Cordial Cherry Cake Balls

Combine chocolate-dipped cordial cherries with a cake ball to make these delicious Cordial Cherry Cake Balls. These sweet treats make wonderful Valentine's Day desserts but are perfect to give as Christmas gifts or as birthday party favors.

For Valentine's Day this year, I thought it would be fun to revisit a few of my most popular holiday recipes starting with my Sweet Chocolate Cherry Bombs, which are chocolate cake balls wrapped around a maraschino cherry and then dipped in dark chocolate.

I knew when I made them for the first time, three years ago, brought them to a party, and they were gone in minutes, that I had hit on something pretty good. I've been so pleased to see that you like them too.

This time, I created the center by wrapping white cake ball dough around a maraschino cherry and dipping them in Cordial Cherry Candy Melts. Yum!

Now, not only do they look like Cordial Cherries, but they taste like them too.

So, let's make some Cordial Cherry Cake Balls.

Ingredients

white cake - Use one 9x13-inch or 2 8-inch round white cakes.
frosting - To keep the cake balls bright white, use white vanilla frosting.
maraschino cherries with stems
Cordial Cherry Candy Melts*

Substitutions

* Sadly, the Wilton Cordial Cherry Candy Melts have been discontinued.

You can use Dark Cocoa Candy Melts instead and flavor it using an oil-based cherry flavoring that is specifically formulated for chocolate.

If you add the oil, and the candy melts get too thick, you can add some paramount Crystals or Wilton EX thin to thin them out.

Supplies

knife
optional, stand mixer (or you can use your hands)
ice cream scoop
tall glass
parchment paper-lined baking pans

Instructions

Trim the browned edges off your cake.

• Cut off all of the browned edges, top and bottom of the cake.
• This will ensure you have nice white cake balls to wrap around your maraschino cherries.

Making white cake balls dough.

• Crumble the white part of the cake and mix in some of the frosting.
• Add more frosting until your cake balls hold together nicely.
  • I use my KitchenAid to mix the cake and frosting. You can mix it by hand or use a food processor, as well.
• Add enough frosting so the cake sticks together.
• The number of cake balls you get out of this recipe will depend on how you mix them. When I made them by hand I got more per batch.

• I wanted my cake balls to be very white, so I only used the white part of the cake and white frosting.
• If you use the browned edges, top and bottom, you'll end up with an off-white cake ball instead.
• I didn't want to waste all of those crumbs, so I made some cake ball mixture out of it which I just dipped in some chocolate. You can see that there was a lot of this in the bowl.

Wrap white cake ball dough around a cherry.

• Drain and blot dry your maraschino cherries using a paper towel.
• Scoop out tablespoonfuls of the cake ball mixture and wrap it around the cherries.
• Roll into balls.

Dip cake balls in chocolate.

Before you begin, if you don't have much experience melting or working with candy melts, read my Chocolate Making Tips page.

• Melt the candy melts in the microwave using 30-second bursts of high power, stirring after each until melted.
• If using, stir in the cherry oil. If needed, add a small amount of paramount crystals and stir to thin out the candy melts.
• Pour the melted candy melts into a short glass.
• Dip the cake balls by holding onto the cherry stem.
• Lift the cake ball out of the glass and allow the excess candy coating to drip off. Set cake balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
• After dipping about 5 of your cordial cherry cake balls, pop them into the freezer for about 5 minutes. If you leave them out at room temperature for too long, they will begin to set and may develop white spots.
• So, move quickly and just dip a handful before freezing them.
• If you freeze them for too long, they can crack, so set your timer if need be.

Tips

• I do not find it necessary to freeze my cake balls before dipping them. Whenever you are dipping anything in chocolate or Candy Melts you want it to be close to room temperature. When it's cold the chocolate will harden too quickly, causing it to crack.
• If your cake balls are too soft to dip, let them sit out, uncovered, at room temperature for about an hour. The exterior will dry out slightly, making them easier to dip into the chocolate.

Storage

Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Related Recipes

If you enjoy making these cake balls, you might also enjoy these other recipes.

Cake Ball Warm Fuzzies

Chocolate Cherry Cake Balls

Funfetti Cake Pops

Recipe

Print

Cordial Cherry Cake Balls

Prep Time

30 mins

Total Time

30 mins

 

Take chocolate covered cherries to the next level and make these Cordial Cherry Cake Balls! They're perfect for Valentine's day.

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cherry cordial, cherry cordial cake balls

Servings: 20

Calories: 175 kcal

Author: Beth Klosterboer

Ingredients

• 1 baked white cake, brown edges, top and bottom trimmed
• ⅓ -⅔ cup white frosting
• 20 maraschino cherries with stems
• 20 ounces Cordial Cherry Candy Melts or Dark Cocoa Candy Melts flavored with cherry oil

Instructions

1. Crumble the trimmed white cake into fine crumbs.

2. Mix in frosting, adding just enough so that the cake balls hold together.

3. Scoop out tablespoonfuls of the cake ball dough.

4. Wrap the cake ball dough around maraschino cherries.

5. Roll into balls.

6. Melt the candy melts in the microwave using 30-second bursts of high power, stirring after each until melted. If using, stir in the cherry oil. If needed, add a small amount of paramount crystals and stir to thin out the candy melts. Pour the melted candy melts into a short glass.

7. Dip the cake balls into the melted candy melts.

8. Holding onto the stem, remove the cake ball from the chocolate and allow the excess to drip back into the glass.

9. Freeze for about 5 minutes, until the candy coating is set.

10. Serve and enjoy!

Recipe Notes

Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

• Author
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Beth Klosterboer

Hi, I'm Beth 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

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