Cake Balls!

In case you hadn't heard, apparently cupcakes are soooooooo last year in terms of dessert fads (this was news to me, too). This year, it's all about cake balls. I looked up a recipe for these...are you ready for this one? Cake (from a boxed mix) + frosting (from a can), then dipped in chocolate. Man, that's one tough recipe. Well, I couldn't just leave it at that...that just seemed so...pedestrian. Ladies and gentlemen, I bring you not one, but TWO recipes...Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cake Balls and Orange Creamsicle Cake Balls. Read on, MacDuff.

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cake Balls

• 1 box red velvet cake mix
• 1 1/4 c. strawberry puree
• Strawberry liqueur
• 1/2 container chocolate frosting
• 12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2 Tbl. vegetable oil

Prepare and bake red velvet cake according to package instructions EXCEPT substitute strawberry puree for the water (use however much the package calls for--varies by brand) and add a hefty splash of strawberry liqueur. Cool completely. Pulse in a food processor to crumble cake.

Put chocolate frosting in a large bowl. Stir in a hefty splash of strawberry liqueur. Add cake crumbs, and stir until thoroughly combined. Roll into ~1" balls. Put balls in fridge or freezer overnight.

Melt chocolate, add vegetable oil, and stir to combine. Dip cake balls into chocolate, covering them completely. Let excess chocolate run off, and put them in the fridge or freezer to set the chocolate coating.

Orange Creamsicle Cake Balls

• 1 box white cake mix
• 1 1/4 c. orange juice
• 1 tsp. orange extract, divided
• Red food coloring
• Yellow food coloring
• 1/2 container vanilla frosting
• 12 oz. white chocolate
• 2 Tbl. vegetable oil

Prepare and bake cake mix as directed on package, EXCEPT substitute orange juice for the water (use however much the package calls for--varies by brand) and add 1/2 tsp orange extract. Cool completely. Pulse in a food processor to crumble cake.

Put frosting in a large bowl. Add 1/2 tsp orange extract, 4 drops red food coloring, and 6 drops orange food coloring (or until you get the desired color of orange). Stir to combine. Add cake crumbs, and stir until thoroughly combined. Roll into ~1" balls. Put balls in fridge or freezer overnight.

Melt white chocolate, add vegetable oil, and stir to combine. Dip cake balls into white chocolate, covering them completely. Let excess white chocolate run off, and put them in the fridge or freezer to set the white chocolate coating.

I used a little two-pronged dipping fork to dip these, and it unfortunately left holes in the coating then I went to remove them from said fork. Presumably, if I had the time or inclination, I could re-dip just the area with the hole to cover it. But, I had neither the time nor the inclination. Be forewarned...these are pretty foolproof in terms of ease of preparation (everything's out of a box!), but they take a LOT of time. Each batch makes about 70 cake balls.