Description
A delicious and spooky Halloween graveyard cake perfect for your festivities!
Ingredients
Scale
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (or a gluten-free AP flour or a blanched almond flour (same amount))
- 2 2/3 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder (100%)
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise (or full-fat sour cream or Greek yogurt)
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup full-fat buttermilk (or 1 cup of half-and-half or whole milk mixed with 1 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice)
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups hot water
- 3 large eggs (at room temp)
- 1 cup unsalted butter (softened)
- 3 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder or dutch-process cocoa powder
- 3 tbsp heavy cream
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Spray a 13×9-inch sheet cake pan with cooking spray and line the bottom with parchment paper.
- Using a sifter, sift the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and cocoa powder) in the bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment and mix to combine. Then add the wet ingredients in (mayonnaise, oil, buttermilk, hot water, and vanilla) and beat just until combined.
- Add the eggs and beat on low for almost a minute.
- Pour the cake batter into your prepared baking pan. Bake for about 45-50 minutes. Test for doneness using a toothpick in the center of the cake.
- After you allow your cake to cool for a few minutes, invert it onto a rack to come to room temperature. Remove the parchment paper from the bottom of the cake and spread the buttercream frosting on top. Decorate as desired.
- For the Halloween graveyard cake, I used chocolate cookies and wrote RIP with melted white melts but you can use white chocolate chips instead. I used sprinkles and Wilton sugar ghosts plus mini pumpkin candies. I also drew a spider web with the melted candy melts and topped with plastic spiders.
Notes
- For the frosting: Beat the butter in a large bowl until creamy, about 2 minutes. Then, add the confectioners’ sugar, cocoa powder, heavy cream, and vanilla extract.
- Beat on low speed for 30 seconds. Increase the speed to high, beating for 1 minute. Add 1/4 cup more sugar or cocoa powder if frosting is too thin. But if it is too thick, add a tablespoon of cream.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 400
- Sugar: 25g
- Sodium: 200mg
- Fat: 18g
- Saturated Fat: 8g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 56g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 5g
- Cholesterol: 60mg