If it is made with a cake mix and a can of frosting AND if it is served in a cupcake wrapper, is it a cupcake? Good question. If you read the title above and saw the pictures below, you know this isn't really a cupcake but a recipe for cake-balls. WHAT IS A CAKE-BALL? (you might ask...)
The recipe sounds easy enough:
1. Any flavor cake mix - make and bake according to package directions. Let cool till you can easily handle, then crumble into a large bowl.
2. Any flavor canned icing. Melt in the microwave then pour over crumbled cake, stirring till thoroughly mixed.
3. Refrigerate for several hours till mixture sticks together. Using a melon baller, form balls of the cake mixture.
4. Dip the balls into melted chocolate. (The recipe calls for one 3 ounce bar of chocolate. I used two bags of chocolate chips and it wasn't even enough). Decorate with sprinkles if desired.
Okay - I said "sounds easy" - remember? It was not as easy as the recipe made it sound. My daughter and I decided to tackle this recipe on a Friday night and didn't end up finishing till late Saturday afternoon. The first problem was that the balls were not properly balling using the melon baller. We ending up scooping the mixture with the baller for uniform sizing then ended up rolling the balls in our hands. Then, when we tried dipping the balls into the melted chocolate, they ended up totally falling apart. We decided to freeze the balls overnight to make them stick together better. The next morning we re-melted our chocolate (in the microwave) and while the balls did stick together, we found that the frozen balls cooled the chocolate so quickly that it was difficult to work with. We had to continually melt the chocolate while making sure the balls did not thaw too quickly and become too mushy to use. In retrospect, it would have been far better to melt the chocolate and keep it over a double broiler while dipping.
The verdict? They were indeed a royal pain to make. But - O...M....G....! They are so delicious! Especially if you are able to keep them into the next day. The flavors just really meld together into a very moist and tasty bite-size treat. Would I make these again? Yes, BUT - this time I would use a double broiler or the Wilton Chocolate melter. My sister who has made these before also told me that she uses more frosting than called for and uses homemade. She couldn't tell me the exact proportions (because she cooks with instinct like me). If I do make these again, I'll try it her was and pay close attention to the proportion and let you know. But YES, yummy and thumbs up for cake-balls!
