This Hauntingly Delicious Graveyard Cookie Cake Is Sure To Cause Screams Of Delight Recipes

THIS HAUNTINGLY DELICIOUS GRAVEYARD COOKIE CAKE IS SURE TO CAUSE SCREAMS OF DELIGHT

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F, then grease two 10" springform pans with butter or nonstick cooking spray.
• In a large bowl, beat together white sugar, brown sugar, and butter with an electric mixer until the mixture is fluffy and pale yellow in color. Add in eggs and vanilla, then continue to mix until all ingredients are just well-combined.
• In a separate bowl, combine flour, sifted cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
• Pour the flour mixture into the bowl of creamed sugar and beat just until all ingredients are fully incorporated.
• Mix in chocolate chunks and M&Ms using a rubber spatula. Measure the dough on a kitchen scale and divide it into two equal portions of dough.
• Press each portion of dough into the prepared pans.
• Place in the oven and bake for 18-22 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the dough has reached 175°F.
• While the cookies are baking, prepare the graveyard filling by mixing together the shortening, butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar. If the mixture is dry, incorporate a few tablespoons of milk until the filling is light and fluffy like a buttercream. Separate the cream filling into 2 cups, 1 cup, and 1 tablespoon. To the 2 cups portion, fold in crushed Oreos with a rubber spatula and set aside. To the 1 cup portion, add 1/4 cup of melted chocolate and mix well. Place the 1 tablespoon portion into a piping bag with a small round tip for piping eyeballs and letters.
• Remove the cookie layers from their pans and place them on a cooling rack.
• While the cookies are cooling, prepare your graveyard toppings. First, prepare a few sets of eyes by piping small, round dots of cream filling onto a piece of parchment paper. Place in the refrigerator until the dots have set, then pipe a smaller dot in the center of the cream eye.
• For tombstones, dip Milano cookies and chocolate finger cookies in melted chocolate, and write "RIP" with the white cream filling.
• For bats, cut one single Oreo cookie (without the filling) down the middle and dip matching corners in melted chocolate. Adhere the Oreo halves on one side of an Oreo Mini with the cut side down to look like wings, then attach two eyes using melted chocolate.
• For spiders, dip one large Oreo and one Oreo Mini in chocolate, as well as eight rounded segments of a mini pretzel and two smaller segments. Once the chocolate has set, assemble pieces in the form of a spider, then adhere two eyes.
• Once the cookie layers have cooled, assemble the cookie cake by placing one layer on a serving plate and spreading 2/3 of the white cream filling evenly across the top.
• Add in gummy worms or any other creepy-crawly treats you'd like to bury in your graveyard and smooth over the remaining filling on top.
• Add the second cookie layer to the cake and spread the chocolate cream (chocolate added to the white cream filling) on top.
• Place the tombstones atop the cake and press in gently to stand them upright.
• Sprinkle crushed Oreos across the entire top layer of the cake for "dirt" and add your spider and bat decorations on top.
• Let set in the fridge for at least 20 minutes before slicing and serving.

GHOSTS IN THE GRAVEYARD CAKE

Steps:

• Line a 13x9-in. baking pan and an 8-in. square baking dish with foil, and grease the foil. Prepare brownie batter and bake according to package directions, using prepared pans. Cool on wire racks., Break pretzel rods into various sizes; dip into melted chocolate. Arrange into a tree shape on a waxed paper-lined baking sheet., Place melted white candy coating in a heavy-duty resealable plastic bag; cut a small hole in a corner of bag. Outline three small ghosts on waxed paper. Fill in ghost outlines, adding a lollipop stick to each for support. Place unmelted chocolate chips on ghosts for eyes. Let dry completely., Using foil, lift brownies out of pans. Discard foil; place 8-in. square brownie on a large serving plate for graveyard. Spread chocolate frosting over top and sides., Cut remaining brownie into 3-in.x1-1/2-in. tombstone shapes. Combine confectioners' sugar and cocoa; sprinkle over tombstones. With black food coloring, tint vanilla frosting gray; decorate tombstones., Using toothpicks, insert three tombstones into graveyard. Insert tree into graveyard (support as needed with brownie scraps). Insert ghosts into graveyard; sprinkle with wafer crumbs for dirt and coconut for grass. Place remaining tombstones on a serving platter.

HAUNTED GRAVEYARD CAKE

Steps:

• To make the ghosts, heat oven to 110C/90C fan/gas ¼. Whip the egg white in a clean bowl until stiff peaks form. Whisk in the sugar a tbsp at a time and keep whisking for a couple of mins until the mixture is thick and resembles shaving foam. Gently spoon the mixture into a large freezer bag, then cut a 1.5cm hole in one of the corners. Cover a baking sheet with some baking parchment. Carefully squeeze a small circle of whipped egg white out of the bag, pulling upwards as you do to make a ghost shape. Repeat until the mixture is used up - you should get about 15 ghosts. Bake for 1½ hrs until crisp. Can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
• Now make the cake. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Tip the cocoa powder, self-raising flour and sugar into a large bowl, breaking up any clumps of sugar. Mix together the eggs, milk and oil in a measuring cup or bowl, then pour over the dry ingredients and stir everything together until smooth. Grease and line a deep baking dish (20 x 30 x 5cm) with baking parchment. Pour in the cake mixture and bake for 30 mins. Leave to cool, then turn out onto a serving plate. Alternatively, wrap well and store for up to 2 days.
• Finish decorating the cake: heat cream in a saucepan until just boiling. Place the dark chocolate in a large bowl and pour over the hot cream. Stir until the chocolate melts. Use a clean brush to paint a layer of chocolate over 7 rich tea finger biscuits, then set aside to cool. Pour the rest of the chocolate mixture over the cake and smooth over with a knife. Whizz the chocolate cookies, or bash in a freezer bag with a rolling pin, until small crumbs form. Sprinkle over the top of the cake.
• Place the white chocolate in a small bowl, set over a pan of simmering water. Leave for 5 mins or until melted, then spoon into a small freezer bag. Wait for 10 mins so the mixture is not too runny, then cut a tiny hole in one corner of the bag. Pipe out 2 small blobs onto each ghost, place a silver ball on each to make eyes, then pipe out suitable words and shapes on the gravestones. Leave for 30 mins to set, then push the biscuit gravestones into the cake and arrange the ghosts around. To get the ghosts to 'fly', push a thin wire (you can get these from a florist shop - remember to remove before eating) into the bottom of the ghost, then place in the cake, hiding the wire behind a gravestone.

GRAVEYARD CAKE

Steps:

• In a bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda and salt; set aside. In a saucepan, combine butter, water and cocoa; bring to a boil over medium heat. Add to flour mixture; beat well. Beat in sour cream and eggs. , Pour into a greased 13x9-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 35-38 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes., Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine butter, milk and cocoa; bring to a boil. Remove from the heat; stir in sugar and vanilla. Pour over warm cake. Crumble chocolate cookies; sprinkle over frosting while still warm. Cool completely. , For tombstone, use icing to decorate vanilla cookies with words or faces; place on cake. For ghosts, make mounds of whipped topping; use icing to add eyes and mouths as desired. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Just before serving, add pumpkins and gummy worms if desired.