Halloween cakes are *still* the most fun!
I've been making Halloween cakes for I think 6 years now - and it just NEVER gets old! I bought a simple skull mold online a couple of years ago - thank you @Sheri.wilson and Amazon! And this year I was getting it out just feeling like I hadn't used it up to its potential yet.
That situation needed a fix!
Honestly, this one started out rough. I knew I wanted to decorate the cake with black skulls. So I melted some chocolate chips and gave it a shot...with some black gel color mixed with whipping cream. Lol go figure. It seized hard and fast. MEH.
(It was maybe going to work in theory; I routinely color chocolate ganache black with gel color and haven't had a problem. Apparently I didn't use enough whipping cream though.)
Not going to lie - I was running low on chocolate, and really wanted to use that batch for these skulls. So I took the still-warm seized-up mixture and I stuffed it into the skull molds. It still worked!
I definitely recommend either using an oil-based gel color or just using a cake spray once your skulls are molded and set - but if you end up with seized chocolate you can still make it work!
So why make this Halloween Skull Cake?
- Variety of reasons! 😉 Second to maybe my Halloween Slime Cake - this is still one of the EASIEST Halloween cakes I’ve ever posted.
- Since I had all the ingredients on hand, I made scratch cake layers for the cake in the photos / video. That said though - if you want to make this whole cake insanely-easy to make, just doctor up a couple of boxed cake mixes! It works great too!
- EVERYONE loves the look and taste of black chocolate ganache! It disappeared SO fast during taste testing!
- If you're unsure about your cake decorating abilities, this is a great one to start with!! Ain't no one going to care if your Halloween skull cake happens to look a touch messy; just adds to the spooky flair.
FAQs:
"Idk about the cake drip; never done one before. Any tips?"
- First off - I promise you can do it! It's really not any harder than it looks. But tips first!
- Tip #1 - this is my most important drip tip - make sure you measure your chocolate /cream accurately! Too much/little of either may affect your drip consistency.
- Tip #2 - my second most important tip - I verrry very highly *highly* recommend a test drip first! I almost made that mistake with this cake. I'd gotten my proportions wrong and the mix was WAY too thick. My test drip barely dripped at all. So save yourself the headache and make sure you're happy with the thickness / consistency of the mixture.
- Tip #3 - heat the drip mixture gently! I've over-cooked it in the microwave a couple times, and if it seizes it gets grainy and super weird. There are some tips online to try, buuut honestly I've never had good luck saving it past that point. Shorter time intervals and 30-50% power should save you that particular headache!
Recipe, tips, and links to everything I used are below!
(Disclosure: As an Amazon associate I may earn from qualifying purchases, and my posts often contain affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you!)
Don't forget to pin this Halloween Skull Cake recipe for later!
Halloween Skull Cake
Frost a cake green, add a bit of black color to some chocolate ganache, mold some black skulls - done! A fabulous Halloween Skull cake!
Equipment
- Baker's floured cooking spray (optional)
- cake scraper or pastry cutter (to smooth frosting) (+ acetate & cake ring if you want to frost the cake like I did in the video)
- Squeeze bottle (or piping bag or a spoon - whatever you'd like to use to add the drip to your cake!)
- Silicone skull molds (the exact one I used is currently out of stock online, but I linked the closest well-reviewed one I could find!)
Ingredients
Cake layers
- 3 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter (or 2 sticks, room temperature)
- 5 eggs
- 1 ½ cups buttermilk (room temperature)
- 2 teaspoons clear vanilla extract
- 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
Frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese (1 package, softened)
- 1 cups butter (2 sticks, room temperature)
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- 1 Tablespoons clear vanilla extract
- 1-2 Tablespoons milk (if needed)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt if using unsalted butter
- 3-5 drops electric green gel food coloring
Black drip + skulls
- 4 ounces semisweet chocolate (or black candy melts & omit gel food color)
- 2 ½ Tablespoons heavy whipping cream ( my favorite brand is incredibly thick; you may need a bit less depending on the thickness of your heavy cream)
- 2-3 large drops Black oil-based food color
- 8 ounces semisweet chocolate (for skulls; or use candy melts & omit food color)
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare three 8 inch round pans with baker's floured spray (or grease and line with parchment rounds).
- Mix together all dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt) in a stand mixer with a paddle (or mixing bowl with a hand mixer or whisk) until fully combined. Mix room-temperature butter into the dry mix a tablespoon at at time on a low speed. Continue to mix until no large lumps of butter remain, and the mixture looks crumbly.
- Pour in eggs and mix on low until just incorporated. Mix in the buttermilk on a low speed. Add in vanilla and oil, and mix at a low speed until fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, then beat on medium speed for about 30 seconds.
- Divide batter evenly between three prepared cake pans (I find a kitchen scale helpful for this part). Bake for 34-37 minutes (or until a skewer comes out clean). Allow to cool for 10 minutes on a wire cooling rack before removing from pans. Cool completely before frosting. Set in the fridge or freezer to accelerate the cooling process if desired.
- Once the layers have fully cooled, they can be leveled and any caramelized bits can be trimmed from the sides / top of the cake using a serrated knife if desired. Be sure the layers are completely cooled or chilled before trimming. If you try to trim the layers while they’re still warm, they will crumble apart. (This is a great time to make your frosting!)
Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting
- Beat together softened cream cheese and butter; slowly add in powdered sugar alternating with vanilla and milk if needed until frosting reaches desired consistency. Add gel color and salt if needed, and beat until well combined.
Assembly
- 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, and add the next layer on top. Repeat the process with your remaining cake layers.
- My newest cake-frosting discovery is the cake ring hack - this is what I used in the video. It saves me SO much time and I love it. You'll need an acetate sheet + metal cake ring if you'd like to frost this way - otherwise spread on a crumb coat and chill, then spread on a final outer frosting layer. (Make sure to reserve enough frosting to decorate the top.)
- Whichever method you use, finish smoothing with an offset spatula and a cake scraper. Once your cake is covered, place it into the fridge to set the frosting.
Now - the fun part! Decorating!!
- This is the ideal time to prep your skulls - so they have time to set. Melt 8oz of chocolate chips in 30-second intervals on 30-50% power in the microwave. Add black oil-based food coloring (or transfer plain melted chocolate to skull molds and use black cake spray to color them once they're set and out of the molds). Allow to set in the fridge for about 20 minutes; make sure chocolate is set before removing from molds. Set aside.
- Place heavy cream and 4 oz chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl (don't add the color yet!) and microwave on 50% power in 30-second intervals until smooth, stirring in between. Once the mixture is completely melted and smooth, add in the black food color and mix until the color is even.
- Once your ganache has cooled to a moderate temperature - it should be liquid but not hot so it doesn't melt your frosting - transfer it to a squeeze bottle or piping bag. You can use a spoon; it just won't give you quite as much control. Slowly drizzle candy melt ganache around the upper edge of your cake, pausing every inch or so to let more fall in a drip down the side of the cake.Â
- Now the REALLY fun part! Transfer remaining frosting to a piping bag, and add frosting swirls around the top of the cake. (I started with 6 skulls around the top - that didn't look like enough so I added another round of frosting swirls and 6 more skulls.) Add as many as looks good to you!
- Done and done! Serve at room temperature (though I recommend the fridge if not serving for a few hours because of the cream cheese in the frosting.) Enjoy! Happy Halloween!
Video
Notes
(Please note nutrition information is an estimate and may not be exactly accurate. Counts will be lower in all fields if not all the frosting or drip mixture is used.)Â
Nutrition
Serving: 1sliceCalories: 752kcalCarbohydrates: 98gProtein: 9gFat: 38g
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