Nightmare Before Christmas Cake
Decorate a Nightmare Before Christmas cake in 30 minutes (or less) - with cupcake toppers and a super-simple Jack Skellington buttercream transfer!
Servings: 16 servings
Calories: 748kcal
Equipment
- Baker's floured cooking spray (not needed if you have silicone pan liners)
- Cake leveler (optional; these layers usually bake fairly flat and don't require much leveling!)
- small piping bag + small round tip (to pipe frosting transfer)
- Nightmare Before Christmas Cupcake toppers (optional; I used these to decorate the cake sides but they’re not edible.)
Ingredients
Vanilla 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)
- 1 cup egg whites (about 7 eggs; or use carton egg whites to avoid wasting yolks! If you don't mind a slight yellow tint to the cake layers you can substitute 5 whole eggs.)
- 1 ½ cups buttermilk (room temperature)
- 2 teaspoons clear vanilla extract
- 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
- 15-20 drops purple gel food coloring (optional, and you don’t have to use as much as I did!)
Black Cocoa Cream Cheese frosting
- 8 oz one package cream cheese (softened)
- 16 Tablespoons two sticks butter (softened)
- 5 ½ -6 cups powdered sugar
- 1 cup black cocoa powder (See instructions before adding! Linked is one of my favorite brands on Amazon)
- 2-3 Tablespoons milk
- 1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt (if using unsalted butter)
- 3 large drops black gel food color (optional, but will make your frosting a deeper black more quickly)
Instructions
Instructions- Vanilla 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).
- 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 a 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 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 3 bowls (I often use a kitchen scale to keep the amount even so the layers bake to the same height). Add 5 drops, 10 drops, and 15 drops of purple gel color to the first, second, and third bowls respectively, and stir to combine. Transfer to the prepared cake pans.
- Bake for 34-37 minutes (or until a toothpick comes out clean). Allow cake layers to cool for 10-15 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 first - if these layers are cut while still warm, they may crumble or break!)
Black Cocoa Cream Cheese Frosting
- Beat together softened cream cheese and butter; slowly add in powdered sugar alternating with milk and vanilla until frosting reaches a pipeable consistency. Reserve about ½ cup of frosting for the Jack Skellington transfer before adding cocoa powder.
- Add cocoa powder alternating with milk if needed until the frosting is smooth and easy to spread. Add black gel color (if desired), 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. (Here's where I sometimes use the Cake Ring hack to frost - I've linked the post for details. If your frosting is on the thick side like mine was, continue to the directions below.)
- Now you're ready to crumb-coat - if you're unfamiliar with crumb-coating, it's just what it sounds like – spreading 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.
Now the fun part! Decorating!
- On either a silicone cake pan liner or an 8-inch parchment paper round, pipe two large circles to make Jack's eyes, two lines for his nose, and a smile with 'stitches' through it for his smile. (I placed the transfer into the refrigerator for 5 minutes to semi-set the frosting, but I'm not sure that step was necessary.)
- Carefully flip the transfer over onto the cake top, and press down very gently to make sure the transfer adheres. Gently peel the silicone liner or parchment paper away. (Easy peasy!)
- If using, gently bend the cupcake toppers so they're rounded to fit the cake side shape, and press into the frosting until they adhere. Easy as that!
- Annnd you're through! Congrats on your killer Nightmare Before Christmas cake, high-five if that was your first buttercream transfer, and enjoy!!
Video
Notes
(Please note nutrition information is a rough estimate, and may not be exactly accurate. Counts will be lower in all fields if not all the frosting is used to decorate.)
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 748kcal | Carbohydrates: 99g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 38g