07 May S’mores Cake Balls
It was a crazy weird mostly normal weekend, y’all. For me, at least.
Joy lost (and found) her cat. (Note to Tron-Kitt: You should definitely never run away again. Your mom is the coolest).
Molly went all out little-house-on-the-prarie on us and wore overalls on her farm (or maybe not since I guess Laura Ingalls wore bonnets?)…
And I? I waited until mid-week (again) to tell you about my weekend. There seems to be a pattern forming. One that I’m fighting – head down, dukes up to my busy world – trying to dedicate precious time to make this little space the best that it can be.
But that’s my battle not yours, so let’s talk weekend. Weekends on Wednesdays – a little something to get you over the hump. We might be onto something, here.
I went shoe shopping, as I do almost every time the weather starts to change, and could not find one single pair. (This is not like me.) I also nursed an atrocious cheap (but not boxed!) wine hangover, laid by the pool for the first time this year (I think I have a tan line!) and made some really lame cookies.
To be specific, Downton Abbey style cookies. Cookies meant to be eaten by the daintiest of ladies, accompanied by only the finest of English Teas and served in the fanciest of bone china. Or at least that’s how I envisioned it. But after running said lame cookies by my Mom & Steve professional taste testers, it was confirmed that they were both as dry and as boring as I had feared. So, inspired by Ashlae’s tale of mis-baked scones, I made Steve help me search for a homeless friend to give them to.
And couldn’t find one. Do you know how many homeless people there are in Austin?! A lot. They flock here because well, I don’t really know, but I heard once we are a very homeless-friendly city, whatever that means. Could this absence have been a sign from the cookie gods that perhaps my more-like-rocks-less-like-cookies cookies weren’t even worthy of passing on to a hungry tummy? Geez, I hope not.
Of course I do frequently jog by the the gentleman who camp out on the corners near my condo and catch them drinking their fair share Old English & Miller High Life, discreetly hidden behind cardboard signs scrawled with spare change-producing witticisms – Need fuel for my private jet, or the more straightforward Why lie, I need beer – sooo my Edwardian tea cookies (albeit lame ones) may have been lost on them anyway. (See: trying really hard not to make a generalization.)
And here’s where I find myself at risk of being a little left of ‘PC’.
Before taking off on our search for hungry souls, Steve and I had a second moment of compassionate genius. Why don’t we give said [elusive] recipient of lame cookies a smelly stick of Old Spice deodorant? You see, Steve had purchased some deodorant in a pinch (i.e. he had B.O.), but it was immediately exiled because it smelled far too much like a 13-year-old guido’s first rodeo with cologne. But then we checked ourselves because it is possibly slightly insulting to give a person that is perhaps unable to take showers regularly a stick of used deodorant.
And since we don’t know any prepubescent boys, I’m not sure what we’re going to do with the stuff. It seems such a waste to throw it away, but when Steve used it we both got dizzy from the fumes so we may have no other choice. It’s stewing in the cup holder of my hot car [next to a baggy of lame, now stale, cookies] as we speak so if I rear-end you on my way home please be nice. It’s not my fault, the Old Spice made me loopy, I swear.
Anyway. I’m 100% off topic and it’s probably time I move on. None of this has anything to do with these S’mores Cake Balls. To be honest, I was kinda saving this recipe for a rainy day but since my fancy-pants tea party mother’s day cookies were a bust, here ya go!
Besides, I hear moms like chocolate more than tea parties anyway.
While making cake balls is a very time consuming process, it is pretty uniform across all flavors – bake a cake, crumble it, mix with icing, roll & dip. These S’mores Cake Balls are made by blending rich chocolate cake with graham cracker crumbs and toasted marshmallow frosting. HELLO! And as is almost always the case with my cake ball recipes, you can use a boxed cake mix for the cake!
Enjoy! XO, Katie
Ingredients
- 1 chocolate cake (box is fine)
- 1 cup graham cracker crumbs + 2 tbsp for garnish
- 1 bag mini marshmallows
- 2 tbsp butter, room temp
- 4 oz. cream cheese, room temp
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 package chocolate candy bark
- 3 blocks vanilla candy bark
Instructions
- Bake your cake according to the box or recipe instructions and let cool completely.
- If you're making your graham cracker crumbs in a food processor, do so while your cake is baking.
- Once cake is cooled, use a fork or your hands to shred the cake into small crumbs. Mix in 1 cup of graham cracker crumbs and set aside.
- To make the marshmallow frosting, turn on your oven's broiler. While it's heating, cream your butter and cream cheese together in a large bowl and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. One your broiler is hot, spread the mini marshmallow in an even layer on your lined sheet and place under the broiler for 30 seconds to one minute, or until marshmallows have reached your desired level of 'toastedness'. (I like mine dark.) Watch them very carefully - they burn very easily!
- Using a spatula, immediately scrape the marshmallows into the bowl with the butter and cream cheese and blend until well combined. Add the powdered sugar and blend again until smooth.
- For the assembly, add 3/4 the icing to the crumbled chocolate cake mixture. Test your “dough” to see if it is sticky enough to form a ball without crumbling Add more icing as needed. Your mixture should be almost the consistency of a thick cookie dough - remember, a moist cake ball beats a dry one every time!
- Place in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes then roll into 1 inch balls and place on a lined cookie sheet. When done, place baking sheet in freezer and let cake balls chill for 30 minutes. This step is optional, but it helps the cake balls keep their shape and prevents crumbs from getting in the candy bark and thus, causing lumpy coating.
- While cake balls are chilling, microwave 1/2 a package of chocolate candy bark in a heat-proof bowl, stirring every 30 seconds, until melted.
- It’s time to dip! Coating cake balls is something of an art. It takes practice so if your cake balls don’t come out looking perfect don’t worry about it! It took me several tried to develop a successful method. Regardless of what they look like, they’ll still taste magical. Promise.
- Place the cake ball into the bowl of melted candy coating and use a spoon the cover with coating. Lift the cake ball out of the coating with a fork and tap against the rim of the bowl to remove excess.
- Use a toothpick to gently push the cake ball back on to your cookie sheet. Make sure you push the cake ball from the bottom so you don’t smudge your coating. Repeat until all your cake balls are covered.
- To garnish, melt your vanilla candy bark then pour into a ziplock bag. Hint: to make this easy, place the bag in a glass, wrapping the edges of the bag around the lips of the glass so that you can easily pour in the melted bark. Cut a very tiny piece from the corner of the bag and then drizzle the bark onto your dried cake balls in a back and forth motion. While the bark is still wet, sprinkle with graham cracker crumbs. You'll want to do this about 6 at a time so you can sprinkle before the drizzle dries.
- If desired, trim and place in mini muffin cups to serve. Store in an airtight container and refrigerate. Cake balls will last up to two weeks.
Raquel @ My California Roots
Posted at 09:40h, 08 MayI am in awe. How did you make those look so perfect?? We’ve got family coming into town soon… these will definitely be waiting for them!
Raquel @ My California Roots recently posted…Breathless Agony 2014!
KWahlman
Posted at 10:16h, 08 MayThanks Raquel! I’ve had a lot of practice rolling them into perfect little balls – my mom calls called me the ‘cake ball nazi’! Plus, a little ‘decorative drizzle’ can cover up a lot of imperfections 🙂
Heidi @foodiecrush
Posted at 11:28h, 08 MayLove these balls o s’mores and wow, those pics are stellar. Count me as a new fan. And, I’ll be looking forward to seeing your weekend Wednesday posts in the future 😉 PS Found you via FoodGawker, and I rarely go there so it must have been kizmet!
Heidi @foodiecrush recently posted…Quinoa Tabbouleh with Chickpeas and How to Become a Kitchen Knife Slayer
KWahlman
Posted at 14:43h, 08 MayOhhmygoodness I’m about to pee my pants because this makes me SO happy! I think it’s reasonable to say that I’ve had a blog ‘crush’ 😉 on you for quite some time, so thank you, thank you for your kind words! Thrilled you stopped by!!
Laura (Blogging Over Thyme)
Posted at 14:02h, 16 MayJust discovered your blog! It is beautiful, and your photos are stunning. These cake balls are amazzzzing.
Laura (Blogging Over Thyme) recently posted…Crostini with Pea Pesto & Prosciutto
KWahlman
Posted at 14:14h, 16 MayThanks Laura! You’ve got a new fan in me as well – congrats on culinary school!
Alexandra @ Confessions of a Bright-Eyed Baker
Posted at 14:25h, 14 JulyThese and your margarita cake balls are absolutely gorgeous!! Your totally a pro at making them. 🙂 I love the look of them all piled up together too. I think this is my first time visiting your blog and I see so many amazing treats!! So excited to find you. 🙂
Alexandra @ Confessions of a Bright-Eyed Baker recently posted…Healthy No-Bake Chocolate, Almond, and Coconut Bars {GF, Vegan}
KWahlman
Posted at 15:46h, 14 JulyThank you Alexandra! I love you work so that’s HUGE coming from you!! Total geek-out moment happening 🙂
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Carol Glidden
Posted at 12:58h, 08 DecemberWhar are Graham Crackers? What could I use instead of ? I am from New Zealand
KWahlman
Posted at 09:20h, 09 DecemberHi Carol! Graham Crackers are like a mildly sweetened cracker, traditionally made with graham flour. You can use any kind of lightly sweetened cookies, digestive biscuits could definitely work!
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