I realize this post would have been really appropriate to get up here before Father’s Day, but sometimes I just don’t have my act together in time and you end up with a golf-themed post just days after Dad’s big day. But good thing there are at least three solid months of golfing weather left, because these are some really cute cake balls. Tucked inside chocolate “grass” cups, I think these made for an adorable and delicious Father’s Day treat for my Dad. Too bad I chose one of the most fragile creations to ship home to Connecticut, but according to him they arrived mostly intact thanks to some secure packaging Ryan rigged up. Happy belated Father’s Day!!
I’m pretty shocked I haven’t made golf cake balls yet to be honest – my Dad is absolutely obsessed with the sport and golf balls are such a simple shape to make. Well, maybe the shape is simple, but those damned dimples are not the easiest thing to recreate. If you’re going for perfection, I recommend a golf ball-shaped candy mold, but if you’re not afraid to rough it up a bit, I used fondant gently poked with the end of a lollipop stick. I also tried making the dimples in the cake pop first and then dipping them in white candy melts, but the fondant method was much more accurate in appearance. And as for the grassy candy cups, I just melted some green candy melts and painted the insides of a candy cup mold with the melts and used a toothpick to draw it up the sides and make blades of grass. Of course you could skip this step, or make them into cake pops instead (with candy golf tees attached maybe!), but since my cake balls were a little less than perfect, I think the grass was special and helped make them blog-worthy :)
Whenever I can’t be there physically with my family for a big event or holiday, I try my best to make up for my absence with plenty of sugar shipped home. Sometimes it works, and I think this year it did – especially with the PGA tour currently playing in my hometown and beautiful weather this past Sunday to distract him. Even though Father’s Day has passed, if you have a golf-lover in your family with a birthday or special occasion coming up, these are the perfect treats! And with cake, frosting, fondant, and chocolate all in one bite, it’s hard to be sweeter :)
Golf Ball Cake Truffles
Yield: 20 truffles
Ingredients:
1 box white cake mix + ingredients called for on package
1/3 cup vanilla frosting (I used store-bought)
1 batch white fondant (or store-bought)
12 oz bag green candy melts
Directions:
Prepare the cake according to the package's instructions and crumble baked cake into crumbs in a large bowl. Add the frosting and use a spoon and clean fingers to make an evenly-distributed mixture. Form the cake ball mix into small balls and roll with your hands to make smooth. Place rolled cake balls in the fridge for about 30 minutes to firm up a bit, then roll them again to make even smoother balls.
Roll out white fondant onto a powdered-sugar dusted surface about 1/8-1/4" thick. Use a circle cookie cutter to cut out a circle of fondant that will cover an entire cake ball. Make dimples in the fondant by gently pressing the end of a lollipop stick all over the cut circle. Place the fondant dimple-side down and place a cake ball in the middle. Gently bring up the sides of the fondant circle together and pinch the ends together to seal up the ball. I found it helpful to cut a few slits around the edge of the fondant circle to more seamlessly cover the cake ball.
To make the green grass cups, melt the candy melts in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring well in between each interval, until smooth. Spoon a tablespoon of candy into the bottom of a mini muffin liner or silicone mini cupcake mold and use the spoon and a toothpick to pull up the candy along the sides to look like grass. Place the candy in the fridge for 10 minutes to set completely. Once set, place a small amount of melted candy in the bottom of each cup and secure a finished golf ball truffle into each one. Because fondant tends to look wet after being in the fridge, it's best to store these at room temperature in a cool, dry place until ready to serve.
I would say a round of applauds for the Golf Ball Cake Truffles as this is very cute and adorable to see them in their current position and also will appreciate its likeliness towards the golf.