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    Home » Recipes » Halloween

    Halloween Cake

    Modified: Sep 26, '23 · Published: Oct 6, '14 · By: Beth Klosterboer · Commission earned on paid or sponsored links.

    Jump to Recipe

    Decorate a 6-layer chocolate cake with orange and black petals using buttercream. This fun orange and black petal cake is perfect for Halloween.

    Halloween cake decorated with orange and black petals on a 6 layer chocolate cake.

    I had the opportunity to take a Wilton cake decorating class at JoAnn's last month. On the final day of class, I decorated this simple Orange and Black Halloween Petal Cake using one of the techniques I learned.

    Petal cakes are all the rage right now. I see why! They are super easy to make and look great. I love the simplicity of the pulled dot, also known as the petal technique.

    I've made and shared a lot of decorated cakes here on Hungry Happenings and was excited to learn new cake-decorating techniques that I can share with you.

    I'll show you a step-by-step tutorial below on how to make a petal cake. But, first, let me show you another decorated cake that I created during this class.

    adding a cute owl design to the top of a cake using a piping gel transfer.

    I was so happy to learn a technique for easily transferring an image to the top of a cake using piping gel.

    It is really a cool technique, especially for those of us who are artistically challenged. I've always been pretty good at tracing but not freehand drawing so this technique was great for me.

    You set a drawing underneath a piece of parchment paper, trace over it with piping gel, turn it upside down, set it on the cake, brush around the edges, lift off the paper, and your design is on the cake. Then you decorate on top of it with icing.

    Halloween Owl Cake | HungryHappenings.com

    I had this owl decorated within 15 minutes.

    I couldn't believe how easy this was. I've since used this technique to decorate an Eagle Scout cheesecake. It worked great on a cheesecake too even with a pretty intricate design.

    O.K. back to the Halloween petal cake.

    Halloween Black and Orange Petal Cake

    I planned to give this to my husband for our anniversary. I know that seems strange, but we met at a Halloween party and are total Halloween fanatics, so it makes perfect sense, actually.

    I made my husband's favorite chocolate fudge cake with chocolate ganache frosting. It was a great base on which to decorate this cake.

    Halloween Black and Orange Pulled Dot Cake on a purple background.

    Ingredients

    Chocolate Fudge Cake:
    1 Duncan Hines Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix
    1 cup water
    ¼ cup vegetable oil
    3 eggs
    2 ounces melted good quality dark chocolate

    Chocolate Ganache Frosting:
    1 ¼ cups heavy whipping cream
    16 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped

    Orange and Black Frosting:
    12 ounces Wilton White Ready-to-Use Decorator Icing
    orange gel or paste food coloring
    12 ounces Wilton Chocolate Ready-to-Use Decorator Icing
    black gel or paste food coloring
    optional, water to thin out icing

    Notes about Wilton icing.

    To add the decorative petals to my cake, I first started by coloring some Wilton White Ready-to-Use Decorator icing using orange coloring. I also colored some chocolate icing using black coloring.

    Wilton's tubs of icing have varying thicknesses. Check the front of the tub to see if the icing is thick, medium, or thin. You may need to stir in some water in order to thin out the icing if it is too thick to easily pipe onto a cake.

    You can make homemade frosting if you prefer. See my

    Supplies

    3 6-inch cake pans
    optional 3 6-inch round parchment paper lines for your cake pans
    baking spray
    optional, Bake Even Strips
    cake leveler
    6-inch cardboard cake round
    8-inch cardboard cake round

    Items used to create my cakes are available on Amazon.com. I earn a small commission when you use the Amazon affiliate links on this page to make a purchase at no extra cost to you.

    Student Decorating Course 1...Shop on Amazon Wilton Clear Piping Gel, 10...Shop on Amazon Wilton Creamy White Decorat...Shop on Amazon Wilton Ready To Use Decorat...Shop on Amazon Wilton Halloween Gel Colors...Shop on Amazon

    Wilton Aluminum Round Cake ...Shop on Amazon Wilton Bake Even Cake Strip...Shop on Amazon Wilton Bake Easy Non-Stick ...Shop on Amazon Boao 3 Pieces Kitchen Bakin...Shop on Amazon

    Instructions

    Duncan Hines chocolate fudge cake batter divided into three 6-inch round cake pans surrounded by cake strips.

    Bake the cakes.

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

    Spray baking pans with Bake-Easy non-stick spray.

    Combine the cake mix, water, oil, and eggs in a bowl and stir to combine. Add in the melted chocolate and beat for 30 seconds on low. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for two minutes.

    I love adding melted chocolate to this Duncan Hines Chocolate cake. It really intensifies the chocolate flavor.

    Equally, divide the cake batter among cake pans.

    Run the Bake Even Strips under some hot tap water, and allow excess to drip off. Wrap each cake pan with a strip, then place the cakes on the middle rack in the oven, with at least 1 inch in between each pan. The bake-even strips help your cakes bake more evenly, so they come out nice and flat.

    Bake for 22-26 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake, comes out clean. Allow to cool completely.

    While the cakes are cooling, make the chocolate ganache frosting.

    making chocolate ganache in a food processor.

    Make chocolate ganache.

    Place chopped chocolate in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the chocolate is fine crumbs.

    Heat heavy whipping cream in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir often until it just comes to a boil. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate, put the lid on the food processor bowl, and let sit for 2-3 minutes. Pulse for 3 seconds.

    Remove the lid and scrape down the sides and bottom of the food processor bowl. Return the lid and pulse for 5 more seconds or until the mixture, which is called ganache, is smooth.

    Don't over-mix your ganache or it will turn grainy as it sets up.

    Note: A food processor makes easy work of creating a chocolate ganache. If you don't have one, finely chop your chocolate and put it in a microwave-safe mixing bowl. Boil cream as above and pour over chocolate and let sit for 2-3 minutes. Use a whisk to create an emulsion. Begin by stirring just in the center of the bowl, then slowly bring the whisk out to the edge of the bowl. Stir just until combined and the ganache is smooth.

    Allow this to cool until it is thick enough to spread. Keep an eye on it. I can't tell you how long this will take. There are too many variables. So, just stir it every 15 minutes or so and keep an eye on it.

    Leveling and torting a chocolate cake

    Level and torte the cakes.

    Once the cakes are cool, use a cake leveler to cut off the domed top, then slice each cake into two even layers.

    You can see that I didn't have to cut off much. My cakes had pretty flat tops which was due to using the cake strips.

    Cut each of those cakes into two evenly thick slices.

    Covering a cake in chocolate ganache frosting.

    Frost the cake.

    Set one cake layer on a 6-inch cardboard cake round. Spread a thin layer of chocolate ganache over that cake layer. Stack another layer on top and repeat until all 6 cakes are stacked.

    3-tier chocolate frosted round cake.

    Smooth the surface of the cake.

    Then frost the entire outside of the cake and smooth it out.

    You'll notice that the frosting is thick enough that the cardboard cake round is completely covered, so I picked up my cake and set it on an 8-inch round.

    I used double stick tape to attach the two pieces of cardboard together and actually covered the 8-inch in purple paper.

    piping chocolate frosting dots on a chocolate cake.

    Pipe on black frosting dots.

    To create the pulled dot design, pipe a row of dots vertically onto your cake.

    Try to pipe the dots so they go right up to the top edge and bottom edge of the cake.

    I piped 9 dots onto my cake.

    spreading chocolate frosting dots into petals on a chocolate cake.

    Pull the dots into petals.

    Now, take an offset spatula and press onto one dot of frosting. Pull back to flatten the dot into a petal.

    Pull the spatula away from the dot, thinning out the frosting then lift the spatula from the cake.

    Repeat. You can start at the bottom of the cake or the top. I started at the bottom and moved upwards, but either works fine.

    I like to wipe my spatula off on a paper towel between each pull to keep the petals nice and smooth.

    adding rows of orange dots and petals along with black dots and petals on a chocolate cake.

    Add orange dots.

    I didn't take a picture of the next step, but I piped another row of dots on top of the frosting that had been pulled from the first dot.

    I moved in a circular pattern around the cake, piping and pulling two black dots and then two orange dots.

    pulling orange dots into petals on a chocolate layer cake.

    Pull the dots into petals.

    Admittedly I was rushed. We had 35 minutes to decorate our entire cake. So as you can see my dots don't line up perfectly, but in the end, it really didn't matter that much.

    piping a row of orange frosting dots onto a black and orange petal cake.

    Pipe dots and pull petals around the top of the cake.

    You can add a design on top of your cake or you can continue to pipe dots and pull them into petals around the top.

    Start by piping one black dot on the outer edge of the top of the cake. Then pull it around the outer edge of the cake into a petal. Pipe a second dot over the thin petal part and repeat the process.

    finished orange and black petal cake.

    I had room on my 6-inch round layer cake for four rows of dots on top. Well, actually the final row was made with one large dot of orange frosting in the center of the cake.

    When you make the final petal in each row on the top of the cake, you will have to pull it just to the edge of the petal in front of it. If you look at the top front edge of the cake, you can see the final black petal isn't as neat as the others.

    Overall this Halloween cake looks pretty nice, especially considering I decorated the entire thing in 35 minutes.

    Storage

    You can store your chocolate Halloween cake at room temperature for up to three days. Store leftovers in the refrigerator for another few days. I prefer not to refrigerate my cakes as they tend to dry out.

    Related Recipes

    If you are looking for more Halloween cake decorating ideas be sure to check out these other tutorials.

    Frankenstein Cake or Cookie Cake

    Frankenstein Cake

    Bat cake frosted with chocolate and vanilla icing.

    Easy Bat Cake

    spider cake with chocolate legs.

    Spider Cake

    Be sure to check out over 100 festive Halloween food ideas.

    Halloween cake decorated with orange and black petals on a 6 layer chocolate cake.
    Print
    Halloween Cake
    Prep Time
    1 hr
    Cook Time
    24 mins
    Cooling Time
    2 hrs
     

    An orange and black petal cake for Halloween has 6 layers of chocolate cake filled with chocolate ganache decorated with orange and black frosting.

    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Keyword: cake, chocolate, chocolate cake, chocolate ganache, decorated cake, halloween
    Servings: 12
    Calories: 774 kcal
    Author: Beth Klosterboer
    Ingredients
    Chocolate Fudge Cake:
    • 1 Duncan Hines Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix
    • 1 cup water
    • ¼ cup vegetable oil
    • 3 eggs
    • 2 ounces melted good quality dark chocolate
    Chocolate Ganache Frosting:
    • 16 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
    • 1 ¼ cups heavy whipping cream
    Orange and Black Frosting:
    • 12 ounces Wilton White Ready to Use Decorator Icing
    • orange gel or paste food coloring
    • 12 ounces Wilton Chocolate Ready to Use Decorator Icing
    • black gel or paste food coloring
    Instructions
    Chocolate Cake
    1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
    2. Spray 3 round 6-inch cake pans with non-stick spray or grease with shortening and dust with flour.
    3. For best results, line the pans with parchment paper circles.
    4. Combine the cake mix, water, oil, eggs in a bowl and stir to combine. Add in the melted chocolate and beat for 30 seconds on low. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat for two minutes.
    5. Equally, divide the chocolate cake batter among the three cake pans.
    6. If using, wet the bake-even strips and wrap them around the cake pans.
    7. Bake the cakes for 22-26 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake, comes out clean.
    8. Remove the cakes to a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely.
    Chocolate Ganache Frosting
    1. Place the chopped chocolate in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until chocolate is fine crumbs.
    2. Heat heavy whipping cream in a small saucepan over medium heat.
    3. Stir often until it just comes to a boil.
    4. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate, put the lid on the food processor bowl, and let sit for 2-3 minutes.
    5. Pulse for 3 seconds.
    6. Remove the lid and scrape down the sides and bottom of the food processor bowl.
    7. Return the lid and pulse for 5 more seconds or until the mixture is smooth.
    8. Allow the chocolate ganache to cool, stirring every 10 minutes or so, until it is thick enough to spread.
    9. Once the cakes are cooled, remove the domed top and cut into two even layers.
    10. Set one cake layer on a 6-inch cardboard cake round.
    11. Spread a thin layer of chocolate ganache over that cake layer.
    12. Stack another layer on top and repeat until all 6 cakes are stacked.
    13. Then frost the entire outside of the cake with the remaining chocolate ganache and smooth it out.
    14. Set the cake onto an 8-inch cake plate.
    Orange and Black Icing
    1. Color the white icing using orange coloring and color the chocolate frosting wtih black coloring.
    2. Fill pastry bags fitted with a large round tip with the icing.
    3. Pipe a row of 9 black dots from the bottom of the cake to the top of the cake.
    4. Set an offset metal spatula into one of the dots.
    5. Flatten the dot as you drag the spatula to the side opposite the dot.
    6. Continue pulling until the dot turns into a pretty petal.
    7. Repeat, creating petals out of all of the dots.
    8. Pipe another row of black dots on the thin part of the petal and repeat the process.
    9. Next, add a row of orange dots next to the last row of black petals.
    10. Add another row of orange frosting dots and repeat.
    11. Continue around the entire cake. When you get to the final row, you'll have to pull the dots into the first row of dots. You'll have a bit of a gap. Just make this the back of your cake.
    12. Pipe a black dot on the top outer edge of the cake.
    13. Use the spatula to pull that dot into a petal going around the outer edge.
    14. Add another dot and pull it into a petal.
    15. Repeat this process going around the outer edge of the cake.
    16. Then repeat this process creating a row of orange petals then a row of black petals.
    17. Pipe a large dot of orange frosting in the center.
    Recipe Notes

    Store the cake at room temperatur for up to 3 days. Then, refrigerate any leftovers for up to 3 more days.

    Note: A food processor makes easy work of creating a chocolate ganache. If you don't have one, finely chop your chocolate and put it in a microwave-safe mixing bowl. Boil cream as above and pour over chocolate and let sit for 2-3 minutes. Use a whisk to create an emulsion. Begin by stirring just in the center of the bowl, then slowly bring the whisk out to the edge of the bowl. Stir just until combined and the ganache is smooth.

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    • Author
    • Recent Posts
    Beth Klosterboer
    Beth Klosterboer
    Hi, I'm Beth Klosterboer, a professional chocolatier & baker, cookbook author, and event planner. I love sharing recipes for happy occasions here on Hungry Happenings. I also create easy fudge recipes to share at HowToMakeEasyFudge.com, rice krispie treat recipes at HowToMakeCerealTreats.com, and easy cookie recipes at HowToMakeEasyCookies.com
    Beth Klosterboer
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      Recipe Rating




    1. Marilyn *Pink Martinis and Pearls* says

      October 21, 2014 at 3:43 am

      I love this technique and it's so festive in the Halloween colors! Great job, Beth! Thank you also for the Google + info. I really appreciated it. 🙂

      Reply
    2. Cathe says

      October 20, 2014 at 8:43 pm

      Thank you so much for sharing...You have given me two really great ideas for the near future...

      Reply
    3. Julie says

      October 09, 2014 at 2:50 pm

      Love your website! I like baking cakes and cupcakes, and you have some great tips and designs.

      Reply
    4. Chichi Dodoo says

      October 07, 2014 at 10:24 am

      Love the colours. Pinned

      Reply
    5. The Bearfoot Baker says

      October 07, 2014 at 1:53 am

      I love that cake!! The orange and black are amazing! You make it look so simple!

      Reply
    6. Michelle Medlin says

      October 06, 2014 at 11:34 pm

      Love this! You're so talented! I'm super jealous! And impressed! Pinning!
      -Michelle @TheGraciousWife.com

      Reply
    7. The Partiologist says

      October 06, 2014 at 4:27 pm

      Now that's my kind of cake! I love the look of the orange and black petals - 35 minutes? WOW!

      Reply
    8. Danielle Doerr says

      October 06, 2014 at 2:24 pm

      You totally outdid yourself with this cake, Beth!! I am so in love with the pulled dot technique - the petals are so pretty!!

      Reply
    Beth Jackson Klosterboer

    Welcome to Hungry Happenings!

    I'm Beth. I've been a professional chocolatier & baker for over 30 years, have written 5 cookbooks, and love creating fun food for holidays and special occasions.

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