Easy Chocolate Truffles Made With Cake Crumbs

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

The printable recipe further down the page has the complete list of ingredients, including quantities and step-by-step instructions.

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

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

Step 2 - Add the caramel sauce to the bowl.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

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