This is not a cake ball. It's not a truffle. It's a "shuffle".
What's a shuffle, exactly? Well, physically, it's sort of like a cake ball's cousin. It's not round, but rather, it's got a shape that is sort of somewhere between a peanut butter cup and a mini muffin.
Inside, rather than just crumbled cake, you'll find an adventure. Flavors include a chubby hubby inspired variety with caramel and a cookie bottom covered in chocolate, a tiramisu-inspired flavor including a white chocolate coating and spices (pictured above), and a chocolate lover's version with espresso and dark, dark chocolate.
So let me say: I'm obsessed with these things.
They started carrying one flavor at the local Santa Fe Whole Foods, and I basically bought them every day. I would buy extra and freeze them in case I found them sold out.
And then I went to Whole Foods in Dallas and realized I was being gypped in Santa Fe, because in Texas, they had not just one flavor but like six. I bought one of each, thankyouverymuch.
So yes, I love these things.
But why are they called shuffles? My theory was that it was some play on "truffle" but I couldn't imagine where the "sh" came from. So instead of theorizing further, I reached out to the company. Here's what Ben May at Austin Cake Ball had to say after I sent him an email asking about the availability of the shuffles and how they got their name:
"Hi Jessie, we do indeed make all the shuffles for Whole Foods and you can get them in any Whole Foods in the Southwest or Rocky Mountain states. The map for the regions is right here.
You will be getting more flavors at the Santa Fe store in the not too distant future. We came up with the name shuffle because they look like a shuffleboard puck, they are a neat “shuffle” of baking and confectionary disciplines, and they just make you do a little happy dance when you get to eat one."
Well, yes, they make me do a happy dance, so I liked that explanation.
Check them out if they're available to you! Austin Cake Ball also does mail order for their traditional cake balls, but I love these shuffles so much I don't know if I'll ever even quit them long enough to eat any of the regular cake balls.