Cake Balls

My mom just returned from a three week safari in Africa. Sounds pretty extravagant, right? I agree, but she deserved it. Anyway, we spend a lot of time with my mom, and the kids REALLY missed her while she was gone. So, I thought it would be nice to make her a little treat to welcome her home.

Cake balls are super popular these days. Why? Because there are endless flavor possibilities, and you get a delicious bite of cake and frosting in every bite. You only need three things for a successful cake ball - cake, a binder (like frosting or pie filling) and a coating (like chocolate, glaze or cocoa powder).

Cake balls are a nice welcome home treat, right? I think so! My mom loves chocolate and raspberries, dark chocolate and the color red. So, I decided to incorporate all of these things into her treat. I made red velvet cake (basically chocolate cake with red food coloring), with raspberry frosting and a dark chocolate coating. 

As you see in the pictures, I actually made the cake balls with several different coatings, mostly because I don't like dark chocolate, but also because I thought it would be great to offer a variety.

Are you ready to make some cake balls?

Ingredients:
Chocolate Cake (Find the recipe here. I added red food coloring at the end. Bake the cake in 2 greased and floured round or square cake pans instead of cupcake tins for 35-45 minutes.)
Raspberry Buttercream Frosting (Find the recipe here.)
4 12 oz. bags of Wilton's Candy Melts (Flavor of your choice.)
8 teaspoons of Canola Oil

Directions:
After cake has cooled completely, crumble it in a large bowl.

Pour frosting over crumbled cake and mix thoroughly.

Scoop mixture into your hand and roll into a ball. I used a 2 Tablespoon sized scoop, but you can use whatever size you like.

Place cake balls on a waxed paper lined cookie sheet, and freeze for at least 30 minutes.

Melt chocolate and canola oil in microwave in 30 second intervals until smooth. Let cool for a few minutes before dipping cake balls. Dip cake balls in chocolate until covered completely.

Try not to be confused by this picture.
Olivia insisted that we make some cake pops. I
happened to have some leftover sticks, so I let
her make pops with them. 

These cake balls are bursting with flavor, and fun to eat and share. My mom loved the ones we made for her. I especially love the milk chocolate covered ones. Try them out, and let me know which is your favorite. 

"Mothers hold their child's hand for a moment and their heart for a lifetime."

Sheryl