Red, White and Blue!

I made these on a whim for my stepfather for Father's Day, but they'd be just as perfect served at your 4th of July BBQ. They were really easy and fun. Not to mention very tasty! Everyone loved them and they're so easy to eat because you just pop them into your mouth- no utensils required.

Whether you're giving these as a gift or just setting out for guests to enjoy, cake balls are a treat. This recipe calls for red velvet cake, but you could substitute chocolate, spice cake, lemon cake, strawberry cake, carrot cake etc. Really the possibilities are endless. You don't even have to use a box mix or frosting, but it makes the process that much easier. And simple is good.

You know when you level off a cake or you're carving a cake and you have leftover scraps? Or when you bake a cake and it falls apart on you when you try to release it from the pan? You can always make a trifle, but why not turn them into cake balls. You don't have to make an entire batch and because they're so rich a little goes a long way! I hope you'll get your kids into the kitchen to help you make and eat these. And if you buy a pre-baked cake from your bakery, you don't even have to turn on your oven.

Red Velvet Cake Balls from Bakerella

• 1 box red velvet cake mix
• 1 tub cream cheese frosting (16 oz.)
• 1 package chocolate flavored bark (regular or white)
• sprinkles (optional)
• wax paper

Bake cake as directed on box for 9 x 13-inch cake.

After cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble into a large bowl.

Mix thoroughly with 1 tub cream cheese frosting. (It may be easier to use fingers to mix together, but be warned it will get messy.*

Roll mixture into quarter size balls and lay on cookie sheet. (Should make 45-50. You can get even more if you use a mini ice cream scooper, but I like to hand roll them.)**

Chill for several hours. (You can speed this up by putting in the freezer.)

Melt bark in microwave per directions on package.

Roll balls in chocolate and lay on wax paper until firm. (Use a spoon or fork to dip and roll in bark and then tap off extra.) You need to sprinkle the balls with sprinkles if using before the bark sets up. Another set of hands will help facilitate this.

NOTE: I made my own recipe Red Velvet cake and cream cheese frosting rather than using the packaged stuff, but this would be simpler. You can do whichever you like. If you use real cream cheese frosting, then you'll need to keep them refrigerated, which may cause them to sweat a bit (like mine) but it won't affect the flavor.

*I used the food processor to blend the cake and frosting together- less messy than doing it by hands.

**I used a mini scoop to shape the balls, then I rolled them by hand to get a more rounded shape. This method may yield a few more because they're slightly smaller--about 60 cake balls.

And lastly, you can use real chocolate but it's more expensive and it's harder to melt and keep melted than the bark. I used store brand vanilla bark to enrobe my cake balls in.

Have a safe and eventful holiday weekend!