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–+ servings
A chocolate Halloween Cake with gate, fence, tree and tombstones.
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5 from 2 votes

Halloween Cake Recipe

Bake a spooky Halloween Cake with orange and chocolate marbled cake inside, and a cemetery all made in chocolate! And be sure to download my free design template for the edible cake decorations. The fence, gate, tree, tombstones, "dirt" and bones will be enchanting for your family or party guests...Happy Halloween!
Prep Time45 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time1 hour 15 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: graveyard cake, graveyard halloween cake, halloween cake, Halloween cake recipe, Halloween Dessert, Halloween party cake
Servings: 24
Calories: 667kcal
Author: Lisa Hatfield

Equipment

Ingredients

chocolate cake

  • 1 boxed chocolate cake mix
  • 1 boxed white cake mix
  • 6 eggs (eggs called for on the box)
  • 1 cup vegetable oil (vegetable oil called for on the box)
  • 2 ¼ cups water (water called for on the box)
  • orange food color or gel

chocolate frosting

  • 2 cups salted butter - room temperature (4 sticks)
  • 1 cup vegetable shortening
  • 10 cups powder sugar (confectioners sugar)
  • 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 4-6 tablespoons hot water
  • 2 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon almond extract (optional but great!)

chocolate graveyard decorations

  • 24 ounces semi sweet chocolate chips 24 ounce bag
  • 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
  • 1 bag white candy wafers

Instructions

chocolate cake

  • Spray the bottom of your pan with non-stick spray. Next, line with parchment paper cut to fit the bottom of the pan. This will help release the cake from the pan and makes clean up much easier.
  • Mix your batter in a large bowl or stand mixer according to the box directions. Deeper pans might need more batter - I used a deeper pan, 3 inches deep, so I mixed up 2 boxes of cake mix batter. Most pans are 2 inches deep.
  • In a small bowl place 2 cups of batter, stir in orange food color until it’s the orange you like. Now, pour dollops of the batter into the pan alternating from chocolate and orange. Try to place the batter on top of each area, it will begin to spread out.
  • When all the batter is in the pan, use a skewer to pull lines from the center outward, and then do some slight swirls around the pan. This helps create the marble design. Rap the pan down on the counter to help level the batter and pop any bubbles in the batter that might cause uneven baking.
  • Bake according to your box directions, most classic mixes require a 350-degree oven for 28 minutes for a regular 9 x 13 pan. (If you use a pan deeper than 2 inches, reduce baking temperature to 325 degrees and bake longer for 55 minutes). Check with a toothpick, if it comes out clean the cake is done.

chocolate frosting

  • Beat soft butter and shortening in a mixer on high until creamy for 5 minutes.
  • At low speed, add 10 cups powder sugar 1 cup at a time until smooth.
  • Add 1 cup cocoa powder, mix well.
  • On high speed, mix in vanilla, almond extract, and hot water for 5 minutes until fluffy and smooth. Add more hot water if necessary until frosting is smooth.

frost cake

  • Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then remove it to a wire rack to finish cooling. Cool the cake in the refrigerator for at least two hours or preferably overnight before decorating. I like to bake one day, then decorate the next. This helps release the steam and the frosting holds on when chilled.
  • Place a dollop of chocolate frosting on a small piece of cardboard (cut to fit the cake) on a tray, or cutting board and set the cake on top. This keeps it from sliding around while decorating.
  • Frost using a small offset spatula. Smooth out the frosting as best you can all over the top and sides. Chill it in the refrigerator while you make the chocolate decorations.

Make Chocolate Decorations: Tombstones, Bones, Fence, Gate, and Tree

  • Cut parchment paper to fit neatly inside a large baking sheet. Slide the downloadable chocolate design template under the parchment paper.
  • Melt the chocolate for decorating. In a double boiler, add chocolate chips and a teaspoon of vegetable oil, and stir until melted over simmering not boiling water. IMPORTANT: don't splash water into the melting chocolate, or it might seize "freeze" up. You might need to add a bit more vegetable oil to get it smooth. Load into a zip-top bag fitted with a small round piping tip. I used a Wilton size 5 tip.
  • Quickly pipe the graveyard fence, gate and tree onto parchment paper using the design I provided to guide you, or create your own! PRO TIP: Pipe the chocolate fairly thick, going over the lines. Thin lines will break and snap more easily as you decorate. Let the chocolate pieces chill in the fridge to set, they are fine to chill overnight too. Use a candy mold and fill the tombstones with melted chocolate, and the bones with white candy melts, let set until firm in the fridge.

Assemble Graveyard Halloween Cake

  • Crush Oreos for "dirt" in a small zip-top bag. First pop out the tombstones and bones from the mold. Place those on the cake with Oreo "dirt". Next, add the tree. You might want to pipe some frosting at the base of the tree to hold it up. Now add some chocolate buttercream on the lower part of the fences, and gate, this acts as "glue" to hold them to the sides. Place those pieces around the outside edges, and break off smaller pieces of fence if you need them.
  • The cake will hold well overnight in the refrigerator for 1 day, and possibly 2 days. I would decorate either the day of your party or the night before. I have also had guests decorate it during the party which was SO much fun!
  • NOTE: The chocolate pieces will melt a bit on a hot day. I recommend you keep the cake chilled until serving time!

Video

Notes

cake storage

The Halloween Cake will last up to 2 days chilled in the fridge. 

frosting

This frosting recipe is SOOO fluffy and easy to spread at room temperature. But it firms up nicely when chilled in the fridge, so decorate your cake with room temperature frosting. You can freeze any leftover frosting, and use it for another dessert.

baking pans

You can bake this in a sheet pan, glass 9 x 13 dish, or metal cake pan. If you use a pan deeper than 3 inches, you will want to lower the temperature from 350 down to 325 degrees and bake it longer, about 50 minutes. Also, be sure to line the pan with parchment, it makes taking the cake out so much easier, and in one piece. 🍰

marbled cake batter

Coloring the batter is really easy, be sure to use bowls that won't stain with the dye, and just work to put big dollops on top of each other. Then use a chopstick to pull outward from the center and then in a circle, this makes the swirls you want! 🥣

baking

You can bake the cake a day ahead, and keep it chilled in the fridge until it's time to decorate it. You will want the cake very cool before you frost it!

decorating

A small offset spatula makes it really easy, but you can use a butter knife too.  The chocolate decorations will melt on a hot day. I recommend keeping the cake chilled in the fridge until you serve it. 

Halloween Recipes

I have a collection of Halloween food ideas for everything from snacks, drinks, and easy main dish party ideas.  Happy Halloween 🎃!  
 

Nutrition

Calories: 667kcal | Carbohydrates: 83g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 38g | Saturated Fat: 21g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 82mg | Sodium: 452mg | Potassium: 149mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 65g | Vitamin A: 533IU | Calcium: 91mg | Iron: 2mg