These monster Halloween cake balls are the perfect Halloween sweet treat – easy to make, ridiculously delicious and super fun to decorate. They are gluten free, with a dairy free option, and are easily transformed into Halloween themed cake pops by simply throwing some cake pop sticks into the mix.
What do you call a sponge cake that hasn’t reached the cake stage yet? Cake sponge? This isn’t a trick question… I’m just overthinking (slightly) very irrelevant things again. I tend to do that – chasing an idea like an over-eager puppy, until words lose their meaning and I’m off on a completely different tangent. Strange brain, you say? I prefer ‘interesting’. ‘Entertaining’ works too.
Here’s another ‘interesting’ thing – this recipe. Actually, it’s just plain weird. Weird in the sense that you make a lovely, fluffy gluten free cake sponge… and then you work out your frustrations of the day by squashing it into a crumbly mess.
Welcome to the world of cake pops and cake balls!
This post brings to you another Halloween recipe that tries to be scary, but ends up being spooky in that cutesy way that… really isn’t scary at all. “Spooky” monster Halloween cake balls. It’s all in the crazy almost-fluorescent colours, over-the-top psychedelic sprinkles and, of course, the candy eyes.
The centre of these Halloween cake balls as simple as it is delicious – gluten free cake sponge, flavoured with vanilla and orange zest, transformed into a dense, moist goodness with the help of some coconut cream whipped with powdered sugar.
I’m not exaggerating when I say I could eat the cake ball mixture with a spoon. Somehow, the dense texture and the cake-meets-cheesecake flavour combine into a sensory explosion that makes my tastebuds all sorts of happy.
The white chocolate coating has been coloured naturally with turmeric for the bright yellow colour and with a turmeric + spirulina powder mix for the grassy green colour. You can’t really taste these additions (they are there as a gentle undertone), but the colours simply POP!
And if you want to keep these Halloween cake balls completely dairy free, just use a dairy-free white chocolate alternative.
There are no rules when it comes to the decorating part. The sky’s the limit and the crazier your monster cake balls, the better.
Five eyes and red sprinkles on a bright yellow cake ball? High five.
One eye and a “furry” cake ball, made by coating it generously with dessicated coconut? Hell yes!
Four eyes and ALL THE SPRINKLES? You do you – because you’re awesome.
I’d love to end on a profound note… but sometimes there’s no need for grand endings. This time, it’s all about monster Halloween cake balls, which fail to be spooky due to their sheer adorableness. It’s about baking and DIY, rolled together into heaps of cute deliciousness. And it’s about escaping the craziness that is world right now by letting out your inner child and just… you know, having fun.
"Spooky" Monster Halloween Cake Balls (Gluten Free, Dairy Free Option)
Ingredients
For gluten free cake sponge:
WET:
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup almond milk (or other non-dairy milk alternative)
- zest of 1 orange
DRY:
- 1 1/2 cups plain gluten free flour blend (I've used a simple store-bought blend of rice, potato and maize flour with no added xanthan gum)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
- pinch of salt
- 3/4 cup caster sugar
For cake balls:
- 1 cup coconut cream
- 1/3 cup powdered/icing sugar, sifted
For decorations:
- 6.5 oz white chocolate, melted with 1 tbsp coconut oil, divided (use dairy free white chocolate alternative for dairy free cake balls)
- 1 3/4 tsp turmeric powder, divided
- 1/2 tsp spirulina powder
- candy eyes
- sprinkles of choice
- dessicated coconut
Instructions
For gluten free cake sponge:
- Pre-heat the oven to 355 ºF (180 ºC) and line a shallow baking tray with baking/greaseproof paper. (Note 1)
- In a bowl, mix together the wet ingredients.
- Sift together the dry ingredients and mix them into the wet ingredients until you get a smooth batter.
- Transfer the batter into the baking tray and bake in the pre-heated oven at 355 ºF (180 ºC) for about 10 minutes, or until golden on top, springy to the touch and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. (See also Note 1)
- Allow to cool completely, before crumbling into fine cumbs.
For cake balls:
- In a bowl, whisk together the coconut cream and powdered/icing sugar.
- Add the cake crumbs and mix well until everything is evenly distributed and the mixture starts coming together. You should be able to form balls with your hands.
- Place the cake ball mixture in the fridge for at least 1/2 hour, so that it firms up slightly.
- Using ~1/8 cup worth of the cake ball mixture, form the balls and place them onto a baking sheet.
- Freeze the formed balls for at least 1 hour.
For decorations:
- Mix 1/2 of the melted white chocolate with 1 tsp of turmeric powder to get the bright yellow colour.
- Mix the other 1/2 of melted white chocolate with 1/2 tsp spirulina powder and 3/4 tsp turmeric powder to get the grass green colour.
Assembly:
- Once the cake balls have firmed up in the freezer, dip them in the coloured white chocolate (or just drizzle them with it), and add the candy eyes, sprinkles and other decorations of choice. Go crazy!
Storage:
- The monster Halloween cake balls keep well in a closed container in the fridge for about 1 week and in the freezer for 2 - 3 weeks.
Notes
Looking for more fall desserts? Look no further!
Gluten Free Witch Hat Cookie Sandwiches
Flourless Paleo Pumpkin Brownies
Gluten & Refined Sugar Free Pecan Pie
Hey! These look great! You say dairy free, but there are eggs in the cake….what can I substitute for them?
Hi Sandi! I’m glad you like the recipe. Eggs actually aren’t dairy – so unless you’re sensitive to eggs, you should be fine 🙂 If eggs are a problem, have a look at my vegan vanilla cake recipe.