Mocha Cake Balls

So simple, but sooooo good.  It's my favorite from all of the cake balls I have made. 

What is great about cake balls?  Well, their flavor, cute size, AND you can make each step on a different day or throughout the day.......  bake cake....  mix cake with frosting...  scoop mixture...  roll...  dip and decorate.  My day is usually interrupted, so the stop and start technique works for me. 

Recipe

Ingredients:

1 box dark chocolate cake mix

1/2 cup of instant coffee granules divided in half

1 can of dk chocolate or fudge frosting

Candy coating pieces

Sprinkles or melted chocolate to drizzle

Supplies:

Double boiler, fork, cookie sheets, large bowl, large spoon, 9 x 13 cake pan, parchment paper (or wax paper) wooden skewers 

Directions:

Add a 1/4 cup of coffee granules to the amount of water called for in your cake mix directions.  Dissolve.  Finish making cake as directed.  

For frosting, add the remaining 1/4 cup of coffee granules.  (I'm not concerned about pieces of coffee left in the frosting, as it will continue to melt when mixed with the cake later.  Plus, I love a good coffee flavor kick here and there.) 

When the cake has cooled enough to touch you can chop up the cake in a large bowl.  I usually use a large spoon, but you can use whatever is easy for you.  Make sure it is finely chopped.  If pieces are too large, the ball may fall apart after they are rolled.

Gradually add your coffee infused frosting into the chopped cake and mix very well.  You want it moist but not gooey.  Depending on your mix, you may not need an entire can of frosting.  Next, I use a small cookie scoop and scoop all of the dough onto parchment-lined cookie sheets.  Lightly cover and refrigerate.  This makes them much easier to roll and dip.  After they have chilled, roll each between the palms of your hands and place back on the cookie sheet.  Chill again if needed.

Melt a small portion of your candy coating.  I have used a microwave, but I prefer a double boiler on low heat.  It keeps an even temperature.  Continue to add candy as needed to your double broiler throughout the dipping process.  This helps prevent overcooking your candy and also protects your supply of candy if crumbs should fall into your melted candy.  

To dip the cake balls I use a fork and a wooden kabob skewer to gently slide it from my fork onto a clean, parchment-lined cookie sheet.  (If you are getting too much candy coating on your cake balls, gently tap your fork on the edge of pan and the excess will drip back into the double broiler.) Immediately sprinkle to decorate.  As another option, I place a few candy coating pieces in a plastic bag, microwave briefly, snip a SMALL corner from the bag, then drizzle over the cake balls.  This option can be done at a later time too.  Trim excess coating from around the cake balls with a sharp, non-serrated knife.

And that's it!  

Other sources and ideas

http://www.bakerella.com/  - great decorating! 

http://www.cakemixdoctor.com/  - recipes!