Description
This Halloween Graveyard Cake is a delightfully spooky chocolate traybake perfect for festive celebrations. Featuring a moist cocoa sponge, rich chocolate buttercream, Oreo crumb ‘soil’, chocolate finger fencing, and biscuit tombstone decorations, this cake brings a creepy-cute graveyard scene to your dessert table. Decorated with jelly snakes and fondant pumpkins, it’s a fun and impressive centerpiece for Halloween parties.
Ingredients
Scale
Cake
- 225 g Butter or baking spread (unsalted, softened)
- 225 g Light brown soft sugar
- 4 Eggs (large)
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 75 ml Milk
- 175 g Self raising flour
- 50 g Cocoa powder
- 1/4 tsp Baking powder
- 1/4 tsp Bicarbonate of soda
Chocolate Buttercream
- 200 g Butter (unsalted, softened)
- 325 g Icing sugar
- 75 g Cocoa powder
- 3 tbsp Milk
Biscuit Graves Decoration
- 8 Biscoff biscuits
- 125 g Dark chocolate (melted)
- 25 g White candy melts (or white chocolate)
Additional Decorations
- 200 g Chocolate fingers
- 120 g Oreos (crushed into crumbs)
- Jelly snakes (optional)
- Fondant pumpkins (optional)
Green Grass Buttercream
- 25 g Butter (unsalted, softened)
- 50 g Icing sugar
- 1/8 tsp Vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp Milk
- Green food colouring
Instructions
- Preheat and Prepare Tin: Preheat your oven to 160C Fan/180C/350F/Gas Mark 4, and grease and line a 12″ x 9″ traybake tin with baking paper to prevent sticking.
- Make the Cake Batter: In a large bowl, beat the softened baking spread (or butter) and light brown soft sugar together using an electric mixer until fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs, milk, and vanilla extract and mix until fully incorporated. Gently fold in the self raising flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and bicarbonate of soda, ensuring no lumps remain.
- Bake the Cake: Pour the batter into the prepared tin and smooth the surface evenly. Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool completely in the tin or on a cooling rack.
- Prepare Biscuit Graves: Break about a third off each Biscoff biscuit end to size them appropriately for the cake. Dip each biscuit into melted dark chocolate, shaking off excess, and place on baking paper to set. Once set, melt white candy melts and pipe graveyard designs onto biscuits using a piping bag. Leave to set fully.
- Make Chocolate Buttercream: Using an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, beat 200 g softened butter until smooth for a few minutes. Gradually add icing sugar, cocoa powder, and milk, mixing until well combined. Adjust milk amounts if the buttercream is too stiff.
- Frost the Cake: Using an angled palette knife, spread the chocolate buttercream evenly over the top and sides of the cooled cake.
- Decorate with Chocolate Fingers and Oreo Crumbs: Break chocolate fingers into random lengths and press them gently, broken side down, into the buttercream around the cake’s edges to form a fence. Cover the top surface of the cake with crushed Oreo crumbs to mimic soil.
- Arrange Biscuit Graves and Additional Decorations: Cut slits in the cake surface where you’d like the biscuit graves to stand, then gently insert the chocolate-coated biscuits. Decorate with jelly snakes, fondant pumpkins, or any additional Halloween decorations as desired.
- Make Green Grass Buttercream: Mix 25 g softened butter with 50 g icing sugar, vanilla extract, and milk. Add green food colouring and beat until smooth and vibrant. Use a piping bag fitted with a grass nozzle to pipe grass around biscuit graves and scattered on the cake, or create texture with a spoon.
- Serve and Store: Slice the cake into squares to serve. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in a cool place and consume within 3 days for best freshness.
Notes
- A deliciously spooky chocolate traybake cake perfect for Halloween celebrations.
- The Oreo crumb ‘soil’ and biscuit tombstones create a fun graveyard effect.
- Chocolate finger fencing adds a unique and textural cake border.
- Optional jelly snakes and fondant pumpkins enhance the Halloween theme.
- Use an electric mixer for faster and smoother buttercream preparation.
- Make sure the cake is completely cool before frosting to avoid melting the buttercream.
- Store the cake properly to maintain freshness over a few days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 800 kcal
- Sugar: 58 g
- Sodium: 372 mg
- Fat: 42 g
- Saturated Fat: 25 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 15 g
- Trans Fat: 1 g
- Carbohydrates: 84 g
- Fiber: 6 g
- Protein: 8 g
- Cholesterol: 137 mg
