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Home » Desserts

Easy Chocolate Truffles Made With Cake Crumbs

Published: May 1, 2022 · Modified: May 1, 2022 by Harriet · 1 Comment

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These easy chocolate truffles made with cake crumbs are really quick to make using leftover cake. Simple and inexpensive, make these homemade chocolate truffles for any occasion.

A close up of a truffle made with cake crumbs coated in coconut.
Jump to:
  • Cost To Make
  • Why You'll Love This Recipe:
  • Why Make Truffles With Cake Crumbs?
  • Ingredients In This Recipe
  • Step By Step Instructions
  • How To Melt Chocolate
  • Recipe Tips
  • What To Roll Chocolate Truffles In
  • Serving Size
  • Calories Per Serve
  • Serving Suggestions
  • Storage
  • FAQ
  • More Sweet Recipes
  • Easy Chocolate Truffles Made With Cake Crumbs
  • Comments

Quick and inexpensive to make, these easy chocolate truffles made with cake crumbs are a lovely gift idea.

Cost To Make

Estimated cost = $5.50 or $0.13 each (does not include the cost of the decorative coating)

Why You'll Love This Recipe:

  • It is an easy three-ingredient recipe made with leftover cake, candy melts, and a can of caramelized sweetened condensed milk.
  • These easy chocolate truffles made with cake crumbs can be made in advance and frozen undecorated.
  • Decorate the cake balls to suit any occasion by rolling in coatings of your choice.
  • It is a budget-friendly recipe that you can prepare in advance.

Why Make Truffles With Cake Crumbs?

These easy chocolate truffles made with cake crumbs are a great way to reduce food waste because instead of throwing away leftover cake, you are making something else with it.

Chocolate cake truffles have more body and hold their shape better than ones made with a ganache, making them great to serve even in summer.

Ingredients In This Recipe

You can download a printable version of this recipe below. It lists all the ingredients you need and gives clear, step-by-step instructions to help you make it.

Ingredient image for easy chocolate truffles made with cake crumbs.

Carmelized sweetened condensed milk - is a thick sweet sauce made with sweetened condensed milk similar to dulce de leche. 

You can buy it from most supermarkets, but if you can't get it, you can make it at home by following our slow cooker dulce de leche recipe. 

And if you don't want to make the caramel, use a can of sweetened condensed milk. 

Cooking chocolate - or candy melts, use dark or milk chocolate.

Cake crumbs - if you have leftover chocolate cake, use that, and if it has frosting or whipped cream, remove these before using. You could also bake a chocolate cake from scratch or a cake mix or buy a plain chocolate cake to use for this recipe.

Step By Step Instructions

Cake crumbs in a bowl.
1. Make fined cake crumbs.

Step 1 - Place the cake into a mixing bowl and crumble it into small pieces. 

Caramel sauce and cake crumbs in a bowl.
2. Add the condensed milk to the crumbs.

Step 2 - Add the caramel sauce to the bowl.

A hand spooning melted chocolate to cake crumbs.
3. Add melted chocolate to the cake crumbs.

Step 3 - Add the melted chocolate to the bowl (see notes below for how to melt chocolate).

Mixing cake crumb truffle mixture.
4. Use a sturdy spatula or spoon to mix the truffle mixture.

Step 4 - Use a sturdy spatula or spoon and mix until well combined. Cover the bowl and chill the mixture for about 1 hour or overnight before shaping.

A hand with a ball of truffle mixture.
5. Create small truffle balls with the mixutre.

Step 5 - Evenly divide the mixture into 40 small balls. Our cake balls weighed about 19 grams (0.67 ounces) each, which is about one heaped teaspoon.

A close up of a truffle ball with coating.
6. Roll each truffle ball in a coating to completely cover the ball.

Step 6 - Fill a bowl with a decorative coating, then dip and roll each ball into the mixture to get even coverage. Store the chocolate balls covered in the fridge until ready to serve.

Image of chocolate balls with and without coating.

How To Melt Chocolate

Use one of these two methods to melt chocolate.

Double boiler method

You will need a saucepan and a heatproof bowl that fits on top of the pot. 

Quarter fill the saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Place the chocolate into the bowl and place to bowl on top of the saucepan. 

Reduce the heat to low, and simmer, stirring the chocolate with a metal spoon until the chocolate has melted. Turn off the heat.

When melting the chocolate in a double boiler, avoid getting water or steam into the bowl because the chocolate will seize (go thick and lumpy), making it unusable.

Microwave method

Place the chocolate in a microwave-safe jug or bowl, heat on high in short 20-30 seconds burst, stirring the chocolate with a metal spoon between each burst until melted. 

Melting chocolate in the microwave oven happens quickly. So be careful not to overheat it because you can easily overcook the chocolate and ruin it. 

Recipe Tips

Truffles made with condensed milk instead of canned caramel sauce can be a little softer because sweetened condensed milk is a little thinner than the canned caramel sauce. If you find that this is the case, thicken the mixture by mixing in a little more cake crumbs. 

Coating not sticking - this can happen if the outside of the cake ball has become dry, this can occur on a warm day, especially if you have rolled them all out at once.

Make them sticky again by rolling each ball between your hands before placing them into the coating mixture.  

What To Roll Chocolate Truffles In

After making the truffles roll them in a decorative coating. You can even decorate them to match the occasion, for example:

  • soft pink colored sprinkles for Valentines' day or Mothers day,
  • themed sprinkles for Christmas
  • popping candy for New Years' eve or 4th of July celebrations.

When deciding on a decorative coating, use something small (like cake sprinkles) because they will cover the cake ball better. 

And when using nuts, toast them lightly because toasting them will bring out their flavor. Allow them to cool, then chop them into small pieces before using.

Truffle Coating Ideas

  1. Sugar cake decorating sprinkles
  2. Chocolate sprinkles
  3. Miniature chocolate chips
  4. Mini chocolates, like smarties, M & M's, or nerds
  5. Grated or shaved white, dark, or milk chocolate
  6. Popping candy
  7. Sanding sugar
  8. Pearl or crystal sugar
  9. Chopped nuts like pistachio, hazelnuts, walnuts, and pecans
  10. Sliced or flaked almonds
  11. Toasted shredded or desiccated coconut
  12. Matcha – green tea powder
  13. Cocoa powder
  14. Powdered sugar
  15. Edible shimmer powder
  16. Crushed candies, like peppermints, toffees, candy canes, and candy-coated nuts
  17. Crushed cookie crumbs
  18. Chopped crystallized ginger (candied ginger)
  19. Espresso powder
  20. Cinnamon and sugar
  21. Pulverized freeze-dried fruit, like raspberries and strawberries
  22. If you want chocolate truffles with a hard shell, dip well-chilled chocolate balls into melted chocolate. 

Serving Size

The serving size for this recipe is 19 grams (0.67 ounces) which is one chocolate cake truffle ball.

Calories Per Serve

Each undecorated 19 grams (0.67 ounces) cake ball chocolate truffle is about 45 calories.

Serving Suggestions

These easy chocolate truffles made with cake crumbs are lovely gifts for occasions like Valentine's Day, Christmas, Mother's Day, Fathers Day, and Easter, or serve them as a special treat for any occasion.

Make them look extra special by putting each cake truffle into a small paper case and packaging them in a gift box.

Storage

How long do chocolate cake truffles last in the fridge?

Chocolate cake truffles can be stored decorated or undecorated in the fridge for up to seven days if you have used fresh cake crumbs. 

They can be kept for longer if you freeze them. 

Can I freeze chocolate cake truffles?

Yes, freezing them is ideal for advanced preparation. You can freeze these without a coating for four to six months. 

To freeze - Place the chocolate balls in a single layer spaced well apart on a tray lined with baking paper. Cover tightly with plastic food wrap before placing in the freezer. 

Once they have frozen, transfer the balls to a zip lock bag or a freezer-safe container.

When you need them, remove them from the freezer, place them on a tray in a single layer and allow them to come to room temperature, then decorate.

If you find that the coating is not sticking to the balls, roll them between your palms before placing them into the coating mixture, then store them in the fridge until needed.

FAQ

What are chocolate truffles made out of

Traditionally chocolate truffles are made from a chocolate ganache. You make a ganache by melting dark chocolate, cream, and butter together.

The mixture is left to cool and set in the fridge, then shaped into balls and rolled into a coating. They are soft and creamy in texture but do go very soft when not refrigerated.

How much does this recipe make?

This recipe for easy chocolate truffles made with cake crumbs makes about 760 grams (26.80 ounces) of truffle mixture.

We made 40 cake truffles each weighing about 19 grams (0.67 ounces).

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Chocolate truffle balls some coated in chopped pistachio nuts, coconut, chocolate and colored sprinkles.
Cake truffles coated in chopped pistachio nuts, coconut, multi colored sprinkles and chocolate vermicelli.

I hope you try this recipe for easy chocolate truffles made with cake crumbs. If you do, please come back and leave a comment below because I would love to know how you went.

Chocolate truffles in paper cases.

Easy Chocolate Truffles Made With Cake Crumbs

Harriet
These easy chocolate truffles made with cake crumbs are delicious and quick to make. Made with three simple ingredients, these are budget-friendly and perfect for sharing or gift-giving.
5 from 1 vote
Prevent your screen from going dark
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes mins
Cook Time 0 minutes mins
Chilling time 1 minute min
Course Desserts
Cuisine Western
Servings 40 cake truffle balls
Calories 45 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 150 grams (5.3 ounces) chocolate cake crumbs
  • 395 grams (14 ounces) can condensed milk caramel sauce see note below
  • 290 grams (10.22 ounces) cooking chocolate milk or dark

Decoration for coating

  • You could use chopped nuts, sprinkles, grated coconut, chocolate vermicelli, or any other coating you like. See more coating ideas in the notes section below.

Instructions
 

  • Place the cake into a mixing bowl and crumble into small pieces.
  • Add the caramel sauce to the bowl.
  • Add the melted chocolate to the bowl (see notes below for how to melt chocolate).
  • Use a sturdy spatula or spoon and mix until well combined. Cover the bowl with plastic and chill the mixture for about 1 hour or overnight before shaping.
  • Evenly divide the mixture into 40 small balls. Our cake balls weighed about 19 grams (0.67 ounces) each, which is about one heaped teaspoon.
  • Fill a small bowl with a decorative coating, then dip and roll each ball into the mixture to get even coverage.
  • Store the chocolate balls covered in the fridge until ready to serve.

Notes

This recipe for easy chocolate truffles made with cake crumbs makes about 760 grams (26.80 ounces) of truffle mixture.
 
Carmelized sweetened condensed milk - is a thick sweet sauce made with sweetened condensed milk similar to dulce de leche. 
You can buy it from most supermarkets, but if you can't get it, you can make it at home by following our slow cooker dulce de leche recipe. 
And if you don't want to make the caramel, use a can of sweetened condensed milk. 
 
HOW TO MELT CHOCOLATE
Use one of these two methods to melt chocolate.
Double boiler method
You will need a saucepan and a heatproof bowl that fits on top of the pot. 
Quarter fill the saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Place the chocolate into the bowl and place to bowl on top of the saucepan. 
Reduce the heat to low, and simmer, stirring the chocolate with a metal spoon until the chocolate has melted. Turn off the heat.
When melting the chocolate in a double boiler, avoid getting water or steam into the bowl because the chocolate will seize (go thick and lumpy), making it unusable.
Microwave method
Place the chocolate in a microwave-safe jug or bowl, heat on high in short 20-30 seconds burst, stirring the chocolate with a metal spoon between each burst until melted. 
Melting chocolate in the microwave oven happens quickly. So be careful not to overheat it because you can easily overcook the chocolate and ruin it.
Truffle Coating Ideas
  1. Sugar cake decorating sprinkles
  2. Chocolate sprinkles
  3. Miniature chocolate chips
  4. Mini chocolates, like smarties, M & M's, or nerds
  5. Grated or shaved white, dark, or milk chocolate
  6. Popping candy
  7. Sanding sugar
  8. Pearl or crystal sugar
  9. Chopped nuts like pistachio, hazelnuts, walnuts, and pecans
  10. Sliced or flaked almonds
  11. Toasted shredded or desiccated coconut
  12. Matcha – green tea powder
  13. Cocoa powder
  14. Powdered sugar
  15. Edible shimmer powder
  16. Crushed candies, like peppermints, toffees, candy canes, and candy-coated nuts
  17. Crushed cookie crumbs
  18. Chopped crystallized ginger (candied ginger)
  19. Espresso powder
  20. Cinnamon and sugar
  21. Pulverized freeze-dried fruit, like raspberries and strawberries
  22. If you want chocolate truffles with a hard shell, dip well-chilled chocolate balls into melted chocolate. 
 

Nutrition

Serving: 1 cake truffle ballCalories: 45kcalCarbohydrates: 9gProtein: 1gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 46mgPotassium: 55mgFiber: 1gSugar: 8gVitamin A: 1IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 8mgIron: 1mg
Keyword cake truffles with condensed milk
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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Comments

    5 from 1 vote

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  1. Ashley says

    May 22, 2022 at 1:51 pm

    5 stars
    These look so yummy! I am going to make this for my next party. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
Author image.

Hi, I'm Harriet! The face and photographer behind Recipe Pocket. I am a mother of two who is a cook by day and blogger by night.

More about me ->

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