This was a first - a cake idea from a nail artist!
I saw @Hannah Lee on Youki.com post a video showing Halloween Pumpkin Nail art. It was a super cute - and my favorite part - relatively easy Halloween nail design! The Jack O Lantern accent nail looked like a PERFECT design for the front of a cake!
(Editing to add - Youki/Tangi was a Google Area 120 project and has since been taken down. But you can see tons of her other videos on her YouTube channel!)
Why you'll love this Halloween Jack o' Lantern cake!
- I'm not joking when I tell you this is absolutely one of the easiest cakes I've ever decorated. No carving, no drips, nothing crazy or time-consuming! You don't even need the piping on top or the sprinkles if you don't want to mess with them!
- I doctored up spice cake mixes for these pumpkin layers - and my taste-testers said they'd never have guessed! They're super simple but SO good.
- Cream cheese buttercream frosting - you CANNOT find a better frosting pairing for pumpkin cake than cream cheese!
Jack O Lantern Cake - overview
First, pull out some spice cake mixes, and bake + cool some super simple pumpkin cake layers.
After you cover your pumpkin cake layers in orange frosting, you're ready to decorate! You can free-hand the triangles and snaggletooth smile fondant shapes with a knife or find triangle and circle cutters online for super cheap. Either option is easy and the cake comes out SO cute! Simple, delicious, and perfect for Halloween! Recipes and links below!
FAQs -
"Your recipe calls for cake mixes...really not my thing. Can I use a scratch cake recipe?"
Absolutely! My goal for this recipe was simplicity, but nothing beats scratch cake layers for taste! The cake layers in this recipe are my favorite scratch pumpkin cake recipe. (All the coffee flavor in the cake comes from the filling and drip. So you don't need to worry about any changes to the cake layer recipe.)
Any other questions / concerns? Please send me an email! All emails to my contact page go straight to my inbox. 🙂
(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 recipe for later!
Jack-O-Lantern Cake
Equipment
- 1 large + 1 small triangle cutters (mine came from a set like this one but you could cut these out by hand with a knife as well!)
- 1 large + 1 small circle cutters (I used the largest and 4th-largest cutters from this set, but you could free-hand this with a knife or use two glasses!)
Ingredients
Pumpkin Cake Layers
- 2 spice cake mixes (I used Betty Crocker's; ignore the package directions)
- 1 cup unsalted butter (or 2 sticks, melted & cooled so it doesn't scramble the eggs)
- 15 ounces Pumpkin puree (1 can)
- 1 cup buttermilk (room temperature)
- 7 eggs
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese (one package; softened)
- 1 cup butter (two sticks, softened)
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- 3-6 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- 1 Tablespoon clear vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt (if using unsalted butter)
- 3-5 large drops Orange gel food coloring (or red + yellow)
Decorations
- Sprinkle mix of your choice (the gold sprinkle mix in the video has been discontinued, but this Black & Gold sprinkle mix is almost identical!)
- 1-2 ounces Black fondant (I dyed Fondarific’s buttercream fondant, but you could use black decorator fondant instead!)
Instructions
Pumpkin Cake Layers
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare three 8-inch round pans with baker's floured spray (or grease and line with parchment rounds).
- Combine all wet ingredients (butter, pumpkin puree, buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla) in a large mixing or stand mixer bowl and beat until well mixed. Blend in cake mixes on low speed for 30 seconds, and then beat for 2 minutes until well combined.
- Divide batter evenly between the prepared cake pans (I find a kitchen scale helpful for this part - this guarantees your cake layers will bake to the same height.)
- Bake for 30-35 minutes (or until a toothpick comes out clean). Allow cake layers to cool for 10-15 minutes before removing from pans – it helps to run an offset spatula or knife around the perimeter of the pan first. Cool completely before frosting. Set in the fridge or freezer to accelerate the cooling process if desired. (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 milk until frosting reaches desired consistency. Add vanilla, salt (if needed) and food color and beat until well combined.
Assembly
- Once your cakes are cool, level them (if needed). 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 your next cake layer on top. Repeat the process with the rest of your cake layers, adding your last cake layer on top. (I put mine on upside-down to make smoothing the top edge of the frosting easier).
- 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. Once your cake is covered, place it into the fridge to set the frosting.
Onto the fun part! Decorating!
- Roll out your fondant to about 1/8”, using a bit of cornstarch if needed to keep it from sticking. With a knife or cutters, cut out two large and one small triangle for the eyes and nose. With a circle cutter, cut a slightly-larger-than-half-circle shape. With a smaller cutter, cut out the center of the half-circle to make a mouth shape. Use a knife to cut a ‘snaggletooth’ out of the smile.
- Transfer the fondant shapes to the side of your cake – if using white fondant, paint the shapes with a bit of black gel food color. (I sometimes prefer painting to using colored fondant because it removes the cornstarch and gives the decoration a bit of shine).
- Transfer your leftover frosting to a piping bag fitted with the tip of your choice (I used the largest star tip from this set). Pipe frosting in small swirls around the top rim of the cake (I alternated large swirls with slightly smaller ones). Add some sprinkles around the top border of the cake, and around the base as well if desired.
- Annnd you’re done! Step back and admire your beautiful cake!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Did you make this Jack O Lantern Cake?
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