Easy Chocolate Halloween Cake Recipe From Scratch
This easy chocolate cake recipe is perfect for Halloween! It’s a rich, dark chocolate cake with a creamy orange ombre frosting and subtle spooky details
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 12 servings 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
14 oz granulated sugar (2 cups)
8 oz all-purpose flour (1 ¾ cup)
1.75 oz sifted cocoa powder
0.5 oz black cocoa powder (about 2 Tablespoons)
1 tablespoon espresso powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature
4 oz buttermilk, room temperature (½ cup)
4 oz whole milk, room temperature (½ cup)
4 oz melted butter (1 stick)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3–5 drops orange oil
8 oz (1 cup) boiling water
For the Creamsicle Frosting:
2 oz all-purpose flour (scant ½ cup)
10.5 oz granulated sugar (1 ½ cups)
⅜ teaspoon kosher salt (I use Morton’s)
12 oz whole milk (1 ½ cups)
12 oz unsalted butter, at cool room temperature (3 sticks)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (Tahitian, if you have it)
2–3 drops orange oil
Several shakes of chocolate bitters (Optional but lovely)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C), and set a rack in the center of the oven.
- Prepare 3 6-inch cake pans by spraying with pan spray, lining the bottoms with a parchment circle and spraying again.
- In a large bowl, thoroughly whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa powders, espresso powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In another bowl, thoroughly whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, milk, melted butter, vanilla extract and orange oil.
- Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and whisk well for about 3 minutes. While you’re whisking, heat up your one cup of water to a boil.
- Pour in the boiling water and whisk thoroughly so the water is completely and evenly incorporated.
- Divide the batter evenly among the three prepared pans and bake for 20 minutes.
- Carefully turn the pan from front to back and bake an additional 10-15 minutes or until the cakes spring back when touched and an instant read thermometer registers 200F.
- Remove to a rack to cool in the pans for 15 minutes. Run a slim knife around the insides of each pan and then turn out onto cooling racks.
- Frost and decorate as desired.
Notes
Don’t expect your cake slices to stand up nice and pretty. Lay them on their sides. Since the cake is very rich and moist, it wouldn’t be the worst thing ever to cut each slice in half allowing each serving to be only 1 1/2 layers tall.
Nutrition
- Calories: 634 kcal
- Sugar: 60 g
- Sodium: 260 mg
- Fat: 20 g
- Saturated Fat: 12 g
- Carbohydrates: 81 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 6 g
- Cholesterol: 113 mg