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Jack-O’Lantern Halloween Cake Recipe

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★★★★★

4.6 from 149 reviews

This Jack-O’Lantern Halloween Cake is a festive and delicious chocolate Bundt cake designed to resemble a pumpkin, perfect for Halloween celebrations. Made from rich, moist chocolate layers filled and frosted with vibrant orange American buttercream, it features a creative carved face filled with black frosting, a chocolate stalk, and piped green vines and leaves for a spooky yet elegant finish. The recipe yields two large Bundt cakes stacked and decorated to create a stunning centerpiece dessert.

Ingredients

Scale

Cake

  • 125 g unsalted butter (melted, for greasing)
  • Cocoa powder (for dusting cake tin)
  • 350 g all-purpose flour (plain flour)
  • 450 g caster sugar (superfine sugar)
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 1 tsp fine salt
  • 50 g cocoa powder (sifted)
  • 350 g unsalted butter (softened)
  • 4 large eggs (55g each, room temperature)
  • 350 g milk (room temperature)

Frosting

  • 3 batches American Buttercream Frosting
  • 8 drops orange food gel
  • 4 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 100 g dark chocolate (melted)
  • 3 drops green food gel
  • 5 drops black food gel

Instructions

  1. Prepare the Cake Tins: Use a large Bundt cake tin and coat the inside thoroughly with melted butter using a pastry brush or paper towel. Dust the greased tin with cocoa powder, tapping out any excess. Set the tin aside for baking.
  2. Make Two Cakes: Note that this recipe requires baking two cakes to stack for the Jack-O’Lantern. Prepare one cake at a time using the given measurements, doubling the recipe overall for both cakes.
  3. Preheat Oven: Preheat your fan-forced oven to 140°C (285°F) or 160°C (320°F) if you have no fan setting.
  4. Combine Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, caster sugar, bicarbonate of soda, salt, and sifted cocoa powder until well combined.
  5. Add Butter and Eggs: With a mixer on low speed, gradually add softened butter one tablespoon at a time. Then slowly add eggs, mixing well before gradually pouring in milk. Continue mixing for 3–4 minutes, scrape down the bowl, then mix 1–2 minutes more to achieve a smooth, well-incorporated batter.
  6. Bake the Cake: Pour batter evenly into the prepared Bundt cake tin, smoothing the top with a spoon. Bake for 45–50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then invert onto a cooling rack. Clean the tin and repeat to bake the second cake.
  7. Cool and Level Cakes: Once both cakes reach room temperature, carefully level the bottoms with a serrated knife to ensure stable stacking.
  8. Prepare Frosting for Filling and Crumb Coat: Tint all three batches of American Buttercream with orange food gel until evenly colored.
  9. Color Frosting for Decorations: Divide the frosting: tint one-quarter with green food gel; add cocoa powder and melted dark chocolate to two-thirds of the remaining frosting for chocolate frosting; then divide this chocolate frosting and add black food gel to one part for black frosting used in facial details.
  10. Assemble and Crumb Coat: Affix a dab of orange frosting onto a 10-inch cake board or plate. Place the first cake layer curved side down. Spread orange frosting on its flat side, then place the second cake layer flat side down atop it. Cover entire cake with a thin orange frosting layer to lock crumbs in place. Chill the cake in the fridge for 2 hours.
  11. Final Orange Frosting Layer: Spread the remaining orange frosting evenly over the cake. Use a spatula starting at the bottom and working upward to shape multiple flat edges that mimic a pumpkin’s ridges.
  12. Carve Pumpkin Face: Using a skewer, outline the face on the frosted cake. Carefully remove frosting within the face shapes with a small spatula or knife, avoiding the cake layer. Fill these carved spaces with black frosting and smooth as flat as possible to create a carved pumpkin effect.
  13. Create Pumpkin Stalk: Pipe the chocolate frosting on top of the cake to shape the pumpkin stalk. Smooth the sides gently with a small spatula for a polished look.
  14. Pipe Vines and Leaves: Fill two piping bags—one fitted with a leaf tip, the other with a small round tip—with green frosting. Pipe curling vines first with the round tip, then add leaves around the vines and stalk using the leaf tip to add detail and a natural look.

Notes

  • This recipe makes two large Bundt cakes that are stacked; halve the recipe if making smaller cakes or fewer layers.
  • Ensure butter and eggs are at room temperature for better mixing and cake texture.
  • Be gentle when carving frosting to avoid cutting into the cake itself.
  • Chilling the cake after crumb coating helps set the frosting and makes final decoration easier.
  • Use a large offset spatula for smooth spreading and shaping the frosting.

Keywords: Halloween cake, Jack-O'Lantern cake, chocolate Bundt cake, buttercream frosting, pumpkin cake, Halloween dessert

Find it online: https://kitchenbyclara.com/jack-olantern-halloween-cake-recipe/