Chocolate Raspberry Cake Balls
You could also call these Chocolate-Raspberry Cake Balls for when Cakes Fall but you know, you can make these without a cake disaster on your hands.
Okay, so I was planning to make a frosted chocolate-raspberry cake as Vegan Street’s recipe for Valentine’s Day, but then life got in the way and things got delayed, so I thought I’d make the cake this week and just not have it made to coincide with February 14.
Everything was going great. I had two 8-inch chocolate cakes that looked good; I just needed to cool and frost them. I had the raspberry filling layer all made. All systems go, right? Well, as luck would have it, I dropped one of the cakes as I was lifting it out of the oven. It broke on the open oven door in front of my eyes and I broke down. After asking “Why meeeeeeeee?!” of the kitchen gods for a minute or two, I realized that this could be salvaged. Okay, let’s pivot to cake balls. I had everything I needed, including the ingredients for a chocolate glaze. Is it a little less fancy than a chocolate-raspberry cake? It is. Is it still a rich and delicious chocolate cake with raspberries and a glaze? You bet. Is it easier? Heck, yeah.
Also, you can substitute any kind of cake you like for this recipe.
Cake
1 cup all-purpose, gluten-free flour*
¾ cups granulated sugar
⅓ cup unsweetened, slavery-free cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup nondairy milk
½ tablespoon apple cider vinegar
6 tablespoons neutral oil, like safflower
4½ tablespoons JUST egg, shaken in the bottle
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
⅓ cup vegan, slavery-free chocolate chips
Raspberry Swirl
1½ cups fresh or frozen raspberries
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Chocolate Coating
½ cup granulated sugar
4 tablespoons vegan butter
2 tablespoons vegan creamer
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
4 tablespoons vegan, slavery-free chocolate chips
Optional decorations: Sprinkles, crushed dried raspberries, dried edible flower petals, etc.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and lightly oil an 8-inch cake pan.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a medium bowl, stir together the nondairy milk, oil, JUST egg, vinegar, vanilla and almond extract. Make a well in your dry ingredients and stir in the wet ingredients. Stir until nearly combined, add the chocolate chips, and stir again until fully combined. Bake for approximately 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.
As the cake is baking, make the Raspberry Swirl. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the ingredients up to the vanilla, stirring until thick, 7 - 8 minutes. Remove from the burner and add the vanilla, stirring to combine. Allow this to cool.
When the cake is cool to the touch, crumble it into a large bowl. Add the Raspberry Swirl and stir this together until fully incorporated.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. With damp hands, shape the cake dough into golf-ball sized balls, lightly squeezing and shaping, then place them on your prepared baking sheet.
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, stir together the Chocolate Coating ingredients, excluding the decorations, until it is thick and glossy. Transfer to a bowl or measuring cup, then drop your cake balls in the coating, turning to fully cover. I find a fork works best for lifting the cake balls out from underneath, allowing the excess chocolate to run down. Sprinkle on optional decorations as soon as you place the cake balls down so it doesn’t dry first. When all are ready, place in the refrigerator until the coating is set and dry, about an hour.
* I bake gluten-free but you can use regular all-purpose flour. The main issues to look out for is as I tested this using g-f flour, you may have different results, for example, you may need more or less liquid, you may need more or less cooking time.
You could also call these Chocolate-Raspberry Cake Balls for when Cakes Fall but you know, you can make these without a cake disaster on your hands.
Okay, so I was planning to make a frosted chocolate-raspberry cake as Vegan Street’s recipe for Valentine’s Day, but then life got in the way and things got delayed, so I thought I’d make the cake this week and just not have it made to coincide with February 14.
Everything was going great. I had two 8-inch chocolate cakes that looked good; I just needed to cool and frost them. I had the raspberry filling layer all made. All systems go, right? Well, as luck would have it, I dropped one of the cakes as I was lifting it out of the oven. It broke on the open oven door in front of my eyes and I broke down. After asking “Why meeeeeeeee?!” of the kitchen gods for a minute or two, I realized that this could be salvaged. Okay, let’s pivot to cake balls. I had everything I needed, including the ingredients for a chocolate glaze. Is it a little less fancy than a chocolate-raspberry cake? It is. Is it still a rich and delicious chocolate cake with raspberries and a glaze? You bet. Is it easier? Heck, yeah.
Also, you can substitute any kind of cake you like for this recipe.
Cake
1 cup all-purpose, gluten-free flour*
¾ cups granulated sugar
⅓ cup unsweetened, slavery-free cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup nondairy milk
½ tablespoon apple cider vinegar
6 tablespoons neutral oil, like safflower
4½ tablespoons JUST egg, shaken in the bottle
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
⅓ cup vegan, slavery-free chocolate chips
Raspberry Swirl
1½ cups fresh or frozen raspberries
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Chocolate Coating
½ cup granulated sugar
4 tablespoons vegan butter
2 tablespoons vegan creamer
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
4 tablespoons vegan, slavery-free chocolate chips
Optional decorations: Sprinkles, crushed dried raspberries, dried edible flower petals, etc.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and lightly oil an 8-inch cake pan.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a medium bowl, stir together the nondairy milk, oil, JUST egg, vinegar, vanilla and almond extract. Make a well in your dry ingredients and stir in the wet ingredients. Stir until nearly combined, add the chocolate chips, and stir again until fully combined. Bake for approximately 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.
As the cake is baking, make the Raspberry Swirl. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the ingredients up to the vanilla, stirring until thick, 7 - 8 minutes. Remove from the burner and add the vanilla, stirring to combine. Allow this to cool.
When the cake is cool to the touch, crumble it into a large bowl. Add the Raspberry Swirl and stir this together until fully incorporated.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. With damp hands, shape the cake dough into golf-ball sized balls, lightly squeezing and shaping, then place them on your prepared baking sheet.
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, stir together the Chocolate Coating ingredients, excluding the decorations, until it is thick and glossy. Transfer to a bowl or measuring cup, then drop your cake balls in the coating, turning to fully cover. I find a fork works best for lifting the cake balls out from underneath, allowing the excess chocolate to run down. Sprinkle on optional decorations as soon as you place the cake balls down so it doesn’t dry first. When all are ready, place in the refrigerator until the coating is set and dry, about an hour.
* I bake gluten-free but you can use regular all-purpose flour. The main issues to look out for is as I tested this using g-f flour, you may have different results, for example, you may need more or less liquid, you may need more or less cooking time.
Vegan, Dessert, Cake, Cake Balls, Chocolate, Raspberry, Treat, Sweet