Learn how to make this ultimate Halloween cake ready to slice for the spooky season.
This recipe makes an extra special Halloween birthday cake. A traditional jam sponge cake underneath, we've used classic ready-to-roll coloured icing (in orange and black of course) to cover the top and finished with a sprinkling of sweets for a tantalising treat. An ideal bake with kids - little ones will love crafting scary characters with the icing and licking the jam off their lips after a few bites.
Ingredients
- 175g (6oz) butter, softened
- 175g (6oz) caster sugar
- 175g (6oz) self-raising flour
- 5ml (1tsp) baking powder
- 3 large eggs
- 90ml (6tbsp) jam
- 2 x 500g packs ready-to-roll coloured icing containing red, yellow, and black icing
- Icing sugar, to dust
- 1 tube black and 1 tube yellow writing icing
- Halloween sweets, to decorate
WEIGHT CONVERTER
Method
- Preheat the oven to 170°C (325°F, gas mark 3). Grease and line the base and sides of an 18cm (7in) round cake tin with greaseproof paper.
- Place the butter, caster sugar, flour, baking powder and eggs in a large bowl and beat with an electric whisk until thoroughly blended. Spoon into the prepared tin and level the surface.
- Bake for 45-50 mins until the cake is golden and firm. Cool in the tin for 10 mins, then turn out on to a rack and cool.
- Split the cake in half horizontally and sandwich back together with half the jam. Place the cake on a flat plate and spread the rest of the jam over the top and sides.
- Mix together the two packs of yellow icing and two packs of red icing to make a deep orange-coloured icing. Roll this out on a surface lightly dusted with icing sugar to a 30cm (12in) circle. Carefully lift and drape the circle of icing over the cake and smooth down the sides with hands dusted with icing sugar. Trim the excess icing from around the base of the cake.
- Mix together the two packs of black icing and roll out thinly. Use cat and bat cookie cutters to stamp out shapes. Attach to the sides and top of the cake with a dab of water. Use the yellow writing icing for eyes and the black icing for spiders webs then leave to set. Arrange Halloween sweets around the top and sides of the cake just before serving.
Top tips on how to make a Halloween cake:
You'll know your cake is done when a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
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Jessica Dady is Food Editor at GoodtoKnow and has over 12 years of experience as a digital editor, specialising in all things food, recipes, and SEO. From the must-buy seasonal food hampers and advent calendars for Christmas to the family-friendly air fryers that’ll make dinner time a breeze, Jessica loves trying and testing various food products to find the best of the best for the busy parents among us. Over the years of working with GoodtoKnow, Jessica has had the privilege of working alongside Future’s Test Kitchen to create exclusive videos - as well as writing, testing, and shooting her own recipes. When she’s not embracing the great outdoors with her family at the weekends, Jessica enjoys baking up a storm in the kitchen with her favourite bakes being chocolate chip cookies, cupcakes, and a tray of gooey chocolate brownies.
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