Dark Chocolate Almond Cake Batter Truffles

So I had a little shindig a few weeks ago. For the most part I tried to keep things simple-- veggies, dips, crackers...you know the drill. But what get-together doesn't contain a few sweets, right? A few months back I attempted the Cake Batter Truffles that have been popping up all over Pinterest. I actually tried a few variations but found success in those posted by Chef in Training. Upon my first bite of this recipe my wheels started turning and I said aloud (to myself)...you know, these would be better with white almond cake and dark chocolate. I've been known to take a few liberties in everyday cooking, but when it comes to baking I tend to stay on the straight and narrow with little deviation. So you can imagine my surprise when these little gems turned out to be, well...you will have to make them for yourself to find out.

Obligatory shot of ingredients (minus the milk)...

How I did it - cream butter and sugar, add almond extract followed by the flour, cake mix, and salt. Slowly add the milk one tablespoon at a time (usually around 3). The batter will sort of look like this...

Now the original recipe says to chill the dough before rolling but I'm impatient. So I sort of roll the truffles into roughly shaped balls on a piece of parchment and THEN I chill. This gives me time to melt the chocolate, grab a glass of water, and sample the pre-dipped dough. Let me note this as well, when I told my dad about this recipe he sort of sneered at the thought of ingesting uncooked flour (he never has shared my passion for raw dough). But I assure you that there is nothing uncooked about the flavor of the finished product. 

In previous variations I used both candy melts and the little microwaveable cups of dipping chocolate. I prefer dark chocolate (especially when paired with almond) and I saw the dark chocolate chips so I just went with what was available. I simply melted the chips in the microwave at medium power for 30 second intervals, stirring in between. I also found that I had to do a re-melt about midway through but it wasn't a big deal.  

This is also where I should note that I re-roll the chilled balls before bathing them in the chocolate. I use the old, toss it in and take it out with a fork to let the excess chocolate drip through the tines. This is also the point where I begin singing the Party Rock Anthem..."every day I'm TRUFFLEN" and I have a good laugh and think about how funny I am. But you are singing it now too so it worked. You're welcome.

I also just happened to have those pretty silver sugar sprinkles in the pantry from a cake that I made last spring. They are really sparkly and every day I'm trufflen (got ya)! Obviously you will want to chill these gems to harden the chocolate. I assure, this step is necessary. I guess this batch made 25-30 truffles, but I rolled them sort of small because I wanted them to be poppable.

Aren't they so pretty when the chocolate isn't melted and the lighting is just right? Ta-da...see the finished product. Now please, go and try your hand at this masterpiece. T-t-t-t--trufflen!

Ingredients
½ cup unsalted butter, softened

½ cup white sugar

1 ½ cups flour

1 cup white cake mix

2 teaspoons almond extract

1/8 teaspoon salt

3-4 Tablespoons milk

1 bag of dark chocolate chips (or some other melting chocolate)

Sprinkles (or a colored candy melt if you are in the mood to get fancy)