People like to ooh and ah over cake balls – they’re so good … and so cute … and oh so versatile.

But here’s the thing about cake balls: They are a pain in the you-know-what to make. It’s a drawn-out process that takes planning, an entire afternoon, an empty freezer, more chocolate than you would ever think you need and the patience of a saint.

And, nine times out of 10, I don’t have those things – just in case you were wondering why cake balls aren’t part of the permanent menu at Queen Pin.

The one time out of 10 when I do have those things is usually because I’m baking for someone special or I’ve had too much caffeine. Or, as was the case at J.K. O’Donnell’s, I had a little liquid inspiration. Each sip of Guinness had me thinking of chocolate – just a bite or two of rich chocolate cake. You might laugh but there’s a reason there’s chocolate stouts.

Back to cake balls … as I wanted just a bite of cake and the cake balls are just so, well, bite-size, I couldn’t help but want to make a Guinness Cake Truffle – and I say truffle because it sounds so fancy. I figured all you really had to do was replace the water in a cake mix with stout, making it a little less of a pain. And to make it really mine, I could throw in some orange zest. Fancy ’em up to match their name.

I haven’t had a chance to try them out but I’ll let you know when I do. Hopefully, they turn out better than my efforts to bake with Summer Daze!