Red Velvet Cake Balls

You may remember I posted last spring here about a cupcake class my daughter and I took at the Viking Cooking School. The class was loads of fun and provided us with a fresh stock of recipes and the hands-on experience we needed to make the recipes at home.

We made several different types of cupcakes, but we also learned how to make another little confection that seems to be taking the entertaining world by storm----cake balls! Cake balls have all the flavor of a big dessert packed into cute little meatball-sized package. Best of all, they look like a LOT more trouble than they are!

Recently I chose to make Red Velvet Cake Balls for a friend who loves red velvet no matter what the season. They make a beautiful presentation too! You have lots of options and your imagination is your only limit. You can use a commercial cake mix or start from scratch! It’s never to early to start collecting recipes for all the upcoming holiday events.

You can serve them as “balls” or put them sticks as cake “pops”.

Because the balls need to be frozen, you can even spread the preparation out to suit your schedule. I made the cake balls on one day and dipped them in chocolate on the next.

They were a HIT! I have since made mint chocolate chip cake balls and have plans to make coconut cake balls for an upcoming shower. I am including the recipe from the Viking Cooking School. I have shortened and adapted it.

Red Velvet Cake Balls

1 cup of cream cheese frosting (make your own or buy it!)

1 layer red velvet cake (I used a box)

8 ounces of semisweet chocolate or white chocolate

1 tablespoon zero transfat vegetable shortening (Crisco)

Bake the cake in a single layer and crumble into fine crumbs, discarding any hard edges. You should have about 4 cups of crumbs. Place the crumbs in a large mixing bowl and spoon frosting and mix gently. You may not need all the icing depending on the moistness of the cake crumbs. Clean hands work better than a spatula or spoon for mixing, but it’s messy! The crumbs and frosting should be evenly mixed, but mix gently so as not to compact crumbs any more than necessary. Cover and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled (about an hour) or freeze about 15-20 minutes.

Using a measuring spoon scoop out about 1 tablespoon of the the cake mixture and roll lightly between the palms of your hands to form round balls. They should hold their shape, but handle them gently to ensure they will be tender. Place the balls on a baking sheet line with parchment paper. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the freezer until very firm, at least 30 minutes.

Place the chocolate of your choice and the vegetable shortening in the top of a double boiler and set aside. Fill the bottom portion of the double boiler 1/4 full with hot water; place over high heat and bring to a boil. As soon as the water boils, remove the pot from the heat; place the upper portion of the double boiler containing the chocolate on top of the hot water. Stir occasionally while the chocolate and shortening melt, then stir until smooth. You may have luck doing this in the microwave; I don’t.

Remove balls from freezer. Use a wooden skewer to dip each of the balls into the melted chocolate. Pause after dipping each cake ball. Hold it over the bowl to allow any excess chocolate to drip back into the bowl. Place the chocolate-coated cake balls onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Allow the the chocolate to set, then serve or store in an airtight container at a cool room temperature. ***The recipe recommends that you do not refrigerate or the chocolate will sweat. I made these in July when even inside temperatures were hot. I refrigerated; they sweated; nobody cared :)

I know this is long, but it is easy –really! I am linking to our favorite foodie hostess Michael Lee West at Designs by Gollum for Foodie Friday. Click on her button on my sidebar. Thanks for coming and y’all come back!

Falling in Love….With Cupcakes

During the planning of Sunshine’s wedding last year I fell in love too…with cupcakes. This is a picture from the photographer’s blog where she so graciously did a post about the wedding and reception held at the zoo. We served miniature cupcakes in the groom’s choice of flavors instead of groom’s cake. It was a resounding hit with the guests. I decided then and there that I wanted to explore the world of cupcakes when time allowed.

In March, Sunshine whose before-marriage culinary expertise was limited to pouring Raisin Bran, expressed interest in taking a cake decorating class. We found a cupcake and cake bite class that fit our schedule at the Viking Cooking School. Firstborn and I had previously taken a sushi class there, so I knew from experience that the classes are top notch.

There are sixteen Viking Cooking Schools scattered from Alaska to Mississippi home of the Viking Range Corporation. I love the variety of classes scheduled—camps for kids and teens, date night gourmet meals, and girls' night out menus. They offer both demonstration and hands-on classes. You can read more about them or find out if there is one near you here.

The kitchen is a cook’s dream, and, of course, filled with Viking appliances whose headquarters are in Greenwood, Mississippi. The instructor was personable, knowledgeable, and willing to answer any question.

The class was from 9:30-2:30 and, at lunch time, a fabulous salad was served at a table right in the kitchen. We met another mother/ daughter team from Nashville and Memphis. The daughter was a passionate cookie maker and told me about one of her favorite blogs the decorated cookie.

One interesting thing I learned in class is that most fondant tastes like rubber—pretty, but tasteless. Another drawback is that it can be hard to find and expensive. Meaghan Mountford the author of the decorated cookie had a recipe for homemade fondant that promised to be tasty, easy, and made with readily available ingredients. (It’s marshmallows!)

I had a question about adding gum paste to make the fondant stiffer to hold up for making flowers. I emailed Meaghan and quick as a flash she responded with the answer. You can find the recipe here. I made pink, green and blue!

The cooking class was a success! We had a great time, learned lots, and got to come home with some of our creations. In short, I’ve fallen in love with cupcakes! Come back next week for Foodie Friday and I’ll show you some special cupcakes I have since whipped up at home using the homemade fondant!

I am joining Michael Lee West our ever-gracious hostess for Foodie Friday. Click on her button on my sidebar and you’ll be transported to a world of good food and beautiful photographs! I am also linking to Lori at All That Splatters for her Saturday Blog Showcase here. Stop by and visit both places--you'll come away hungry!