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.
Recipe
Take chocolate covered cherries to the next level and make these Cordial Cherry Cake Balls! They're perfect for Valentine's day.
- 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
-
Crumble the trimmed white cake into fine crumbs.
-
Mix in frosting, adding just enough so that the cake balls hold together.
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Scoop out tablespoonfuls of the cake ball dough.
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Wrap the cake ball dough around maraschino cherries.
-
Roll into balls.
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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 into the melted candy melts.
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Holding onto the stem, remove the cake ball from the chocolate and allow the excess to drip back into the glass.
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Freeze for about 5 minutes, until the candy coating is set.
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Serve and enjoy!
Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
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april
my husband would like these. Thanks for the recipe. Thanks for linking up at Tell Me About It Tuesday. We hope you hop over and share with us again next week.
olivia hamilton
Cordial Cherry Cake Balls are my fav hands down!
Aida@TheCraftingFoodie
The fudgy peanut butter hearts look so delicious!
MOM
Great giveaway and idea. Can't wait to try the cordial melts.
MOM
Love this idea and can't wait to try the cordial melts.
MKCraig
Oh my. I would LOVE all of those things- especially the silicon molds!
The Partiologist
Me again...I just found the rafflecopter! 🙂
The Partiologist
I always love all your ideas, and this is a fantastic giveaway! Only, I don't see the rafflecopter...hmmm.
suburban prep
Red and Green Magic Bars is a great recipe.
as Maureen
Heidi Kay @ Muslin and Merlot
Those look so yummy! Almost too pretty to eat.
tina reynolds
I really like the chocolate heart boxes
Anonymous
They all look so good. I can't wait to make these cake balls
Heather Gallagher
Chrissy
My favorite recipe is the Panda Pastries.
Cathy
Hi
I love your site
All of your posting s are favorite worthy
I am torn between the heart cheesecake and the cherry cordial cake balls
Thanks to Wilton for the opportunity to win that awesome gift pack
cheers
Cathy
Yoselin Melgar
The heartshaped cheesecakes! yummy!!!!
latanya t
the ice cream truffles
Kelli Davidson
Oh so pretty! I love these and am going to make them for the people at work!
Lisa@hooplapalooza
sorry Beth-but picking a favorite is like picking a favorite child. so...just mark me down for ALL please. :>O
Aunt Bea's Treasures
What a delightful idea1 thanks for sharing your creations with us. I love cherries anyway you fix them!
cherrybaby016
I'd have to say that this is my favorite recipe because my dad loves chocolate covered cherries, and I can't wait to make them!!