Halloween Cake with 4 Layers
This Halloween cake recipe has 4 layers, each in a different color. The outside of the cake is decorated with black cream cheese frosting and black sanding sugar, creating a spooky but delicious Halloween party dessert. When you need to wow your family and make a cake at the same time, this Halloween cake will be your go-to.
Happy Halloween, folks!! So it's been a whirlwind of a weekend prepping for Halloween, but I'm finally sitting down to share this Halloween cake recipe that I made! It was all inspired by a cake plate that I found at Home Goods. It sort of looks like a Ouija board, but cuter and a lot less terrifying.
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I'll be honest, I'm going to be sad when today is over. I'm the sort of lady that loves the creepy, scary movies. Up until this year I couldn't really watch them. Lucian and Wesley aren't the type that love that sort of thing. Now that Lucian has gone to kindergarten and Wesley is at work, so I can get my creep on and work on the blog. I love it except it puts a damper on my work flow. I catch myself a little more involved in the movies than I should be.
How to Make a Striped Halloween Cake
This Halloween party cake is created by baking a rectangle layer cake then turning it onto its side. I love that the Halloween cake is striped rather than having plain ol' layers. How fun is this?!
It isn't hard to make either, which is a plus.
Recipe Tips
If you want the cake to have nice even layers, make sure to cut any of the domes off the top of your cake. Then you layer the cakes like usual, give it a thin layer of crumb coat, chill in the fridge and roll on it's side. That's about it, other than the final layer of frosting and any decorating you want to do.
You can change the colors for whatever the occasion. It would look really nice with an ombre color (like my ombre bundt cake) OR even a rainbow cake. I would do everything rainbow colors, if I could. Well, I can actually, but haven't. Boooo!! I need to make some more rainbow recipes for the blog asap.
If you scroll down, you can find the pans and food coloring that I used to put this Halloween cake together.
Halloween Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 cup butter room temperature
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 5 large eggs
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 T. baking powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 ¼ cups buttermilk
- 2 - 3 drops electric orange, electric green, electric purple, super black gel paste colors
Frosting
- 16 oz, cream cheese room temperature
- 1 cup butter room temperature
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- super black gel paste color
- Black sanding sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper. Mark it into four strips on the parchment paper. I used wilton's 4 piece easy layers loaf pan pans instead. You could also use two loaf pans and bake two ate a time.
- In a large bowl, add in the butter and sugar. Beat on medium until light and fluffy.
- Add in the vanilla and each egg one at a time. Beat for one minute until incorporated.
- In a separate bowl, sift in the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Add a third of the dry mixture into the wey mixture. Beat just until combined.
- Add half of the buttermilk and beat until just combined.
- Repeat adding another third of the flour then the rest of the milk. Finish with the last bit of flour.
- Divide the batter evenly into 4 bowls. Add 2 -3 drops of each gel paste color into each bowl. Stir to combine.
- Add each batter to a prepared pan. Spread the batter out evenly.
- Place into the oven and let bake for 18 minutes or until done. Place a clean toothpick into the center of the cake and if it comes out with moist crumbs or clean, it's done. If there's still batter, let it bake longer.
- Remove from the oven and let cool.
Frosting
- In a large mixing bowl, add in the cream cheese, and butter. Mix until smooth and incorporated.
- Add in the powdered sugar and vanilla and mix until combined. Mix another minute or two until smooth and fluffy.
- Add in the black gel paste color and mix until well mixed. Add more gel paste color if you want to deepen the color.
- Trim the top of the cake so there is no dome.
- Add the black layer of cake and then a thin layer of frosting. Make sure the frosting is even.
- Add the purple layer of cake and then a thin layer of frosting. Repeat with the orange and green cake layers.
- Place into the fridge until the frosting is firm. I let mine sit overnight in the fridge.
- Roll the cake on its side so the layers are vertical.
- Frost the cake with the remaining frosting.
- Coat the sides of the cake with black sanding sugar. I placed a sheet pan under my cake pan as I coated the sides with sanding sugar so it would catch the extra sugar.
- Cut and serve.
Nutrition
(Nutrition facts are an estimate and not guaranteed to be accurate. Please see a registered dietitian for special diet advice.)
What are you doing for Halloween? Did you party this last weekend and dress up? Wesley and I will be taking our son around town in his homemade x-wing fighter. It's huge, guys. Huge.
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I must know where that cake stand comes from! I collect Ouija stuff and cake stuff, so this is the colliding of two amazing worlds!
I got it from Home Goods last year.
I am always fascinated by colorful layered cakes; they're so much more interesting than normal ones! Thanks for sharing with Merry Monday!
So fun! Will totally make this next year.
This cake is so pretty! I'm definitely saving this one for next year!!!
This cake looks absolutely stunning! I bet it was a hit on Halloween! I'm loving that cake stand, too!
I love, love, LOVE the colors inside this cake!! That was unexpected and amazing. Perfect for Halloween!!