Bourbon Cherry Bombs
Fudgy nut-free chocolate bourbon whiskey cherry bombs made from cake crumbs! Great recipe for Christmas, Valentine's day or literally any celebration. Also adaptable with rum and brandy. Non-alcoholic substitutes included.
Ingredients
- 4 cups Crumbled Chocolate cake * (leftover cake, or freshly baked and cooled cake. I use boxed chocolate cake mix most often.)
- 4 tbsp Bourbon Whiskey * (adjust to desired taste and consistency)
- ½ cup Chocolate Chips
- 18 nos Maraschino Cherries / Preserved Cherries (or more depending on the number and size of balls you make)
To melt chocolate over stove (Double Boiler Method)
- Water (enough to fill up to 1 or 2 inches in the pot)
To coat Bourbon Cherry Bombs (Options)
- Powdered Sugar / Icing Sugar
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- Powdered or Crushed Nuts
- Desiccated Shredded Coconut
- Chocolate chips (to make melted chocolate)
Instructions
- Crumble cake into a mixing bowl.
- Melt chocolate chips on the stove (double-boiler method) or in microwave oven.
- Add Bourbon whiskey and melted chocolate into the crumbled cake.
- Mix together until combined and the cake crumbs turn into a moist dough-like consistency.
- Taste and mix in more bourbon whiskey if you'd like it to be more boozy, ensuring the dough still holds together to form balls.
- Roll the mixture into balls.
- Place a ball on your palm and flatten it by pressing with the other hand.
- Place a cherry at the centre of the flattened ball.
- Mould the dough around the cherry and roll it into a ball.
- Place the cherry-stuffed ball on a tray / baking sheet lined with parchment sheet.
- Repeat the steps until all the dough has been rolled into cherry-stuffed balls.
- Serve plain or with a coating of melted chocolate or dry coatings such as powdered sugar / unsweetened cocoa powder / desiccated shredded coconut / powdered or crushed nuts.
Coating with Melted Chocolate
- Melt chocolate chips on the stove (double-boiler method) or in microwave oven.
- Using a fork and spoon, dip the bourbon balls into the melted chocolate and roll to coat all over.
- Place the chocolate covered balls on a tray or baking sheet lined with parchment sheet. Leave to harden.
Coating with Dry ingredients
- Roll the bourbon balls in the dry ingredients (powdered sugar / unsweetened cocoa powder / desiccated shredded coconut / powdered or crushed nuts) until covered completely.
Video
Notes
* Liquor: You can substitute the bourbon with any whiskey, rum or brandy for variations.
* For the non-alcoholic version of these cherry bombs, you can substitute with apple juice, white grape juice or imitation rum extract. When I use apple juice or grape juice, I also like to add some non-alcoholic vanilla extract to add depth to the flavors. As for the cherries, use non-alcoholic preserved cherries.
* Cake: You can use any leftover chocolate or yellow cake you have. Chocolate cake is our favorite. I often use boxed cake mixes and bake a fresh chocolate cake to make these cherry bombs because I can make more of them that way! Just make sure you cool the cake completely before crumbling. One box usually gives me 8 cups of crumbled cake.
* Coatings: For variations in appearance and slightly in taste, you can coat bourbon balls with powdered sugar or unsweetened cocoa powder or desiccated shredded coconut or crushed (or powdered) nuts. Or simply dip the bourbon cherry bombs in melted chocolate - our favorite!
* Those with nut allergy can simply avoid coating with nuts. This recipe does not contain any other nuts.
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