Description
Create a festive and fun Jack-O’-Lantern Cake perfect for Halloween celebrations. This recipe features a moist chocolate cake decorated with vibrant orange and black icing and colorful candy accents to resemble a classic pumpkin face. The combination of chocolate and buttercream, along with creative use of icing colors, makes this cake visually striking and delicious.
Ingredients
Cake
- Favorite Chocolate Cake Mix or Recipe (enough for one round layer)
Frosting and Decorations
- Buttercream Frosting (quantity as needed for crumb coating)
- Chocolate Decorator Icing, 16 oz.
- Orange Icing Color, 1 oz.
- Orange Gel Food Coloring, 1 oz.
- Naturally Flavored Rich Chocolate Icing, 16 oz.
- Round candy-coated candies (black and orange, quantity for decorating eyes, nose, mouth, and top)
Instructions
- Make cake and prepare board: Bake one round layer of chocolate cake following your chosen mix or recipe instructions. Once baked, allow the cake to cool completely, then level the top to ensure a flat surface. Position the cake securely on your decorating board.
- Thin chocolate icing: Mix the naturally flavored rich chocolate icing with a small amount of milk or water to achieve a spreadable consistency suitable for detailed icing work.
- Tint icing and ice cake: Using the orange icing color and gel food coloring, tint the buttercream or decorator icing until a vibrant orange shade is achieved, matching the candy color. With a tapered spatula, use chocolate icing to carefully frost the stem area and the inside edges of the eyes, nose, and mouth cutouts on the cake. Next, use an angled spatula to apply the orange icing evenly over the remainder of the top and sides of the cake, creating the pumpkin effect.
- Decorate cake: Decorate the top of the stem with black candy-coated candies to mimic pumpkin seeds or texture. Then, fill the cavities for the eyes, nose, and mouth with remaining black candies to complete the Jack-O’-Lantern face. Finally, arrange orange candies on the cake’s top surface to add extra color and festive décor.
Notes
- Ensure the cake is completely cooled before applying any frosting to avoid melting and sliding.
- Use gel food coloring for vibrant and rich ice colors without thinning the frosting.
- Leveling the cake creates a professional finish and makes decorating easier.
- Use a sturdy cake board to support the decorated cake during display and transport.
- For best results, allow the decorated cake to chill before serving to set the icing.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice (approximately 1/10 of cake)
- Calories: 350 kcal
- Sugar: 28 g
- Sodium: 250 mg
- Fat: 18 g
- Saturated Fat: 8 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7 g
- Trans Fat: 0.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 45 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Cholesterol: 50 mg