Halloween recipes: spooky Halloween cake

October 26, 9:42 PMMinneapolis Dessert ExaminerLisa Patrin

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Spooky Halloween cake
Photo by Lisa Patrin

This spooky Halloween cake is a frighteningly delicious treat that will be loved by kids and adults alike.  The candy toppings for this cake were purchased at Byerly's.  Halloween themed candy can be purchased at most grocery stores and specialty stores like Simply Nuts and More in Excelsior, MN.  Check for confectionery shops in your area. 

Spooky Halloween cake

Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour

6 tablespoons Hershey's unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 large eggs, room temperature

1/2 cups sour cream, room temperature

Chocolate ganache icing:

1 cup heavy cream

10 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

Garnishes:

2 Hershey's chocolate bars, slightly chilled

Halloween themed candies (one white or dark chocolate spooky creature for the center of the cake)

Instructions: Cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter two 8 inch diameter cake pans with 2 inch high sides.  Line bottoms with parchment paper*, butter the parchment.  Sift flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, and baking soda into a medium sized bowl.  Beat butter in a large mixing bowl until fluffy.  Slowly beat in sugar.  Add vanilla then eggs one at a time.  Add dry ingredients alternating with 1/2 cup sour cream in 2 additions each.  Beat until ingredients are well incorporated.  Divide batter evenly between the prepared cake pans smoothing out the tops before placing in the oven.  Bake until cakes begin to pull away from the sides of the pan or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, approximately 30 minutes.  Cool for 10 minutes, run a knife carefully around the sides of the cakes and turn out onto a wire rack.  Peel away parchment paper and cool completely. 

Instructions: Chocolate ganache icing

Bring heavy whipping cream just to a boil in a medium sized saucepan and remove from heat.  Add chocolate and whisk until smooth.  Cool completely.  Place one cake layer flat side up and brush any loose crumbs from the cake.  Spread a thin layer of ganache over the surface of the cake and smooth out to the edges.  Place the second layer on top of the iced bottom layer.  Ice the tops and sides of the cake until the cake is completely covered.  Create chocolate curls by running a potato peeler along the sides of the chilled Hershey bars. Mound curls in the center of the cake and decorate with Halloween candy. 

*For perfectly fitting parchment rounds roll out parchment on a flat surface.  Set the pan to be used for the cake on top of the parchment.  Using a pencil, trace around the bottom outer edge of the pan and cut out a circular template.  Place parchment round in the cake pan, butter as directed.  Using parchment paper makes cake removal effortless.