I've wanted to make "cake truffles" for some time. (Okay, some people call them "cake balls." However, that name is not appetizing to me--at all--so I call mine "cake truffles.") Where was I? Right! Cake truffles! I'd been meaning to make them and never got around to it. Then edible gold stars entered my life.

For some reason, I didn't want to just sprinkle these on cupcakes or cookies. I wanted something a little dressier. It was time to make cake truffles!

Many people make cake truffles by mixing together a baked cake and a can of pre-made frosting. While that sounds interesting, I don't really like the taste of canned icing. (Oh, if my 6 year-old self could read that sentence! Remember when canned icing was the best?) I thought about it and decided to make the cake truffles with cream cheese. The result is a rich, moist cake truffle that isn't too sweet.

Even though this dessert takes a few steps to make, everything is fairy easy to put together. And if you don't have gold stars, they will taste just as good.

For the Cake

Dry Ingredients

1 cup white rice flour

1/2 cup sweet rice flour

1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder

1/2 cup tapioca starch

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum

Wet Ingredients

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature

1 cup dark brown sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9x13-inch pan with cooking spray and set aside.

2. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. Set aside.

3. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar until the butter-sugar paste lightens slightly. This takes about 1 minute. (Use medium high speed on a stand mixer or high speed on a handheld mixer.)

4. Add egg and vanilla extract. Mix for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

5. Add half the dry ingredients. Mix until combined.

6. Add half the buttermilk. Mix until batter is smooth. Add remaining dry ingredients. Mix until combined. Add remaining buttermilk. Mix batter for 30 seconds.
7. Spread batter into prepared pan. 
8. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. 
9. Remove pan from oven. Place on a wire rack to cook completely.

For the Truffles

one eight ounce and one 3 ounce packages of cream cheese (11 ounces of cream cheese total.), softened

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

9x13 inch chocolate cake, recipe above

1 pound white chocolate coating (I use Merckens. They are gluten-free, peanut-free and tree nut-free.)

1/2 pound dark chocolate coating (I use Merckens. They are gluten-free, peanut-free and tree nut-free.)

Edible gold stars

To Make the Truffles

In a medium bowl, stir together cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth.

In a large bowl, crumble the cake until no large pieces remain. (I like to use my hands but you could use a fork.  You could also pull out your food processor for this job.)

Add the cream cheese mixture. Stir to combine. This will take a minute. (Again, I use my hands and mix the cream cheese and cake together like it is a meatloaf mix: I grab and squeeze until no large pieces of cream cheese remain.) When thoroughly combined, the mixture will resemble a dough.

Roll dough into balls, about 1 Tablespoon each. The size is really up to you. You could do bite-sized pieces or larger cake truffles.

Chill cake truffles for 20 minutes.

Melt the white confectionery coating in the microwave. (See below for tips on how to melt coatings.) Dip cake truffles into melted coating. (If you want a thicker coating, double dip them.)

Place the dipped cake truffles onto a piece of parchment paper. Allow coating to set.

Melt the dark confectionery coatings in the microwave. (See below for tips on how to melt coatings.)

Dip the cake truffles halfway into the melted dark coating. Turn the cake truffle over (so the white coating is down) and place on a piece of parchment paper.

Sprinkle with gold stars while dark coating is still warm.

Repeat with remaining truffles.

Enjoy!

How To melt confectionery coatings

1. Place 1/2 pound of Merckens coatings into a microwave safe container. (I like to use a two-cup glass measuring cup.
2. Microwave the coatings for 30 seconds.
3. Remove coatings from microwave and stir. This is an important step. It removes hot spots and prevents the coatings from burning.
4. Return coatings to microwave. Repeat process until melted. (Again, remember to remove the coatings from the microwave after each 30-second interval and stir.)
5. Use as desired.
6. If chocolate becomes thick while you are working with it, simply return it to the microwave, and microwave it for 10-15 seconds to remelt.