Holiday Baking: Fruit Cake Ball Recipe

Fruit Cake Cake Balls

This fruit cake cake ball recipe has been provided by Aimee Plesa, owner of Speakeasy Sweets. Aimee is an amazing baker and is known for her boozy treats! You can learn more about her here: http://www.speakeasysweets.com/

While many bakers like to stick to tried and true recipes for their holiday baking, I am a bohemian baker who likes to strike out on her own and create new recipes and new traditions.

These fruit cake cake balls have been on my “to do” list for several years, and last year was the year that they finally became a thing. And what a thing they became! I already have customers messaging me to see if I will be making them again this year. Even people who don’t normally like fruit cake went crazy over these little treats.

Ingredients  

• 1 butter cake cake mix
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup liquor bourbon, rum, brandy-whatever your preference is
• 3 eggs
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 tub prepared vanilla buttercream or cream cheese frosting (you will not need the entire tub)
• 1/4 cup dried cherries roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup dried apricots roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup golden raisins roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup pecans roughly chopped
• 2 packages dark chocolate candy melts
• 1 package white candy melts
• red sugar pearls
• candy holly/ivy leaves

Instructions 

• Combine cake mix, water, liquor, eggs and oil in a bowl and mix until well combined. Bake according to the directions on the cake mix box.
• Allow cake to cool slightly before crumbling. While still warm, but not hot, slowly add frosting and mix by hand. Use a little at a time and add more as needed to achieve a Play-Doh like consistency.
• Add all chopped fruit and nuts to the cake ball mixture and knead until evenly mixed throughout. Using a 1 ounce cookie scoop, scoop and pack cake ball filling into 1 ounce portions.
• Roll portions into balls and allow them to set while you melt the candy coating.
• Melt candy coating in a microwave safe bowl in 30 second increments, stirring well between each, until nearly melted. Allow to stand for a minute and stir again-your candy coating should be thoroughly melted.
• Drop balls, one at a time, in the melted chocolate and remove with a fork. Tap fork lightly on the side of the bowl to remove excess chocolate and turn out onto parchment paper. Dip the entire batch and allow to set up completely.
• Melt white candy melts following the same directions for the dark chocolate. Once melted and smooth, carefully dip each cake ball into the white chocolate using your fingers. You want to just coat the top of each cake ball. Gently shake to remove extra coating and place back on parchment. Dip in batches of 3-4 at a time.
• While the white chocolate is still soft, gently add red sugar pearls and candy leaves to create a cluster of ivy on the top of each cake ball. Allow to set completely before packaging.

Notes

Cook’s Notes: It is easy to customize this recipe to suit your taste-use more fruit and nuts if desired, vary the types used, experiment with different types of liquor. Your cake balls should remain fresh for 5-7 days if stored in a cool location away from heat and sunlight. They will be good for 10-14 days in the refrigerator and up to 6 months if tightly sealed and frozen.

Aimee Plesa