I sit down to write this post slightly sticky from the aftermath of baking. As noted in previous posts, every time I bake I try to learn a new technique or recipe.  However, I also have some favorite recipes that I revisit on a seasonal or even monthly basis.

One of my favorite sweet-treat recipes is the red velvet cupcake. Tonight, I abridged this recipe by creating cake balls. For people who have oohed and awed at the cute lollypop cakes going viral at all Starbucks and various commercial coffee chains, they are very easy to make in your own kitchen. Although, as I discovered tonight, lollypop sticks are not sold at many local grocery stores — hence the cake lollipop ball aspect of tonight’s post.

Cake ball

 Red Velvet Cake Balls

• 2 1/2 cups flour

• 1 1/2 cups sugar

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 6 teaspoon cocoa powder

• 1 cup vegetable oil

• 1 1/3 cup buttermilk, room temperature

• 2 large eggs, room temperature

• 2 tablespoons red food coloring

• 1 teaspoon white vinegar

• 1 tsp vanilla

• 1 package chocolate chips

• 1 package white chocolate chips

• 1 can pre made creeam-cheese frosting

Mix flour, sugar, coco powder, baking soda and salt in medium bowl.

In large bowl, beat oil, eggs, buttermilk, vinegar, and food coloring until blended.

* Today I was out of white vinegar (thank you colorful Easter eggs…), so I used 3/4 tsp of Rice Vinegar. I didn’t notice a difference. The vinegar is mainly used to activate the baking soda. Try to stick with white vinegar, but in an emergency 3/4 tsp of Rice vinegar will do the trick!

Sift dry ingredients to make the cake fluffy. Slowly blend in dry ingredients and pour into a 8×11 pan. Bake in a greased pan at 375 for 20-25 minutes or until done.

Step 2:

After the cake cools, break into small pieces and run portions through a food processor. I have a small processor so I divided the cake into 1/8 batches and blended for about 5-10 seconds max.

Once the cake is in fine crumbles, mix with 3/4 can of cream cheese frosting. Use your hands and embrace the mess. Do not use the whole carton of frosting!  Shape cake dough into 1 inch balls and place on wax paper on a cookie sheet.

Red velvet crumbles

Once the cake is shaped, begin melting the chocolate. I used white chocolate and milk chocolate chips (separately) — because I had them in the pantry. Next time, I plan on purchasing candy making chocolate. To turn my chocolate chips into a candy-like substance, I added canola oil while I melted the chips using my make-shift double boiler. I added between 3Tbs-1/4C oil to reach the desired consistency. White chocolate is very hard to melt, beware. Do not add butter or water only add oil.

The dark, mysterious, vampire esc lighting provided by my microwave. These are the cake balls waiting to be dipped in chocolate.

Using two spoons, dip each cake ball in the chocolate  and place back on the sheet. Add sprinkles if desired. Take a toothpick and trace the outline of the cake ball to leave the chocolate drippings behind. Cool in fridge for 30 minutes or in the freezer for 15 minutes.

This is a super easy and fun recipe. I look forward to spending more time and making unique designs.