Halloween Party Food: Cake Ball "Eyeballs" Recipe

Creepy and delicious, these cake ball eyeballs are the perfect Halloween party treat.

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These spooky cake ball eyeballs are made from red velvet cake mixed with cream cheese frosting, coated in white chocolate, and decorated with candy wafers and M&Ms. They are chilled before dipping and finished with bloodshot lines drawn with an edible marker. A fun and eerie dessert that's sure to impress at any Halloween gathering.

Ingredients

1 box red velvet cake mix (plus ingredients on back of box)

1/4 cup butter, room temperature

4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

12 oz. white chocolate, cut into 1" pieces (or candy coating)

red edible marker

12 blue candy-coated wafers

12 dark brown mini M&M candies

Directions

Prepare and bake the red velvet cake following the instructions on the box. After it's done, remove it from the pan and allow it to cool completely on a wire rack. Once cool, crumble the cake into a large bowl with your fingers, then use a fork to break up any remaining large chunks until you have a fine, uniform crumb.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the softened butter and cream cheese together until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the powdered sugar, about half a cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. Once all the sugar is incorporated, add the vanilla extract and beat until the frosting is silky and smooth.

Gently fold about half of the cream cheese frosting into the cake crumbs. Continue adding the frosting gradually, just until the mixture holds together when pressed. Reserve the leftover frosting for later use in decorating the eyeballs.

Using a scoop or your hands, form the cake mixture into 1½-inch balls and set them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat until all the mixture is used. Place the baking sheet in the refrigerator and chill the cake balls for 2 hours.

Melt the white chocolate in a double boiler (or follow the package directions if using candy coating). Take a few chilled cake balls out of the fridge at a time—they are much easier to work with when cold. Using two forks, dip each ball into the melted chocolate, letting the extra drip away. Transfer the ball between the forks to ensure an even coating, then place it on wax paper. Allow the coating to set for about 5 minutes.

Once all the cake balls have dried, attach a blue candy wafer to the center of each ball using a small dab of the reserved frosting. Then, put another tiny dab of frosting in the center of the wafer and press a dark brown mini M&M onto it to create the pupil.

With a red edible marker, draw small wavy lines radiating from the center of each eyeball to give them a bloodshot appearance.