Thursday, January 16, 2020

Salted Chocolate Cake Pops & Cake Ball Truffles ... Step-By-Step


One word.  Delicious.  Maybe ii words.  Totally amazing!  Well, perchance 3 words.  Stroke of genius.  On my friend's part, non mine, that is.

These salted chocolate cake pops (and cake ball truffles) are my absolute favorite flavour of all the flavors I've made.  And I can't receive got i ounce of credit for them.  See, I receive got a friend, Jenny, who wanted to larn how to brand cake pops as well as cake balls.  So nosotros planned a twenty-four lx minutes menstruum to acquire together as well as brand that happen.  We decided to brand iv dissimilar flavors - scarlet velvet, chocolate, mocha, as well as margarita (I'll postal service virtually the mocha as well as the margarita ones sometime soon!).

So how did elementary chocolate cake pops plow into absolutely-to-die-for salted chocolate cake pops, y'all ask?  Well, I had some fleur de sel out for sprinkling on my margarita cake ball truffles.  What's a margarita without a niggling salt, right?  So I wanted to acquire that common salt chemical constituent into my cake balls, too.  And here's where Jenny's stroke of genius comes inward - afterwards dipping i of her chocolate cake balls inward her chocolate coating as well as sprinkling on a few chocolate jimmies, she reached over into the fleur de sel as well as sprinkled it on exceed too.  Genius!  Why didn't I intend of that?

One niggling gustatory modality of the novel flavor, as well as nosotros were hooked.  Okay ... maybe two niggling tastes ... y'all receive got to live sure, right?  If y'all dearest the classic combination of common salt as well as chocolate, so believe me, you'll dearest these.

Side banking concern complaint - Just inward representative you're non familiar amongst fleur de sel, here's a niggling about it earlier nosotros motility on to the procedure of making cake pops as well as cake ball truffles.  I genuinely looked it up, because I figured I should state y'all a niggling to a greater extent than than only "it's fancy salt."  So, according to Wikipedia, fleur de sel is a traditional French hand-harvested body of body of water salt.  It's typically used every bit a finishing salt.  Because of it's high wet content relative to other salts, it doesn't dissolve when sprinkled on moist foods, as well as thence gives nutrient a slight mash as well as a slight shimmer.  (Click here if you'd similar to read to a greater extent than at Wikipedia.)

Onto making cake pops as well as cake ball truffles!

The procedure for making both is pretty much the same ... except cake pops are on a stick, as well as cake ball truffles are not.  That's all.  And i time you've got the procedure for these down, it's slow to mix it upwardly amongst trying novel flavors.  As I know most of y'all know, I absolutely cannot receive got an ounce of credit for the cake pop/cake ball concept or process, either.  We owe that to the ever-fabulous Bakerella!  To larn from the queen-of-cake-pops herself, click for her original video from her appearance on the Martha Stewart present or for Bakerella's site for all-things cake pops.

Here's my version of Bakerella's procedure ... starring my friend Jenny's hands!

Step 1: Start past times making a canvass cake.  For our salted chocolate cake pops as well as truffles, nosotros started amongst a yellowish cake.  Use whatever yellowish cake ... your favorite go-to homemade version or a box mix.  Whatever y'all prefer.

Step 2:  Crumble the cake up.  Yes, acquire your hands inward at that spot as well as plow that cake into a overnice crumbly mess.  Jenny as well as I decided this was our favorite part.  It's similar a baker's Play Doh!


Step 3:  Stir your frosting into your cake crumbs ... about 1 to 1 1/2 cups frosting for a 9x13" canvass cake.


Step 4:  Roll the frosting/cake crumb mixture into balls.  Chill the balls for virtually an lx minutes inward the fridge or for virtually xv minutes inward the freezer.  This volition acquire inward easier to dip them inward the chocolate coating, coming upwardly next.


If you're making cake pops ...

Step 5:  Melt your chocolate coating according to the bundle directions, typically inward the microwave.  Dip a lollipop stick into the chocolate coating ...

... as well as insert the chocolate-dipped destination of the stick virtually 1/2-way into a cake ball.   

This chocolate "cement" volition (hopefully!) move along your cake ball from slipping off the stick when y'all dip it inward the chocolate coating. Despite doing this, I even so e'er destination upwardly amongst a few swimmers. Oh well, an excuse to taste-test, right?!?

Step 6:  Dunk a cake ball into the chocolate coating, gently pushing it right away downwardly as well as so rocking it backwards i time as well as forwards once.  You desire to exercise this fairly speedily or you'll destination upwardly amongst agency also much coating.  Don't stir the cake ball around inward the coating ... it'll most probable autumn off if y'all do.


Step 7:  Pull the cake ball out of the coating as well as allow the excess drip off dorsum into the bowl.  You tin very, very gently tap your wrist to assistance amongst this process, if you'd like.


Step 8:  Immediately, piece the coating is still "wet," sprinkle your cake popular amongst the ornament of your choice ... inward our case, chocolate jimmies (or sprinkles ... whichever term y'all prefer!) as well as fleur de sel.

Step 9:  Place your cake popular into a styrofoam block, inward which you've already punched some holes, to laid up.



Step 10:  Eat as well as enjoy!!


If you'd rather brand cake ball truffles, they'll await similar this:


I'll live honest - I'd much rather brand cake ball truffles than cake pops.  To me, truffles are sooooooo much less tedious.  Still a fleck tedious, hear you, but much less so than the pops.  The stick is fun ... but it makes the dipping procedure to a greater extent than hard as well as to a greater extent than time-consuming.  Just my opinion.

For cake ball truffles, follow the same procedure every bit higher upwardly for cake pops through pace 4.  Then ...

Step 5: (There are many ways to exercise this ... this is how I exercise it ... but experiment as well as respect your ain groove!)  Drop a cake ball into the chocolate coating.  Quickly, but gently, gyre it around inward the chocolate amongst a fork until it's coated.  Slide the fork nether the coated cake ball as well as take it from the coating, dragging the bottom of the fork along the rim of the bowl a niggling fleck to take some of the excess coating.


Step 6: Slide the coated cake ball off the fork onto waxed paper.


Step 7:  Before the coating sets, decorate amongst the sprinkling of your choice.


Step 8:  Give i (or ii ... ) a bite!

And that's how y'all brand cake pops as well as cake ball truffles!  When I'm inward the mood to brand these, I brand a bunch as well as shop them inward the freezer.  Then I tin receive got them out whenever as well as for whatever I like!


Salted Chocolate Cake Pops & Cake Ball Truffles
Source:  Concept & procedure adapted from Bakerella, flavor thought from my friend Jenny
Ingredients
1 baked 9x13" yellowish cake
1 to 1 1/2 c. chocolate frosting, canned or brand your own
1 (1 lb.) bundle nighttime chocolate candy melts
About 2 T. shortening
Chocolate sprinkles
Fleur de sel or course of written report body of body of water salt
Lollipop sticks (needed for pops, but non for truffles)


Directions
FOR CAKE BALL CENTERS:  
1.  Crumble cake into a large bowl, working it into modest crumbs.  Add frosting as well as mix until good combined.  

2.  Shape into some 1" balls, using virtually 1 T. dough per ball; laid aside on wax paper. Cover amongst plastic roll as well as refrigerate for virtually 1 hour, or identify inward freezer for virtually xv minutes.

TO DIP FOR CAKE POPS:  
3.  In a modest deep bowl, melt candy melts as well as shortening together inward the microwave per candy melt bundle directions (typically inward xxx 2nd intervals, stirring inward between). 

4.  Dip a lollipop stick into the chocolate as well as insert it virtually half-way into a cake ball; allow stand upwardly for a few seconds for the chocolate to harden. 

5.  Hold onto the lollipop stick as well as dunk the cake ball into the chocolate coating, gently pushing it right away downwardly as well as so rocking it backwards i time as well as forwards once. You desire to exercise this fairly speedily or you'll destination upwardly amongst agency also much coating. Don't stir the cake ball around inward the coating.

6.  Pull the cake ball out of the coating as well as allow the excess drip off dorsum into the bowl, rattling gently tapping your wrist to help shake off excess chocolate.  Sprinkle amongst chocolate sprinkles as well as a fleck of salt.  Place inward a styrofoam block to dry.

 

TO DIP FOR TRUFFLES: 
7.  In a modest deep bowl, melt candy melts as well as shortening together inward the microwave per candy melt bundle directions (typically inward xxx 2nd intervals, stirring inward between). Use a fork to dip each cookie dough ball inward the candy coating, letting excess coating drip off dorsum into the bowl. Place on wax paper.  Sprinkle amongst a few chocolate sprinkles as well as a fleck of salt.  Let stand upwardly for chocolate coating to laid up.

Enjoy!



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