Last week we celebrated my little sister’s birthday at our house with some geeky board gaming and chocolate cake. Good times. When the night drew to a close, I sweetly reminded my dear sister to PLEASE take the cake home with her, but she still snuck out without it. So sneaky that one.
Here’s the thing: if there is cake in my fridge, it will be my breakfast. And then I will have to explain to my kids why mommy can have chocolate cake for breakfast but they can’t. You see my problem.
Fast forward a day and I’m thinking about what Valentine’s Day treats I should make for some friends. “Too bad I can’t just give them a half-eaten cake,” I think to myself. Wait a tick – Lightbulb! – Maybe, just maybe I can give them my leftover cake! It just needs a clever disguise… Mwahahahaha! (If I had a mustache, I would totally be twirling it at this point.)
Quite the makeover, amiright?
If you have some leftover cake sitting around your house that you’d like to fancy up in the form of cake balls (or you could even do cake pops if you aren’t lazy like me), here’s how to do it:
First, scrape most of the frosting off the cake. Cake balls don’t require much frosting, and you can always add more in later if you need it. Much easier to add frosting than take it away, as I always say (for the first time ever right now).
Knead the cake and frosting together into a dough. Roll the dough into truffle-size balls. (You can stick these in the freezer to firm up for a few minutes if you’d like.) Melt some chocolate or candy melts. Dip the cake balls in the chocolate. Use a spoon to shake off excess chocolate and place on parchment paper lined tray to harden. While the chocolate is still wet, you can give them a fancy drizzle or sprinkle on some nonpareils like I did. Annnnd – That’s it!
I boxed up my little cake balls in these adorable printable chocolate boxes from Design Eat Repeat. These are perfect for Valentine’s Day but would work great for just-because chocolate giving as well.
What do you think? Does prettied up leftover cake make an acceptable gift?
Hearts n Sharts says
February 13, 2014 at 1:20 pmI'm confused. What is "leftover cake"?
Alexis Middleton says
February 13, 2014 at 3:32 pmLol… good point!
Rachel says
February 13, 2014 at 2:03 pmHaha, my comment was going to be exactly that ^^^ Such cute little cake balls!
cjprimas says
February 13, 2014 at 3:38 pmGenius! We are going out of town this weekend and I have been trying to figure out what to bring our hosts…lo and behold I made a red velvet cake on a whim Monday night and there is sits, just begging to be cake balls! Two questions – 1. What kind of chocolate would you use? I'm thinking white chocolate but am open to other suggestions. 2. What exactly is this "kneading" you
Alexis Middleton says
February 13, 2014 at 3:49 pmYes! Someone else actually has leftover cake! Haha… I was beginning to think maybe I was alone in this. Answers: 1 – I think I would do white chocolate too mainly because I think it would be prettier, but any good chocolate would totally work. 2 – Yes start smooshing! I dumped the cake into a big ol' bowl and just got in there with my fingers. (It will be messy, but I think it's easier)
Amy @ Homey Oh My! says
February 13, 2014 at 5:07 pmI love your genius. I am too familiar with eating cake for breakfast. I might try to add a little variety to my routine by eating them as cake balls instead. Oh yea and maybe gifting them!<br />I had no idea there was such a thing as printable boxes! This one is perfect.
Kayla @ Home Coming says
February 14, 2014 at 7:47 pmWhat a smart idea!! I never would have thought of this.
PinkStripeySocks says
February 14, 2014 at 9:06 pmYum. I would totally eat these ( actually, I would have taken the leftover cake home too.)
Toni Barsi says
February 15, 2014 at 11:48 pmThese are awesome! So glad I'm not the only one who tries to sneak treats for breakfast when the kids aren't looking too! <i>"What cookie? Mommy didn't have a cookie…"</i>
Sonnet says
February 18, 2014 at 3:36 amAwesome!!! Love this idea and you just made me hungry. That box is super cute as well, will need to visit that blog tonight for sure
Krista thehappyhousie says
February 18, 2014 at 2:55 pmI love this idea Alexis- we always have leftover cake and it usually ends up getting thrown out. I bet my boys would love it if I turned it into these adorable cake balls instead. Shared!!
Corey W. says
February 18, 2014 at 6:30 pmSo cute and yummy! When will I be getting these in the mail? Hahaha…just kidding. <br />
Katie Nathey says
February 19, 2014 at 3:15 pmDefinitely a much better gift than a half eaten cake although that would be kinda funny. Seriously though this is a genius idea and they are not only cute, but look sooooooo good too!
Chelsea @ Making Home Base says
February 21, 2014 at 1:07 amYes! You speak my language! Look delicious!
MissDinTexas says
February 22, 2014 at 5:49 amGreat idea, but I am in LOVE with the box and the graphics on it. Like I said "Great" idea. Thanks for sharing.<br /> "Happy Crafting"<br />Hugs from TX