The perfect Halloween dessert for a crowd is so easy, it's spooky! Moist, and intensely dark chocolate blackout cake, made with BLACK COCOA, topped with a gorgeous, shiny ganache icing that pours right on for fool-proof decorating.
Why this recipe works:
It's E-A-S-Y. You don't even need decorating skills for this; even the ganache icing is a simple pour-on icing that is fool proof!
Not everyone has the time for an over-the-top Halloween themed dessert, and that's ok! You can still convey Halloween vibes with this easy to decorate chocolate blackout cake recipe; NO Hocus-Pocus required!
There's nothing scary about this cake, if you're looking for a simple Halloween dessert to share with your crowd, without all the bells and whistles--or in this case-- the spiderwebs and eyeballs.
**Speaking of eyeballs, you can make homemade candy eyeballs using just 3 pantry ingredients with this simple recipe!
What you need:
Black cocoa is great at turning things JET BLACK, without turning your mouth crazy colors. It has a mild, Oreo-like taste that's perfect in these Fudge Dipped Chocolate Cream Cheese Cookies.
There's a couple important things to note about black cocoa though:
First of all, black cocoa has almost zero fat in it, so without adequate oil or full-fat ingredients your cake will be dry. Don't try to cut down on the fat content of the other ingredients in this recipe.
Second of all, black cocoa is highly alkalized, which means it won't react to baking soda since there's no acid in it like regular cocoa powder. For this reason, we use buttermilk to add acidity. We also add some baking powder as an additional leavener.
**No buttermilk? No problem, try this recipe for 5 minute buttermilk using milk and vinegar/lemon juice.
How to make this recipe
First off, preheat the oven and prepare your pan (photo 1). Either grease a 13x9 inch cake pan with butter, shortening or cooking spray, and then dust with flour. Tap off excess. Alternatively, you can just line the pan with parchment paper. This makes for easy removal out of the pan, and zero sticking.
In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt) (photo 2). You may want to consider sifting the cocoa powder through a fine, mesh strainer to remove any lumps. They would not be pleasant to bite into.
Then, add the eggs, buttermilk, vegetable oil and vanilla extract to the bowl. Use a rubber spatula to "fold" these ingredients in (photo 3). Stir until just combined.
Pour the batter into prepared pan (photo 4) and bake for 28-34 minutes. It is done when the top springs back when gently poked, or when a toothpick inserted into the center comes back mostly clean, with moist crumbs but no wet batter.
Can I make cupcakes instead?
Yes! Follow the recipe exactly the same, except fill lined cupcake pan two-thirds of the way full and reduce baking time to 20-26 minutes.
How to make the ganache icing:
In a medium microwave safe bowl, mix together the chocolate chips, black cocoa powder and heavy cream (photo 5). Microwave on high power in 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until smooth and shiny (photos 6-8).
Decorating the cake
Let ganache cool to slightly warm before spreading over the cake. If it's sat too long and looks grainy, just give it a 10 second burst in the microwave, stir and pour over the cake (photo 9). Use an offset spatula to smooth over the edges (photo 10).
Add sprinkles right after the icing has been spread on top, because the sprinkles will stick better. Use any Halloween themed sprinkles you like.
Tips and tricks
- Cake batters can be fickle, so it's not advised to use an electric mixer of any sort. It's too easy to over-mix the batter, and that can make cakes flat.
- Sifting the cocoa first makes sure to eliminate any lumps in the cocoa that would be bitter and unpleasant to bite into. The same goes for the baking soda and baking powder. Sift, sift, sift!
- Using parchment paper rather than the grease-and-flour method, means that you can literally lift the cake out of the pan to decorate it.
- Dusting the greased pan with cocoa powder rather than flour eliminates the chance of seeing light dustings of flour around the edges of the cake.
- If you don't have access to buttermilk, you can make it by combining a ratio of 1 cup whole or 2% milk with 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice.
Related Recipes
- Fudge Dipped Chocolate Cream Cheese Cookies
- Homemade Candy Eyeballs
- Thin Mint Sandwich Cookies
- Crinkle Top Fudge Brownies
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Chocolate Blackout Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour or cake flour
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup Dutch processed black cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk can substitute 1 1/2 cups milk plus 2 tablespoons lemon juice or vinegar (stir and let sit 3-5 minutes)
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Blackout Icing
- 1 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
- 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 tbsp. Dutch processed black cocoa powder
- Halloween sprinkles of choice for decorating, optional
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Grease a 13x9 inch baking pan with shortening, butter or cooking spray and dust lightly with flour. Tap off excess.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- Add to that the eggs, buttermilk, oil and vanilla, and stir gently until combined.
- Scrape batter into prepared pan and bake 26-34 minutes, until top is springs back when lightly poked with finger, or toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
- Allow cake to cool completely.
Icing
- In a microwave safe container stir heavy cream, chocolate chips and black cocoa powder. Heat in 30 second intervals, stirring in between each one until melted and completely smooth.
- Cool icing and cake completely before frosting.
- Begin by scooping a very large dollop onto the center of the cake, and then using an offset spatula to spread a thin layer evenly to each edge.
- Decorate with metallic sanding sugar directly after frosting, so the sprinkles stick.
Notes
- Ganache icing can be made a day in advance, store in the fridge, and microwave in 30 second bursts (stirring in between) until smooth and shiny.
- Cake batters can be fickle, so it's not advised to use an electric mixer of any sort. It's too easy to over-mix the batter, and that can make cakes flat.
- Sifting the cocoa first makes sure to eliminate any lumps in the cocoa that would be bitter and unpleasant to bite into. The same goes for the baking soda and baking powder.
- Using parchment paper rather than the grease-and-flour method, means that you can literally lift the cake out of the pan to decorate it.
- Dusting the greased pan with cocoa powder rather than flour eliminates the chance of seeing light dustings of flour around the edges of the cake.
- If you don't have access to buttermilk, you can make it by combining a ratio of 1 cup whole or 2% milk with 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice.
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