HALLOWEEN CAKE
Serves 12
To make the chocolate skulls you will need a mould - You can find such moulds at cake decorating stores.
PREP TIME:
25 mins plus decorating
COOKING TIME:
60 mins
INGREDIENTS:
375g butter, softened to room temperature
330g caster sugar
170g brown sugar
10 large eggs (60g each)
580g plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
420g sour cream
3 tsp vanilla bean paste
1 cup strawberry jam
Dollar Sweets Vanilla Buttercream
Activated Charcoal powder
Mixed Dollar Sweets Halloween Sprinkles
Dollar Sweets Food Colouring
200g white chocolate
To make the chocolate skulls, melt white chocolate and tint with Dollar Sweets green food colouring.
Mix well then pipe the green chocolate into the skull moulds and refrigerate until set.
To make the black buttercream, add Dollar Sweets Vanilla Buttercream and activated charcoal powder to a bowl, stir until just combined then use a stand mixer or electric beater to whisk until incorporated.
(It’s important to stir first to incorporate as activated charcoal powder is very fine and can easily blow everywhere if you skip this step!)
To make the cake, preheat oven to 180ºC (160ºC fan).
Grease 3 x 17.5cm round baking tins with butter, line base and sides with baking paper.
Use a stand mixer or handheld beater to beat butter and sugars together until pale and fluffy.
Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking each one in with a tablespoon of the flour. Use a spatula to fold in the remaining flour and bicarbonate of soda, then fold in sour cream and vanilla until combined.
Divide the mixture evenly between three bowls. Tint one lot of batter with orange food colour, another with purple and the last with green. Mix well then pour each into separate prepared tins and spread until level. Bake for 50 - 60 mins until golden in colour or insert a skewer into the middle of the cake and remove it, if it comes out clean then the cake is ready.
Allow cakes to cool completely in tins before removing.
To assemble, place one layer onto a cake board. Pipe a ring of black buttercream around the edges then fill the centre with 1/3 of the strawberry jam. Repeat with second layer then top with last layer.
Ice the cake with black buttercream, place the cake over a baking tray. With a clean, dry hand gently press Halloween sprinkles into the sides of the cake. Repeat until the sides are totally covered in sprinkles.
Pipe 8 large black buttercream rosettes onto the top of the cake and nestle a chocolate skull into every second rosette to serve.