Super Sophisticated One-Bowl Chocolate Mocha Cake Truffles

   These are not cake balls.  

   They are not the "cake pops" you bake in a machine. 

   These are the kind of cake truffles that at first make you think, "What has our society come to?" But then, "Who were the geniuses who thought of this?"

   What is is it? It starts with a simple chocolate cake (do not use box mix, from scratch is just as easy and tastes so much better).  Then, mix it up with a cup of frosting (I used mocha flavored).  Freeze spheres of the mixture and then coat them in smooth, melted chocolate. Oh yeah, and you need sprinkles.  Trust me on this.

   The result: chocolate heaven.  It's so rich and decadent, but it's portion control, right? Seriously, go make these.  It's for your own good. Unless, of course, you have dietary restrictions.   

   How to make a friend instantaneously: give someone a cake truffle. (Truffle just sounds so much more sophisticated than "ball."  "Cake spheres" is also acceptable.  And, yes, chocolate cake mushed up with icing is sophisticated.)

   You could also put these on a stick and call them cake pops, but really, it's just so much more awkward eating these like lollipops. Really, are you supposed to lick them?

   

You wanna know how to make these? Well, of course you do. And bonus: you only need one bowl. Less dishes to clean *woot*!

First, make a really easy-peasy one-bowl chocolate cake.

Bake it in any kind of pan you want.

Make the super delicious frosting. (I cleaned the bowl I used for the cake batter--not cheating)

This...do it. Dump the cake into the bowl with the frosting. You  don't have to wait for the cake to cool down, in fact,  it's easier to shape it if the cake is warm.

                                      

Yes.

Spheres--Freeze these for at least 4 hours, or overnight. Otherwise, they will lose their shape.

Melt some good quality baker's chocolate using the double boiler method. This has a better flavor than those candy melts you can buy at craft stores.You need about 12oz.
I should have made the batter in a glass bowl so that I could have melted the chocolate in the same bowl (washed.)

  Finally, dip the chilled cake spheres into the chocolate. Spoon chocolate over the areas you can't reach.  Place the cake truffles on wax paper until the chocolate hardens. Feel free to use any extra chocolate to cover some strawberries or any thing else you can find in your kitchen.
  These are so much better than actual chocolate truffles.

Chocolate Cake Truffles/Sphere/Ball/Pops

makes about 24 1.5" spheres

Components

1/2 recipe One-Bowl Chocolate cake (below) or other cake of choice

1/2 recipe Mocha Buttercream (below) or other frosting of choice

12 oz good quality semisweet baker's chocolate, chopped into small pieces

Assembly

1. Dump the cake into the bowl with the frosting while the cake is still warm.  Mix with a wooden spoon until well combined.  Shape into 24 1" balls (about 1/8 cup of the mixture).  Place balls on plates lined with wax paper and cover with plastic wrap. Freeze for at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours. 
2. Bring a pot of water, with a glass or metal bowl on top, to a simmer over low heat.  Make sure that the water doesn't touch the bottom of the bowl.  Add the chocolate and stir constantly until melted and smooth. Remove from heat, but keep the bowl over the warm water so that the chocolate stays melted.
3. Dip the chilled cake spheres into the chocolate one at a time.  You can use a spoon or meat fork to do this.  Use a spoon to pour chocolate over the areas you missed.  Let excess chocolate drip off and place cake truffle onto a plate lined with wax paper. Decorate with sprinkles while the chocolate is melty.
4. I suggest that you keep the cakes you aren't dipping in the freezer to keep them cold.
5. Let chocolate on cakes harden before enjoying.

One-Bowl Chocolate Cake

makes 2 9" round cake layers

adapted from All Recipes

Ingredients

2 cups white sugar

1-3/4 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1-1/2 tsp baking powder

1-1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 cup whole milk

1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup boiling hot water or coffee (coffee brings out the chocolate flavor)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350*F. Butter and flour two pans lined with wax or parchment paper.
2. Whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla. Beat with a mixer or by hand for 2 minutes.
4. Slowly pour the hot water or coffee into the bowl in a thin stream while mixing the batter.
5. Pour the batter evenly among pans and bake in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
6. Let cake cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing. (If making cake truffles, you don't need to let it cool and you only need half the recipe).

Mocha Buttercream

makes about 2 cups, which frosts 12 cupcakes (halve if using to make mocha cake truffles)

adapted from Brown Eyed Baker

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

2-1/2 cups powdered sugar (sifting optional)

1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1-1/2 tsp instant espresso powder

Directions

1. Beat room temperature butter for a minute or two until it is creamy.
2. Add the sugar bit by bit, beating until well combined after each addition.
3. Scrape the sides of the bowl once all the sugar's added and whip for 2-3 minutes until fluffy.
4. Add the vanilla and espresso and whip until combined.

Dinosaur Love Story *rawr*