Boo-tiful Halloween Cake

 

Sorry.  That is a bit presumptuous to just assume I can call my cake beautiful.  

Trust me, I'm just trying to pretend I am funny.

Anywho, I have been thinking about this particular cake for about a month now, but just never felt good enough to make it.  Well, I am feeling better and better everyday, and I suddenly had the urge to tackle this cake!

Ahhh!  Is it scary or what?

I kid.

I have made a cake similar to this before, but I really wanted to attempt ganache again.  I wanted to see if I could make it shiney and beautiful like my culinary hero Ina Garten.

I did.  But then I used waaaaaayyyyyy to much and it got all gloppy.

Ganache

16oz bittersweet chocolate

12 oz heavy cream

Chop chocolate into fine chips (or use a bag or chips) place in heat safe bowl.  Heat cream to a soft rolling boil then pour over chocolate.  Stir and cover with saran wrap.  Let sit anywhere from 1 hour to overnight.

But now for the fun part.

Or, the "boo" tiful part.

I tried a brand new recipe for a sweet marshmallow buttercream to make some whimsy little ghosts on my cake.

Frosting

2 sticks butter (I use unsalted)

2 cups powder sugar

1 jar marshmallow fluff (7 oz)

2 teaspoons clear vanilla extract

In a bowl, add room temp. butter and sugar together.  Mix until fluffy.  Add marshmallow and vanilla, and mix well.

I used a bit of my glaze icing and added some scary expressions to the ghosts.  

Ok, ok, so they arent scary.  My kids even laughed at me.

But I sorta liked them. 

 

The super scary and halloween inspired inside is red velvet.

I gotta tell ya, I was on the HUNT for a good red velvet.  I didnt want one the burned your eyes out it was so red, (we all know I can make those) I just wanted one that would taste good.

What I discovered was that a good red velvet cake needed to have a few key ingredients to be yummy. Cocoa, buttermilk, and vinegar.  If you have some variation of these ingredients, you will have a decent tasting cake!

I used a version of this one on Food Network.

Red Velvet Cake

• 1 cup shortening
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons cocoa powder
• 2 ounces red food coloring
• 2 1/2 cups cake flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In the bowl of a mixer, cream together the shortening, eggs and sugar. In a separate small bowl, mix together the cocoa and food coloring. Add the paste to the shortening mixture. Sift the flour and salt together over parchment. Add to the batter alternately with the buttermilk in 3 additions. Add the vanilla extract. Fold in the baking soda and vinegar. Pour the batter into 2 greased 9-inch cake pans. Bake for 30 minutes or until an inserted cake tester comes out clean. Let cool on a cooling rack. Invert the cakes from the pans.

And there you have it!  A boo-tiful and fun cake that is sure to be the hit of any Halloween celebration!

Comments

[Mary]

That cake is AMAZING!! Beautiful and those little white guys are soooo cute on top, and the red cake -- LOVE it all!!! Your pictures are really nice too.

[Katie @ Not Just Decorating]

Your cake is amazing! I love it!

[Joy]

I love this idea. Your cake looks so elegant.

[Kathia]

You are killing me. This idea is just AWESOME. Now I have to make this cake for my little girl's day care party.

[Tiffiny Felix]

Ooo! Ooo! Ooo! I'm so excited I found your blog! I followed a link on Bake at 350 and can't wait to add you to my list of blogs I love :) Your cake is adorable--I absolutely love the little ghosts! *:)*

[Heather]

What did you frost the rest of it with? The actual cake before the ganache went on?

[Louanne]

Found my way over from Bake at 350, and I am so glad I did! You have an awesome collection of deliciousness! The cake is perfect.

[Jennie]

I'm glad your feeling better and back at doing what you love. By the way I love this idea. Could I use the ghost frosting as a filling? And do the ghost harden?

[Katie]

This is AMAZING! I want to make this cake, stat! Is it Halloween yet???

[megacrafty]

Definitely Boo-tiful- I love how that ganache looks and those ghosts are so cute!

[holly]

I love the ghosts!!! So cute and it looks delicious too;)

[Pauline Rogers]

I have one question for you, did you frost your cake with the
marshmallow frosting and you also used it for the little ghosts?? I think it is SO cute and I want to try to make it for a Halloween party I am going to. Would you mind letting me know?
You can email me at: Pauline@Tinkertoys.net
Thanks for sharing this AWESOME cake:)
Pauline

[Jana]

Oh my God.
No that isn't Boo- or Beautiful.
This is amazing, stunning, awesome great, cool, gorgeous... however!! I really really love it.
Such a great idea, such a great Cake!:)
Lovely regards,

xx, Jana from petit fournil de paris.

[Eliana]

Oh please - not presumptuous at all girl. This cake is a work of art. And love the red surprise inside.

[Eliza]

Amanda, you really inspire me to bake better and funner things!
Alas, as i'm baking in Romania, i have never seen nor heard of jars of marhmallow fluff until now. Any ideas for replacing that ingredient with regular pantry things? Thanks for all the inspiration,

Eliza

[Michelle Cummings]

these are wicked good! thanks for sharing!

[miso]

I love the gloppiness of the ganache! : ) It makes it more Halloween-ie..... um... that doesn't sound right..... Halloweenish... there we go.

If you want your ganache even more shiny, you can add a bit of corn syrup, and a tad of butter. (Butter will make the ganache more rich and flavorful.)

-Miso

[Marsha]

That cake is a scream!

S.W.A.K.

[Cookbook Queen]

What an awesome idea!! This cake is GORGEOUS!!

I attempted my first Tuxedo Cake awhile back (I made it into cupcakes) and they turned out so beautiful. It wasn't as hard as I thought it might be.

My ganache recipe came from the Tuxedo Cake recipe in The Pastry Queen by Rebekah Rather. It's really easy and turns out great every time.

I hope you continue to feel well!!

[TidyMom]

As always YOU. ARE. AWESOME! Love it!

[Shannon]

I love this!!!! I have got to try that frosting!! I love Halloween themed cakes! This is totally my favorite!

[Montana Jessica]

THat is a super awesome cake! I am going to make it for my daughters halloween party1 How fun!

[sunflowers8]

Ciao Amanda ho preso spunto dalla tua Rainbow cake e ho confezionato la torta di compleanno per mia figlia con qualche "variazione" se hai piacere è a questo link: http://sunflowers8.blogspot.com/2010/10/si-conclude-in-dolcezza.html
Sei bravissima, complimenti ^_^
Sonia

[Mary]

I made this cake last night... the ganache was to die for, I loved it! My cake turned out a little on the dry side, not too sure what I did wrong, but I would definitely try it again!

With the frosting & ganache it's very rich, and so yummy!

Thanks for the recipe :)

[erica b.]

You are truly amazing. Mother, soon to be mother, baker..Whew!!! I love how classy the cake looks. How did you get the glaze drip on the cake, but not all the way to the bottom!!

[Jen @ My Kitchen Addiction]

I love this!! You never cease to amaze me :)

[Jackiefo]

It IS Boo-u-tiful!!! I am loving this, they are the cutest ghosts I have ever seen!

[donna]

I am in love with this cake. I think I'm going to try to make it for the hubby's birthday tomorrow!!! So excited!

[Joy]

I'm havign a Pumpkin Carving Party for all my single friends this month, and I think this cake might just have to make an appearance! You know I'll take plenty of photos and let you know once I blog it =o) woo-hoo! Thanks for the awesome idea!

[shelly (cookies and cups)]

this cake is spectacular!!! I love it because it is gorgeous and totally do-able!

[tracy]

Did we ever get an answer on what's under the ganache? Is it fondant?

[mindy]

This is one that I HAVE to do.. my family will simply LOVE it!! And the fact that I am kinda sorta stalking ganache and have been for the past year!

[Amanda Rettke]

lol Yes, the question was answered, but as my commenting system doesnt let me insert answers below the specific question, it is often hard to find and understand. So I just respond to each question individually!

It is plain ole vanilla frosting below the ganache. :)

[Amanda]

Okay...so I made the cake for my son's birthday party last weekend. Turned out great! Though my ghosts were a little floppy! Check out my version: http://mmmmmama.blogspot.com/2010/10/vampire-weekend.html

[grace]

the best part of this is that the innards are blood red. a close second is your more-adorable-than-scary batch of ghosts. :)

[Kathleen B]

This is SPOOK-TACULAR!!(sorry, corny) One question, does it need to be refridgerated? I am traveling from AL to SC for Halloween and would love to bring this along, but can't if it has to be kept cold. Thank you!!

[Jenroxy1]

Wow this cake is amazing :) I am nowhere near as seasoned as you, baking is a hobby of mine but I am going to attempt this cake for a Halloween party at work. Hoping it comes out half as good as yours :) How did you apply the expressions to the faces of the ghosts?

Jen

[Jenny]

This is so so so amazing!!
I am going to feature it on my blog soon -- come on over and check it out
Jenny
www.simcoestreet.blogspot.com

[Joy]

I LOVED THIS ICING AND GANACHE!!!!! I didn't get a photo of the cake before it was eaten, but here's the leftover slice http://melindaj365.blogspot.com/2010/10/123-aka-it-was-good.html it's on my 365 Photo Challenge blog. (and if you just go to melindaj365.blogspot.com and scroll down, you can see some carved pumpkins from the party) =o)

Thanks for the inspiration!

speaking of inspiration, you're bat cake top with the tree and moon are what inspired my pumpkin that I carved =o) THANK YOU!!

[Carrie Triner]

I'm going to attempt to make this AWESOME Cake for the ladies that work for me.
wish me luck!
Carrie

[Carrie Triner]

I have a question.
Do I spoon or pour the Ganache on cake.
Are the ghost piped ontop of the cake?
Or do you pipe them on parchment paper and transfer to cake?
Do the ghost harden up.
I'll be traveling with this cake.
I need all the help I can get here.
Thanks
Carrie

[Jaime]

OMG this looks amazing!! Can't wait to try it. This is the first time I am seeing your blog and its beautiful, love the pictures!!

[Aileen]

DAHHH!!! this cake is supppper cute. not scary at all! :)

[zen chests]

This is not scary at all but very beautiful! But this can be perfect for Halloween! Thanks for the idea.

[Jojo]

Loved your boo-tiful cake.. i used that concept to make mini cupcakes that turned out so adorable.. i can't wait to see what everyone at the party thinks of them... you can check out the pics of your idea on my little blog at artcabana.blogspot.com

thanks for the inspiration!

[Amber]

I tried the front the frosting you used for the ghosts. It is absolutely wonderful. I love it.

[janet]

This is really neat. I thought the ghosts were meringue-marshmallow fluff. I'm thinking big cupcakes in red velvet done the same way.Thanks for the inspiration!

[Lindy@Itsy Bitsy Paper]

This is a great cake! I featured it on Fun Friday Finds today. I hope you can stop by and grab a featured button if you'd like.
http://www.itsybitsypaperblog.com/2011/10/funfridayfinds-halloween-cakes.html

[Deanna]

"Orange Velvet" would be amazing inside this! Or orange piped pumpkins on top!

[Breanna Clifford]

I attempted to make this cake today, it doesn't look as good as yours does though!!! I had a problem with my ghosts falling over, maybe next time a will add a little more powdered sugar to stiffen it up a bit.