This spooky Halloween chocolate cake is three 8 inch layers of dark, coffee-boosted chocolate cake, filled with blackberry cream and covered in black buttercream. Plan on about 2 hours: 40 minutes of prep, 28 to 30 minutes in a 350°F oven and 45 minutes of cooling. It cuts into 12 tall slices.
The spooky part is all on the outside. A fondant ghost stands in the middle, white chocolate eyeballs peek out of a ring of crushed cookie “dirt,” and royal icing spiderwebs run down the sides. One thing to know before you start: make the black buttercream the night before. Its color keeps getting darker as it sits.
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- Pans: three 8 inch round cake pans, greased and lined
- Oven: 350°F (175°C), 28 to 30 minutes
- Time: 40 minutes prep, 30 minutes baking, 45 minutes cooling, plus a 20 minute chill for the crumb coat
- Yield: one 3 layer 8 inch cake, 12 slices
- Black buttercream: 2 cups butter, 6 cups powdered sugar and ¾ cup cocoa, colored with 1 tablespoon black gel
- Keeps: 3 days, covered, in the fridge
Thin Batter and Hot Coffee for the Chocolate Layers
The layers use 2½ cups flour, 2 cups sugar and a full cup of cocoa, with buttermilk, oil, eggs and vanilla on the wet side. The cup of hot coffee goes in last. It does not make the cake taste like coffee. The heat blooms the cocoa, so the chocolate tastes deeper and darker. Hot water works if you have no coffee, with a slightly flatter chocolate flavor.
Once the coffee is in, the batter is thin and pourable. That is how it should be, so do not add flour to thicken it. Oil instead of butter keeps the crumb soft straight from the fridge, and this cake has to be stored cold.
Divide the batter evenly between the three pans; a kitchen scale makes it quick and gives you level layers without trimming. Bake until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Then let the layers cool completely. Even slightly warm cake will melt both the cream filling and the buttercream.
Blackberry Cream Filling That Stays Between the Layers
The filling is 8 ounces of soft cream cheese beaten with ½ cup powdered sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla, then lightened with 1½ cups heavy cream whipped to stiff peaks. Beat the cream cheese until completely smooth before the sugar goes in. Cold cream cheese leaves small lumps, and no amount of folding gets them out later.
Fold the whipped cream in by hand in two or three additions. Then add ½ cup blackberry jam and swirl it through with only a few strokes, so you see purple ribbons. Keep stirring and the whole bowl turns pink and loosens. I have made this filling with both blackberry and raspberry jam. Raspberry is sharper and brighter; blackberry is mellower and sits better next to the dark chocolate. Seedless jam gives the smoothest layer.
This is a soft, mousse-like filling, much softer than buttercream. Under the weight of three layers it wants to squeeze out at the edges. The fix is a dam: pipe a ring of the black buttercream just inside the rim of each layer and spread the filling inside it.
Chocolate Base or White Base for Black Buttercream?
Black frosting is far easier when it starts out dark. This buttercream is 2 cups softened butter, 6 cups powdered sugar and ¾ cup cocoa, loosened with ½ cup heavy cream, 2 teaspoons vanilla and a pinch of salt. The cocoa turns it deep brown first, so 1 tablespoon of black gel coloring is enough to take it to black.
Starting from a white vanilla buttercream takes a lot more coloring to reach the same shade. That is when black frosting tastes bitter and stains everything it touches. Use gel coloring, not liquid, so the texture stays smooth.
Add the gel a little at a time and stop when the frosting looks dark charcoal. Over a few hours the color deepens, and by the next morning it is truly black. That is why I make it the night before. Cover it well, let it come back to soft room temperature, and beat it again before frosting. A splash more cream fixes it if it feels stiff.
Stacking, Crumb Coat and Royal Icing Spiderwebs
Set the first layer on a board, pipe the buttercream ring, and spread in half the filling. Repeat with the second layer. Put the third layer on top, flat side up, for a level top. Cover the whole cake in a thin crumb coat of black buttercream and chill it for 20 minutes, until it feels firm to a light touch. Then add the final smooth coat.
For the webs you need ½ cup white royal icing. It should flow from a small round tip in an unbroken line, yet hold its shape on the side of the cake. Too thick to pipe? Add a drop or two of water. Pipe a few straight lines down from the top edge, then join them with drooping curves. A cold cake helps here, because the icing glides over firm buttercream instead of dragging it.
Sprinkle 1 cup crushed chocolate cookies in a circle on top for the dirt patch. Stand the ghost in the center and press 6 to 8 white chocolate eyeballs into the crumbs around it. Store-bought eyeballs are fine. The ghost can be shaped from white fondant or modeling chocolate a few days ahead and left at room temperature to firm up; the fridge makes fondant sticky.
Spreading the Work Over Two Days
Day one: bake and cool the layers and wrap them tightly in plastic. Make the black buttercream so the color can develop, and shape the ghost.
Day two: make the filling fresh, while the whipped cream is at its fullest. Assemble, crumb coat, chill, give it the final coat and decorate. The cake is ready to serve as soon as it is finished, or it can wait in the fridge.
Slicing and Keeping the Cake
With cream cheese and whipped cream inside, the finished cake belongs in the fridge, covered, for up to 3 days. Take it out about 20 minutes before serving so the buttercream softens slightly and the chocolate flavor comes through. For neat slices, dip a long knife in hot water and wipe it dry between cuts. And warn your guests: black buttercream can tint tongues and teeth for a little while.
Questions Before You Bake It
Can I make this cake without coffee?
Yes. Use 1 cup of hot water instead. The layers stay just as moist, with a slightly milder chocolate flavor.
How do I get buttercream truly black?
Start with a chocolate buttercream, add black gel until it looks dark charcoal, then let it rest overnight. The color darkens on its own without extra coloring.
Building a Halloween dessert table around it? These mummy Halloween strawberries take 30 minutes, witch hat cupcakes give the kids one each, and a ghost cookie cake is a quicker cake if you need a second. For the fall side of the table, a pumpkin trifle or pumpkin sugar cookies fit right in. And if you like a dark cake outside October too, try the midnight black velvet cake.
Spooky Cake Recipe
This spooky Halloween chocolate cake is a three layer chocolate cake made with cocoa, buttermilk, oil and hot coffee, filled with blackberry cream and covered in black buttercream. It bakes in three 8 inch pans at 350°F for 28 to 30 minutes, takes about 2 hours with cooling, and cuts into 12 moist slices. The buttercream starts from a cocoa base, so 1 tablespoon of black gel turns it black, and making it the night before lets the color deepen without a bitter taste. Use it as a Halloween party centerpiece or a spooky birthday cake, decorated with a fondant ghost, candy eyeballs, cookie dirt and royal icing spiderwebs. Swap in raspberry jam for a sharper filling, and keep the cake covered in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Ingredients
- FOR THE CHOCOLATE CAKE LAYERS
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup hot brewed coffee
- FOR THE FILLING
- 1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup blackberry jam (seedless if preferred)
- FOR THE BLACK BUTTERCREAM
- 2 cups unsalted butter, softened
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ cup heavy cream (more if needed)
- 1 tbsp black gel food coloring
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- FOR THE DECORATIONS
- 6–8 white chocolate eyeballs (store-bought or homemade)
- 1 ghost topper (made from white fondant or modeling chocolate)
- 1 cup crushed chocolate cookies
- ½ cup royal icing (white, for spiderweb design)
Instructions
BAKE THE CHOCOLATE CAKE LAYERS: Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and line three 8-inch round cake pans. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl, mix buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients, then stir in the hot coffee until smooth (batter will be thin). Divide evenly into prepared pans and bake for 28–30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely.
PREPARE THE FILLING: Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add powdered sugar and vanilla, mixing until creamy. In a separate bowl, whip heavy cream to stiff peaks. Fold whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture. Swirl in blackberry jam gently to create a marbled effect.
MAKE THE BLACK BUTTERCREAM: Beat butter until pale and fluffy. Add cocoa powder and powdered sugar, mixing on low. Pour in heavy cream, vanilla, and salt. Mix until smooth and creamy. Add black gel food coloring gradually, beating until you achieve a deep black color.
ASSEMBLE THE CAKE: Place one cake layer on a board. Spread with an even layer of filling. Top with the second layer and more filling. Place the third layer on top. Apply a thin crumb coat of black buttercream and chill for 20 minutes. Cover with a final smooth layer of black buttercream.
ADD THE DECORATIONS: Pipe spiderweb designs around the sides with white royal icing. Sprinkle crushed cookies on top in a circle to make a “dirt patch.” Place the fondant ghost in the center. Arrange white chocolate eyeballs around the ghost, pressing them gently into the cookie crumbs.
Notes
For the best black buttercream, prepare it the night before to let the color deepen; stop adding gel when it looks dark charcoal and beat it again before using. Pipe a ring of buttercream just inside the edge of each layer before spreading the soft blackberry cream filling, so it does not squeeze out. Swirl the jam in with only a few strokes. If your royal icing is too thick for piping, thin it with a drop or two of water until it flows smoothly. Keep the cake covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and let it stand 20 minutes before serving.
