Not Your Average Bite of Cake

It was office potluck time again, and I wanted to bring something fun and nibbly that involved chocolate (and didn't break the bank). My final decision left my coworkers, my Halloween visitors, and my roommates begging for more. Introducing.... the Halloween funfetti cake truffle: enrobed in chocolate, encrusted in candy corn, and bejeweled with sprinkles. 

And with a little creativity, they can be morphed to suit all of your holiday needs. Think: dried cranberry toppings with orange-colored cake inside for Thanksgiving, crushed candy cane topping with white chocolate coating and red velvet cake for Christmas, blue-dyed cake with white chocolate coating and silver sprinkles for Hannukah... you name it!

Readers, please comment with any ideas you have about different toppings or combinations! Let me know if you try any of them and how they turn out.

CHOCOLATE COVERED CAKE TRUFFLES (w/ candy corn)

To give credit where credit is due, I was inspired by this recipe from the Velveteen Baker.

THE GOODS

Canned frosting or do-it-yourself ($1.79)

Funfetti cake mix ($1.79)

Canola oil ($3.29)

3 eggs ($0.80)

Semi-sweet chocolate chips, or whatever your fancy ($1.99)

Candy corn, or your topping of choice ($1)

The Grand Total: $10.66 for about 4 dozen cake truffles, or about $0.22 per truffle

THE WAY

Make the funfetti cake following the directions on the box. Or, use your own favorite cake recipe if you have more time, energy, and creativity juices. When the cake is done, let it cool for about 10 minutes. 

Now, for the fun part. Crumble the cake into a large bowl. Mix in 2 cups of frosting so that the mixture becomes dough-y.

Form the mixture into small balls by rolling them in your hands. I made mine about 2 inches in diameter. Place them on wax or parchment paper on a cookie sheet and stick them in the freezer for about 30 minutes to 1 hour. You want them to be solid but not completely frozen. (Mine are an ugly, brainy color because I mixed white funfetti cake with orange frosting.)


Chop up your candy corn or other candy topping. Then, melt your bag of chocolate chips in a saucepan over low low low heat, stirring constantly. Add about 2-3 tablespoons of canola/vegetable oil to make it melt smoother. One or two at a time, take your cake balls out of the freezer and, using a spoon (or a dipping fork - for candy makers with a slightly bigger budget), drop the ball into the melted chocolate and scoop it out and onto the wax/parchment paper. Let it dry for about a minute, then press the candy corn pieces on top. Repeat until all the truffles are made and beautiful. Then refrigerate until you're ready to serve them.