This creepy and frightfully delicious Skull Cake is easily made with store-bought boxed cake mix as the base, put together with a decadent chocolate buttercream filling and covered with a shiny coat of vanilla glaze.
If you love to celebrate October’s holiday season with fun and spooky sweet and savory Halloween recipes, check out my Halloween Pizza Skulls and my haunting No-Bake Cheesecake!
This post/recipe was created for #HalloweenTreatsWeek! As always opinions are 100% mine
Halloween Skull Cake
My family loves Halloween and spooky and eerie are both part of their Halloween love language. My husband and both of my boys are the masterminds behind most of my Halloween recipes. I usually have to turn down the intensity of their outrageously crazy ideas although I must admit, having them involved makes me the happiest wife/mom/woman/chef in the galaxy.
This cake is super easy to make but the assembly takes a little bit of effort. By no means you need to be an experienced baker or cook to be able to handle this cake recipe. Honestly, all you are doing is glueing two cakes together using buttercream as your glue! Once you put that in your head you realize this cake is easier to put together than most cakes.
As an added bonus, this is a cake to resemble a “skull” on Halloween. Perfection is not what we are aiming for! I honestly think that if your cake crumbles a bit or even brakes, it would look much cooler than my cake.
Why You Will Love This Recipe?
- This Halloween cake recipe is made with store-bought cake mix. That makes the cake foolproof and quick and easy to make!
- It’s a showstopper! Whether you are having a Halloween party or simply want to get into the holiday spirit, this is “the cake” you should make.
- It’s a centerpiece and a dessert all at once!
- Have fun making it yours! Decorate it any way you want. Add sprinkles, pipe it with buttercream, add some candy horns… the possibilities are endless.
- This recipe is make with basic pantry ingredients.
Baking Pan
To make this Halloween cake recipe you will need a skull cake pan. I used this Haunted Skull Pan. I am not being compensated to promote this product. I was simply impressed with the pan’s quality and I highly recommend it.
I tested this spooky cake recipe only with this particular cake pan however, you can use any other brand as long as it’s a 9-cups capacity.
Cake Ingredients
- Chocolate Cake Mix: i used 2 boxes of chocolate fudge cake mix.
- Eggs: I used large eggs.
- Butter: You can use unsalted or salted butter.
- Milk: Whole milk or 2% work.
For the Chocolate Buttercream Frosting and the Glaze:
- Butter
- Powdered Sugar
- Milk
- Cocoa Powder
- Vanilla Extract
- Salt
How To Make This Spooky Cake
- Preheat the oven to 325 degreed Fahrenheit and grease the skull cake pan with cooking spray or melted butter.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, milk, butter and eggs. Mix with an electric mixer or by hand until combined.
- Divide the cake mixture among the skull cavities. The cavities should be filled almost to the top.
- Bake until a cake tester or wooden skewer comes out clean when inserted in the middle of the cake.
- Allow the cakes to cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then invert them onto the cooling rack. Cool completely before assembling.
Make the Homemade Chocolate Buttercream
- Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy.
- Slowly add half of the powdered sugar, the cocoa powder, milk and vanilla and mix until smooth. Add the remaining powdered sugar and pinch of salt. With the mixer on medium speed, mix until completely smooth. Add more milk or powder sugar if needed until you reach the right consistency.
- Make the Glaze.
- You can make some fake blood by adding red food coloring to about 1/4 cup of the glaze.
Assemble the Cake
- Use a serrated knife to remove the domes from the top of the cakes, if needed.
- Return the front half of the cake to the pan. Spread a thin layer of buttercream on the front half (the half that is in the pan).
- Take the back half of the cake and press down gently onto the buttercream to securely sandwich the halves together. For additional stability, place a 4 inch skewer into the base of the skull and another one into the upper half of the skull on the back side of the cake.
- Cover the cake with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes so the buttercream has time to harden. In the meantime, make the glaze.
- Carefully remove the cake from the pan and set it on a plate. Spread some of the buttercream on the cake seams to fill in any cracks. Smooth the buttercream with an offset spatula.
- Pour the glaze over the cake and allow it to set. You can decorate it with some of the red “faux blood” glaze if desire.
Can I Make Chocolate Buttercream Ahead of Time?
Yes, you can make buttercream ahead of time. Buttercream frosting can be store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a week. Bring to room temperature and re-whip to get it back to a fluffy consistency.
Buttercream also freezes well. Store in the freezer for 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight then bring to room temperature and re-whip to get it back to a fluffy consistency.
How To Store This Chocolate Halloween Cake
You can keep this cake on the kitchen counter for 2 days. Refrigerate the leftover cake covered with plastic wrap or in a storage container to prevent the cake from drying out.
Skull Cake Recipe Tips
- Grease the baking pan throughly to prevent the cakes from sticking.
- The cake batter will fill both cake pan cavities almost to the top leaving only about 1-inch of room left.
- Most likely you will have some extra buttercream leftover.
- You can make some fake blood by adding red food coloring to some of the glaze. I use food color gels to control the amount of liquid added to the glaze.
- You can use any flavor cake mix that you like.
The inspiration for this cake came from a blog post by Inspired by Charm. Michael’s cake is stunning and his recipe is made from scratch.
Easy Halloween Skull Cake (with cake mix)
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 2 (15.25 oz) boxes chocolate cake mix I used Betty Crocker Chocolate Fudge
- 2 1/2 cups milk
- 1 1/4 cup butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 6 large eggs
For the Buttercream
- 1 stick 1 stick butter, softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
For the Glaze
- 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degreed Fahrenheit and grease the skull cake pan with cooking spray or melted butter. Make sure all the crevices of the cake pan are greased.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, milk, butter and eggs. Mix with an electric mixer over medium speed or beat vigorously by hand until combined.
- Divide the cake mixture among the skull cavities. The cavities should be filled almost to the top, with about 1-inch left from the top.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes, checking the cake after about 45 minutes of cooking time.The cake is ready when a cake tester or wooden skewer comes out clean when inserted in the middle of the cake.
- Allow the cakes to cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then invert them onto the cooling rack. Cool the cakes completely before assembling.
Make the Buttercream
- Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes.
- With the mixer on low, slowly add half of the powdered sugar, the cocoa powder, milk and vanilla and mix until smooth. Slowly add the remaining powdered sugar and pinch of salt. With the mixer on medium speed, mix until completely smooth, about 3 minutes. If the frosting is too stiff, add more milk. If it’s too thin, add more powdered sugar.
Assemble:
- To assemble the cake, use a serrated knife to remove the domes from the top of the cakes, if needed.
- Return the front half of the cake to the pan. Spread a thin layer of buttercream on the front half (the half that is in the pan). Take the back half of the cake and press down gently onto the buttercream to securely sandwich the halves together. For additional stability, place a 4 inch skewer into the base of the skull and another one into the upper half of the skull on the back side of the cake. Cover the cake with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes so the buttercream has time to harden. In the meantime, make the glaze.
Make the Glaze
- Add the powdered sugar to a medium bowl. Slowly and gradually stir in the milk and vanilla and mix until it becomes a pourable glaze. Set aside
NOTE: If you want to make some faux blood, remove about 1/4 cup of the glaze and pour it into a small bowl. Then, color it with red food color gel.
Assembly Continues
- Carefully remove the skull cake from the pan and set it on a plate (see photo). Spread some of the buttercream on the cake seams to fill in any cracks. Smooth the buttercream with an offset spatula.
- Pour the glaze over the cake and allow it to set. You can decorate it with some of the red “faux blood” glaze.
- To serve, you can carefully transfer the cake to a serving platter. Slice the cake from the top of the skull and then cut those slices in half. Serve.
Recipe Notes
- I used small wooden skewers to make the cakes more stable.
- The buttercream is used as a “glue” to keep the two cakes sandwich together to form a perfect skull.
Nutrition
Check out all of these great #HalloweenTreatsWeek recipes for today
- Melted Witch Ice Cream from Big Bear’s Wife
- Blood Splatter Donuts from Semi Homemade Recipes
- Ghost Meringue Cookies from Jen Around the World
- Apple Cider Donut Whoopie Pies from Pint Sized Baker
- Graveyard Pudding Cups from Fresh April Flours
- Halloween Rice Krispie Treats from Devour Dinner
- Halloween Monster Donuts from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
- Witches’ Brew Whiskey Sour from The Redhead Baker
- Witches Hat Cheese Ball from 4 Sons ‘R’ Us
- Pumpkin Swirl Brownies from Eat Move Make
- Layered Halloween Jello from from House of Nash Eats
- Mummy Wrapped Brie from Cheese Curd In Paradise
- Mummy Cupcakes from The Flour Handprint
- Spider Cake from Baking Up Memories
- Halloween Candy Cracker Toffee from Sweet ReciPEAs
- Old Fashioned Apple Fritters from It’s Shanaka
- Pumpkin Mint Patties from Sweet Beginnings
- Butterfinger Ice Cream (No-Churn) from Pastry Chef Online
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- Halloween Cupcake Treat Board from Strawberry Blondie Kitchen
- Melted Witch Icebox Cake from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
- Halloween Brownie Pizza from Back To My Southern Roots
- Halloween Mini Bat Taco Cheeseballs from Savory Moments
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