Description
This Halloween Witch Cake is a spooky and delightful layered chocolate cake perfect for festive celebrations. Featuring moist chocolate layers made with brown sugar and semisweet chocolate, it is frosted with a vibrant green buttercream and decorated with black candy witch hats and sprinkles for a playful seasonal touch.
Ingredients
Scale
Cake:
- 3/4 cup butter, softened
- 2-1/2 cups packed brown sugar
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled
- 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1-1/2 cups sour cream
- 1-1/2 cups water
Frosting:
- 1-1/4 cups butter, softened
- 10 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 to 2/3 cup 2% milk
- Green gel food coloring
- Black gel food coloring
Decoration:
- 4 ounces black candy coating disks, melted
- Assorted black sprinkles, sanding sugar and pearls
Instructions
- Prepare and Preheat: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease three 8-inch round baking pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper; grease the parchment to prevent sticking.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: In a large bowl, cream together the softened butter and packed brown sugar using an electric mixer until the mixture is light and fluffy, approximately 5-7 minutes.
- Add Eggs and Flavorings: Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition to incorporate fully. Then beat in the melted and cooled semisweet chocolate followed by the vanilla extract.
- Combine Dry Ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt to evenly distribute ingredients.
- Mix Batter: Alternately add the flour mixture and sour cream to the creamed butter mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Beat well after each addition to ensure smooth batter. Gradually beat in the water until combined.
- Bake Cake Layers: Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake layer comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool layers for 10 minutes in pans before transferring them to wire racks to cool completely.
- Make Frosting: In a large bowl, beat the softened butter until smooth. Gradually add the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla extract, salt, and enough 2% milk to achieve a spreadable consistency. Reserve 1-1/2 cups frosting for black coloring and tint the remaining green with green gel food coloring. Tint the reserved frosting black with black food coloring.
- Level Cake Layers: If the cake layers have domed tops, use a serrated knife to trim them to level surfaces to ensure stable stacking.
- Assemble Cake: Place one cake layer on a serving plate. Spread with about 2/3 cup of the green frosting. Repeat with the next layer and frosting. Top with the final layer and frost the top and sides of the entire cake with the remaining green frosting.
- Create Witch Hat Decorations: Place the melted black candy coating into a piping bag fitted with a small round tip. Pipe witch hat shapes onto waxed paper and allow them to set until firm.
- Decorate Cake: Using black frosting in a piping bag fitted with a large star tip, pipe decorative star shapes on top of the cake. Adhere assorted black sprinkles, sanding sugar, and pearls to the top and sides of the cake. Just before serving, gently place one witch hat on top and press remaining witch hats and pearls onto the sides by lightly pressing them into the green frosting.
Notes
- Ensure eggs are at room temperature for better creaming and batter texture.
- If you don’t have green and black gel food coloring, use regular liquid food coloring but add sparingly as it may affect frosting consistency.
- Chill the frosting if it becomes too soft to work with during decorating.
- For best results, prepare the candy coating witch hats ahead of time so they have plenty of time to set.
- The cake layers can be baked a day ahead, wrapped well, and stored at room temperature to save time on the day of assembly.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice (1/16th of cake)
- Calories: 540
- Sugar: 45g
- Sodium: 320mg
- Fat: 28g
- Saturated Fat: 16g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10g
- Trans Fat: 0.5g
- Carbohydrates: 65g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 6g
- Cholesterol: 110mg
