22 Jul Nutella Crunch Cake Balls
WEDDING WEEK IS FINALLY HERE!!!
No, not mine — my best friend Taylor’s!!
Who you may also know as Miss Longbotton and/or recognize from from this post about the surprise proposal or this post about the bachelorette, or maybe even this post about our roomie love and how it began, long before a tall, handsome journalist-type started sneakily refilling her candy bowl at work.
I’m in full blown my-bestie-is-getting-married-shouldn’t-I-be-on-vacation-all-week? mode. All day dreaming about how many slices of wedding cake I’m going to eat and practicing dancing without making weird faces. So what if I’ve reheased my ‘skinny arm pose’ in the mirror twenty-seven times?! Wedding photos are forever.
And of course, my tendency to think about cake procrastinate has left me with a list of bridesmaid to-dos. My dress is still at the seamstress and won’t be ready until Thursday (fingers crossed). I just got around to ordering a new pair of sticky boobs an hour ago — thank you, Amazon Prime. And a red spot the size of Alaska just appeared on the very tip of my nose — the jury is still out on whether it’s the result of poor sunscreen application or an actual pimple, though I think the latter to be true. I haven’t had zit on my nose since I was fifteen. What the hell, Universe?!
Adult acne aside, I’M SO EXCITED I COULD PEE MY PANTS!!!!
This weekend is going to be the most glorious celebration of all time, ever. I’m probably going to ugly cry when Taylor walks down the aisle and that’s totally okay because it’s important that she look pretty, not me. We’re going to drink all the champs, boogie all night and smile until our faces hurt. And then I’m going to eat cake. Lots of it.
But I’ve got to go wax my legs and apply goop to this sunburn/pimple/monster, so let’s get to the cake balls!
Nutella is the stuff of puppies and unicorns and laughing babies, and since you guys go crazy for the stuff I figured it was about damn time I put it in a cake ball. For these Nutella Crunch Cake Balls, I used a boxed chocolate cake for the base, then added a Nutella frosting (mostly just Nutella), drizzled the balls with Nutella-spiked candy coating and then topped them off with roasted hazelnut pieces for a hearty crunch.
That’s all folks. A helluva lot of Nutella and a little elbow grease and you’ve got chocolatey, hazelnutty, crunchy-on-the-outside-soft-and-gooey-on-the-inside, bridesmaid-diet-ruining perfection.
My work here is done! Well, for today anyway.
A few notes about this recipe:
To toast and skin whole hazelnuts, place whole nuts on a baking sheet or in metal pan and cook in a 350F degree oven for 12-15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. They’re done when you can smell them and the skin is crackled and glistening. Remove from oven, pour nuts into a kitchen towel and let cool for 5 -10 minutes. Then bundle the towel up tightly and rub vigorously. Most of the skin will come off in little flakes.
Prep is important when making cake balls. In addition to the ingredients you will need a parchment lined cookie sheet, more parchment to place your dipped cake balls on to dry, a microwave-safe bowl for heating the candy coating, and a spoon, fork and toothpick for the dipping process.
As always, ENJOY! XO, Katie
Ingredients
- 1 chocolate cake from boxed cake mix, prepared according to instructions (or your favorite chocolate cake from scratch, though I like the consistency of boxed cake for this recipe).
- 1/4 cup butter, softened
- 1/2 cup Nutella or chocolate hazelnut spread
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1-2 tsp milk (if needed to thin the icing)
- 1 package chocolate candy coating (also called almond bark)
- 1 tbsp Nutella or chocolate hazelnut spread
- 1/4 cup roasted hazelnuts, chopped
Instructions
- Prepare and bake as instructed in a 13x9 inch pan. Let cool completely.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream together the butter and Nutella until smooth. Add the vanilla and mix until incorporated.
- Carefully add the powdered sugar and mix on low until well incorporated. At this point, add milk if your icing is too thick. It should be on the softer side, similar the consistency of store-bought icing or chocolate ganache.
- Line a baking sheet with wax or parchment paper and set aside.
- In the pan or in a large bowl, use a fork (or your hands) to shred cake into crumbs.
- Add about 1/2 of the icing and mix thoroughly with crumbled cake. Test your “dough” to see if it is sticky enough to roll into a ball without crumbling, almost like Play-doh. Add more icing as needed. Place in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes (you could also do this the night before) – it will make it easier to roll into balls.
- Using your hands, roll cake mixture into 1 inch balls. Place on lined baking 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 small bowl, stirring every 30 seconds, until melted.
- It’s time to dip! Coating cake balls is kind 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 tries 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 to 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 lined cookie sheet. Make sure you push the cake ball from the bottom so you don’t smudge your coating.
- Once you have dipped all of your cake balls and the coating is dry, microwave one block of candy coating until melted then stir in a large spoonful of Nutella until well combined. Scoop mixture into a plastic bag and snip off a very tiny piece of from one corner. Drizzle the mixture over the cake balls 2 or 3 at a time, sprinkling with chopped hazelnuts while the drizzle is still wet.
- Let dry completely, trim off any excess candy bark and place in candy cups (or mini muffin cups) to serve.
Thalia @ butter and brioche
Posted at 16:24h, 22 JulyWOW. these look seriously so delicious.. i could definitely devour the whole batch right now. love it!
Thalia @ butter and brioche recently posted…Rose, Raspberry and Pink Peppercorn Macaron Sandwiches
CakePants
Posted at 20:53h, 22 JulyAw man, these look absolutely perfect!! Nutella in a cake, in a ball?! Doesn’t get better than that! I hope you all have a fantastic wedding week 🙂
CakePants recently posted…Cherry Poppy Seed Chicken Salad
Sarah | Drool-Worthy
Posted at 20:56h, 22 JulyHoly cow. I’m coming over. These look YUMMY! [Also, beautiful pictures 🙂 ]
KWahlman
Posted at 08:30h, 23 JulyCome on over!!! Except we ate them all so I’ll have to make more…
Vanessa
Posted at 22:10h, 22 JulyNever tried Nutella cake balls. These look and sound awesome! Love Nutella! Will have to try these.
Vanessa recently posted…Easy Caramel Drizzle Cake
Jennifer @ Seasons and Suppers
Posted at 20:39h, 23 JulySpeechless. These look delicious!! And perfect size to grab a few for a quick chocolate hit.
Jennifer @ Seasons and Suppers recently posted…Individual Frozen Key Lime Pie
KWahlman
Posted at 22:22h, 23 JulyThank you!!
Pang @ circahappy
Posted at 20:50h, 23 JulyThis is the most gorgeous cake balls EVER that I almost don’t want to eat them!!!
But I can’t resist anything with Netella, so you can probably guess the ending.
What a wonderful blog, so glad I found yours 🙂
Pang @ circahappy recently posted…Kao Mun Kai (ข้าวมันไก่) aka. Hainanese chicken rice with spicy tofu sauce
KWahlman
Posted at 22:20h, 23 JulyThanks Pang! Drooling over your photos right now!
Connie | URBAN BAKES
Posted at 22:10h, 23 JulyI just discovered your blog and this is gorgeous! Beautiful photos!
Connie | URBAN BAKES recently posted…Lemon-Cherry Sorbet
KWahlman
Posted at 22:20h, 23 JulyThanks Connie!!
Alyssa {Cake, Crust, and Sugar Dust}
Posted at 22:49h, 23 JulyIf I wasn’t supposed to be sleeping right now I would be scouring the pantry for the ingredients to make these! I’m totally a Nutella lover, and cake balls are the cutest form of cake next to cupcakes so basically thanks for making an adorable and decadent dessert!
Alyssa {Cake, Crust, and Sugar Dust} recently posted…Nutella Fruit Dip
KWahlman
Posted at 23:01h, 23 JulyThanks Alyssa!! Sweet dreams of cake balls 🙂
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Posted at 02:12h, 24 July[…] These look dangerous…in the best possible […]
Giselle @ The Busy Spatula
Posted at 05:53h, 24 JulyThese look seriously indulgent!! That chocolate shell looks so smooth and tasty. Have a great time at the wedding! Cheers ❤️
Giselle @ The Busy Spatula recently posted…Sausage and Spinach Pasta
KWahlman
Posted at 09:59h, 24 JulyThanks Giselle! The secret to a smooth shell is to use the chocolate bark instead of plain old melted chocolate!
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Posted at 09:17h, 25 July[…] That giant red spot that was maybe sunburn, maybe a pimple? Gone — chased away with an aggressive combo of aloe vera and Queen Helene’s scary, green mask-stuffs. […]
Leslie
Posted at 15:51h, 26 JulyMaking these right now (no seriously, I am!) and was curious, do you typically only use (approximately) half of the frosting while combining with the crumbled cake? I only see instruction for 1/2 of the frosting but my guess is that the remainder is used, if needed, into the ball itself.
KWahlman
Posted at 17:59h, 27 JulyHi Leslie – start out by adding half of the icing and then depending on how moist the mixture becomes add more in 2 tbsp increments until moist and holds its shape in a ball. I like mine to be almost the consistency of a thick cookie dough. Hope this helps!
Chichi
Posted at 11:09h, 28 JulyOh wow, these look so yummy. Love how round and flawless your cake balls look. I totally agree with getting cake balls or cake pops to look perfect takes a lot of practice. We love nutella in my house, so will definitely be making these.
Chichi recently posted…Vanilla Confetti Cake with Whipped Vanilla Buttercream
KWahlman
Posted at 11:20h, 28 JulyThanks ChiChi! The good news is – no matter how messy or perfect they look, all cake balls taste amazing 🙂
Jas
Posted at 06:12h, 29 JulyI tried my best on this and it tasted yummy!! 🙂 Im a poor traveller lol and I was limited on the ingredients and kitchen utensils, so I had to improvise a little but it was soo nice !!! Thanks!! 🙂 🙂 theres a pic below
http://pinterest.com/pin/541628292658990630/
KWahlman
Posted at 09:46h, 29 JulyLooks beautiful, Jas!!! So excited that tried them out and I love the addition of sprinkles — thanks for sharing!!!
stephanie
Posted at 13:06h, 04 Auguststicky boobs!! 😀 heehee sorry, not sorry, i have the brain of a 5 year old.
these nutella crunch cake balls sound insane!! congrats to your friend!
ps – your photos are GORGEOUS!!
KWahlman
Posted at 16:35h, 04 Augustthanks stephanie!!!
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Nina
Posted at 17:45h, 06 NovemberHow long can these cake balls be stored? I’m thinking about making them for an upcoming party and would love to do in advance if that’s possible. Thanks!
KWahlman
Posted at 17:58h, 06 NovemberHi Nina! Cake balls actually have a surprisingly long shelf life. I’ve kept them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1.5 weeks…though I would recommend storing for no longer than 4-5 days if you’re going to be serving them at a party. Let me know how they turn out!
Nina
Posted at 19:00h, 23 NovemberDo you think it makes a difference if I use a fudge cake mix versus regular chocolate?
Thanks!
KWahlman
Posted at 09:15h, 24 NovemberHi Nina – Fudge or any other chocolate flavored cake mix will work fine! Thanks!
Tasha
Posted at 12:46h, 29 NovemberHi – have you tried freezing these? Just wondering if they still taste and look amazing if they are frozen for a couple weeks. Thanks!
KWahlman
Posted at 16:11h, 30 NovemberHi Tasha – I have not frozen the personally but I have made them for my aunt and she has. I got several compliments from her friends after she thawed and served them, so I think it’s safe to say that freezing them is okay! If you do, let me know how it goes. Thanks!
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bristol plasterer
Posted at 05:14h, 27 MarchWow this looks amazing….Will have to give this a go. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Simon
Reena
Posted at 04:37h, 16 AprilWOW awesome! Definitely going to try this. Thank you for the recipe
Mary Athanatos
Posted at 10:27h, 07 MayHi,interesting recipe…but what exactly is chocolate candy coating ,live in Europe ,have no idea ….what would be the equivalent ……would love to make this!
KWahlman
Posted at 10:54h, 07 MayHi Mary! Good question — it’s also called Almond Bark and looks like this: http://amzn.to/1bAMBbc. You could also use melted chocolate but the coating won’t come out as smooth and will also not dry into as hard of a shell. Let me know how it goes!
Reefraff
Posted at 20:25h, 09 MayGorgeous blog! I found the photo of these cake balls on Facebook where someone – a photographer no less – is trying to pass it off as her own photo.
KWahlman
Posted at 23:48h, 10 MayThanks Payal! Would you mind sending me a link to this person’s profile?
梁广志
Posted at 11:45h, 14 July看上去就有一种想吃的冲动
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