Spooky Halloween Cake - Layered Chocolate Cake

This Spooky Halloween Cake - layered chocolate cake is made for anyone who thinks Halloween is a good excuse for a lot of chocolate. It has three dark chocolate cake layers, dark chocolate buttercream, and chocolate cake crumbs covering the outside. The crumbs make the cake look like it's covered in dirt, and the chocolate tombstones, tree, skulls, and bones turn it into a little graveyard.

You can keep the decorations as simple or creepy as you want, which also makes this a fun Halloween birthday cake if you're making it for someone who celebrates in October. For another Halloween treat, try my Halloween Cake Pops. Keep reading, and I'll show you how I make the cake layers, turn the scraps into the graveyard dirt, and put the whole cake together.

Jump to:

• Video Tutorial
• Try This Spooky Halloween Cake
• Why You’ll Love It
• Ingredients
• How to Make Spooky Halloween Layered Chocolate Cake
• Recipe Tips
• What Can You Serve With This?
• FAQs
• Recipe

Video Tutorial

Try This Spooky Halloween Cake

If you normally make a basic chocolate cake for Halloween, this one is so worth trying. You get three layers of dark chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream between them, then even more chocolate from the cake crumbs covering the outside.

The graveyard Halloween cake design is my favorite part. I like that the tombstones and chocolate tree don't need to look neat or perfect either, and you can use any Halloween colors for your Halloween party you like. Making them a little strange and uneven is what gives this cake character.

Why You’ll Love It

• There is a lot of chocolate: This really earns the Death by Chocolate cake name. There's melted semi-sweet chocolate in the cake layers, more in the buttercream, and chocolate cake crumbs around the outside.
• It isn't too sweet: Even with all that chocolate, the cake has more of a dark chocolate taste rather than being overly sweet.
• The decorating is supposed to look messy: I don't want a graveyard cake to look too perfect. Uneven tombstones, a strange-looking tree, and scattered crumbs actually make the whole thing work better.
• Nothing goes to waste: The cake tops you cut away when leveling the layers become the crumbs used to cover the outside, meaning no waste at all.
• You can decorate it your way: Use the chocolate tombstones and tree from the original cake, add skulls and bones, or change the decorations depending on what you have.

Ingredients

• Semi-sweet chocolate: There's a lot of real chocolate in this cake; 1½ cups in the cake layers and another cup in the buttercream. I prefer using a good semi-sweet chocolate with around 50-60% cocoa so you get that darker chocolate flavor without making the cake too bitter.
• Dutch-processed cocoa powder: I use Dutch-processed cocoa because its darker color works particularly well for this cake. It gives you a much better starting point for the black cake batter, so you don't have to depend entirely on food coloring.
• Buttermilk: One cup goes into the cake batter and adds moisture to the three chocolate layers. It's alternated with the dry ingredients rather than poured in all at once.
• Black gel or paste food coloring: This gives both the cake and buttercream their black color. I use gel or paste rather than thin liquid coloring and only add as much as needed according to the product I'm using.

How to Make Spooky Halloween Layered Chocolate Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line the bottoms and sides of three 8-inch (20cm) baking pans with parchment paper. Lightly grease the sides with butter or oil so the parchment sticks, then set the pans aside.

2. Combine the all purpose flour, Dutch-processed cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir everything together and set aside.

3. In a large mixing bowl, using a stand or handheld mixer fitted with a whisk or paddle attachment, beat the butter, oil, and granulated sugar for 2-3 minutes until creamy.

4. If you're using a vanilla bean, cut off the straight end, carefully split the bean lengthwise, open it, and scrape out the seeds with the back of a knife. Add the eggs and vanilla seeds to the butter mixture and mix until incorporated. If you're using vanilla extract instead, add 1 teaspoon.

5. Alternately add the dry ingredients and buttermilk to the wet ingredients, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Stir only until combined.

6. Add the melted semi-sweet chocolate and stir it in, then add black gel or paste food coloring according to the directions for the coloring you're using. The finished batter should be black and very thick. Prepare each cake pan.

7. Divide the batter equally between the three prepared pans and spread it out evenly. Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Don't leave the cakes in longer than necessary or they'll become dry. Let all the cake cool to room temperature.

8. To make the buttercream, add the butter to a large bowl, and beat the butter on medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes using an electric mixer until soft and creamy. Add the sifted powdered sugar and beat on medium-low speed until smooth and combined. Add the melted and cooled semi-sweet chocolate and stir until creamy, then mix in enough black gel or paste food coloring to make the buttercream black.

9. Level the cooled cakes by cutting off the raised tops. Don't throw those pieces away. Put them on a plate and leave them uncovered on the kitchen counter because you'll use them later for the crumbs.

10. Put the first cake layer on a cake stand, turner, or serving plate and spread about ¼-⅓ of the chocolate buttercream over the top. Add the second layer and repeat, then add the third. Use the remaining buttercream to frost the top and sides, leveling it with an offset spatula. Refrigerate the cake for 3 hours. You can cover with plastic wrap.

11. While the cake chills, prepare your decorations. For chocolate tombstones, lightly oil the molds and wipe away the excess with kitchen paper. Fill them with melted semi-sweet chocolate and freeze for about 15 minutes.

Turn the molds over onto wax paper and lightly tap them to release the tombstones, then chill them for about 30 minutes. Add spooky words with white chocolate, icing, or a candy decorating pen.

12. For the chocolate tree trick, draw melted chocolate onto wax paper with the tip of a spoon and leave it at room temperature until set. It doesn't need to be neat. I know there would be better methods of doing this, but I didn’t want to have very accurate trees. I wanted them to look a bit strange and weird to create an even spookier look. Let them dry at room temperature.

13. Take the chilled cake from the refrigerator and leave it at room temperature for about 30 minutes so the buttercream softens slightly. Crumble the reserved cake tops into fine crumbs. Cover the top of the cake with crumbs, then carefully press more against the side of the cake. Reserve some crumbs for the final decoration.

14. Arrange the tombstones, chocolate tree, and any skull or bone sprinkles on the cake. Scatter the remaining crumbs around the decorations to finish the graveyard.

Recipe Tips

• Don't pour in loads of black food coloring right away. The chocolate and Dutch-processed cocoa already make the batter quite dark, so add only what you need to get the black color.
• Use Dutch-processed cocoa rather than natural cocoa for the darker appearance of this cake.
• The cake batter is very thick, so take a minute to spread it evenly in each pan before baking.
• Try to divide the batter evenly between all three pans. It makes stacking the cake much easier later.
• Don't overbake the layers. Start checking them at 18 minutes and take them out once a toothpick in the center comes out clean.
• I use good semi-sweet chocolate in the buttercream because you can really taste it. Chocolate with around 50-60% cocoa works well here.
• Make sure the melted chocolate has cooled before adding it to the buttercream.
• Leave the trimmed cake tops uncovered while the assembled cake chills. A slightly drier cake is much easier to crumble finely.
• Give the cake about 30 minutes on a cooling rack at room temperature after chilling in the fridge. You want the buttercream to soften just enough for the crumbs to stick.
• The chocolate decorations can be made the day before, which saves quite a bit of work when you're ready to assemble the cake. You can also add orange pumpkins if you like.

What Can You Serve With This?

• Vanilla ice cream
• Fresh raspberries
• Fresh strawberries
• Whipped cream
• Coffee
• Cold milk
• Hot chocolate

FAQs

Recipe