Description
A spooky and fun Halloween Graveyard Cake with rich chocolate flavor, decorated with Oreo ‘soil’, biscuit tombstones dipped in chocolate, a chocolate finger fence, and optional jelly snakes and fondant pumpkins. Perfect for Halloween celebrations and chocolate lovers.
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 (plus more if needed)
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: Pre-heat your oven to 160°C Fan/180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4. 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 unsalted softened butter or baking spread and light brown soft sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs, milk, and vanilla extract and mix until fully incorporated.
- Incorporate dry ingredients: Gently fold in the self-raising flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and bicarbonate of soda until just combined without overmixing.
- Bake the cake: Pour the batter evenly into the prepared tin and smooth the top. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool completely in the tin or on a cooling rack.
- Prepare biscuit graves: While the cake is baking and cooling, snap about a third off the end of each Biscoff biscuit to make them shorter. Melt the dark chocolate and dip each biscuit, shaking off excess chocolate. Place on baking paper to set.
- Decorate tombstones: Once the dark chocolate has set on the biscuits, melt the white candy melts and put into a piping bag with a small cut at the end. Pipe designs onto the chocolate-dipped biscuits and let set completely.
- Make chocolate buttercream: Using an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, beat 200 g softened butter for several minutes until creamy. Add the icing sugar, cocoa powder, and milk, and beat until well combined and smooth. Adjust milk quantity if 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.
- Attach chocolate finger fence: Break chocolate fingers into varying lengths. Press them into the sides of the cake with the broken side down, pressing gently so they stick to the buttercream.
- Add Oreo soil: Cover the top surface of the cake with crushed Oreo crumbs to resemble soil.
- Place biscuit graves: Cut slits into the top of the cake where you want to position the biscuit tombstones. Gently push the decorated biscuits into the slits upright.
- Decorate with extras: Add optional jelly snakes, fondant pumpkins, or any other Halloween-themed decorations around the graves and surface of the cake.
- Make green grass buttercream: Mix 25 g softened butter and 50 g icing sugar until smooth. Add vanilla extract, milk, and green food colouring and beat until smooth and desired shade is achieved. Use a stand or handheld mixer for best results.
- Pipe grass decoration: Transfer green buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a multi-opening grass nozzle. Pipe grass around the biscuit graves and randomly across the cake. Alternatively, use a spoon to add small blobs and flick the back of the spoon to create textured grass.
- Serve and store: Slice the cake into squares to serve. Store leftovers in an airtight container in a cool place and consume within 3 days.
Notes
- A deliciously spooky chocolate traybake cake with Oreo soil, biscuit tombstones, a chocolate finger fence, and optional jelly snakes—perfect for Halloween celebrations.
- You can customize the decorations with other Halloween-themed candy or fondant shapes.
- Ensure the cake is fully cooled before applying buttercream to prevent melting.
- If the buttercream is too stiff, add milk gradually to reach desired consistency for spreading and piping.
- Store the cake properly to maintain freshness and texture, ideally in a cool environment but not refrigerated to avoid hardening the decorations.
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
