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Let’s set the scene, shall we?
It’s Halloween night and all is quiet. Almost too quiet. Eerily quiet. In most neighborhoods, Halloween is a loud and rambunctious holiday. But not in this part of town. Here, Halloween is a day you stay indoors — hoping that the locals don’t find you.
Why? This is where the Vampires dwell. Where the Vampires seek out their prey and don’t stop until they’ve sucked every last drop of blood they can find.
What’s left after they’ve gotten their fill? Well, they may be able to drain a human of all their insides, but they don’t like the eyeballs. They’re too hard to digest and just not that tasty. And there’s something about how creepy they look, staring back at you. Vampires may be dead and void of most emotion, but they still have some kind of feeling…
So, eyeballs are a no-go. And that, my friends, is the backstory behind these Red Velvet Cake Eye Balls, scattered among a grassy lawn splattered with blood. They are all that’s left of the unfortunate humans who served as tonight’s Vampire feast.
Today, #SundaySupper is teaming up yet again with our favorite wine company, Gallo Family Vineyards, for some Frightfully Fun Entertaining featuring their Merlot and Red Moscato.
These Red Velvet Cake Eye Balls were inspired by two things: my recent nail polish called Marilyn Merlot and how much it reminded me of blood, and my unwavering love of a particular vampire show that recently concluded (oh how I miss it!). Vampires and Halloween go hand in hand, and apparently so does Red Velvet and Merlot.
Who doesn’t love a good cake ball? Especially when it’s made with Red Velvet cake and cream cheese frosting and coated in vanilla candy coating?! I cheated with these and totally used a box cake mix and premade frosting, but hey…there were a lot of steps to creating these Red Velvet Cake Eye Balls and I needed to cut corners wherever possible. After all, the real focus here is on the presentation, so that’s where my effort went! Plus, you guys know you all love cake mix and premade frosting anyway — so no harm done. Oh yeah, and I added Gallo’s wonderfully smooth and delicious Merlot to the cake mix. You’re welcome.
- 1 box Red Velvet Cake mix
- 3 eggs
- 1/3 cup coconut oil
- 1 cup Gallo Family Vineyards Merlot
- 1 container cream cheese frosting
- 1 16 oz. package vanilla candy coating
- 1 small tube red food gel
- 1 cup shredded coconut
- ~10 drops green food coloring
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine cake mix, eggs, coconut oil and merlot in a bowl and mix well.
- Pour batter into a 9-inch round cake pan and bake for about 35 minutes or until a toothpick put into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Once the cake has cooled, crumble it into a large bowl and fold in the cream cheese frosting.
- Use your hands to form small cake balls and arrange on a baking sheet lined with wax paper.
- Chill the cake balls in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
- Melt vanilla candy coating in the microwave for about 90 seconds.
- Dunk the cake balls and make sure they are completely coating with the vanilla. Allow the excess to drip and then arrange back onto the wax paper-lined baking sheet.
- Put the coated cake balls back into the fridge to chill for another 1-2 hours.
- Use the red food gel to draw on the pupil and veins to make each cake ball look like an eye ball.
- Combine shredded coconut and food coloring in a bowl and mix well.
- On a large plate, arrange the green shredded coconut to look like grass and place the Red Velvet Cake Eye Balls through out the “grass.” Pour a little bit of merlot over the grass to represent spilled blood.
Visit Gallo Family Vineyards for more Frightfully Fun Entertaining ideas and of course check out all of the spooky recipes my #SundaySupper friends have for you.
- Beef Stew with Ghost Dumplings by Momma’s Meals
- Blackened Chicken Legs with Red Beets and Potatoes by Jelly Toast
- Brain Cupcakes with Red Moscato Wine Shooters by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
- Dracula Wine Jelly by Basic N Delicious
- Gallo Family Red Moscato Cocktail by Flour On My Face
- Ghoulishly Good Red Moscato Punch by The Weekend Gourmet
- Halloween Buffalo Ranch Pork Bites by Family Foodie
- Meringue Bones with Raspberry Sauce by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
- Mummy Calzone by The Wimpy Vegetarian
- Poison Apple Pomegranate Sangria by The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen
- Pumpkin Chili by The Foodie Army Wife
- Red Moscato Candied Apples by The Messy Baker
- Red Moscato Spider Sangria by Run DMT
- Red Velvet Cake Eye Balls by Take A Bite Out of Boca
- Red Wine Caramel and Chocolate Apples by Ruffles & Truffles
- Roasted Garlic Hummus by Alida’s Kitchen
- Smoked Trout Pate Spider Bites by Shockingly Delicious
- Steak Bites with Bloody Maria Dipping Sauce by Cupcakes & Kale Chips
- Witches Blood Risotto by Bobbi’s Kozy Kitchen
- Zombie Bite Wine Slushies by Feed Me, Seymour
Not sure where to stock up on Gallo Family wines? Check out their store locator — and here’s a $1 off coupon too!
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Disclaimer: Compensation was provided by Gallo Family Vineyards via Sunday Supper, LLC. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author, and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Gallo Family Vineyards.
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