Red Velvet Cake Truffles

I have had requests that I expand my cake truffle inventory and one of the ideas that came up was red velvet. The cake itself was easy enough, there are countless recipes out there for this classic cake. I went back and forth as to whether I would include some chopped pecans in the cake or frosting, but in the end time constraints won out this time. I was super busy on Sunday and wanted to get the cake in the oven so I didn't spend the time chopping up the pecan halves I had in the pantry.

I paired up the rich chocolately bright red cake with a vanilla buttercream. I didn't want anything too strong, the vanilla was a good complement. And white chocolate was the natural choice to dip the truffles in.

All of that was easy, then comes the decorating part of things. I am trying to improve my presentation skills, since eating is just as much about seeing as it is tasting. For a little bit of drama, I melted some red chocolate and thinned it with some canola oil. I put that into a pastry bag and created red zig zags against the stark white truffles. The red was perfect for the red velvet cake and these look gorgeous!

I don't think I need to change the cake recipe at all, nor the vanilla butter cream or white chocolate to dip in. I would say the only thing I may change (or even just have as an option) is the addition of chopped pecans. I also see that some people garnish with coconut, which would be another option to create a more complex flavor profile.