Halloween Monster Cake

Hey there, foodies!

Halloween is coming up! :o) I love this holiday and the autumn season in general.

To keep your kids busy on rainy days and get you into the Halloween spirit, I'm sharing a fairly simple recipe so even the little ones can help!

A chocolate and hazelnut cake for a terrifying snack time! ;o)

The cake can of course stay as is, but I thought it would be more fun to cut it into slices and dress them up as little monsters! ;o)

Let's get started with the recipe!

For a 28 cm loaf pan (about 10 slices), you will need:

Cake

- 80g dark chocolate

- 80g milk chocolate

- 200g butter

- 150g sugar

- 1 pinch of salt

- 200g flour

- 1 tsp baking soda

- 1 tsp baking powder

- 4 eggs

- 150g ground hazelnuts

Decoration

- 100g enchanted cream mix

- 200g milk

- 5 small piping bags

- 5 small piping bag couplers

- Round tip 1.5 mm (Wilton #2)

- Round tip 3 mm (Wilton #4)

- Round tip 8 mm (Wilton #12)

- Star tip #21

- Leaf tip #352

- Basket weave tips #45

- 2 packs of sugar "eye" decorations

- Gel food colouring (black, purple, green, orange)

Cake

To start, melt together 80g dark chocolate and 80g milk chocolate in a bowl in the microwave at 600 Watt for 1 to 2 minutes.

Stir the chocolate occasionally with a spatula so the heat distributes evenly and the chocolate doesn't burn.

Set the melted chocolate aside.

Preheat your oven to 180 °C, fan-assisted.

In a bowl, combine 200g butter, 150g sugar and a pinch of salt, then beat until the mixture turns pale and fluffy.

In a bowl, mix together 200g flour, 1 tsp baking soda and 1 tsp baking powder.

It is important to mix well so that the leavening agents are evenly distributed throughout the batter. This way, the cake will rise evenly during baking.

Then switch the whisk for the flat beater (paddle attachment).

Add 4 eggs, the flour/baking soda/baking powder mixture and mix for about 1 to 2 minutes at medium speed.

Add 150g ground hazelnuts and the previously melted chocolate. Mix again for 1 minute.

Finish mixing with a spatula.

For this cake, I used the adjustable loaf pan and set it to 28 cm.

Generously spray the pan with a non-stick baking spray so the cake releases easily after baking.

Then pour the batter into the pan.

Spread the batter evenly using a small offset spatula.

Then bake the cake for 45-50 minutes on the lower rack of the oven at 180 °C, fan-assisted.

When out of the oven, unmould the cake and let it cool completely on a cooling rack.

If you want to stop here, you can. :o) For the finishing touch, dust with snow sugar or drizzle a chocolate glaze over the cake.

But for Halloween, I wanted to show something different, so let's keep going! ;o)

Cut the cake into slices 2.5 cm thick.

To do this, the cake must be completely cooled — this is super important. You can even pop it in the fridge for 30 minutes to be sure.

Decoration

In the bowl of your mixer, pour 100g enchanted cream mix and 200g milk and whip for 2-3 minutes.

You should get a consistency close to that of meringue.

Also, you can replace half or all of the 200g of milk with water and flavour it however you like. :o)

I wanted the cream to stay neutral though, so you can still taste the chocolate and hazelnut flavour of the cake.

Not familiar with enchanted cream? It's a light and smooth ready-to-use cream. It has a perfect consistency for decorating cupcakes and cakes.

To dress the cake slices up as little monsters, divide the enchanted cream into 5 small bowls.

Colour them with gel food colouring.

Here, I left one white and coloured the others in Halloween colours: green, orange, purple and black.

Prepare 5 small piping bags with 5 small piping bag couplers. Couplers are perfect for this kind of work because they allow you to change the tip while keeping the same bag, making it easy to create multiple types of decorations with the same preparation. :o) So handy!

Simply place the large part of the coupler inside the piping bag, cut the tip with a knife or scissors, place a tip on and screw the last piece over the tip.

Once your couplers are in place, fill your 5 piping bags with enchanted cream.

For the decoration, I used the following tips:

- Round tip 1.5 mm (Wilton #2)

- Round tip 3 mm (Wilton #4)

- Round tip 8 mm (Wilton #12)

- Star tip #21

- Leaf tip #352

- Basket weave tips #45

I will swap tips as I go through the decorations. That's why couplers are essential. :o)

Mummy

Let's start with something very simple. :o)

For the mummy, use the basket weave tip #45 with the white enchanted cream. Hold the piping bag at 45° and pipe even ribbons.

Make sure to alternate sides and cross the ribbons to make it look as much like a mummy as possible.

Finally, place two large sugar eyes and that's it, the mummy is done! ;o)

Gradient Monster

For this monster, you will need the leaf tip #352 throughout the piping. You will just need to swap the tip between each piping bag (all 5 colours) to create the gradient effect.

Start with the black cream, followed by green, purple, orange and white.

Each time you switch the tip, it still contains a bit of the previous colour, which creates the gradient effect. :o) Pretty cool, right?

To pipe correctly, hold the piping bag at 45° again, press, stop and pull the bag upward — you will get a leaf shape.

Once the monster is piped, decorate with various sugar eyes.

Furry Monster

Here's another monster, a little furrier this time! ;o)

Place the star tip #21 on the piping bag with orange cream.

Pipe a few spikes by holding the piping bag straight up and lifting it while applying light pressure.

Place the same tip on the piping bag with purple cream and repeat.

Add sugar eyes in different sizes.

Use the black cream with a round tip 3 mm (Wilton #4) to draw the mouth.

For the teeth, place the basket weave tip #45 on the piping bag with white cream and pipe some scary teeth.

Frankenstein

For Frankenstein, pipe green cream using a round tip 8 mm (Wilton #12) and spread the cream with a small offset spatula for a smooth finish.

With the black cream and the leaf tip #352, pipe some hair.

Place two large sugar eyes in the centre and draw the scars and nose with the round tip 1.5 mm (Wilton #2).

Then the mouth with the round tip 3 mm (Wilton #4).

Pumpkin

Here's one last decoration — the famous pumpkin! :o)

To make it, place the star tip #21 on the piping bag with orange cream.

Pipe strips curving them slightly outward on the slice to get a pumpkin shape.

With the round tip 8 mm (Wilton #12) and the green cream, pipe a stem (using a swirling motion).

Then, with the leaf tip #352, pipe two leaves.

Finally, use the round tip 3 mm (Wilton #4) and the black cream.

Draw two large triangles for the eyes, a small triangle for the nose and a zigzag mouth.

And that's it, the decoration is done! I was able to make two of each design with a 28 cm cake.

Let your creativity guide you — there are so many more cool Halloween designs! You can make ghosts, skulls, witches and more! :o)

It is best to eat the slices the same day. The uncut cake keeps for 3 days in a well-sealed wrap.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial.

Wishing you a wonderful Halloween season! ;o)

Jenny

P.S.: All the materials used can be found at the bottom of the recipe.