Halloween Themed Cake
This Halloween Cake is perfect for a birthday or any monster mash. Rich chocolate cake layers and creamy orange buttercream are topped with spooky black ganache for a hauntingly boo-tiful result.
Ingredients
For the Cake Layers:
- Nonstick baking spray
- 1 box dark chocolate fudge cake mix (15.25 ounces)
- 3 large eggs + 2 large egg yolks
- 1 cup milk
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted
For the Buttercream Frosting:
- 9 cups powdered sugar
- 3 cups unsalted butter at room temperature (6 sticks)
- 2 teaspoons grated orange zest (optional)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Orange food coloring
- 3 to 4 tablespoons heavy cream as needed
For the Chocolate Ganache:
- 4 ounces semi-sweet baking chocolate chopped
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon corn syrup (optional)
- Black food coloring (optional)
Instructions
- Make the Cake Layers: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray two 9-inch round cake pans with baking spray. In bowl of stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, or large bowl with a hand mixer and beater attachments, combine the cake mix, eggs and yolks, milk and butter and beat 2 to 3 minutes or until well combined and fluffy.
- Divide cake batter evenly between prepared cake pans.
- Transfer pans to center rack of oven and bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, rotating pans halfway through baking. Transfer pans to cooling rack; let cool 5 minutes before turning cakes out of pans onto rack. Let cakes cool completely before assembling cake.
- Make the Buttercream Frosting: In bowl of stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, or large bowl with a hand mixer and beater attachments, beat powdered sugar and butter on low speed until blended. Increase speed to medium and beat 3 minutes. Add orange zest, if using, and vanilla; beat 1 minute or until smooth. Use orange food coloring to tint frosting to the desired shade of orange. Add cream a tablespoon at a time, beating between additions, until you have a spreadable frosting.
- Assemble the Cake: Cut crowns off of each cake layer with a cake level or large serrated knife to make them level. Cut each cake in half horizontally so that you have 4 cake layers.
- Place one cake layer on serving plate or cake stand. Use offset spatula to spread 1/2-inch layer of buttercream to edges of cake. Top with next cake layer and repeat, until all 4 cake layers have frosting between them. Chill 30 minutes. Spread thin layer of frosting around the entire cake to crumb coat it; refrigerate 30 minutes. Frost top and sides of cake with remaining buttercream; refrigerate until ready to coat with ganache.
- Make the Chocolate Ganache: Place chocolate in medium bowl. In small saucepan, heat cream and corn syrup, if using, over medium-low heat until mixture reaches a bare simmer. Pour cream mixture over chocolate and stir until all chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. If desired, add a small amount of black food coloring to deepen the color of the ganache.
- Finish the Cake: Pour ganache over cake and allow ganache to drip down sides of cake. Let ganache firm up at room temperature a bit before slicing.
Notes
- Corn syrup is optional in the ganache, but using it lends a bit more shine and flexibility to the mixture. Feel free to omit it if desired. Add an additional 1 tablespoon warmed cream if needed. You'll still have a pourable and delicious ganache.
Calories: 841kcal, Carbohydrates: 93g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 52g, Saturated Fat: 31g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 14g, Trans Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 162mg, Sodium: 255mg, Potassium: 192mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 81g, Vitamin A: 1481IU, Vitamin C: 0.4mg, Calcium: 90mg, Iron: 2mg
This website provides estimated nutrition information as a courtesy only. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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