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.
-
Scoop out tablespoonfuls of the cake ball dough.
-
Wrap the cake ball dough around maraschino cherries.
-
Roll into balls.
-
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.
-
Holding onto the stem, remove the cake ball from the chocolate and allow the excess to drip back into the glass.
-
Freeze for about 5 minutes, until the candy coating is set.
-
Serve and enjoy!
Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
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Anonymous
Happy Valentine Day to all!!!
Dina
they are adorable!
Patricia
Cordial Cherry cake balls
Crystal Green
These Cordial Cherry cake balls look really good. I LOVE cherries and I love chocolate so this is a great combination.
Tammigirl
the Mozzarella Cheese Filled Hearts with Roasted Red Pepper Pesto look so great to me!
Amber Schultz-Escamilla
Cherry Cordial cake balls! I can't wait to make them!
Michelle
Cheesecake conversation hearts! I love cheesecake!
Michelle
Cheesecake conversation hearts! I love cheesecake!
Natalie Hoffman
I think your Valentines Day Warm Fuzzy Cake Balls are simply the most adorable things ever!!!! <3
Corey W.
Yum! I've only made cake balls one time, but they were sooooo good. You just reminded me that I need to make them again....this time with a cherry! Thank you for linking up at The Makers!
Corey @ TinySidekick.com
EverythingSarah
i love the conversation cheesecake hearts
crazyweirdo33@yahoo.com
Cuevas77
Fried wonton Roses
Shannon {Cozy Country Living}
I absolutely love these and I am going to have to make them for Valentine's Day this year! My family will love them:)
Mandy Cordeniz
I found the cherry cordial melts during the holidays and have been waiting for an excuse to use them. I will definitely be making the cordial pops. Thank you so much for the inspiration, Beth!
dragonswing
Those cherry cake balls sound delicious and I don't think they sound too complicated to make. I will have to try making some.
Michelle Clausen
so fun! I love this post (choc covered cherry fan!!) but I think my fav recipe is your warm fuzzy cake balls, remind me of being a kid!
jody cowan
I love the conversation heart cheesecakes!
Brynne Delerson
Oh my, these look so delicious! I'm pinning for sure and can't wait to make them!!! Visiting from The Maker's link party 🙂
JanLee
Hi love all of the stuff you do, but my husband absolutely LOVES chocolate covered cherries and I think he will like this version, can't wait to try. BTW since I already have an email subscription and follow you on Facebook and Bloglovin it is not easy to enter those in Rafflecopter without getting duplicate subscriptions, maybe there is a way to verify without entering again? Thanks for the great giveaway.
beth
Hi JanLee. If you follow already, all you have to do is type in the name by which you are a follower. That's it. You don't have to follow again.
Lori Stilger
I love the conversation heart cheesecakes, but I have to say, these look really great! 🙂 Thanks for another great giveaway! Have a blessed day! 🙂