STRAWBERRY (or CHERRY) CHOCOLATE TRUFFLE BALLS
CAKE: The amounts given depend on the amount of baked cake that you're using. You may decide to bake a full chocolate or fudge (or sugar-free chocolate) cake mix with the ingredients called for on the box. Or, you may want to bake a small Jiffy cake mix, or even a brownie mix (I'd add a good squirt of dark or sugar-free chocolate syrup, plus at least 1 TB of dark unsweetened cocoa powder and at least 1 tsp. of instant coffee powder to any cake or brownie mix that you're making ~ to make it even more intensely chocolate). ** Another perfect cake to use are slices of day-old chocolate cake or chocolate cupcakes that are on sale at your grocery store (including the chocolate frosting). Or, use the scraps that are left when you level a chocolate layer cake that you're making (although you'll only have enough for about 4 truffles then).
Your hands are going to get pretty messy when you make the cake balls, so mix up about 1/2 cup DARK UNSWEETENED COCOA POWDER with about 1 TB STRAWBERRY or CHERRY GELATIN POWDER (can be sugar-free) in a small bowl, and set aside. ** Then get out your little bon bon papers and put them out (I set them them on a rimmed baking sheet) ~ you'll get about 6 dozen from a full-sized box of cake mix. Ok, now you're ready to get on to the messy part.....
So, let's say that you're making a whole box of cake mix to use....... when it's baked and cooled.... crumble it all up in a large bowl with about 1/4 cup STRAWBERRY or CHERRY JAM or PRESERVES (can be sugar-free). Add a good long squirt of DARK or sugar-free CHOCOLATE SYRUP. Then get in there with your hands and mash it all together really well (until it sticks together in a ball, if you squeeze it in your hand). Roll each ball in the cocoa powder/gelatin mixture until it's well coated, and stick it into a bon bon paper. ** Store in the refrigerator or freezer in a covered container (I use Rubbermaid or Tupperware containers).
Measurements can't be exact since we're working with different amounts of cake to start with. But you can adjust your consistency by adding more unsweetened cocoa powder (if it's too sticky) or more jam or chocolate syrup (if it won't stick together). Don't worry ~ you really can't mess it up, no matter what you do!