I had to stop putting the chocolate on the back to hold them to the tree because they were so hard to get off that they were falling apart as people tried to take one.

As to the boxes, the brp website will send a sample not sure for how much. I am liking the Nashville wraps as they have a trey that will hold a dozen and it fits into one of their 1 piece boxes, which i can get in a color to match my business card. One trey with box would end up costing about 70 cents (of course I didn't figure in shipping yet). But when the dust settles after the holidays I am just going to call them and see if I can either stop by their offices, or have a sample sent, to be sure that my balls fit into the trey.

The range I have seen here for the charge to the cake balls is 50 cent to $1 each. A local bakery here charges $1.25. I plan to do an intro price to try to sell to local coffee shops, probably $6 a dozen then after I get them hooked up their price to $7.50 a dozen. Giving businesses a deal in the hopes of having an amount I can count on each week to make. Then selling by the dozen for individuals I am thinking $10 to $12 a dozen. I am actually still in the process of trying to figure out how much it costs me to produce a dozen though.

is anyone else having MAJOR cracking problems? If I go to the commercial kitchen I rent I don't have as much of a problem. But if I am trying stuff at home they all crack. I used to freeze but they got too cold...so now I refrigerate for a short time. Then dip in Chocolate that is melted in a wilton melter which I will admit if you leave the chocolate in the melter it does get too hot but I have figured that out. Both place are kept at a room temp of 68 to see if that was the problem. SO now what can I change to stop the cracking?

truffleshuffle, what kind of chocolate are you using? And let us know if you are adding crystals or shortening or anything to it.

pics!!
http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1534640

I got boxes from Uline and they were about $1.25 a box. Didn't really want to spend that much, but they look nice. I sold these for $15/bx with no problem on price. I also got smaller clear boxes from Nashville Wrap. I sell them not in gift-boxes too and send them in kraft colored pizza boxes from Sam's Club which are about 23 cents for a 10". Parchment in the bottom and they work great

Cupcake- Love the boxes! and the truffles look great.

Can I ask what chocolate you use? Is is soo shiny and beautiful. Do you temper?

Thanks truffleshuffle! I use candy melts, but am considering using FullHouse's chocolate combo (2oz almond bark, 1oz Bakers, and 1oz Ghirardelli) bc it tastes fab, I just need to check the cost first. And I do not temper...no patience for that

LOVE LOVE LOVE all these great ideas, i cant wait to try cake balls this year!! thank you for starting this thread!
Im wondering, for the smores one, or anything with marhmallow, do you think fluff could be used instead of marshmallow icing??
thoughts????

Truffleshuffle-
I have not had any cracking problems. I have dipped the truffles from the freezer and also from the fridge. What is your specific process? Do they go back in the fridge right after dipping??

cupcakeatheart, your boxes are stunning!!!!

OK so here is my first attempt at the tree using an ice cream cone. The only issue I had was that because the cone is so small, I had to make different size balls to fit the top of the tree. they really needed to be smaller than the bottom ones. I just covered the sugar cone in chocolate, dabbed some chocolate on the ball itself and stuck it on. No need for toothpicks. I would just advise using a knife or some utensil to get the balls off clean. I think they are cute and worth the work.

http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1534740

I like your cone-truffle tree! Did the cone become unstable as the truffles were removed? Did it stay upright as they came off? Wondering if it would need some extra weight. Nice job!

Mine crack sometimes because they are too cold and when the ball thaws more it expands the chocolate causing it to cracking. I came to this conclusion this weekend when some of my balls were squiring out cake through hole in the chocolate...it was pretty funny

My first attempt at a cake ball tree - Thanks Laura for your advice. I'll get a better photo when I set it up at the venue. this is wrapped for transport.
http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1534752

Thanks to all for your inspiration!

I like your cone-truffle tree! Did the cone become unstable as the truffles were removed? Did it stay upright as they came off? Wondering if it would need some extra weight. Nice job!

I can't wait to see it unwrapped cupcakemkr. It looks amazing.

littleladyK, I am sure that fluff would work just as well, We all use all sorts of things as binders, it is all about personal taste and how sweet you want your balls.

truffleshuffle, the thing is since it is happening at one place and not the other it has to be something that is different. maybe the temp of the fridge maybe you are in more of a hurry at the rental kitchen and the balls dont get as cold. I would really try to figure out what is different and go from there. Wish I could be of more help.

thanks demuaralist....im going to try it and let you know how it is!

ok so i want to make some cake balls.. which I have never done. I was wondering if I could make them large say about 2.5" in diameter and then cover in fondant and decorate to look like christams ornaments and present them in a clear 3x3 box for just a thouht gifts for my coworkers. could I ust use a binder as suggested in the recipes and them just press the mixture into a round mold of sorts.would they hold up? any nd all help would be appreciated. TIA

Thanks LJ!!!

I started reading this thread earlier today and decided to give cake balls a try. I just made my first batch and I can already tell I'm gonna be hooked! I had some leftover chocolate almond cake and I used Frangelico as a binder. (Grown up treats ) There are so many different flavor combos running through my head right now! The bakery where I'm working for the holidays just throws their cake tops away, so I'm gonna see if I can bring some home and try some other flavors tomorrow.

Cupcake, I LOVEEEEEE the two tone truffle tree!!!

I would like to try to make cake balls for my neighbors for christmas gifts this year. I did cupcakes last year. Anyway my question is, if I use coffee creamer in them do they have to keep them refrigerated?

cakebymilan, I am sure that you could adjust the amount of binder in the mix to allow for you to successfully make the big balls covered in fondant. For me though, the smaller balls give the perfect cake to chocolate ratio in every bite. And I am afraid you would not be getting that. You could just decorate the chocolate balls to look like ornaments.

stefkovic, I have not had any issues with not keeping my bites in the fridge, of course they don't generally last long enough to go bad. I would say you can easily leave them out of the fridge as long as you would feel comfortable leaving a cake out of the fridge.