These Red Velvet Cake Truffles take the classic Southern cake and turn it into a bite-sized, gift-worthy candy that’s perfect for Christmas!
The holidays are all about tradition, and in the South, one dessert that stands out year after year is red velvet cake. Each year I try to include a red velvet confection in my holiday dessert lineup – and this year I have two (here’s the first)! These little gems take all the flavor of classic red velvet cake, wrap it in a white candy coating, and top it off with edible gold leaf for that fancy dessert energy. They’re festive and elegant enough to make it look like you tried harder than you actually did.
Speaking of fancy dessert energy. The gold leaf is optional, of course. It might sound intimidating, but working with gold leaf is much easier than you think! You only need tiny pieces to give each truffle a festive sparkle. Simply use a clean, dry, kitchen-dedicated art brush or tweezers to gently press a small bit of gold leaf onto the top of each truffle. A little bling just feels right for Christmas.
Red Velvet Cake
Start with your favorite red velvet cake recipe and prepare it. If you don’t have a favorite, you can find mine right here – Classic Red Velvet Cake – make just the cake portion of this recipe. Or, you can prepare a box mix of red velvet cake, and bake it in a 13×9-inch pan. However you get there, let the cake cool completely before crumbling it into a big bowl. Then, add softened cream cheese to the mixture. Knead it in with hands (gloved or without) until everything is well incorporated.
Scoop and Roll
Use a cookie scoop, or scoop by the slightly heaping 1 tablespoon. Roll into balls, then freeze. This is important! The chilled cake balls will be firm enough to skewer and hold on a toothpick for dipping.
Dip!
Dip in melted candy. I like Ghiradelli white chocolate melting wafers, which can be found at most US grocery stores. Or you can use the white vanilla candy coating sold in 16 oz. blocks – I use that too. Find them in the baking aisle next to the chocolate chips.
My own dipping method is to first skewer each cake ball with a toothpick. Doing this makes it easy to pick up and dip the truffles. I also leave the toothpick in until the candy sets, then I wiggle it out. (See this action in the video.) Transfer the leftover melted candy to a piping bag or zip-top bag with a tiny hole snipped in the corner, then drizzle a decorative zigzag over each truffle, covering the toothpick holes.
As I said before, the holidays call for a little glitz! So I added just a touch of gold leaf to the tops of each truffle. You can find some for purchase right here. Really pretty but totally optional.
These are so tasty, and I love the bright red color for holiday entertaining. I love how the candy shell pops when you bite into a truffle. And that interior! It’s so moist and cakey, mmm.
These Red Velvet Cake Truffles are festive, delicious, and a total conversation starter—especially if you go for the gold leaf (again, you can find it for purchase here).
Related recipe: Classic Red Velvet Cake
Red Velvet Cake Truffles
Equipment
- parchment paper
- Toothpicks
- disposable piping bag
Ingredients
- 1 recipe red velvet cake box mix or scratch-made; see notes
- 8 oz. cream cheese at room temperature
- 1 lb. white vanilla almond bark or candy coating such as ghiradelli
- Edible gold leaf optional
Instructions
- Bake the red velvet cake – use a box mix and follow the instructions for a 9×13 pan, or try my Aunt Alice’s scratch-made recipe (linked in post) for authentic red velvet flavor. Let the cake cool completely.
- Line one or more large cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Once the cake is cooled, crumble it into fine crumbs in a big bowl. Remove any crust bits – go for a smooth consistency, no one wants lumpy truffles.
- Add in the softened cream cheese and knead the mixture with your (gloved) hands until it forms a soft, pliable dough. (The oil in the cake will make the dough feel a little greasy – this is normal.) Scoop the dough using a cookie scoop or by the slightly heaping tablespoons, and roll into balls. Place on the prepared cookie sheet. Freeze the cake balls until solid, about 20-25 minutes.
- Melt the white almond bark or candy coating according to the package directions. Insert a toothpick into each frozen ball, then dip it into the melted coating. Let any excess drip off before setting the truffles back onto the parchment.
- Once the coating has set, remove the toothpicks by twisting gently. Re-melt and transfer any leftover melted candy to a piping bag, and pipe a zigzag design over the holes.
- If using, add a small piece of edible gold leaf to the top of each truffle. It should adhere naturally to the melted candy zigzag.
- Place the truffles in cute candy liners for serving. Store them in the fridge for up to a week—or in the freezer if you’re saving them for later.
I love how you use cream cheese instead of cream cheese icing that most cake pop recipes call for. It’s not as sickening sweet. Beautiful gold touch.
I agree, the candy is much more balanced without the super sweet frosting. Thanks for the kind words!
So pretty and delicious!
A better cake pop/truffle recipe. Delicious!
How did you get the chocolate so white? All white chocolate comes with a tint of ivory….did you add a tiny bi lt of violet food coloring or something?
Hi Rebekah, I didn’t use white chocolate. I used white vanilla candy coating, which doesn’t contain any cocoa butter. It’s sometimes labeled as ‘almond bark’. It will give a much whiter end result than white chocolate. It also tastes a little different. It has a creamy-sweet bakery flavor because it’s made with dry milk and vanilla extract. The Ghiradelli product I linked is not white chocolate. It’s also made with dry milk powder and called ‘white vanilla flavored melting wafers’ instead of chocolate. I’ve tried the violet food color trick in Swiss meringue buttercream, but not white chocolate. That sounds… Read more »
So pretty! The best cake truffles. So delicious too. I like them better than red velvet cake!