Much Ado About Cake Balls

Several weeks back I did a post on the JWT Atlanta blog called The Next Big Thing Could Actually be, Quite Small and asserted my prediction that cake balls were going to be all the rage. Well today I am here to tell you that they are.

I was at first a skeptic, but after making some red velvet cake balls from scratch I was truly convinced. There is something so heavenly about homemade red velvet cake and cream cheese icing mixed together, blanked by a nice, rich coating of chocolate.

I'm not going to lie, these little beauties are pretty labor intensive if you make them from scratch. As a matter of fact, you may start to hate me half way through this process and wonder why you ever decided to make these. But this is when you must press on. I assure you that all of your frustration will be worth its weight in gold once you bite into one of these.

Should you choose to make these, here are a few pointers I'd like to offer:
- Find a Kroger and buy a package of their white or dark chocolate bark. You can also use candy melts, but I found them much more difficult to work with.
- Invest in a candy dipping fork or set like this one. Spend a few more dollars on the metal dipping fork, as I rendered my plastic set useless trying to make these.
- You can use any red velvet cake and frosting recipe, but the following is one of my own. If you use another recipe you will need a 9x13 cake, about 2 cups of frosting and 1 or 2 packages of chocolate bark (depending on how much of a perfectionist you are).

Red Velvet: It's Not Just for Dessert Anymore

So my first attempt at red velvet pancakes (technically my first attempt at pancakes, ever) and they were actually quite successful. I started with two different recipes, but thought they had too much cocoa and not enough buttermilk, so I ended up just scrapping both and winging it. I was pleasantly surprised that they turned out and were actually really good. Fluffy with a nice velvety texture and not too sweet. Next time I'll probably add some cream cheese to the topping (in lieu of the creme fraiche), but was a little too impatient to wait for it to soften. Try them out and let me know what you think.






Teen's Red Velvet Pancakes
Yields about 16 pancakes

For the Red Velvet Pancakes:
1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted twice after measuring
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons white sugar
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup creme fraiche
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon red food coloring
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup walnuts (or pecans), toasted

For the Mascarpone Topping:
1/3 cup softened mascarpone
1/4 cup creme fraiche
1 cup confectioners sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cook walnuts in a skillet at medium-high heat for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently. In a large bowl whisk together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, creme fraiche, melted butter, red food coloring and vanilla extract. Add in the dry ingredients and walnuts (reserve some for garnish) and whisk until combined. The batter will have a thick consistency.

Heat a frying pan or griddle over medium heat. Add butter to grease, followed by a small scoop of the batter. Wait for the pancakes to bubble, flip and cook for another minute or two. Meanwhile, mix all of the ingredients for the mascarpone topping together and garnish along with maple syrup and remaining walnuts.