this season + cake balls

The wedding season has officially kicked off in our family. This weekend marked the first bridal shower for my future sister-in-law. I headed up the planning for the weekend celebration and thanks to the help of my family, the shower was a complete success. And I am so so excited to have Kayli as a part of our family!

One of the biggest hits of the party were the cake balls. If you've never had them, you're definitely missing out. They're bite size and dangerous because its really hard not to have just one. I got the original recipe from the Bakerella website, which she has awesome bakery recipes.

Cake balls are pretty simple to make but do take some pre-planning for time.

Step 1. Bake a cake. Just like you normally would. I used a red velvet box cake.

Step 2: Once the cake has cooled completely. Crumble it up and put it in a bowl.

Step 3: Add one container of frosting. Now, I'm not a big proponent of store bought frosting but it works the best for this recipe because its the right size and consistency. Also, I used cream cheese frosting with the red velvet cake. The consistency of the cake balls works well with these two elements.

Step 4: Mix together the frosting and crumbled cake. Then take about a tablespoon of the mixture and roll it into a ball. Place it on a wax paper covered baking sheet. Once the whole mixture is rolled into cake balls, place them in the refrigerator to chill. (I chilled mine overnight but you can also put them in the freezer if you want to do it all in one day)

Step 5. Once the cake balls are chilled, remove them from the fridge. Next, melt either candy coating or vanilla/chocolate bark in a pan or the microwave. It's best if you don't melt the whole package at the same time. Take smaller portions because the cake tends to turn the bark the same color as the batter (in my case the white bark turned red). Once the bark is melted, dip each cake ball into the bark. I used toothpicks but you can also use a spoon or tongs. Once it's fully coated, place it on wax paper to cool and dry. This is when I added to sprinkles, as well.

Once they are cooled, you can serve them immediately or you can stick them back in the fridge to chill for a bit longer. Serve when ready and enjoy!

They're so so good. And don't sit next to them or you may eat the whole plate. You've been warned.

Lastly, here are a few shots from the lovely bridal shower.