Healthier Cake Balls Recipes

HEALTHY CHOCOLATE CAKE (WHOLE WHEAT, GLUTEN-FREE, VEGAN OPTIONS)

Steps:

• If using honey, preheat your oven to 325 °F (167 °C). If not using honey (which bakes quicker than sugar, hence the lower temperature), preheat to 350 °F (175 °C).
• Line 2 round 8" cake pans with parchment paper on the bottom and then grease the sides of the pans.
• In a large bowl, stir together the sugar (if using honey, don't add it yet), flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
• Add eggs, milk, honey (if using), olive oil and vanilla. Mix for 2 minutes on medium and then stir in the boiling water. The batter will be almost as thin as water. If you taste it, it will NOT taste good! But don't worry. It tastes great after baking.
• Divide the batter between the two pans.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with some moist crumbs, but no uncooked liquid. The bake time will vary widely depending on what combination of sugar / eggs / flour you use. The whole wheat / egg / honey version is on the longer side. The gluten-free / chia egg / honey version is on the shorter side.
• Let cool completely before frosting.

SKINNY CAKE POPS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Lightly spray a the cake pop pan with baking spray.
• Combine all the cake ingredients in a large mixing bowl and beat until combined.
• Place the batter into a pastry bag or large ziplock bag with the tip cut off.
• Pipe the batter into the prepared cake pop pan and bake about 18 minutes (I rotated the pan after 10 minutes to be sure they baked evenly).
• Let it rest 5 minutes before opening the pan.
• Place cake balls on a wire rack and repeat with remaining batter.
• Using a scissor, cut the seam off the balls.
• Refrigerate the cake balls for about 45 minutes, this helps the chocolate stick to the cake.
• Melt some of the chocolate in the microwave according to package directions, careful not to burn the chocolate.
• Insert the tip of the stick into the melted chocolate, then into the cake ball (this helps hold the stick in place).
• In batches, melt remaining chocolate.
• Dip the cake pops into the chocolate, let the excess drip off then place stick on a styrofoam block about a minute, then add sprinkles on top if using.

HEALTHIER CAKE BALLS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease and flour a 9x13-inch cake pan or two 8-inch round cake pans.
• Place cake mix in a large mixing bowl. Add eggs, milk, and vanilla extract and beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Increase speed to medium-high and beat for 2 more minutes, scraping sides of bowl as needed. Transfer batter to cake pan.
• Bake in preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean; 40 to 50 minutes for a 9x13-inch cake pan, or 25 to 35 minutes for 8-inch cake pans. Allow cake to cool for 10 minutes.
• Crumble cake while warm into a large bowl. Stir in frosting until well blended.
• Melt chopped chocolate and shortening in a glass bowl in the microwave, on medium heat, until melted, about 1 minute. Alternatively, melt chopped chocolate and shortening in a metal bowl over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth.
• Form balls of the chocolate cake mixture using a melon baller or small scoop. Dip balls in warm chocolate mixture, using a toothpick or fork to hold them. Place on waxed paper to cool.

HEALTHY RUM BALLS

Steps:

• Add nuts to a non-stick ceramic skillet and cook on medium heat for about 4 minutes or until fragrant, stirring occasionally. Transfer to a food processor with remaining Dry Ingredients and process until small crumbs form. Do not overprocess, especially softer nuts like pecans, otherwise nut butter will start forming.
• Add Wet Ingredients and process for a few more seconds just until well combined. Place bowl of a food processor in a freezer for about 30 minutes.
• In a large Ziplock bag or on a large dinner plate, add cacao powder. Form golf size balls and coat/roll in cacao powder.