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Graveyard Halloween Cake Recipe

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.5 from 145 reviews
  • Author: Megane
  • Prep Time: 3 hours
  • Cook Time: 25 minutes
  • Total Time: 4 hours 25 minutes
  • Yield: 15 slices
  • Category: Baking
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American

Description

This Graveyard Halloween Cake is a spooky and delicious layered chocolate cake decorated with vibrant orange, black, and green buttercream frostings. The cake features a rich chocolate base combined with creamy, colorful frostings made with butter, powdered sugar, and heavy cream, perfect for a festive Halloween celebration. Detailed decorating tips make it as visually striking as it is tasty, with crushed Oreos, Halloween-themed toppings, and creative piping to create a graveyard scene on your cake.

Ingredients

Scale

Orange Buttercream Frosting

  • 1 cup butter, softened to room temperature
  • 5-7 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • ¾ cup heavy cream
  • Pinch salt
  • Orange food gel coloring

Black Buttercream Frosting

  • 1 cup butter, softened to room temperature
  • ½ teaspoon espresso powder
  • ½ cup dark cocoa powder (Hershey’s Special Dark recommended)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 5-7 cups powdered sugar
  • ¾ cup heavy cream
  • Pinch of salt
  • Black food gel coloring

Green Buttercream Frosting (half batch)

  • ½ cup butter, softened to room temperature
  • 3-5 cups powdered sugar
  • ½ tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 6 tablespoons heavy cream
  • Pinch of salt
  • Green food gel coloring

Chocolate Cake

  • 1 ¼ cups sugar
  • ½ cup unsalted butter
  • ½ teaspoon instant espresso powder
  • ⅓ cup boiling water
  • ⅓ cup dark cocoa powder
  • ½ cup buttermilk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 ⅓ cups cake flour
  • ¾ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2 extra-large eggs
  • 1 extra-large egg yolk
  • ¼ cup vegetable oil

Additional Decorating Items

  • Crushed Oreos
  • Halloween Ghosts, Pumpkins, Tombstones decorations
  • Kit Kats, halved
  • Halloween Sprinkles

Instructions

  1. Prepare the Chocolate Cake: Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease three 6-inch round cake pans with butter and flour or baking spray. In a stand mixer, cream 1 ¼ cups sugar and ½ cup unsalted butter until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Microwave ⅓ cup water for 30 seconds and dissolve ½ teaspoon instant espresso powder into it. Whisk ⅓ cup dark cocoa powder, ½ cup buttermilk, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract into the espresso mixture. Sift 1 ⅓ cups cake flour, ¾ teaspoon baking soda, and ½ teaspoon salt together in a separate bowl. Add 2 extra-large eggs and 1 extra-large egg yolk to the butter-sugar mixture one at a time, mixing fully each time. Mix in ¼ cup vegetable oil and beat on medium-high speed for 1 minute until light and fluffy. Fold in half the flour, then half the buttermilk mixture, then the remaining flour and buttermilk alternately. Divide batter evenly into prepared pans and bake for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely, level if needed, wrap in plastic wrap, and freeze for at least an hour or overnight.
  2. Make the Orange Buttercream Frosting: Whip 1 cup butter in a mixer until fluffy. Add 1 tablespoon vanilla extract and a pinch of salt, and mix until combined. Alternately add 5-7 cups powdered sugar and ¾ cup heavy cream in increments (about 1 cup sugar followed by 2 tablespoons cream), mixing well each time. After incorporating all ingredients, beat on high for 20-30 seconds. Add orange food gel coloring and mix on medium-low speed until fully incorporated.
  3. Make the Black Buttercream Frosting: Whip 1 cup butter until fluffy. Add ½ teaspoon espresso powder, ½ cup dark cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and a pinch of salt, mixing until well combined. Alternate adding 5-7 cups powdered sugar and ¾ cup heavy cream in increments, combining thoroughly. Beat on high speed for 20-30 seconds once all added. Add black food gel coloring and mix on medium-low until fully incorporated; the frosting will darken with time.
  4. Make the Green Buttercream Frosting: Whip ½ cup butter until fluffy. Add ½ tablespoon vanilla extract and a pinch of salt, mixing until combined. Alternately add 3-5 cups powdered sugar and 6 tablespoons heavy cream in increments, mixing well each time. Beat on high for 20-30 seconds after all ingredients are added. Mix in green food gel coloring on medium-low speed until fully incorporated.
  5. Decorate the Graveyard Cake: Crush Oreos using a food processor or placing them in a zip-lock bag and smashing lightly. Secure an 8-inch cake board to a turntable with tape, then tape a 6-inch cake board to the center of the larger board. Place a dollop of frosting onto the smaller board and position the first cake layer on top. Spread an even layer of orange buttercream, then stack the second and third layers with more frosting in between. Apply a thin crumb coat of orange buttercream over the entire cake and refrigerate for 10-15 minutes. While chilling, decorate Halloween ghost and pumpkin decorations by piping facial details using a writing tip. After chilling, apply a thick band of black buttercream around the cake’s center and press sprinkles, then arrange ghosts and pumpkins on this black layer, halving them for thickness. Chill again for 10 minutes. Frost the areas above and below the black band and the cake top with the final orange coat, using a piping bag with the tip cut off for even coverage. Smooth the sides carefully with a bench scraper to maintain the black-orange boundary and tidy the edges with an offset spatula. Create several Oreo mounds on top and place halved KitKats around the base, then chill for 10 minutes. Insert toothpicks into the ghosts and pumpkins and place them and the tombstones on top. Use green buttercream and a grass piping tip to pipe grass around the headstones and KitKats for finishing touches.

Notes

  • Make the cake at least a day before serving and freeze it to simplify frosting application; otherwise, freeze for at least 1-2 hours before frosting.
  • Apply sprinkles to the black buttercream fault line before adding the ghost and pumpkin decorations.
  • Slice the backs off the ghosts and pumpkins used for the fault line to make them thinner and avoid protruding too far.
  • Trim the bottoms of the ghosts used in the fault line to fit the space properly, especially for smaller cakes.
  • Leftover frosting is perfect for decorating Halloween cupcakes or cookies.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 slice (1/15th of cake)
  • Calories: 460
  • Sugar: 38g
  • Sodium: 170mg
  • Fat: 28g
  • Saturated Fat: 16g
  • Unsaturated Fat: 10g
  • Trans Fat: 0.5g
  • Carbohydrates: 49g
  • Fiber: 2g
  • Protein: 4g
  • Cholesterol: 90mg

Find it online: https://comfortplates.com/graveyard-halloween-cake-recipe/