Death by Chocolate Halloween Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (or gluten-free flour)
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup canola oil or melted coconut oil
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
Chocolate Buttercream
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 3 tbsp milk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
Decorations
- Half a bag of marshmallows (e.g., Kraft Jet-Puffed)
- Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour three 6-inch cake pans.
In a bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, brown sugar, canola oil (or melted coconut oil), and vanilla extract together until well combined.
Gradually pour half of the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined.
Pour half of the buttermilk into the batter and gently whisk. Repeat with the remaining batter and buttermilk. The batter will be thin.
Divide the batter evenly among the prepared cake pans. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool completely before frosting.
For the chocolate buttercream frosting, beat the room temperature butter for 2 minutes until creamy. Add the confectioners' sugar, cocoa powder, milk, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt. Beat until smooth and creamy.
For the decorations, melt some chocolate chips in intervals, allowing it to cool for five minutes. Transfer the melted chocolate to a ziplock bag, cut off a small corner, and create squiggly tree shapes on parchment paper. Freeze for 5-10 minutes to set.
To create a "spider web" effect, melt half a bag of marshmallows in intervals until creamy. Let it cool for 5-7 minutes, then use your fingers to stretch the marshmallow and spread it all around the frosted cake. It should look messy!
Place the chocolate "trees" on top of the cake as decorations.
Enjoy your spooky Death by Chocolate Halloween cake!