Graveyard Halloween Cake

5 from 2 votes

Make a spooky Graveyard Halloween Cake dessert with tasty ingredients—fun to decorate, delicious to eat, and perfect for Halloween parties.

Prep Time3

Cook Time25

Decorating Time1

Total Time4 25

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: slices

Calories: 1219kcal

Author: Lisa Killian

Equipment

Piping Bags
3 6-inch Cake Pans
Piping Tips: Small Writing Tips Wilton #3, Grass Tip (Wilton #233) (might also want a piping tip coupler so you can swap the writing tip between different colors)
Cake Scraper/Bench Scraper
Small Offset Spatula
Cake Boards One 6-inch and One 8-inch
Cake Turntable
Tooth Picks

Ingredients

Orange Buttercream Frosting

1 cup butter softened to room temperature
5-7 cups powdered sugar
1 tbs vanilla
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 I used Hershey’s Special Dark
1 teaspoon vanilla
5- 7 cups powdered sugar
¾ cup heavy cream
Pinch of salt
Black food gel coloring

Green Buttercream Frosting (this is a half batch)

½ cup butter softened to room temperature
3-5 cups powdered sugar
½ tbs vanilla
6 tbs heavy cream
Pinch salt
Green food gel coloring

Chocolate Cake

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

Additional decorating items:

Crushed Oreos
Halloween Ghosts, Pumpkins, Tombstones
Kit Kats Halved
Halloween Sprinkles

Instructions

How to make chocolate cake:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease three 6-inch round cake pans with butter and flour (or use floured baking spray like Baker's Joy).
Using a stand mixer, mix sugar and butter until fluffy. About 5 minutes.
1 ¼ cup sugar, ½ cup unsalted butter
While mixing the butter and sugar, microwave water for 30 seconds, then add espresso to it, stirring until dissolved.
½ teaspoon instant espresso, ⅓ cup boiling water
Whisk cocoa powder, then buttermilk and vanilla into the water/espresso mixture.
⅓ cup dark cocoa powder, ½ cup buttermilk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
In a separate bowl, sift flour, baking soda, and salt together.
1 ⅓ cup cake flour, ¾ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt
Once butter and sugar are a lighter color and fully mixed, add each egg and the yolk, one at a time, into the butter mixture, letting each one fully mix into the batter before adding the next. Add in oil and mix until fully combined. Then beat mixture on medium high speed for a minute- the mixture will be light and fluffy.
2 extra-large eggs, ¼ cup vegetable oil, 1 extra-large yolk
Fold in ½ of the flour and then fold in ½ of the buttermilk mixture to the batter. Then fold in the remaining flour and the remaining buttermilk mixture.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Try baking the cakes on the same rack, or baking them one at a time. This will ensure even baking.
Once the cakes are done, let them cool completely, then level if needed (cut the cake layers so they are flat on top and not domed). Wrap them in Saran Wrap and freeze overnight or for at least an hour.

How to make orange buttercream:

In a mixer, whip the butter until it is fluffy. Add in the vanilla and salt and mix until combined.
1 cup butter, 1 tbs vanilla, Pinch salt
Add in powdered sugar and heavy whipping cream, alternating between the two. I like to add 1 cup of powdered sugar, followed by 2 tablespoon of heavy whipping cream, let it combine and then add the next round of powdered sugar and heavy cream.
5-7 cups powdered sugar, ¾ cup heavy cream
Once everything is added, mix on high for 20-30 seconds. Then add the orange food gel and mix on medium-low speed until fully incorporated.
Orange food gel coloring

How to make black buttercream:

In a mixer, whip the butter until it is fluffy. Add in the espresso powder, dark cocoa powder, vanilla, and salt, and mix until combined.
1 cup butter, ½ teaspoon espresso powder, ½ cup dark cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon vanilla, Pinch of salt
Add in powdered sugar and heavy whipping cream. Alternating between the two. I like to add 1 cup of powdered sugar, followed by 2 tablespoon of heavy whipping cream, let it combine, and then add the next round of powdered sugar and cream.
5- 7 cups powdered sugar, ¾ cup heavy cream
Once everything is added, mix on high for 20-30 seconds. Then add in the black food gel and mix on medium-low until full incorporated. Frosting will look grey at first, but will darken to black over time.
Black food gel coloring

How to make green buttercream:

In a mixer, whip the butter until it is fluffy. Add in the vanilla and salt and mix until combined.
½ cup butter, ½ tbs vanilla, Pinch salt
Add in powdered sugar and heavy whipping cream. Alternating between the two. I like to add 1 cup of powdered sugar, followed by 2 tablespoon of heavy whipping cream, let it combine, and then add the next round of powdered sugar and cream.
6 tbs heavy cream, 3-5 cups powdered sugar
Once everything is added, mix on high for 20-30 seconds. Then add in the green food gel and mix on medium-low until full incorporated.
Green food gel coloring

How to Decorate Graveyard Cake:

Crush Oreos (I like to use a food processor because it’s easy, but crushing them in a ziplock baggie works too).
Crushed Oreos
Add tape to the bottom of your 8-inch cake board and stick it to your cake turntable. Then, add tape to the bottom of your 6-inch cake board and stick it to the center of the 8-inch cake board.
Place a small dollop of frosting in the center of the 6-inch cake board and place your first cake layer on top. Add a nice, even layer of orange buttercream to the first cake layer, then add your second cake layer, another layer of buttercream, and the third cake layer.
Spread a thin layer of orange buttercream all over the cake as your crumb coat. Don’t worry too much about making it super smooth because it will all be covered with the final coat. Once the crumb coat is on, refrigerate for 10-15 minutes.
While the cake is chilling, decorate your ghosts and pumpkins. Use the writing tip to make details like eyes and mouths, and lines on the pumpkins.
Halloween Ghosts, Pumpkins, Tombstones
Once chilled, add a thick layer of black buttercream all around the center of the cake. Press in the sprinkles and then add the ghosts and pumpkins to the black frosting. I found that halving the ghosts and pumpkins so they were thinner worked well. Chill for another 10 minutes in the refrigerator.
Halloween Sprinkles
Add the final orange coat by frosting a large area above and below the black frosting. I found using a piping bag with the end cut off (to make a large circle) worked well to frost these areas evenly. Add frosting to the top of the cake as well.
Using the bench scraper, smooth out the sides, being careful not to mix the orange into the black, but to keep a nice ledge/line.
You can use the offset spatula to clean up the top edge.
Make several mounds of Oreos on top of the cake, and place KitKats around the bottom of the cake (I halved each KitKat). Then, refrigerate for 10 minutes.
Kit Kats
Slide a tooth pick into the bottom of the ghosts and pumpkins, then place them on top of the cake. Gently press in the headstones.
Using the green frosting and the grass tip, pipe on grass around the headstones, and around the KitKats at the base of the cake.

Video

Notes

Tips and Tricks

Make the cake the day before and freeze it. This will help so much with frosting. Otherwise, I recommend allowing it to freeze for at least an hour or two.
Add sprinkles to the fault line first before adding the ghosts and pumpkins.
Slice the backs of the ghosts and pumpkins off that you are using for the fault line area to make them thinner. That way, they won’t stick out too far.
Cut the bottoms of the ghosts off, that you use for the fault line, to make them shorter to fit in the fault line (if making a larger cake, you won’t have to do this).
Use leftover frosting for Halloween cupcakes or cookies!
Nutrition Info is an estimate and does not include candy or Oreos for decorating.

Nutrition