REVIEW: Lil’ Boo Cakes, Cookie Dough Balls, Pumpkin Cheesecake Trifle Cake and More from the Halloween Horror Nights 31 Tribute Store at Universal Studios Florida

Matthew Soberman

REVIEW: Lil’ Boo Cakes, Cookie Dough Balls, Pumpkin Cheesecake Trifle Cake and More from the Halloween Horror Nights 31 Tribute Store at Universal Studios Florida

Halloween Horror Nights 31 has taken its grip on Universal Studios Florida, and in between the many scares, this year’s Tribute Store has plenty of sweet treats!

hhn 31 tribute store food menu 4

Whether you like cakes, cookie dough, or macarons, there’s plenty of ghoulish offerings.

hhn 31 tribute store food menu 1
hhn 31 tribute store food menu 2
hhn 31 tribute store food menu 3
hhn 31 tribute store food menu 5
hhn 31 tribute store food menu 6
hhn 31 tribute store food 1

Naturally, we decided to take a sinister sampling and see what stood out!

Lil’ Boo Pumpkin Bowl Cake (Red Velvet Cookies ‘N’ Cream) – $16.00

lil boo red velvet cookies n cream cake 1

Lil’ Boo has become one of this year’s big stars, so it seems only fitting that he’d get his own dessert.

lil boo red velvet cookies n cream cake 2

With red velvet cake colliding with cookies and cream frosting, we were excited to try this. Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite live up to the jack-o’-lantern’s cult following.

lil boo red velvet cookies n cream cake 3

The cake was a little dry and the frosting was overly sweet. Aside from the Lil’ Boo bowl, it isn’t really worth it.

Lil’ Boo Pumpkin Bowl Cake (Chocolate & Caramel) – $16.00

lil boo chocolate caramel cake 1

This proved to be a much better flavor combination. The chocolate cake, vanilla buttercream, and caramel come together very well.

lil boo chocolate caramel cake 2

Of the two, this was the superior cake.

Ghost S’mores Macaron – $5.00

ghost smores macaron 1

This was a nice quality macaron, but didn’t hit many of the s’mores flavors. It tasted more like a vanilla marshmallow. We didn’t pick up on any chocolate at all or graham cracker flavors. It was nice for marshmallow, but it just fell flat with us.

Black Cat Chocolate Cookie Dough Ball – $4.50

black cat chocolate cookie dough ball 1

This was so cute and so delicious. It was the hands-down winner of all the treats we tried. The eyes were decorated Reese’s Pieces, while the inside was a gritty chocolate cookie dough that tasted almost like brownie batter. We absolutely loved it!

black cat chocolate cookie dough ball 2

We’d definitely get another cookie dough ball rather than another macaron. And considering the cookie dough balls are slightly less expensive, our wallets tend to agree with our taste buds.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Trifle Cake – $12.00

pumpkin cheesecake trifle cake 3

This had a very overpowering, overwhelming fall flavor. Every kind of Halloween taste was present, but there was just too much.

pumpkin cheesecake trifle cake 1
pumpkin cheesecake trifle cake 2

The cake had very strong pumpkin flavor, the spiced cream cheese frosting was super strong, and the caramel was more like a salted caramel or butterscotch. This was super thick and rich.

pumpkin cheesecake trifle cake 4

Still, it proved to be more intense and less enjoyable than the sum of its parts.

Rose Eye Dark Chocolate Pudding Cake – $12.00

rose eye dark chocolate pudding cake 6

This was probably one of our favorites of the treats!

rose eye dark chocolate pudding cake 2

The rose on the top was chocolate and the filling had a very strong chocolate pudding flavor, but the consistency was more like mousse.

rose eye dark chocolate pudding cake 5
rose eye dark chocolate pudding cake 3

The broken shards of glass on the side were crispy and sugary, almost like the top of a crème brûlée. The red velvet cake base was much better than the red velvet cake in the Lil’ Boo bowl.

rose eye dark chocolate pudding cake 4

This one’s a big winner in our book.

Knife Cake – $12.00

knife cake 2

It was cute, but disappointing. The exterior is a white chocolate shell with a plain cheesecake interior and a cherry topper.

knife cake 1

The chocolate knife handle was a cute touch, but nothing about this impressed us.

Looking for more spooky sweets? Check out our review of the Fresh Ground Princess and Sour Beating Gummy Heart from Meetz Meats!

For more Universal Studios news from around the world, follow Universal Parks News Today on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. For Disney Parks news, visit WDWNT.