Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cake Balls

Chocolate covered strawberries are one of the quintessential Valentine's Day treats, but I've transformed the idea from fruit to CAKE BALLS!  These "strawberries" are made from a red velvet cake/frosting mixture, covered in red and chocolate candy coating, and decorated with green fondant stems too!  They're absolutely delicious, even rivaling the classic strawberry/chocolate combo, and are the perfect Valentine's Day dessert.

1 box red velvet cake mix
1/4 cup canned cream cheese frosting
1 bag red candy coating
1 bag chocolate candy coating
1/2 bag white chocolate candy coating
Green fondant
Black food marker

- Bake red velvet cake in a 9x13" pan according to package instructions.  Let cool and crumble cake with your fingers completely into a large bowl. 
- Mix in the frosting to the crumbs using a rubber spatula or your fingers.
- Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper and start forming triangular/strawberry shapes out of the cake ball mixture.  You may need to wash your hands a few times in between if the cake mixture is sticking too much. 
- Once all the strawberries are formed, place them in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up.
- While the cake balls are chilling, roll out the green fondant and make leaf shapes with stems. 
- Melt the red candy coating in a deep, microwave-safe bowl or Pyrex measuring cup in 30 second intervals.  Make sure not to overheat the candy - if there are still a few solid pieces of candy, just mix furiously until everything is melted rather than microwaving for another round.  If the candy seems thick, add a tbsp of vegetable oil to make it more runny.
- Remove 3 or 4 cake balls out of the fridge at a time and begin submerging them completely in the melted red candy coating.  I used a spoon to drop them in, then a fork to gently lift them and shake off the excess by tapping the handle of the fork on the edge of the bowl.  Transfer dipped cake ball to another parchment paper-lined sheet and use a toothpick to scrape away any excess candy around the edges if possible. Make sure to attach the green leaves/stem while the red candy coating is still wet. 
- Let the red candy coating dry completely, then melt the chocolate in a similar fashion. 
- Dip the cake balls in chocolate about 3/4 of the way, and place back on the parchment paper-lined sheet to dry.
- Melt the white chocolate in a pastry bag and cut a small opening to drizzle on each strawberry.
- If you desire, go back with a black food marker and draw seeds on the red coating.
- Return cake balls to refrigerate until ready to serve.