directions. When the decorating was finished I put the baking pan back in the refrigerator to set up and to stay until it was time to deliver them.
Variations of these are too numerous to count but my favorite is a German chocolate version that I make with creamy coconut centers. Yummy
Now it was time for me to take a nap. At least until the next request :)
Hope you enjoy making your own version of these delicious truffles. You will be the hit of the party with these.