Chocolate cake Halloween style. This amazing cake is the perfect. Its an easy stir together recipe that makes a moist chocolatey cake thats great for layering.
Chocolate cake
Halloween has been extra big this year, already. Not only have I been dressed as a Vampire at Not Quite Nigella’s annual Halloween party but this is my second Halloween themed cake.
Chocolate spider cake
In Australia Halloween is still a bit new. I was surprised to hear an advert on the radio this morning for “last minute Halloween costumes for the whole family”. Halloween , you have arrived. There are a lot of people resistant to the idea of another commercial opportunity to make money, but I just love the chance to play around with new recipes and have some fun dressing up. It’s not for everyone, but there are some very spooky recipes to be found. I first saw this cake on Country Living here. I made up my own recipe but follow whichever one you like if you want to make this spectacular cake.
Halloween chocolate cake
Chocolate Cake Halloween Style
Ingredients
- 500 ml strong coffee 2 cups
- 600 gm caster sugar 3 cups
- 250 gm butter chopped
- 60 gm dark cocoa 6 Tablespoons
- 1 teaspoon bi carb soda
- 4 whole eggs beaten , large
- 450 gm plain flour 3 cup
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
Icing
- 300 gm butter softened unsalted
- 350 gm cream cheese softened
- 240 gm pure icing sugar 1 1/2 to 2 cups
- 1 vanilla bean sifted
- 1 drop orange colour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Chocolate Glaze
- 120 gm dark chocolate
- 50 gm butter unsalted
- 2 Tablespoons liquid glucose
Instructions
- Makes 2 x 6 inch / 15cm cake tins ( mine are from Aldi). Lined with baking paper and sprayed or buttered. Oven temerature approx 170C or 375F
- Put the first 5 ingredients into a medium pot big enough to hold all the ingredients, heat and stir till just melted. Take off the heat and cool.
- Once cool enough add the eggs straight into the pot and mix in well. Add the sifted flour and baking powder. Stir very well by hand with a whisk.
- Pour into the two lined tins and bake for approximately 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean
- Cool. Once cold cut off the rounded tops and split the cakes in half, making 4 equal rounds of cake .
- Icing
- Beat the butter first till very light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and the cream cheese and beat again till light. Add the sifted sugar and then gradually the colouring till you get the colour you want. The icing should be fluffy and light.
I used 150gm(5.3oz) frozen raspberries boiled with a little sugar(2Tsp) and water (2Tsp) to paint onto my cakes before assembling- this is optional
- Lay out the 4 rounds of cake and paint with syrup if using. Choose a flat one for the bottom ( save the very flattest bottom cake to use on the top) Put onto a cake base ready for decorating
- Spread 3 Tablespoons of icing onto each cake layer. Use some of the icing to very thinly coat the cake, reserving at least 2 cups for finishing the outside. Chill till set ( 35min)
- Finish the cake by spreading the remainder of the orange icing onto the outside . Chill overnight preferably but as long as possible.
Glaze
- Put the chopped chocolate, glucose and butter into a double boiler ( a bowl over hot water) or the microwave and melt ( 1/2 minute increments)
- Cool this as it will melt the orange icing if it is too hot.
- When cooled pour about 1/2 onto the top of the cake and spread gently with a pallete knife, letting a bit at a time drip down the sides. Add a little more as necessary. The icing will set fast so dont take too long. Tap the cake from the base and the icing will start to smooth out.
- Decorate with anything else you like. Good Luck
The cake batter
Icing the cake with chocolate glaze
And that Halloween party?. Here it is …….a quick and creepy tour of Not Quite Nigellas’ annual bash 2013 . See here for pictures and recipes
Spooky Hyjinx at NQN’s
The cake batter
www.hotlyspiced.com supplied creepy spiders for dessert
There were games where people had to fake spectacular deaths
Spider cookies
Such a fun night…and everyone got dressed up! See here for parties where people don’t
Halloween spider and chocolate
Happy Halloween………………………
If I can write like you, I will be very happy, but where is my luck, in fact people like you are a good example for the world. You have written this beautiful Post very beautifully, I am very glad that I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
What a perfect Halloween cake! And wish I could have joined you at the party!!!!
Absolutely gorgeous cake Tania! Very creative indeed xx
Fabulous cake! Love the eyeballs and the bloody knife. So cool!
What a stunning layered cake! I also love thosespider cookies, Tania.
This cake! It looks divine! I am not usually that enthused about chocolate cake, but I’ll make an exception here 😀
What perfectly even layers Tania- that’s a real skill! What a fun party you all had, so much good clean gore 🙂 X
What a great post, filled with fiendishly creative ideas for Halloween! I can do without the spider on the light switch but love the eyeball-ringed cake. Have a happy Halloween, Tania!
That cake is just so incredible. I love the eyeballs and blood on the knife. You are a genius.
What an adorable cake!! And thanks for coming along to my party! I do look quite scary popping out from under that cloche I must admit! 😛
I LOVE this cake! How clever are you. I want one of these but I think I’m too lazy to spend that much time just for me. John wouldn’t feel spoiled if I made this for him. LOL
G’day What a fun filled party indeed Tania, true!
Love your spider and chocolate cake…eyeballs are haunting me now too!
Cheers! Joanne
Great post, Tania. What a stunning cake and I love how you decorated it – it’s picture perfect. And I do love the photo of Carl in death throes. It was such a fun party. xx
Love the eyeballs on the cake!
I love it Tania! Definitely fitting of the theme. I think Halloween gets bigger here every year!
Stunning cake, T! I didn’t know Aldi had baby cake tins! 🙂