Leftover cake – sounds crazy, no? But it can happen to the best of us – so here is a great way to extend its shelf life, create something totally new and have fun while you're at it. If you read any food blogs or magazines you've probably come across cake balls or cake pops in your life, but did you know they're so easy to make?
If you have frosted cake or cupcakes sitting around, all you need to do is thrown them in a bowl (remove any paper wrappers first, of course) and mash them up together, before forming little balls and dipping those balls into melted chocolate. If you're starting from scratch, just use your favorite cake recipe in a 9×13" pan and a can of any storebought frosting.
Whichever way you tackle them, cake balls are a great party dessert and everyone loves popping one – or two or three – in their mouth. Experiment with flavor matchups – vanilla cake with chocolate frosting, red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting, carrot cake with vanilla frosting – the possibilities are endless. Below I give you a basic chocolate cake recipe to get you started.
Recipe:
2 cups white sugar
1 3/4 cups flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
1 can chocolate frosting or 2 cups homemade
12 ounces semisweet chocolate
Mix together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add in the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla and mix well. Stir in the cup of boiling water and pour into a greased 9×13" pan. Bake on 350 F for 35 to 40 minutes or until the cake tests done. Let cool completely.
Break the cake into pieces and put in a large bowl. Add frosting – start with about half and see how much you need to make it come together. Roll tablespoons of the mixture into balls. Melt the chocolate and use a fork to gently dip each cake ball in the chocolate and coat completely, shaking off any excess chocolate. Place on a parchment-paper lined sheet to set. If desired, sprinkle colored sugar, sugar pearls, sea salt or other decoration on when wet.
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