Black Magic Cake (The Ultimate Halloween Cake!)
A rich and decadent, dark chocolate layer cake with a fun Halloween theme, called ‘Black Magic Cake’. The recipe features a moist chocolate cake made with bloomed Dutch-process cocoa for an intense flavor. Both the filling and frosting are a single, glossy chocolate ganache-style icing. For a spooky effect, the finished cake is decorated with a ‘spiderweb’ or ‘mummy’ design, cleverly created by stretching melted marshmallows over the frosted cake and adding candy spiders or eyes.
Ingredients
- For the Cake:
- 2/3 cup vegetable oil, plus more for greasing
- 1 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 1 cup boiling water
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- For the Filling and Frosting:
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 3/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted
- 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Pinch of fine salt
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- For the Decoration:
- 2 cups mini marshmallows (about 4 ounces)
- Cooking spray
- Candy spiders or candy eyes
Instructions
- Make the Cake Layers: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and line two 9-inch round cake pans with parchment.
- In a small bowl, stir together the cocoa powder and boiling water and let it sit for 5 minutes to ‘bloom’.
- In a large bowl, whisk the granulated sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate medium bowl, whisk the bloomed cocoa, oil, milk, eggs, and vanilla.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until the batter is smooth (it will be thin). Divide the batter between the prepared pans.
- Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cakes cool completely in the pans.
- Make the Frosting: While the cakes cool, heat the cream in a double boiler over low heat. Whisk in the cocoa powder, chopped chocolate, espresso powder, vanilla, and salt until smooth. Whisk in the butter until melted, then whisk in the confectioners’ sugar. Let the frosting cool completely until it is a spreadable consistency.
- Assemble the Cake: Place one cake layer on a serving plate. Spread about 1 cup of the frosting over the top. Top with the second cake layer and frost the top and sides with the remaining frosting.
- Decorate: Microwave the marshmallows in a large bowl for about 1 minute until they swell. Let cool for a few minutes until you can touch them.
- Spray your hands with cooking spray. For a spiderweb, pick up blobs of the melted marshmallow and stretch them over and around the cake to create crisscrossing strings. For a mummy, stretch the strings in the same direction, leaving a gap for eyes.
- Garnish with candy spiders or candy eyes.
Notes
- ‘Blooming’ the cocoa powder in hot water is a key step that intensifies the chocolate flavor in the cake.
- It is crucial to let both the cake layers and the frosting cool completely before assembling the cake.
- The marshmallow web decoration is a fun, creative, and easy way to give the cake a spooky Halloween look.
Find it online: https://cookupjoy.com/black-magic-cake/