Cherry Chocolate Cake Balls

I'm especially proud of these cake balls because it was my first attempt at making them and I used my own recipe.  It's really simple.


There are two ways to make these cake balls.  I used a Baby Cakes Cake Pops Maker:

This method is super simple.  I used a Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe- Devil's Food cake mix and followed the recipe on the box EXCEPT for the water, I used maraschino cherry juice in place of that.  Once the batter is complete you just pour the batter into the baby cakes maker and it takes only a few minutes for each to cook.  For some I cut up a maraschino cherry into fours ( I know that's small but so are the cake balls) and pushed a piece into the batter before I closed the lid.  After they're done cooking I let them cool and then covered them in white chocolate.  

I always use two things to melt chocolate, Crisco butter flavored shortening and Wilton's Candy Melts:

I used about half the bag of chocolate pieces in a microwavable bowl, add about 2 tablespoons of the Crisco and microwave for about a minute, stir it up and continue to melt in 20 second intervals as needed.  I also have a Babycakes Chocolatier Mini Dipper

This is obviously not needed but really helps keep the chocolate warm while dipping.  Since this was my first time, they didn't come out looking as pretty as I originally envisioned.  This is because I dipped them in the white chocolate and then put them in mini cupcake cups.  In the future I've decided to save Styrofoam so that I can use that and tooth picks to elevate the pops until they dry.  An easy way to make sure the tooth pick sticks in the pop is to dip it in chocolate before you stick it in the pop, let that dry and then cover the pop in chocolate.  You of course can also use sticks like the ones pictured above to make them into true "cake pops."

The second method, if you do not have a cake pop maker, is as follows:

First make the cake as usual in a regular cake pan.  Once it cools put it in a bowl and crumble it up.  Add icing to the bowl little by little.  The first time I tried this method I added the entire can of icing and the cake/icing mixture was too moist.  Add just enough icing to bind the cake together so that you can roll it into balls.  Roll the mixture into balls the size of golf balls or slightly smaller.  If you're going to make cake pops dip the stick in chocolate and then insert into cake ball, or tooth picks into chocolate and then the cake ball and let cool in refrigerator for at least an hour.  I would work on about 10 cake balls at a time.  The first time I did this I took all of them out and didn't work fast enough, by the time I got to cake ball 20, they had thawed some and were hard to work with.

This was an okay first attempt but I have an obsession with cupcakes and cake pops, so I'll be back.  It's easy to play with recipes and to decorate for different occasions!

Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

Prep Time: 40 minutes | Bake Time: 17 minutes

Cupcakes:
1 cup Guinness stout
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1½ teaspoons baking soda
¾ teaspoons salt
2 eggs
2/3 cup sour cream

Whiskey Ganache Filling:
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
2 teaspoons Irish whiskey

Baileys Frosting:
2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
5 cups powdered sugar
6 tablespoons Baileys Irish Cream

1. To Make the Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 24 cupcake cups with liners. Bring the Guinness and butter to a simmer in a heavy, medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the cocoa powder and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.

2. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a large bowl to combine. Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sour cream on medium speed until combined. Add the Guinness-chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and beat just to combine. Reduce the speed to low, add the flour mixture and beat briefly. Using a rubber spatula, fold the batter until completely combined. Divide the batter among the cupcake liners. Bake until a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 17 minutes. Cool the cupcakes on a rack.

3. To Make the Whiskey Ganache Filling: Finely chop the chocolate and transfer it to a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream until simmering and pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for one minute and then, using a rubber spatula, stir it from the center outward until smooth. Add the butter and whiskey and stir until combined. Let the ganache cool until thick but still soft enough to be piped.

4. To Fill the Cupcakes: Using a 1-inch round cookie cutter (or the bottom of a large decorating tip), cut the centers out of the cooled cupcakes, going about two-thirds of the way down. Transfer the ganache to a piping back with a wide tip and fill the holes in each cupcake to the top.

5. To Make the Baileys Frosting: Using the whisk attachment of a stand mixer, whip the butter on medium-high speed for 5 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. Reduce the speed to medium-low and gradually add the powdered sugar until all of it is incorporated. Add the Baileys, increase the speed to medium-high and whip for another 2 to 3 minutes, until it is light and fluffy.

6. Using your favorite decorating tip, or an offset spatula, frost the cupcakes and decorate with sprinkles, if desired. Store the cupcakes in an airtight container.