Chocolate-covered Halloween Cakes

BAKETOBER IS HERE! I’ve actually made quite a few posts over on my Instagram with some super simple and incredibly fun Halloween breakfast, snack, and dessert ideas, so be sure to head over there for plenty of frights and delights. I wanted to make a blog post with a video tutorial on how to make these fa-boo-lous chocolate-covered Halloween cakes using a nifty Wilton pan, some candy melts, and any cake recipe…plus, like, a hauntingly ridiculous amount of Crisco. If you’re looking for a fun, simple way to get ghoulish, look no further. These are ready in under an hour and perfect all month long. Just boo it!

Materials needed:

• Wilton’s ghost and pumpkin nonstick pan (I found mine on Amazon)
• Orange and white chocolate melts (most craft stores and grocery stores will have them this time of year)
• Crisco or coconut oil
• Black, orange, and silver or white luster dust (most craft stores have this; Amazon also has tons of options)
• Food-safe paintbrushes
• Your favorite cake mix

Instructions:

• Prepare your favorite cake recipe; red velvet is always fun this time of year, so is anything with black cocoa! You’ll have enough chocolate melts that the cakes will get totally covered on top, so the color underneath won’t show through.
• Take your pan, and liberally coat each cavity with Crisco or solid coconut oil. I find it easiest to use a paintbrush to get in all the nooks and crannies.
• This will make 12 mini cakes, so pour half your batter in the 6 cavities for now; fill it up about 3/4 of the way full.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick comes cleanly out of the center of a cake.
• Let rest in pan on a cooling rack for 10 minutes before removing cakes.
• Bake your second batch following those same instructions.
• Once cakes have totally cooled, clean your pan, dry thoroughly, and coat again with Crisco or coconut oil.
• Take 120 grams of white chocolate, and melt according to package directions.
• Use a spoon to distribute the white chocolate in each of the ghost molds. Place a cooled ghost cake face down in the chocolate and press in gently.
• Repeat this process with 120 grams of orange chocolate to make the pumpkins.
• Place in the freezer for 30-60 minutes to set.
• Use an angled spatula or dull knife to release from the pan; be gentle so as not to break the chocolate.
• Wipe any excess oil or Crisco off the cakes.
• Use a larger paintbrush to paint silver or white luster on the ghosts; this can be done dry/without adding anything to the luster.
• Use a new paintbrush to paint orange luster on the Jack O’Lanterns.
• Finish your spooktacular creations by using a very small paintbrush dipped in black luster to fill in the eyes and mouths; it is helpful to tap excess black luster off the brush before beginning. If you do get black luster somewhere it shouldn’t be, use a Q-tip to clean and come back in with the base luster color.
• See video below for how I used the melts. Happy haunting!