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Graveyard Halloween Cake Recipe

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 120 reviews
  • Author: Villerius
  • Prep Time: 3 hours
  • Cook Time: 25 minutes
  • Total Time: 4 hours 25 minutes
  • Yield: 15 slices
  • Category: Dessert / Cake
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American

Description

This Graveyard Halloween Cake is a festive and spooky dessert perfect for Halloween celebrations. Featuring a moist and rich chocolate cake layered with vibrant orange, black, and green buttercream frostings, it’s decorated with crushed Oreos to mimic dirt, along with Halloween-themed ghosts, pumpkins, tombstones, KitKats, and sprinkles for an eerie graveyard effect. The cake uses classic baking techniques combined with detailed frosting work to create a visually stunning and delicious treat.

Ingredients

Scale

Orange Buttercream Frosting

  • 1 cup butter, softened to room temperature
  • 5-7 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • ¾ cup heavy cream
  • Pinch of salt
  • Orange food gel coloring

Black Buttercream Frosting

  • 1 cup butter, softened to room temperature
  • ½ teaspoon espresso powder
  • ½ cup dark cocoa powder (Hershey’s Special Dark recommended)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 5-7 cups powdered sugar
  • ¾ cup heavy cream
  • Pinch of salt
  • Black food gel coloring

Green Buttercream Frosting (Half Batch)

  • ½ cup butter, softened to room temperature
  • 3-5 cups powdered sugar
  • ½ tbsp vanilla extract
  • 6 tbsp heavy cream
  • Pinch of salt
  • Green food gel coloring

Chocolate Cake

  • 1 ¼ cup sugar
  • ½ cup unsalted butter
  • ½ teaspoon instant espresso powder
  • 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 egg yolk
  • ¼ cup vegetable oil

Additional Decorating Items

  • Crushed Oreos
  • Halloween Ghosts, Pumpkins, Tombstones decorations
  • KitKats, halved
  • Halloween Sprinkles

Instructions

  1. Prepare the Chocolate Cake Batter: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease three 6-inch round cake pans with butter and flour or use a floured baking spray. Using a stand mixer, cream together the sugar and butter until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, microwave the water for 30 seconds, then dissolve the instant espresso powder into it. Whisk the dark cocoa powder, buttermilk, and vanilla extract into the espresso water mixture. In a separate bowl, sift together cake flour, baking soda, and salt. To the creamed butter-sugar mixture, add eggs and the extra yolk one at a time, mixing fully after each addition. Add the vegetable oil and mix until combined. Beat on medium high for about 1 minute until the batter is light and fluffy. Fold in half of the flour mixture, then half of the buttermilk mixture. Repeat with the remaining flour and buttermilk mixtures until fully incorporated.
  2. Bake the Cake: Pour batter evenly into the prepared pans. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. For even baking, place all pans on the same rack or bake one at a time. Allow cakes to cool completely, then level the tops if necessary by trimming domes off. Wrap each cake layer in plastic wrap and freeze overnight or for at least one hour to make frosting easier.
  3. Make Orange Buttercream Frosting: In a mixer, whip the butter until fluffy. Add vanilla extract and salt, mixing until combined. Alternately add powdered sugar (about 1 cup at a time) and heavy cream (2 tablespoons at a time), mixing briefly after each addition. Once all are added, whip on high for 20-30 seconds. Add orange gel food coloring and mix on medium-low until fully incorporated and vibrant.
  4. Make Black Buttercream Frosting: Whip butter in a mixer until fluffy. Mix in espresso powder, dark cocoa powder, vanilla, and salt until combined. Alternately add powdered sugar and heavy cream as with the orange buttercream, mixing after each addition. Whip on high for 20-30 seconds once all added. Add black gel food coloring and mix on medium-low until the frosting turns a deep black (initially gray, darkens over time).
  5. Make Green Buttercream Frosting (Half Batch): Whip softened butter until fluffy. Mix in vanilla extract and salt. Alternately add powdered sugar and heavy cream, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Whip on high for 20-30 seconds once fully combined. Add green gel food coloring and mix on medium-low until fully incorporated.
  6. Prepare Cake for Decorating: Crush Oreos finely using a food processor or a ziplock bag and rolling pin. Prepare cake boards by taping the bottom of an 8-inch board to a cake turntable for stability, then tape a 6-inch board onto the center of the larger board. Place a small dollop of frosting onto the smaller board and place the first cake layer on top to adhere it. Repeat layering with orange buttercream between cake layers.
  7. Apply Crumb Coat: Spread a thin, even layer of orange buttercream frosting all over the assembled cake to trap crumbs. Refrigerate the crumb-coated cake for 10-15 minutes to firm up the frosting.
  8. Decorate Halloween Figures: While the cake chills, decorate Halloween ghosts and pumpkins using the black buttercream with a writing tip to add details such as eyes, mouths, and pumpkin lines. Halve these figures to make them thinner and easier to place on the cake.
  9. Add Black Buttercream and Decorations: Apply a thick layer of black buttercream around the center section of the cake. Press Halloween sprinkles gently into this black band. Attach halved ghosts and pumpkins on top of the black frosting. Chill the cake again for 10 minutes.
  10. Apply Final Orange Frosting: Frost large areas above and below the black frosting band with orange buttercream using a piping bag with a large round cut tip to achieve even coverage. Frost the top of the cake as well. Use a bench scraper to smooth the sides carefully to keep a clean line between the orange and black layers, and an offset spatula to tidy the top edges.
  11. Final Decorations: Make small mounds of crushed Oreos on top of the cake and place halved KitKats around the cake’s base. Refrigerate the cake for 10 minutes. Insert toothpicks into the bottom of the ghosts and pumpkins then position them on top of the cake. Press in chocolate headstones gently. Using the green buttercream and a grass piping tip, pipe grass around headstones and KitKats to finish the graveyard effect.

Notes

  • Make the cake at least a day before and freeze it; this greatly helps with smoother frosting application. If not possible, freeze for at least one to two hours.
  • Add sprinkles to the black buttercream fault line before placing the ghosts and pumpkins for better adhesion.
  • Slice the backs of the ghosts and pumpkins to make them thinner for better placement and less protrusion.
  • Trim the bottoms of ghosts placed on the fault line to shorten them and fit the decoration perfectly; unnecessary if making a larger cake.
  • Leftover buttercream frostings can be used for Halloween-themed cupcakes or cookies to avoid waste.
  • Nutrition estimates do not include additional candy decorations or Oreos used for garnishing.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 slice (approx. 1/15th of the cake)
  • Calories: 450
  • Sugar: 35g
  • Sodium: 210mg
  • Fat: 28g
  • Saturated Fat: 16g
  • Unsaturated Fat: 10g
  • Trans Fat: 0.5g
  • Carbohydrates: 50g
  • Fiber: 3g
  • Protein: 5g
  • Cholesterol: 85mg

Find it online: https://emilyscook.com/graveyard-halloween-cake-recipe/