Cakes

Halloween Candy Cake

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there's a time for 'understated'...

But then,  there's also a time for 'massively-overdone!' And if Halloween's not the time for a ridiculous candy overload cake, I don't know when the right time would be! Literally packed as much chocolate candy as I could into one Halloween Candy cake - inside, outside, and a pile on top! 

Annnd that's really about all that was involved in this cake 😉

FAQs - 

"What in the world...Why would you make a cake like this??" 
  • Lol fair question. I made this one when I was working a 12-hour shift on Halloween and wanted to bring in a cake to surprise my coworkers - and make sure there was enough for everyone! 
  • Would also be a great recipe to keep kids busy sticking the candy to the sides of the cake 😉 
Do I have to make the cake / frosting from scratch? 

  • Not if you don't want to! You can substitute 2 of your favorite chocolate cake mixes plus the ingredients the mix calls for. Keep the baking pans the same!

  • Store bought frosting is usually a little thinner than my recipe. I'd recommend starting with chocolate frosting. Transfer to a mixing bowl and beat in 1/4 cup of extra cocoa powder alternating with 1/4 cup of extra powdered sugar at a time until you reach a consistency that spreads and stays in place on the cake well.  

"How should I store this cake?" 

  • Wrap the cake in plastic wrap if not serving immediately so the candy doesn't get dried out and weird.

  • Cover or wrap any remaining cake well to keep it from drying out - it will keep at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the fridge for 3-5 days. 

Recipe below! 

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Halloween Candy Cake (covered with Halloween chocolate candy)
Print Recipe

Halloween Candy Cake

If there's ever a time for a candy overload...it's Halloween! Grab all your favorite candies and make this Halloween candy cake!
Prep Time45 minutes
Cook Time35 minutes
Decorating time45 minutes
Total Time2 hours 5 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Easy Halloween Desserts, Halloween Cake, Halloween cake recipe, Halloween Candy Cake, Halloween Candy Overload Cake
Servings: 16 servings
Calories: 804kcal

Equipment

Ingredients

Halloween Candy Cake layers

  • 2 ¼ cups all purpose flour (350g)
  • 2 ¼ cups granulated sugar (450g)
  • 1 ¼ cup cocoa powder (100g)
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • ¾ tsp salt
  • 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks/250g; softened)
  • 4 large eggs (room temperature)
  • 1 ½ cups buttermilk (350mL)
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract

Chocolate Cream Cheese frosting

Decorations

  • Halloween candy of your choice! I like the chocolate variety packs like this one - for the cake in the pictures I used M&Ms Reese’s cups, and Kit Kat, Snickers, Milky Way, Twix, Almond Joy, and 100 Grand bars (in hindsight, should've left the peppermint patties off).

Instructions

Halloween Candy Cake layers

  • Preheat an oven to 350℉ (180℃). Grease 3 8-inch cake pans with baker's floured spray and/or line pans with parchment rounds.
  • Mix together dry ingredients (flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt) in the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle (or hand mixer or whisk) until well combined. Add in bits of softened butter, mixing until no lumps of butter are visible and the mixture looks crumbly.
  • Whisk together eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients and mix until no dry ingredients are visible. Scrape down the bowl and beat for another 20 seconds.
  • Fill the three pans evenly - I find a kitchen scale helpful for this part, and each of mine weighed out to about 550g. Bake for 30-35 min or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow cake layers to cool for 10-15 minutes on a wire cooling rack before removing from pans, and cool completely before frosting. Set in the fridge or freezer to accelerate the cooling process if desired. (Meanwhile, make your frosting!)

Chocolate Cream Cheese frosting

  • Beat together softened cream cheese and butter; slowly add in powdered sugar and cocoa powder alternating with milk and vanilla until frosting reaches a spreadable consistency. Add salt and beat until well combined.

Assembly

  • Once your cakes are cool, level them (if needed) with a cake leveler or a large serrated knife and a ruler. Place a smear of frosting on your cake circle (to keep the cake from sliding while you decorate it) and center your first cake layer in the center of the circle. Spread the layer with frosting.
  • Cover the layer with as many candy varieties as you want to use, and add a little bit of frosting on top to hold your next cake layer in place. Center your next cake layer on top! Repeat the process with your remaining cake layers, adding the final layer on top.
  • Now you're ready to crumb-coat . If you're unfamiliar with crumb-coating, it's just what it sounds like - a thin layer of frosting over the entire outside of the cake to keep crumbs out of your final layer.
  • Once your crumb coat has set (this takes about 5-10 minutes in the fridge), add your final layer of frosting and smooth. I like to use an offset spatula and bench scraper for this part.

Decorating!

  • Start adding candy! I mosaic-style-plastered as much Halloween candy as I could all over the outside of the cake, and then added a rim of halved Reese’s cups to keep the pile of candy I stacked on top in place. Cover and pile your cake with Halloween candy however you see fit!
  • And that's it - you're done!

Video

Notes

(Please note nutrition information is an estimate, and may not be exactly accurate. All counts will vary with type / amount of candy and frosting used to decorate.) 

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 804kcal | Carbohydrates: 101g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 40g

Mentioned in post - 
Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting 

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