Helloooo, Easy Gingerbread Truffles! This isn’t your average gingerbread cake, so each bite packs a punch – perfect for all you gingerbread lovers out there!
Hi everyone! This was a whirlwind of a weekend, let me tell ya. Friday was the company holiday party, which means my feet are still numb from dancing the night away (literally only left the dance floor for 2 minutes, tops). For those of you keeping up, Saturday was Frank’s family’s holiday party, which meant I had a baking competition to worry about! I decided to make my Peppermint Chocolate Madeleines and I’m glad I did because I ended up bringing this baby home:
Hip hip hooray! Now I’ve got a full year to think about what to make for the next competition. If you have any ideas, please feel free to shoot them over. 🙂
Anyway, I digress. This week, I’m sharing a suuuuper easy recipe for gingerbread truffles. It was only a matter of time before I found some way to bring gingerbread into this holiday baking palooza. You can bake the cake from scratch, or use a boxed cake mix if you’re looking to whip something up on the fly. If you need further proof of how easy this recipe is, here’s what it looks like broken down:
Spicy gingerbread cake -> blended with cream cheese -> dipped in white candy melts = Gingerbread Truffle Heaven
The recipe may seem a tad long, but I can assure you that it is not hard! Most of the time is spent baking the cake and letting everything set.
I know I mentioned that this isn’t your average gingerbread cake, and I really meant it. The spices add a lot of oomph to the cake, but it’s not overpowering at all. This, in my opinion, is what gingerbread was meant to taste like.
The thing about cake truffles/balls/pops is that it involves breaking up the cake right after you bake it. It’s a weird feeling, for sure, but it’s for the greater good — promise! Once the cake has been completely deconstructed, add a nice dollop of cream cheese to the mixture and knead it together. Shape the mixture into balls and dip them into the coating of your choice; I chose white candy melts because they’re really easy to melt and they set quickly.
Aren’t they beautiful? I chose to decorate them with holiday-themed nonpareils, but I bet they’d look and taste great with chocolate drizzled over the top. Go crazy! It’s the holiday season!
Depending on your taste, you can adjust the amount of cream cheese in the recipe. A full 8 ounces gets you a super moist and gooey truffle, which I was a HUGE fan of. For a more crumbly and cake-y texture, try going down to 6, maybe 4 ounces.
This was my first go at making cake truffles and it definitely won’t be my last. I love how easy they are to make and eat – once you pop, you just don’t stop!
They were big hit with my friends and coworkers, so I encourage you to give these a shot! If you do, feel free to drop a comment/rate the recipe to let me know how it went. Happy baking!
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Easy Gingerbread Truffles
- Prep Time: 35 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 90 minutes
- Yield: 30 truffles 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
A bold gingerbread cake, deconstructed and blended with a full block of cream cheese, and dipped in white candy melts. What’s not to love? If you’re baking the cake yourself, it’ll take a little longer (but it’s worth it and isn’t as hard as it looks), but you are more than welcome to use a boxed cake mix if you’re in a pinch!
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup molasses
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter (melted and cooled)
- 1 large egg (room temperature)
- 1 cup buttermilk (room temperature)
- 8 ounces full-fat block cream cheese
- 12 ounces white candy melts
Instructions
- Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and preheat oven to 350F. Spray an 8×8 baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, cocoa powder, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice, baking soda, and salt.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer using the paddle attachment, combine the molasses, sugar, and melted butter together on low speed for 1-3 minutes. Add the egg and whisk until combined.
- Add the buttermilk and mix until combined, about 30 seconds.
- Slowly add in the flour mixture and mix for about 1-3 minutes until the batter is smooth and thick.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake the cake for about 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. To account for any hot spots in your oven, make sure to rotate your pan halfway through baking.
- Let the cake cool in the pan for about 5 minutes before turning it out into a large bowl. Using a wooden spoon, break the cake up into crumbs. You want it to look like a nice fluffy pile of crumbs. Put the deconstructed cake into the refrigerator and leave for 20 minutes – the next part is hands on, so you don’t want the cake to be too hot to handle.
- Take the cake out of the refrigerator and add the cream cheese to the bowl. Knead the mixture until fully combined.
- Scoop out about 2 tablespoons (or use a #40 cookie scoop) of dough and form them into balls using your hands. Place the balls on a lined baking sheet and stick it in the refrigerator so they can set while you move on to the next step.
- Using a double broiler or your microwave, heat up the candy melts in a heatproof bowl until they are smooth and completely melted. If you are using a microwave, heat the melts up for 30 seconds at a time, making sure to stir after each interval.
- If you are decorating your cake balls with sprinkles or nonpareils, now is the time to get them out!
- Dip the balls into the candy melt mixture one at a time. Use a fork to coat the balls completely. Make sure to get rid of any excess coating on the ball by tapping the fork against the bowl a few times and brushing the bottom of the fork against the top of the bowl. Carefully place the coated ball on your baking sheet and quickly sprinkle the nonpareils or sprinkles over the top.
- Once assembled, place the baking sheet into the refrigerator to allow the finished product to set, about 10 minutes. They are best enjoyed at room temperature, so you’ll want to let them sit for a few minutes before serving them.
Notes
Gingerbread Cake recipe found in America’s Test Kitchen Family Baking Book .
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