Ingredients:
1 Pillsbury Devil's Food Cake Mix
1 1/4 cups water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1/4 cup - 1 tub Pillsbury Classic White Frosting*
30-48 Maraschino Cherries with stems*
16-22 oz. tempered semi-sweet chocolate (or
dark confectionery coating/candy melts)
Special equipment needed:
2 - 8" or 9" cake pans or 1 - 13"x9" pan
no-stick cooking spray
hand held mixer
paper towels
parchment paper or non-stick foil
baking sheet
*UPDATE: When I first made this recipe I just went on-line and found a recipe for cake balls and they used the whole tub of frosting. I did that to make these and they worked out well. I really liked the flavor which reminded me of a HoHo. A few people have commented that their cake balls weren't holding together well with this much frosting
Recently, I have experimented with using less frosting and mixing my cake and frosting with my Kitchen Aid stand mixer, as I've read where some people use as little as 2 tablespoons for a whole cake. I used that idea to make my Warm Fuzzy Cake Balls and used 1/4 cup of frosting. The texture is great and the flavor is very chocolatey. So, to make these you may want to start with a smaller amount of frosting and add more until you find the flavor and texture you like best.
Mixing in an entire tub of frosting by hand produces a lighter more airy cake ball and you end up with more of them. If you use less frosting and mix in a Kitchen Aid or food processor the mixture becomes more dense and you will end up with fewer cake balls. Both are very good options.
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cake pan/s by spraying with no-stick cooking spray. Blend cake mix, water, oil, and eggs in a large mixing bowl until moistened. Using a hand held mixer , beat on medium speed for two minutes. Pour batter into prepared pan/s. Bake for 29-35 minutes (see package for specific times for each pan size). Cool cake completely.
For a step by step tutorial plese click the link below.
Crumble cooled cake into a large mixing bowl. Add 1/4 cup frosting and mix until well combined. Add more if needed. Scoop mixture out by the tablespoonful. I use a small ice cream scoop to make easy work of this task. Roll each scoop into a ball.
Drain maraschino cherries and pat dry with paper towels. Press one cherry into the center of each cake ball. Bring the cake mixture up and around the cherry. Roll in between your two hands to form a nice ball.
Melt and temper semi-sweet chocolate or melt confectionery coating/candy melts. Click here for detailed melting instructions. Dip cake covered cherries in chocolate. Set on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Refrigerate if using tempered semi-sweet chocolate until set, about 10 minutes. If using dark candy melts, place your cherry bombs in the freezer until set, about 5 minutes. Bring to room temperature before serving.