Snowballs

Sweet sponge cake dipped in melted chocolate and sprinkled with coconut... this Snowballs Recipe is perfect for parties, festive times or anytime you have a little sweet craving.

Jump to:

• Why you'll love this old-fashioned recipe
• Ingredient notes
• How to make Snowballs
• Serving
• Storage
• More old-fashioned favourites
• Snowballs

Why you'll love this old-fashioned recipe

Snowballs contain a winning flavour combination: chocolate and coconut.

This recipe is also a little different from others. Some are filled with marshmallow and others are made in a similar fashion to Rum Balls or Apricot Balls, with condensed milk and crushed biscuits or cereal. These Snowballs are based around something everyone loves – sponge cake. The sponge cake filling goes perfectly with the chocolate and coconut it's dipped into!

It's also a recipe that's packed with nostalgia. This Snowballs recipe is from 1940 and is one of Nana Ling's handwritten recipes. Nana Ling has attributed this recipe to "Nan" – I wonder if it's from her Nan, who would be my 3 x great grandmother?

Ingredient notes

To make these snowballs you'll need some fairly standard ingredients. The sugar used should be caster sugar or white sugar (you might call it superfine sugar). The milk is full cream milk.

A few of other ingredients might need some explanation for those who aren't Aussies:

• SR flour can be substituted for 1 cup of plain flour (all purpose flour) and 2 teaspoons of baking powder
• Copha is a hydrogenated coconut oil sold in Australia – you can use coconut oil instead
• the coconut is unsweetened desiccated coconut.

Equipment notes

The original recipe calls for gem irons, and while these are still available at specialty stores today, I'm guessing you might not have them. So I've cooked these up in mini cupcake tins.

The shape may not be quite right, but I think close enough is good enough here. You can find mini cupcake tins at kitchenware stores or online.

How to make Snowballs

Start by pre-heating your oven to moderate (170 degrees celsius / 340 degrees fahrenheit, fan-forced) and greasing the mini cupcake tins.

Beat the eggs for about 3-4 minutes on med-high or until pale-coloured and frothy.

Next, add the sugar gradually, beating between each addition. Beat again for another couple of minutes once all the sugar has been added.

Gently fold through the sifted flour. Dissolve bicarb soda in the hot milk and then fold through the mixture.

Next, spoon mixture into the prepared tins so each is half-filled with mixture.

Bake for 10 minutes.

Allow to cool on a wire rack. Once completely cooled, melt the chocolate and copha in a microwave with 20 second bursts, stirring between each burst until completely melted.

Dip the mini cupcakes in chocolate and place on a wire cooling rack (with baking paper underneath to catch chocolate drips).

Sprinkle with coconut and allow to set.

Serving

Serve your Snowballs piled high on a plate.

The original recipe suggests you can split and fill with whipped cream. This sounds amazing, but I love them just as they are, too.

Storage

Snowballs will keep for up to 2 days if stored in an airtight container (either in fridge or at room temperature).

You can freeze them, again stored in an airtight container, for up to 3 months.

More old-fashioned favourites

Want more old-fashioned sweet treats? I've handpicked these for you:

Made this recipe and love it? Please take a moment to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. It’s such a help to others who want to try the recipe. (And it really makes my day to hear how Nana Ling's recipes are being made, shared and loved all around the world! - Libby x)

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