Name: Pumpkin Spice Cake Balls
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Yield: 30
Ingredients: 1 (13.25 ounce) box spiced cake mix; 1 cup water; 1 (15 ounce) can pure pumpkin; 1 (20 ounce) package vanilla almond bark or 2 (10 ounce) packages white candy melts; Reserved cake crumbles

There’s a pumpkin palooza going on in these pumpkin spice cake balls that are full of comforting fall flavor!

A large white gold-rimmed serving dish filled with pumpkin spice cake balls.

Y’all know how much I love cooking and baking with pumpkin and pumpkin spice. But I also love making pumpkin shaped goodies for the season, like a delicious pumpkin cheese ball or these crazy cute Pumpkin Chocolate Hand Pies. They’re always a huge hit at autumn get-togethers.

Favorite Fall Goodies

This past weekend, I was busy baking up goodies for my sweet friend’s baby shower! I had volunteered to make cake balls and since pops of orange were part of the rustic theme for the baby boy’s shower, I thought pumpkin-flavored cake balls would be so yummy and super cute!

A hand holding a pumpkin cake ball over a white dish of pumpkin spice cake balls.

Moist, Pumpkin-y Cake Balls

I was going to bake a pumpkin cake from scratch to crumble up for the cake balls, but I happened upon a box of spice cake mix and decided to buy it and think of a creative way to use it for the cake balls.

I wanted to use pure pumpkin in them. So instead of adding oil and eggs to the cake mix, I replaced them with a can of pumpkin and the cake baked up perfectly moist and oh so flavorful! Would be a pretty healthy cake all by itself, but of course I coated it in candy and more cake crumbs! 😉

Because the cake was so moist, I didn’t even have to use cream cheese frosting (like I usually do when making cake balls) to be able to roll it into little balls of pumpkin bliss. I literally just mixed the baked cake together in my stand mixer on low speed and then divided it into bite-sized balls.

I then coated the cake balls in a vanilla candy coating and reserved some of the crumbed cake to sprinkle on top for a festive and extra delicious touch.

These pumpkin spice cake balls turned out terrific and have quickly made their way to the top of my fall faves! If you’re looking for a falltastic treat to take to a party or get-together, these are for you. Easy and oh so yummy. Everyone will LOVE them!

Ingredients and Supplies

(see recipe card at the bottom of this post for measurements and details)

Ingredients:

Spice cake mix: such a great pantry shortcut! Spice cake mix brings that fall flavor without needing to measure spices, but you could certainly use a yellow or white cake mix and spice it up, if desired.
Water: keeps it light and moist without overcomplicating. You could use milk for a richer texture, apple cider to add more fall flavor and depth, or even buttermilk for more tang and tenderness, though not necessary.
Canned pure pumpkin: adds moisture, flavor, and a soft, dense texture to the cake. It’s the heart of the recipe. Also contributes natural sweetness. Don’t use pumpkin pie filling as that will sweeten the cake balls too much.
Vanilla almond bark and white candy melts: if you can’t find candy coating or candy melts, you could melt 2 cups white chocolate chips with 2 teaspoons of canola or coconut oil to create your own coating. The white chocolate chip coating won’t harden as well as the candy coating, but it still works nicely as a coating for the cake balls.
Reserved cake crumbles: you could also use festive sprinkles, crushed gingersnaps, crushed graham crackers, toffee bits, or even cinnamon sugar to garnish the cake balls before the candy coating sets for a festive and tasty topping.

Supplies:

Ingredients to make pumpkin spice cake balls in white dishes on a white marble counter.

How to Make Pumpkin Spice Cake Balls

Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a large bowl, stir together the cake mix, pumpkin and water until well combined. Spread into a lightly greased 9×13-inch baking dish and bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool completely in baking dish.

Reserve about 1/3 cup of cake crumbles from the baked edges of the cake to sprinkle on the cake balls as soon as you finish coating them in the candy coating.
Crumble the remaining cooled cake into the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on low speed until cake comes together in a moist ball. (You can do this step with your hands in a large bowl as well.) Roll the cake into 2-tablespoon sized balls and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. You should get about 30 cake balls. Place cake balls in the freezer for 30 minutes.
Melt the almond bark or candy melts according to package directions in a shallow bowl.

Dip one frozen cake ball at a time into the melted candy coating and use a fork to turn it around until completely coated.

A pumpkin cake ball in a glass bowl of melted white candy coating.

Gently lift the coated cake ball from the candy coating with the fork and let the excess drip back into the bowl.

A cake ball on a fork over a glass bowl of white melted candy coating.

Transfer back to the parchment-lined baking sheet and immediately sprinkle with some of the reserved cake crumbles. Repeat with remaining cake balls.
Let cake balls rest until coating is completely set. If you didn’t top with the reserved cake crumbles, you can use orange food coloring to tint some of the almond bark and drizzle each coated cake ball with some of the melted coating.

Pumpkin cake balls on a parchment-covered aluminum baking sheet.

Storage

Room Temperature: Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry spot for up to 3 days. Best for short-term parties or gifting.

Refrigerator: Keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. Let sit at room temp for 10 minutes before serving for best texture.

Freezer: Flash-freeze them first on a baking sheet, then store in an airtight container for up to 3 months. When ready to enjoy, thaw in the fridge first, then bring to room temp for best texture and appearance.

More Pumpkin Recipes

Pumpkin spice and everything nice! When sweater weather approaches, I turn to my collection of the Best Pumpkin Recipes for Fall.

Pumpkin spice Cruffins, Pumpkin Bread, Baked Pumpkin Fritter Bites

If you make these Pumpkin Spice Cake Balls and post a pic to social, be sure to tag me on Instagram @thebakermama so I can see! If you’re on Facebook, be sure to join my Friends of The BakerMama group to connect and share all the fun and yummy recipes of mine that you make! 😍 I just love seeing how inspired and creative y’all get with the ideas I share. Enjoy!

xoxo,