Carrot Cake Truffles

I spent the weekend in New Orleans with my husband.

Which sounds like tons of fun, except for the fact that since Jon David wasn’t coming, I had to leave him with his Gram.

And in case you didn’t know, I am the worst kid leaver EVER.

I keep thinking that eventually I’ll get good at it, but NO.  Not happening.  And it’s not even a matter of his Gram. I mean, she’s perfectly great.  I could leave him with the Secret Service and still have serious issues.

“How well can they see behind those dark glasses?  Do they know how to make good snacks?  Is it possible to even run in that suit????”

See?  Tons of things could go wrong.

Honestly, it’s like a miracle that there are even safe, healthy kids roaming the earth that don’t live under my constant supervision.  Every afternoon when I pick my son up from school, I see children running around smiling, none of whom have axes lodged in their foreheads or missing limbs.  HOWISTHATPOSSIBLE???

The list of things that could go wrong while my son is under someone else’s care is long.  HUGELY long.  But a few of the ones I worry about the most are:

Eating meals–choking, burning himself on something hot, cutting himself with a steak knife and or/stabbing himself in the eye with a fork.

Walking/running–tripping, causing him to hit his head on a rock or break a bone.

Bathing/showering–swallowing too much water and drowning, slipping and falling and hitting his head on the faucet, etc.

Obviously, it’s a bit of a conundrum, as the only activities I deem safe for him to do while I’m out of town are…sitting and watching TV, breathing,  and staying still.

Which, I have tried leaving that as instructions on my DAILY LIST OF RULES AND ACTIONS, but for some reason, no one takes very well to it.  So my son just plays outside and eats food, risking his life while I’m hours and hours away, unable to come running.

So you can understand why I consume massive amounts of frozen cocktails while away from my kid.  It’s a coping mechanism, nothing more.  A $12 Daquiri is a small price to pay for peace of mind if you ask me.

Anyways, before we went out of town, I baked up tons of treats to keep myself from dwelling on the fact that I was leaving my kid for a few days.  One of them was these yummy Carrot Cake Truffles (Yes, I know that technically they are Cake BALLS, and not truffles but I cannot bring myself to call one of my desserts a BALL. Sorry)

I’m not big on the mushy texture of cake pops (balls) so I just used a few Tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk as a binder instead of a can of frosting.  I then made some cream cheese frosting for the center…it tastes just like eating a piece of carrot cake, only better!!

(click here for printable recipe)

 

INGREDIENTS

9×13 carrot cake, baked and cooled (I made mine from a boxed mix)

2-3 Tablespoons sweetened condensed milk

16 oz vanilla candy coating (you can use almond bark or candy melts…lately I’ve been using CandiQuik, which is sold with the baking items at Walmart, and I love it)

8 oz block of cream cheese, slightly softened

4 Tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups powdered sugar

 

In the bowl of a mixer, combine cream cheese, butter, and vanilla.  Beat on medium until smooth and combined.  Slowly add powdered sugar and beat on low until just mixed.  Increase speed to medium-high and beat for about 2 minutes.  Refrigerate frosting for a couple of hours to let it get firm.

 

Crumble carrot cake in a large bowl, making sure there are no large pieces, only fine crumbs.  Add 2 Tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk and stir until combined.  Grab a bit of the cake and squeeze it in your fist.  If it holds together well, it’s good.  If not, add another Tablespoon of sweetened condensed milk and try again.  You want it to be able to form a ball, but not be super squishy.

 

Line a large baking sheet with wax paper.  Remove frosting from fridge and form into small balls (it may help to sprinkle your hands with powdered sugar to prevent sticking).  Form the cake around the frosting and roll into a ball,  and place on wax paper lined baking sheet.  Refrigerate for about an hour, until firm enough to dip in candy coating.

 

Melt candy coating according to package directions.  Place cake TRUFFLES in the melted candy, and spoon candy over it.  Slide a fork under the truffle and remove to wax paper.  I dipped mine twice so it would be nice and smooth on the outside.  Garnish with additional melted orange candy if you want.

These were really really good and the frosting in the center makes them really stand out.

In other news:

On my other site, I played a prank on my kid and videotaped it.  You can CLICK  HERE if you’re interested in seeing such nonsense.  You’re welcome

My Melted Witches were nominated for Yummly’s Halloween Recipe Contest.  If you had a spare second to click THIS LINK, scroll down to the bottom of the post, and hit “LIKE” next to the Melted Witches (or whoever you see fit to win, don’t let me make a liar out of you) I’d very much appreciate it.

I hope you all have a fabulous Tuesday!!  Thanks for stopping by.