Grinch Cake Balls
Grinch Cake Balls will make your heart grow three sizes since they’re easily made with a boxed cake mix, canned frosting, and candy melts! Makes two dozen cake balls that are perfect for the holidays!
Make more fun cake balls such as these Adorable Snowman Cake Pops or another Grinch treat like these Grinch Cookies!
About This Grinch Cake Balls Recipe
Turn on your favorite version of The Grinch movie (mine is the Benedict Cumberbatch version) to enjoy with these sweet, festive Grinch Cake Balls! The Grinch himself would even appreciate these tasty dessert bites!
These red velvet cake balls may be fun and festive, but they also taste absolutely divine! Plus, you’ll love that they’re made with easy ingredients so you can avoid getting a grinchy attitude from a messy kitchen!
Rebecca’s Recipe Review
Taste: Grinch Cake Balls have a velvety, rich cake filling that’s mixed with sweet, tangy cream cheese frosting. They’re finished off with vanilla-flavored candy melts, creating a homemade cake ball with a bakery-level taste!
Texture: Each bite goes through a crisp candy melt layer that breaks away into the incredibly moist center! The soft cake filling and candy coating make for a tasty texture combination that will have you grabbing another to enjoy!
Ease: 4/10
Pros: A Grinch-themed treat for movie night!
Cons: Some may not enjoy the dipping process, but it goes quickly!
Would I Make This Again? Yes!
Ingredients For Grinch Cake Balls
- Box of Red Velvet Cake Mix – If you don’t like red velvet cake, you can also swap it out for your favorite flavored cake to make chocolate cake balls or vanilla cake balls. Just be sure it’s a 15oz. boxed cake mix, so that it will still fit this recipe.
- Water
- Large Eggs
- Vegetable Oil
- Canned Cream Cheese Frosting
- Light or Vibrant Green Candy Melts
- Dark Green Candy Melts
- Candy Melts Melting Aid
- Dark Green Sanding Sugar
- Red Candy Hearts
On the hunt for red candy hearts? Often these can be found at the grocery store, craft stores, or buy your heart sprinkles online (affiliate link). If you can’t find mini red candy hearts, red heart sprinkles work great too!
How To Make Grinch Cake Balls
- Preheat the oven and grease a baking pan with nonstick spray.
- Mix the cake mix, water, eggs, and oil together.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared baking pan and bake in the preheated oven. Then allow the cake to cool completely before continuing the recipe.
- Trim all four sides off of the cake and thinly slice off the bottom layer. This gets rid of any dry or crusty cake pieces.
- Break the cake apart and transfer it to large bowl. Crumble up the cake with clean hands or a fork.
- Mix some of the frosting into the crumbled cake.
- Portion out the cake mix filling and roll it into balls. Transfer them to a parchment paper lined baking sheet and then place them in the freezer to chill.
- Melt the light green candy melts until smooth and then mix melting aid in until it thins out.
- Dip the cake balls in the melted candy melts, covering the entire ball. Place the dipped cake balls back onto the parchment lined baking sheet.
- Melt the dark green candy melts and then transfer the mixture into a piping bag.
- Pipe the melted dark green candy melts onto the dipped cake balls and immediately sprinkle with green sanding sugar. Add a small red heart to each Grinch ball.
Rebecca’s Recipe Tips
- Trimming The Baked Cake – Use a sharp knife to thinly slice off the bottle layer of the baked cake and 1/4 inch off all four sides. This way all the dry cake pieces are eliminated, ensuring the grinch cake balls are perfectly soft and moist!
- Crumbling The Cake – I prefer to do this by hand but do recommend wearing gloves to keep your hands clean. Crumbling by hand when mixing in the frosting allows me to determine if the dough consistency is ready to be rolled into balls.
- Cake Ball Consistency – When the cake balls can be rolled into balls that are smooth and hold their shape, you’ve reached the right consistency. If they fall apart easily or don’t hold their shape, add in more frosting a little to a time.
- Portioning – For the best cake ball size, use a medium cookie scoop (affiliate link). A rounded tablespoon also works well. You should end up with two dozen grinch cake balls or a little over by following that portion size.
- Freezing The Cake Balls – If the cake balls are left in the freezer for more than the recommended 10 minutes, it’s ok! Just allow them to warm up to room temperature on the counter. This way, the temperature difference between the frozen cake balls and melted chocolate isn’t significantly different. If the temperature difference is too great, you may end up with cracked chocolate on the cake balls when they set up.
- Thinning The Chocolate – I like to use Candy Melts melting aid by Wilton to thin out the melted chocolate. Wiltons melting aid comes in crystals or flakes and is made of an oil base. This keeps the texture of the cake balls but also creates a nice smooth coating that isn’t too thick. You could also use shortening or coconut oil instead, just use 2 teaspoons per bag of melts.
- Dipping – Be sure to coat the entire cake ball in melted chocolate. Using a tall glass and a tall wooden skewer or fork to dip the cake balls works great!
How To Store Grinch Cake Balls
Store the cake pops in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. They may also be stored in a gallon Ziploc bag with the excess air squeezed out of it.
If storing in a container you may want to separate the layers of the cake pops with parchment paper. That way the cake balls don’t stick together!
Freeze The Cake Balls To Enjoy Later!
These cake pops can be frozen to be eaten and enjoyed later. Store them in an airtight container or Ziploc bag for up to 6 weeks in the freezer.
When you’re ready to enjoy them, just transfer them from the freezer to the refrigerator to thaw overnight.
More Fun Christmas Recipes:
- Peanut Butter Christmas Cookies – Finished off with festive holiday sprinkles!
- Buddy The Elf Christmas Dip – Pair this dessert dip with the movie for a fun holiday night!
- Brownie Christmas Trees – Get the kids involved in this fun, festive recipe!
- No Bake Christmas Krispie Treats – A Christmas twist on the classic treat!
- Easy Christmas Tree Cupcakes – Made with a boxed mix to keep it simple!
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Grinch Cake Balls
Equipment
- 9×13-inch baking pan
- Wilton Piping Bags
- Disposable food-safe gloves
- Medium cookie scoop
Ingredients
- 1 (15oz.) box Red Velvet Cake Mix
- 1¼ cups water
- 3 large eggs
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil or your favorite type
- 2-3 tablespoons canned cream cheese frosting
- 12 ounces Light or Vibrant Green Candy Melts
- 3 ounces Dark Green Candy Melts
- 1 tablespoon Candy Melts Melting Aid or 2 teaspoons vegetable shortening
- Dark Green Sanding Sugar
- Red Candy Hearts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 9×13-inch baking pan with nonstick spray, set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix together the cake mix, water, eggs, and oil.1 (15oz.) box Red Velvet Cake Mix, 1¼ cups water, 3 large eggs, ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Let the cake cool completely before using, about 30 to 60 minutes.
- Flip the cake upside down on a cookie sheet and trim ¼-inch off all four sides. Thinly slice off the bottom layer, approximately ⅛-inch or less. This gets rid of any dry pieces.
- Break apart the cake and place in a large bowl and crumble up with hands or fork (I recommend using gloves to keep your hands clean.
- Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of frosting to the bowl and mix with the cake crumbs until fully incorporated. The mixture should stick together when squeezed. A little frosting goes a long way, you don't want to add too much.2-3 tablespoons canned cream cheese frosting
- Using a medium cookie scoop, portion out the mixture and roll it into balls. You should have approximately 24 to 30 balls depending on the size. Place on a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Freeze balls for no longer than 10 minutes.
- Remove balls from the freezer and roll them again to remove any flat spots.
- Add the 12-ounce bag of light green candy melts into a Microwave safe bowl and melt for 1 minute, stir, then microwave at 30-second intervals, stirring between each one until smooth.12 ounces Light or Vibrant Green Candy Melts
- Add 1 tablespoon of Melting Aid (or 2 teaspoons shortening) and stir, until thinned out. Do not add too much of the melting aid, you still want a thicker consistency to cover the color of the cake balls.1 tablespoon Candy Melts Melting Aid
- Place the melted candy melts into a taller glass such as a mason jar or wide-mouth glass, so to cover the whole cake ball when dipping.
- Dip the cake balls and tap off any excess candy melts and place back on the cookie sheet with wax paper or parchment paper. (You can use a tall wooden skewer or fork to dip cake balls.
- Place the dark green candy melts in a piping bag standing up in a microwave-safe mug and heat at 30-second intervals, squeezing gently with your hands, until fully melted. Snip a small piece off the bottom of the piping bag so you get a thin opening.3 ounces Dark Green Candy Melts
- Pipe the green around the cake ball and quickly sprinkle the green sanding sugar and place a small red heart on the ball. You'll want to pipe and stick on the hearts a few at a time so the melts don't harden before you get to them. Let set.Dark Green Sanding Sugar, Red Candy Hearts
Notes
- How To Store: Store the cake pops in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. They may also be stored in a gallon Ziploc bag with the excess air squeezed out of it. If storing in a container you may want to separate the layers of the cake pops with parchment paper. That way the cake balls don’t stick together!
- Can Cake Pops Be Frozen? Yes, these cake pops can be frozen to be eaten later. Store them in an airtight container or Ziploc bag for up to 6 weeks in the freezer. When you’re ready to enjoy them just transfer them from the freezer to the refrigerator to thaw overnight.
- Where Can I Find Red Candy Hearts? Often these can be found at grocery stores or your local craft stores. If you can’t find mini red candy hearts, red heart sprinkles work great too!
- Can I Melt The Chocolate Using A Double Boiler? Yes, a double boiler may also be used to melt the chocolate for dipping.
- What Happens If I Left The Cake Balls In The Freezer For More Than The Recommended 10 Minutes? Just allow them to warm up to room temperature on the counter. This way the temperature difference between the frozen cake balls and melted chocolate isn’t significantly different. If the temperature difference is too great, you may end up with cracked chocolate on the cake balls when they set up.
- Can I Mix The Cake Ball Dough Up With An Electric Mixer Instead Of By Hand? Yes, an electric mixer with a beater attachment may be used to crumble the cake up. It can also be used to mix the frosting into the crumbled cake.
Nutrition
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