Fondant icing and decorations will make any Halloween-themed cake stand out.
Fondant is a firm and malleable type of icing that is very well suited to making shaped cakes. Fondant also gives the finished cake a smooth and polished look that is hard to achieve with other icing, such as buttercream. Using fondant to make a Halloween cake is a great idea, as there are many spooky shapes that can be molded into cakes, such as gravestones, Jack-o'-lanterns, spiders and more.
Instructions
1. Make the instant cake mix into a batter and pour it into the cake pans. Choose a cake pan that generally resembles the shape of the finished cake. For instance, if you're making a Jack-o'-lantern cake, use round pans; if you're making a gravestone cake, use a long rectangular pan. Keep in mind that you will need to cut away some cake in order to shape it later on, so choose the size of the cake pan accordingly.
2. Bake the cake according to the instructions on the instant cake mix. Let the cake cool in the pan for several minutes after removing it from the oven, then carefully transfer the cake to a cooling rack. Let the cake cool fully for a couple of hours.
3. Use a long-bladed, baking knife to cut away the cake and make it into a Halloween shape. Round the edges of one end of a rectangular cake if you are making a gravestone cake, for example. Stack the layers of a round cake and shave around the sides of the bottom layer and a little off the top edge of the top layer if you're making a round, Jack-o'-lantern cake.
4. Cover the cake with a light layer of buttercream. Add layers to the cake if you're making a layered cake and cover lightly with buttercream on each layer, then over the sides and top of the entire cake.
5. Knead any food coloring into the fondant until it is blended. Roll the fondant smooth with a rolling pin until it looks like it will fully cover the cake. Gently roll all the fondant onto the rolling pin, then unroll it over the cake. Cut off the overlap and press the fondant into the sides and edge of the cake.
6. Use the remaining fondant to sculpt any other features of the cake, like a pumpkin stem for a Jack-o'-lantern cake. Use a toothpick to scrape and carve any patterns or words into the fondant already on the cake.
7. Decorate with any other goodies you have, such as gummy worms, candy corn, gummy spiders or anything else. Use buttercream to stick them on.
Tags: Jack-o -lantern, Jack-o -lantern cake, -lantern cake, cake cool, cake making, finished cake, gravestone cake