Halloween Layer Cake Recipe 445

HALLOWEEN LAYER CAKE

Steps:

• In a bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; add alternately with milk to creamed mixture. Mix well. Combine cocoa, water and vanilla; stir in 2 cups cake batter., Pour into a greased and floured 9-in. round baking pan. Add orange extract, zest and food coloring to remaining batter. Pour into two greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until cake tests done. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. , In a bowl, beat all frosting ingredients until smooth. Place 1 orange cake layer on a cake plate; spread with 1/2 cup frosting. Top with chocolate layer; spread with 1/2 cup frosting. Top with second orange layer. Frost the sides and top of each., Microwave chocolate and cream on high 1-1/2 minutes or until blended, stirring once. Stir until smooth; let cool 2 minutes. Slowly pour over cake, letting glaze drizzle down sides. Garnish with candy corn.

HALLOWEEN LAYER CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line the bottoms of two 8 or 9 inch round cake pans with parchment paper.
• Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, and white sugar.
• Beat shortening until light and fluffy. Mix in dry ingredients. Add 3/4 cup of buttermilk and mix until all flour is dampened. Then beat with electric mixer. Add egg whites, melted chocolate, and remaining buttermilk, beat well and pour batter into prepared pans.
• Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes. When cake is cool frost between layer and over top and sides with Golden Orange Frosting. Mark outlines of Halloween cats and bats by lightly pressing paper cut-outs into frosting, then removing paper. Melt 1 square unsweetened chocolate with 1 tsp. butter. Using a brush, fill in the outlines with the chocolate mixture.
• To Make Golden Orange Frosting: Cream together butter, orange rind, lemon rind, and salt. Add egg yolk and mix well. Add confectioners sugar, alternately with orange juice and lemon juice, beating well after each addition. Makes 2 cups frosting, or enough to cover tops and sides of two 9 inch layers.

HALLOWEEN SLASH CAKE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Butter and line the bases of two 20cm sandwich tins. Melt the butter in a pan, then remove from the heat and beat in the oil, milk, yogurt, vanilla and eggs. Whisk the dry ingredients together with a large pinch of salt, squishing any lumps of sugar with your fingers. Tip the wet ingredients into the dry, then whisk until smooth.
• Divide the batter between the tins and bake for 25-30 mins on the same shelf of the oven until risen and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Leave to cool for 10 mins in the tins, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
• To make the buttercream, beat together the sugar, butter and a few drops of the red food colouring. Add 2-3 tbsp of boiling water if needed to soften the mixture, until you end up with a smooth, spreadable icing.
• Trim the cakes flat if needed, then halve each through the middle using a large serrated knife. Put one cake layer on a board or plate, spread over a thin layer of the buttercream and dot over a third of the jam. Top with another cake layer and repeat with the buttercream, jam and cake, finishing with a layer of cake. Use most of the remaining buttercream to ice the cake all over, reserving a small amount.
• Roll the fondant icing out on a surface dusted with icing sugar until large enough to cover the top and sides of the cake. Carefully lift it up onto the cake and smooth down to help it to stick. Use a sharp knife to cut slashes into the icing, then drizzle a little of the reserved buttercream mixed with some water into each to look like blood.