November 07, 2011

Eggless Chocolate Cake (Balls) - Secret Recipe Club


Why do I always wait until the last minute to make my Secret Recipe Club recipe of the month?  Not much has changed since I was in school.  I would be assigned a large project a month before it was due and do all of the work the weekend before the due date.  Were you one of those students?


This month I was assigned to Anne-Marie's beautiful blog This Mama Cooks! On A Diet.  Her mission:  "To get people – especially busy moms and their families - on the road to living a more healthy lifestyle by sharing healthy recipes and lifestyle tips. Maybe that means following Weight Watchers or eliminating gluten and milk products from your diet. Or, if you’re a busy parent, finding easy and delicious ways to get your kids to eat more vegetables or even fish!"


I ran out of eggs on Saturday and seeing as how I was unmotivated to get to the store, I needed a dessert that was egg-free.  Lucky for me Anne-Marie was very accommodating!  I came across her recipe for Eggless Chocolate Cake.  Now, you're saying to yourself, "Self, those pictures above do not look like a cake."  Well, I had another issue.  I had about 3 tablespoons of cocoa left in my cupboard.    Anne-Marie's recipe called for 9 tablespoons.  What's an unmotivated girl to do?  She's sure as hell not changing out of her yoga pants and house slippers and going to the store.  She's going to search high and low for a substitute.  She selects a couple packages of hot chocolate mix.  She chose wrong!


Hot Chocolate mix is not near as chocolaty as real cocoa in case you weren't aware.  So, you ask, "Dee, how did you know it wasn't chocolately enough?".  Well, I baked my cake in my prettiest bundt pan and went to flip it out onto my cake platter and it wouldn't come out.  Oh yes, I greased the pan.  Next, I used my knife and went around the sides.  I flipped it over and shook and shook it.  Alas, half of it comes out.  Aaaargh!  You see, it was my son's birthday on Saturday and we were having a family birthday party on Sunday (which is the day I baked this cake and I am writing this post).   I grabbed a piece of the cake and popped it in my mouth.  When life hands you lemons, you make lemonade, right?  How in the heck can I salvage this cake?  Think Dee, think!  An ah ha moment!  Cake Balls!  Ganache!  Coconut!  Powdered sugar!  Peanut butter!  Let's put on our super hero cake cape and roll up some cake balls!  What?  You don't have a super hero cake cape?  Do you have an apron?  Turn it around.  Now you have a super hero cape!

See how pretty it started out?
Here is how I would make it if I had enough cocoa.

Eggless Chocolate Cake Balls
Yield: about 50

Ingredients for Cake:
  • 3 cup flour
  • 2 cup sugar
  • 1 t. salt
  • 1 t. baking soda
  • 9 T. cocoa
  • 1/2 cup cold coffee
  • 2 T. vinegar
  • 3/4 cup oil
  • 2 t. vanilla extract
Ingredients for Ganache:
  • 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 2/3 cup heavy whipping cream 
Garnish:
  • Coconut, peanuts, walnuts, powdered sugar, peanut butter
Instructions for Cake:
  1. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl using an electric mixer.
  2. Pour into a greased 9 x 13 baking pan.
  3. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 – 40 minutes.
Instructions for Ganache:
  1. In a heavy saucepan, melt chocolate chips with cream over low heat. Remove from the heat. Refrigerate, stirring occasionally.
  2. For a pourable ganache, cool until mixture reaches 85 degrees F-90 degrees F and is slightly thickened, about 40 minutes. Pour over cake, allowing some to flow down the edges to completely coat. Spread ganache with a spatula if necessary to evenly coat, working quickly before it thickens. Chill until set.
  3. For spreadable ganache, chill until mixture reaches a spreadable consistency. Spread over cake. Chill until set.
  4. Sprinkle the balls with coconut or walnuts or powdered sugar. About halfway through I decided to add some peanut butter to the cake balls. My father-in-law loves Reece's and I knew this would make him very happy. I added a couple tablespoons of peanut butter to the cake and mixed it up really well. Continue making your cake balls and dip in the ganache and roll in walnuts or sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Adapted from This Mama Cooks! On a Diet


Servings: 1 cake ball
Calories:  118
Total Fat:  5.3 g
Cholesterol:  2 mg.
Sodium:  72 mg.
Protein:  1.0 g.


Secret Recipe Club

32 comments:

  1. Yes!  If this one came out of the pan in tact I wouldn't have had to crush it!

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  2. They were perfect for the birthday party. I served them with vanilla ice cream and they went over really well.

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  3. Exactly! I love that about eggless recipes :)

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  4. Thank you! They were deelicious!

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  5. Well hello there and welcome to Deelicious Sweets! I <3 new fans :)

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  6. They were very tasty! Served along with vanilla ice cream and you have yourself a birthday party!

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  7. That's an awesome save :) The cake balls look great!

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  8. Lisa Shanahan10.2.12

    Great save and your cake balls look wonderful.

    If you haven't already, I'd love for you to check out my SRC recipe this month: Pork Belly Soup with Collard Greens.Lisa~~
    Cook Lisa Cook

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  9. It was moist enough to roll and hold it's shape!  I did add a couple of tablespoons of peanut butter halfway through but that was only because I wanted the peanut butter chocolate taste.

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  10. I'd be in trouble cuz I wouldn't have an excuse not to go to the store...because I go in my yoga pants and slippers all the time. Someday I'm going to really embarrass my kids.

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  11. Miss Mi10.2.12

    whow thats sounds yummi... amazing... cant wait to try that out,- thank you

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  12. Look at the shine on those chocolates, it looks like its tempting me to grab one

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  13. Astrid Rauscher10.2.12

    what a lovely bundt form you have! we love all things chocolate so this post went directly to the bookmarks!

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  14. juliana alonso dorola10.2.12

    i love your version! very cute the little balls! and all the covers looks great!
    http://horneandoalgo.blogspot.com/

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  15. Adventuresindinner10.2.12

    Happy new follower of your blog. So glad o found you through the secret recipe club. Hope you come and explore my blog too :-)

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  16. Mmm...these look delicious!  The chocolate is so glossy and shiny...I want some!

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  17. Bookmarked! I love having new chocolate cake recipes. I'm very intrigued by an egg-less recipe. looks wonderful too!

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  18. These are so pretty! They look perfect for a party. :)

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  19. I love that these are eggless.  Means I can taste the batter as I go along, mmm. 

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  20. Such beautiful rich cake balls! Love them - they must be amazingly tasty!

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  21. These are sinfully delicious!!!

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  22. You go girl, way to save the day! The cake balls look like they turned out beautifully.

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  23. Jennifer @ Mother Thyme10.2.12

    What a save!  Love how you turned this around and made these cute balls after all that!  They look delicious!  

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  24. India-leigh@aveganobsession10.2.12

    you had me laughing so much.  Wow, that's very inventive of you.  What a HAPPY accident.  They look seriously good.

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  25. That is a very good save! Did you add something to the cake to roll up the balls?Or was it moist enough to roll and hold its shape?

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  26. They look amazing! The worst part about cake balls is crushing a beautiful cake, isn't it?!

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  27. Margaret10.2.12

    GREAT save on this one.  And so creative.  Makes me wish I had little one at home to bake these for.  Oh, wait.  I"LL eat them!!!

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