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    Home » Recipes » Everyday Desserts

    Chocolate Cherry Bombs - Cherry Filled Cake Balls Dipped in Chocolate

    Published: Jan 5, '21 · Modified: Aug 9, '23 · By: Beth Klosterboer · This post may contain affiliate links.

    Jump to Recipe

    What do you get when you marry together cake balls with chocolate-dipped cherries? You get Chocolate Cherry Bombs!

    Chocolate Cherry Bombs filled with maraschino cherries.

    Back in 2011, just one month after I began blogging here at Hungry Happenings, I made my first batch of Sweet Cake Ball Cherry Bombs, brought them to a friend's party, and the party guests went nuts over them!

    So many people asked me for the recipe and I happily told them they could find it on my new blog.

    Everyone wanted to know how I made the creamy chocolate center. They were surprised to find out that it was made from a blend of chocolate cake and frosting. (This was back when cake balls were a relatively new dessert.)

    Chocolate Cake Ball Cherry Bombs.

    The original Chocolate Cherry Bombs, that I made back then, were created by blending a chocolate cake with frosting by hand. You can see in the picture above (taken in 2011) that the cake ball centers don't look quite as creamy as they do in the picture at the top of this post.

    Over the years, I've learned that I can get a really creamy, almost truffle-like cake ball, by mixing the cake and frosting together in my Kitchen-Aid mixer.

    I've also begun adding instant pudding mix and sour cream to my cake mixes to make them super moist and a bit denser, which is perfect for cake ball filling. The doctored cake is so good that no one ever guesses it's not made from scratch.

    Chocolate cake balls wrapped around a maraschino cherry and dipped in chocolate.

    Ingredients

    • dark chocolate cake mix
    • chocolate pudding mix (instant pudding)
    • sour cream
    • milk or water
    • vegetable oil
    • eggs
    • frosting (vanilla or chocolate)*
    • maraschino cherries with stems

    Note about frosting:

    You can make homemade frosting to blend into the chocolate cake, but you need so little to make this recipe that it's not really worth the effort. I just use store-bought frosting. You can also use chocolate spread or Nutella.

    Supplies:

    • 2 (8-inch) round or square pans
    • OR 1 9X13-inch pan
    • baking spray
    • handheld mixer or a stand mixer and mixing bowl
    • paper towels
    • parchment paper or non-stick foil
    • baking sheet
    Drain maraschino cherries with stems on several rolls of paper towels then pat dry.

    Instructions:

    • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
    • Prepare your cake pan/s by spraying the bottom and sides with non-stick cooking spray.
    • Blend a chocolate cake mix with 1 (3.56) package of instant chocolate pudding, 1 cup sour cream, 1 cup milk, ¼ cup vegetable oil, and 3 large eggs in a large mixing bowl until moistened.
    • Using a handheld mixer or stand mixer, beat on low speed for 30 seconds.
    • Then increase the speed to medium and beat for two minutes.
    • Pour the batter into the prepared pan/s.
    • Bake for 28-34 minutes (see package for specific times for each pan size). Cool cake completely.
    • While the cake is cooling, remove your Maraschino cherries from the jar and set them on a few layers of paper towels.
    • Pat the cherries dry using more paper towels then let them air dry until needed.
    mixing cake ball mixture in a KitchenAid using chocolate cake and frosting.

    Make chocolate cake balls.

    • Allow your cake/s to cool completely.
    • If the edges of your cake are a bit dry, cut them off.
    • Then crumble the soft cake into a large bowl, preferably the bowl of a stand mixer.
    • Add â…“ cup frosting and stir or beat until well blended and smooth.
      • If you don't have a stand mixer, blend it just to combine it with your hand mixer, then use your hands to get it to come together into a ball.
    • Scoop out 48 tablespoon-size portions of the cake ball dough.
      • I use a small ice cream scoop to make easy work of this task. 
    • Roll each scoop into a ball.
    wrapping a maraschino cherry with chocolate cake ball dough.

    NOTE: These pictures are from my original post. The cake ball mixture is not quite as smooth and creamy as it will be if you mix the cake ball filling in a stand mixer. This was also just a plain cake mix. It did not have the addition of sour cream and pudding so the texture is much looser.

    Fill the Cake Balls with a Maraschino Cherry

    • Press one cherry into the center of each cake ball.
    • Bring the cake mixture up and around the cherry allowing the stem to pop out.
    • Roll in between your two hands to form a nice round ball.
    Dip a chocolate cake ball stuffed with a maraschino cherry into melted chocolate.

    Dip the cake balls in chocolate.

    • Melt and temper pure semi-sweet chocolate  Click here for detailed melting and tempering instructions.
    • OR simply melt compound chocolate (known as confectionery coating, candy melts, almond bark, or melting wafers).
    • Hold onto the cherry stem and dip a cake ball-covered cherry into the bowl of chocolate.
    • Set the chocolate-dipped cake ball on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.

    Notes about chocolate.

    • The flavor of pure dark chocolate, which is made with cocoa butter, is superior to candy melts (compound chocolate), which is made with palm kernel oil or other vegetable oil, but you MUST temper the chocolate, otherwise, the chocolate will not set up properly (it will be soft) and will become streaky or spotty over time.
    • Be sure to read my Chocolate Making Tips page for detailed information regarding the differences between pure and compound chocolates and how to melt them properly.

    Tips

    • DO NOT chill your cake balls before dipping.
    • You want your cake balls to be at room temperature before dipping them into the chocolate. If they are cold it will cause the chocolate to shrink too quickly, causing your chocolate to crack.
    • If your cake balls are too soft, just set them aside to air dry for a while.
    Chocolate dipped Maraschino cherry filled cake balls drying on baking pan.

    Chill the chocolate-dipped cake balls.

    • Refrigerate your cake balls if you dipped them in melted and tempered pure semi-sweet chocolate until set, about 10 minutes.
    • If using dark candy melts, place your cherry bombs in the freezer until set, about 5 minutes.
    • Do not chill them for too long as they may crack.

    Related Recipes

    You might also like these other cake ball recipes.

    coconut cake ball chicks next to candy eggs on a blue background

    Coconut Cake Ball Chicks

    Valentine's Day cake ball warm fuzzies

    Warm Fuzzy Cake Balls

    cordial cherry cake balls

    Cordial Cherry Cake Balls

    Decorate a cake pop to look like a fun carnival treat. These Cake Pop Corn Dogs look like a meal but taste like dessert.

    Cake Pop Corn Dogs

    chocolate cherry bombs served on a red and white polka dot cake stand.

    Video

    Be sure to watch the video tutorial to see how easy it is to make these delicious Chocolate Cherry Bombs.


    [adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id="z09QGc9G" upload-date="2017-01-10T19:19:45.000Z" name="Chocolate Cherry Bombs" description="Chocolate cake balls wrapped around a maraschino cherry dipped in dark chocolate may look like bombs but they taste incredible." player-type="default" override-embed="default"]

    Recipe

    This recipe was originally posted on February 12, 2011. It was updated on December 16, 2016, to include a video, then again on January 5, 2021.

    5 from 2 votes
    Marry a chocolate cake ball with a chocolate dipped maraschino cherry to get these amazing Chocolate Cherry Bombs.
    Print
    Chocolate Cherry Bombs - Cherry Filled Cake Balls Dipped in Chocolate
    Prep Time
    45 mins
    Cook Time
    28 mins
    Total Time
    1 hr 13 mins
     
    A chocolate cake ball wrapped around a maraschino cherry dipped in dark chocolate.
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Keyword: cake balls, chocolate cherry
    Servings: 48
    Author: Beth Jackson Klosterboer
    Ingredients
    • 1 (15.25 ounce) dark chocolate cake mix
    • 1 (3.56 ounce) chocolate pudding mix (instant pudding)
    • 1 cup sour cream
    • 1 cup milk
    • ¼ cup vegetable oil
    • 3 large eggs
    • â…“ cup frosting (vanilla or chocolate)
    • 48 maraschino cherries with stems
    Instructions
    1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
    2. Either line a 9 inch by 13 inch baking pan with non-stick tin foil or spray it with baking spray.
    3. Combine cake mix, pudding mix, sour cream, milk, oil, and eggs in a large mixing bowl.
    4. Using an electric mixer, beat on low speed for 30 seconds.
    5. Increase speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes.
    6. Pour into pan.
    7. Bake for 28-34 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
    8. Allow cake to cool completely.
    9. Crumble cake into a large bowl, preferable the bowl of a stand mixer.
    10. Add frosting and stir or beat until well blended and smooth.
    11. Scoop out 48 tablespoon size portions of the cake ball dough.
    12. Create an indentation in one cake ball and press a maraschino cherry into it.
    13. Press the cake ball dough around the cherry.
    14. Roll into a ball with the stem sticking out.
    15. Repeat.
    16. Let cake balls sit at room temperature for 1 hour to firm up a bit.
    17. Dip each cake ball into dark chocolate, allowing the excess to drip off.
    18. Set on a parchment lined baking sheet.
    19. If using pure chocolate, chill the Chocolate Cherry Bombs in the refrigerator until the chocolate hardens.
    20. If using candy melts pop them in the freezer, instead.
    21. Let the cherry bombs sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before serving.

     

    • Author
    • Recent Posts
    Beth Klosterboer
    Beth Klosterboer
    Hi, I'm Beth Jackson Klosterboer, a professional chocolatier & baker, cookbook author, and event planner. I love sharing recipes for happy occasions here on Hungry Happenings. I also create easy fudge recipes to share at HowToMakeEasyFudge.com, rice krispie treat recipes at HowToMakeCerealTreats.com, and easy cookie recipes at HowToMakeEasyCookies.com
    Beth Klosterboer
    Latest posts by Beth Klosterboer (see all)
    • Mini Peanut Butter Cheesecakes - June 20, 2023
    • Homemade Chocolate Easter Bunnies - April 3, 2023
    • Mini Basketball Cheeseburgers - February 15, 2023

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    1. Allie

      April 02, 2021 at 10:30 pm

      I am making this for a cook-off and the last time I lost and I really hope this turns out really good. do you have any tips?

      Reply
      • Beth

        April 04, 2021 at 5:54 pm

        Good luck with your cook-off! I do recommend blending the cake and frosting together using a mixer. You'll get the best texture that way. Use the best-tasting chocolate for dipping. I recommend using Peter's Burgundy Semi-Sweet Chocolate or Callebaut Semi-Sweet Chocolate Callets.

        Reply
    2. Kendra

      January 03, 2021 at 3:27 pm

      Just made this with my 15yo and 13yo. Followed the recipe exactly and it turned out wonderful. They are thinking of other flavor combinations to make next so this was definitely successful.

      Reply
      • Beth

        January 03, 2021 at 10:37 pm

        Hi Kendra, I'm so glad you and your kids enjoyed this recipe! I'd love to hear if you try any other flavor combinations.

        Reply
    3. Pam

      July 24, 2019 at 5:11 pm

      Thank you, Beth, for your quick reply. I did take it out of the oven, and it still looked like pudding in the middle, but after it sat for awhile and cooled off a bit, the middle seemed to be firming up. Now I hope I didn't bake it for too long! Keeping my fingers crossed everything turns out in the the end! Thank you!

      Reply
      • Beth

        July 24, 2019 at 10:05 pm

        I do hope it turns out well for you. I love the flavor of this cake and hope you do too. Enjoy!

        Reply
    4. Pam

      July 24, 2019 at 4:04 pm

      It has been awhile since there have been any comments, so I'm not sure you will see my comment. The cake is in the oven, and has been for well over the time stated in the recipe. The cake is done everywhere except the middle ... it's almost like it is just pudding in the middle and will not firm up no matter how long I seem to bake it. I'm afraid to bake any longer, as I don't want to burn the cake. Do you have any ideas of why this is happening?

      Reply
      • Beth

        July 24, 2019 at 5:04 pm

        I'm so sorry I didn't see this sooner. I'm sure the cake has been pulled from the oven. I'm sorry to hear it didn't seem to bake in the center. It is definitely a very moist cake. The type of pan can effect how quickly the cake bakes around the exterior. I find good quality aluminum pans to work the best. Dark pans can bake the exterior more quickly. If the exterior did get a little bit too dark, you can simply cut around the edge of the cake and dispose those browned edges.

        Reply
    5. Janet

      February 12, 2019 at 11:03 am

      Do you store them in the fridge?

      Reply
      • Beth

        February 12, 2019 at 2:42 pm

        They will keep for up to 3 days at room temperature. If you store them in the fridge, place them in a cardboard box lined with some paper towels (you can even sprinkle some baking soda under the paper towels) to keep beads of condensation from forming on the chocolate. Remove them from the fridge and keep them in the box for at least an hour before opening the box. The chocolate should stay dry that way.

        Reply
    6. Michelle B.

      November 29, 2018 at 9:30 pm

      Instant pudding or cook & serve?

      Reply
      • Beth

        November 30, 2018 at 8:02 am

        Hi, Michelle. You want to use instant pudding. Enjoy!

        Reply
    7. Cindy

      December 27, 2016 at 11:44 pm

      Can these be made ahead of time? If so, how long will they keep?

      Reply
      • Beth

        December 28, 2016 at 9:54 am

        I've eaten them up to 4 days after making them and they were fine. By the 5th day they seem to get a little soggy.

        Reply
    8. The Partiologist

      December 19, 2016 at 5:25 am

      I do remember these! Now that's what I call a chocolate covered cherry!

      Reply
      • Beth

        December 20, 2016 at 9:48 am

        🙂

        Reply

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    Beth Jackson Klosterboer

    Welcome to Hungry Happenings!

    I'm Beth. I've been a professional chocolatier & baker for over 30 years, have written 5 cookbooks, and love creating fun food for holidays and special occasions.

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