Beginner's Cake Truffles

Cake truffles are an up and coming trend in baking that can be twisted any which way. No from-scratch cooking is required and kids can definitely help with the process.

They are made from a cake mix, a can of frosting and melted chocolate, candy bark or candy melts. Simply pick out a cake mix and corresponding frosting. Try carrot cake and cream cheese frosting. Or go double chocolate with devil’s food cake and fudge frosting.

Start at the beginning
To make cake truffles begin by baking a cake. Bake the cake according to the directions on the box.

Soon after the cake is out of the oven cut into pieces and dump into a larger bowl.

Add the can of frosting to the mound of crumbled cake a couple of dollops at a time. The cake truffles should be moist enough to stay together, but too much frosting can cause the truffles to become mushy. While this may taste delicious, if lollipop truffles are on the menu a stiffer cake truffle is necessary. Normally at least 3/4 of a can of frosting will be required.

Grab a mixer and mix it all together. The creamier the mixture is the more like a truffle it will be.
After mixing the frosting and cake together, let the mixture cool down to room temperature.

Rolling the truffles
Most cake truffles come in the shape of a ball but simple cookie cutters can work wonders on a cake truffle.

To make the original cake truffle, take a chunk of the truffle mixture and roll it into a ball or use a melon baller or mini cookie scoop. Try to make the cake truffle about the size of a ping-pong ball. The truffles can be bigger or smaller depending on what you want.

When planning a party keep in mind that one cake mix will normally make in between 40-50 cake truffles.

To get simple shapes out of a cake truffle mixture think of it like cookie dough. You can roll some truffle mixture out on a cutting board or take a chunk out of the truffle mixture and flatten it down a little so that it is bigger than the cookie cutter being used. For lollipop cake truffles make sure the truffle mixture is thick enough that a lollipop stick still can be put in it.

After rolling or cutting out the cake truffles, especially if there is a large amount of them, put them into the refrigerator or freezer to set a little longer.

Dipping cake truffles
When the desired cake truffle is achieved it’s time to start dipping.

Cake truffles can be covered in melted chocolate, almond bark or candy melts.

Chocolate pieces (chocolate chips) and almond bark are found in most grocery stores. Candy melts can be found in stores such as Hobby Lobby along with lollipop sticks. While chocolate pieces and almond bark traditionally come in white or chocolate, candy melts come in a variety of colors and can add depth to a cake truffle display. White chocolate and almond bark can be colored with food coloring to achieve a desired color.

If the chocolate is too thick, add some paramount crystals or some shortening to the melted candy coating to thin it out.

To coat cake truffles drop them in a bowl of melted candy coating. Cover them with the coating without moving them around in the bowl. Then lift them from the coating with a spoon. Tap off the excess and slide the truffles carefully off your spoon onto wax paper to set. If the coating pools at the bottom, use a toothpick to draw a separation line. Then, once it dries completely, it will be easier to break off the part you don’t want.

If creating truffle pops, first insert a lollipop stick into one side of the truffle. Make sure the stick does not come out the top, but it’s deep enough to hold the cake truffle firmly. Dip the pop in one dunking motion and remove. Tap your left wrist lightly with your right hand and rotate the lollipop stick over your bowl to remove excess coating, smoothing the coating out at the same time.
To keep the truffle pop upright while the coating place the lollipop stick in the styrafoam after dipping.

Truffle decorations
Decorating cake truffles is part of the fun and beauty of the tasty treat.

Truffles can be covered in sprinkles or flakes or additional coating can be used to write words or create designs on the truffles after the first candy coating has set.

If putting sprinkles or flakes on the truffles do so before the candy coating sets. Rolling the coated truffle directly in the sprinkles can be messy. It is easier to sprinkle the decorations right on the truffle while holding it with a toothpick or by the end of the lollipop stick.

The truffles are small enough and scrumptious enough to fit any busy day. They can be made ahead of time and frozen. Cake truffles also keep for 3-5 days at room temperature after the candy-coating is applied.

Make little chicks with orange sprinkle feet, shown here on bakerella.com, or for spring or decorate ‘Easter Egg’ truffles for the upcoming holiday. Choose school colors for graduations or team colors for sports parties. Imagination is the limit when it comes to cake truffles.