Halloween usually invokes images of pumpkins, black cats, witches and ghosts. It also brings to mind treats. When I was little, my friend's mom used to buy coloured bread at a local Fraser Valley bakery that matched the holidays. The bakery would bake orange bread during the month of October, green bread in December and red bread in February. I can still remember my friend opening up her school lunches and finding an orange sandwich - much to all of our delights!
As an adult, I took that idea of coloured bread and transferred it to cake! Coloured buttercream icing is quite popular in cake decorating, however it is quite a treat to cut into a cake and find that the inside is as colourful and fun as the decoration outside. Just like my school friend's orange sandwiches, you will find an unexpected, hauntingly boo-tiful orange ombré cake when you cut into this Boo-tiful Halloween Ombré Ghost Cake.
This cake was inspired by the stunning brush stroke cake (here) created by fellow blogger, Erin Bakes. She is a very talented baker with many wonderful dessert recipes - check out her blog for cake inspiration.
The "how-to's" I have created below show both the steps to bake an orange ombré cake and the steps to decorate and make white chocolate ghosts, to design this spooky Halloween evening scene (the link for Black Buttercream Icing is below also).
Step 1: Ombré Cake (make 3 - 6" cake layers)
I love that this cake has a Halloween surprise in the inside! Having made cakes with ombré icing before, I decided to switch things up and take that colour effect to the inside of this Boo-tiful Halloween Cake. Ombré colour shows up best in vanilla cakes. I have tried to create the same effect in chocolate cakes, however it is difficult to see the dyed colours. It's up to you whether you make the Vanilla Cake from scratch, or you use a mix. I personally like this Vanilla Cake recipe, if you decided to bake from scratch (omit the icing, just follow the recipe for the cake).
To Create The Halloween Cake Ombré Effect:
1. Follow your Vanilla Cake instructions to make the cake batter. Divide the batter equally between three bowls.
2. To colour your cake: I used Americolor Gel in Orange to colour the cake batter. This process will be different for everyone depending on the brand of colour gel you use, as well as the desired intensity of the cake you want. Start with your first bowl of batter (left baking pan, image below), add 4-5 small drops of gel colour then mix (the cake colour will fade as it bakes, so make sure the batter is a bit brighter than you want the end result to be). For the second bowl (middle baking pan, image below), add 4-5 drops + an additional 3 drops to the batter, then mix (if not desired colour, add 2 more gel drops at a time). For the third and final bowl (right baking pan, image below) add 4-5 drops + 3 drops+ 3-4 additional drops. This will be your most intensely hued cake layer, so you want to make sure that the colour is rich. Adjust gel colour quantities to your liking.
3. Transfer the 3 coloured batters to 3 buttered and parchment paper lined, 6" cake pans. Bake according to recipe directions. Let cakes cool, then remove from pans. Baked cake colours will have less orange intensity than the raw batter (see image below). Set cakes aside until ready to use.
Step 2: Black Buttercream Icing & Sparkling Sugar Crystal "fog"
I used this recipe to make the black frosting (omit the cake portion of the recipe). I was quite skeptical that the icing, originally a grey"ish" colour, would darken and turn black overnight as the recipe states, but it did! In fact, the longer the icing was in the fridge, the deeper the black colour it became. This is important to know, as the more gel food colouring (again, I used Americolor Black) you add, the higher the likelihood that your mouth will turn black when eating the finished cake. So if you want to add an extra drop or two of black gel colour, go ahead, but know that the colour will change overnight.
Cake Assembly
Start assembling the cakes with the deepest orange cake on the bottom of a serving platter. Add a layer of Black Buttercream Icing on top of the cake, then add the medium orange coloured cake. Repeat with another layer of icing and top with the lightest orange cake. Add more Black Buttercream Icing around the outside of the cake and on top, evening out the icing as you go. This will be easiest to do when the icing is still soft. I decided to add a "foggy" effect to the iced cake, in order to enhance the spooky feel. While the Black Buttercream Icing was still soft, I sprinkled clear sparkling sugar crystals around the sides and top of the cake, then let it set.
*Reserve extra icing to be the "glue" to attach the white chocolate ghosts (Step 3).
Step 3: Brushstroke Ghosts
The original tutorial I watched (here) involved using a paint brush with melted white chocolate and brush strokes. While the effect was stunning, or perfect for re-creating chocolate feathers, the ghosts turned out streakier than I liked from the brush bristles. I have adapted the ghost technique below.
To Form White Chocolate Ghosts:
1. Melt 1 cup of white chocolate (I used wafers) over a double boiler, with the water at a slow simmer. Do not let the water in the bottom pot touch the bowl (or pot) with chocolate over top, this will make the chocolate seize.
2. Once the white chocolate is melted, spoon a circle of melted chocolate (about the size of a toonie) onto a sheet pan with parchment.
3. Immediately use the back of a clean spoon to pull the chocolate from the top of the circle down to create a ghost shape.
4. Add 2 black sugar pearls for the eyes (some of my ghosts got 3 eyes for a more ghoulish ghost effect!) and half of a black jelly belly bean for the mouth.
5. Allow the ghosts to firm in the refrigerator for a minimum of 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Step 4: Assembly
Just before serving, once the ghosts have hardened and the icing is set, use remaining icing as "glue" to gently attach white chocolate ghosts. Arrange ghosts as if they are flying in the night sky. I like to group ghosts into 2's and 3's. Don't worry if some of the ghost bottoms break or are more blunt, arrange those ghosts along the bottom cake rim (image below).
This cake is truly a showstopper from the inside, out. Your family and friends will "ooh" and "aah" when they see the beautiful Halloween ombré cake colours appear on their plates.
If both the ombré cake and the decoration are too much and you decided to focus on the outside decor only, I recommend using a plain chocolate cake inside to carry the dark evening effect from inside to outside!
For those of us celebrating Halloween a bit differently this year, this Halloween Ombré Ghost Cake is a fun project to do with kids. They would love creating their own chocolatey ghost treats (and colourful orange cake too!). It's a memory they will keep forever.
I hope you have a safe and boo-tiful Halloween!
Take care,
Krista xo
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