Red Velvet Cake Truffles Recipe

Valentine’s Day is coming soon, and what says “love” better than a box of truffles?
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How about a box of handmade truffles? And what if those truffles weren’t your regular run-of-the-mill chocolate truffles, but were instead composed of moist, tangy red velvet cake and cream cheese frosting?
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If you’re looking for the perfect homemade Valentine’s Day candy, have I got the recipe for you: Red Velvet Cake Truffles. There’s a little bit of prep work involved, since it starts with a baked red velvet cake, but you can always use a red velvet cake mix (or a yellow cake mix + red food coloring!) and use prepared cream cheese frosting to cut down on labor time.
I love the way Red Velvet Cake Truffles taste (what’s not to love about moist bites of cake and frosting!) but even more than that, I love the surprise of biting into an ordinary-looking truffle and finding bright red cake instead of chocolate. It’s amazing! Ready to make some for your nearest and dearest? Here’s how you do it:
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Red Velvet Cake Truffles
yield: about 4 dozen

Ingredients

  • 1 9×13 pan of red velvet cake, baked and cooled
  • 1 can (16 oz) prepared cream cheese frosting
  • 1 lb candy coating (white chocolate, dark chocolate, or both)
  • Assorted red decorations, like:
  • Red pistachios
  • Red candy beads
  • Red M&Ms
  • Red Cinnamon Hearts
  • Red sprinkles
  • Maraschino cherries


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I hope you’re ready to get your hands dirty, because this recipe really works best with some serious hands-on action. So wash ’em well, then start crumbling the red velvet cake into a large bowl. You want it to be in small pieces, but don’t work it so much that it starts to get gummy and stick together. Fine crumbs is what you’re aiming for.
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Now add about three-quarters of the cream cheese frosting. I don’t like to add all the frosting at once, in case the cake is very moist and the full can is unnecessary. You can start out stirring them together, but eventually you’re going to have to dive in with your hands and really work the frosting through the cake, making sure that it’s evenly moistened and there are no dry patches.
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Ideally, the cake should be very moist and hold together if you squeeze a ball of cake between your fingers, but you don’t want it to be wet or greasy. If the cake mixture is still a bit dry, add more frosting to get it to the desired consistency.
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To make the truffles themselves, use a small cookie scoop or a tablespoon to portion out the cake into generous 1-inch balls, then use your specialized cake-ball-rounding-tool to form them into perfect circles–just kidding! We’re using our hands again! Roll the cake balls between your hands to get them fairly round, then place them on a foil or waxed paper-covered baking sheet. Refrigerate them for 3-4 hours until they’re cold and firm, or freeze them for about 45 minutes in the freezer.
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Take them out of the refrigerator or freezer and let them sit on the counter briefly while you melt the candy coating. They should be cold when you dip them, so they hold together, but if they’re really frozen, that causes the candy coating to develop cracks as it hardens. So, cold-but-not-freezing is the temperature you’re looking for!
Melt the candy coating, and using forks or dipping tools, dip a truffle in the coating. Take it out of the coating and gently tap the fork against the lip of the bowl so extra coating drips off, then set the dipped truffle back on the baking sheet.
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While the chocolate is still wet, decorate your truffles! I recommend using red candies like red M&Ms, red cinnamon hearts, red candy beads, or even red pistachios, sprinkles, or maraschino cherries.
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As soon as the coating is set, you can serve your Red Velvet Truffles, or package them for your special someone. Assuming you made the initial truffles about 1 inch, the dipped truffles will fit nicely in mini muffin paper cups.
If you’re not eating them right away, you can store Red Velvet Cake Truffles in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. And of course, you can use this recipe as a jumping-off point. Experiment with different cake flavors, different types of frosting, and different toppings. A super-flexible, super-easy recipe for super-delicious candy? Now THAT’S sweet.

 

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