This extra scary Halloween ghost cake transforms any spooky celebration into an unforgettable feast.
A showstopping Greek-inspired dessert that combines fluffy vanilla layers with haunting decorative elements, creating the perfect centerpiece for your Halloween party.
In just 2 hours, you’ll conjure up a spine-chilling treat that’s both delicious and visually striking. Whether you’re hosting a Halloween gathering or simply want to surprise your family, this vegetarian-friendly ghost cake promises to deliver screams of delight.
Spooky Halloween Ghost Cake Ingredients
- For the Cake Base:
- 100g cocoa powder – sifted for smooth texture
- 250g self-raising flour – room temperature
- 5 eggs – separated for meringue ghosts
- 250ml milk – at room temperature
- 200ml sunflower oil – for moisture
- For the Decorations:
- 50g icing sugar – for ghost meringues
- 200ml double cream – for ganache
- 200g dark baking chocolate – roughly chopped
- 1 pack finger biscuits – for tombstones
- 150g double chocolate cookies – for “dirt” topping
- White chocolate – for tombstone writing
- Halloween sprinkles – for extra spooky touch
Haunted Cake Assembly Instructions
- Ghost Meringues: Preheat oven to 110°C (90°C fan). Whisk egg whites until stiff peaks form, gradually add sugar. Pipe ghost shapes and bake for 1½ hours.
- Chocolate Cake Base: Combine dry ingredients, mix wet ingredients separately, then combine until smooth. Bake in greased tin for 30 minutes at preheated temperature.
- Chocolate Ganache: Heat cream until almost boiling, gradually add chocolate pieces while stirring until smooth.
- Tombstone Creation: Dip finger biscuits in chocolate ganache, set aside to cool. Pour remaining ganache over cake.
- Graveyard Effect: Crush chocolate cookies into fine “dirt,” sprinkle over ganache layer.
- Final Touches: Decorate tombstones with melted white chocolate writing, arrange ghost meringues, add spooky sprinkles.
Storage Tips
Keep your ghost meringues crispy by storing them in an airtight container with a sheet of parchment paper between layers. They’ll stay fresh for up to 3 days!
The cake itself can be kept at room temperature for 2 days when covered. Want to make it ahead? Pop the undecorated cake in the fridge for up to 5 days, but add the ghosts and tombstones just before serving to keep everything perfectly spooky!
Make It Your Own
Love to mix things up? Try using milk chocolate instead of dark for a sweeter tombstone coating. Not a fan of finger biscuits?
Graham crackers make great tombstones too! You can also jazz up your ghost meringues with tiny chocolate chip eyes or use food coloring to create pastel-colored spirits.
For a dairy-free version, swap the milk for almond milk and use coconut cream instead of double cream.
Serving Ideas
Make your Halloween cake the star of the party! Place it on a black cake stand and surround it with battery-operated tea lights for an eerie glow. Add some plastic spiders or candy corn around the base for extra fun.
Want to go all out? Serve slices with a drizzle of raspberry coulis “blood” and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Kids love when you add some spooky sound effects while cutting the first slice!
Success Tips
Making meringue ghosts? Your bowl needs to be super clean and dry – any bits of grease will stop those egg whites from getting fluffy!
When making the chocolate coating, take the cream off the heat just before it boils to avoid burning.
If your meringue mixture looks too runny, keep whisking – it’ll get there! And don’t rush opening the oven while the ghosts are baking – they need that low, steady heat to dry out properly.
Extra Scary Halloween Ghost Cake
Equipment
- Hand mixer
- Baking tray
- Cake tin
- Saucepan
Ingredients
For the cake base
- 100 g cocoa powder
- 250 g self raising flour
- 5 eggs
- 250 ml milk
- 200 ml sunflower oil
For the decorations
- 50 g icing sugar
- 200 ml double cream single if you want to be healthier
- 200 g dark baking chocolate
- 1 pack finger biscuits the richer the better
- 150 g double chocolate cookies
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 110C(90C for fan). Using a hand mixer whisk the 5 egg whites in a clean bowl until they stiffen up and peaks form. Blend in the sugar a teaspoon at a time and carry on whisking until the mixture is thick and relatively solid.
- Cover a baking tray with baking sheet. Pour your mixture in a freezer back to and cut out a small hole in the bottom corner and start squeezing a small circle of egg white pulling upwards to make a twirly ghost. Make about 15/20 ghosts and bake for 1 and 1/2 hours until the meringues are nice a crisp.
- Mix the self raising floor, sugar and cocoa powder in a bowl and mix up to make sure no clumps can be seen. Mix the eggs, oil and milk in a bowl and pour in the flour mix. Stir until even and smooth.
- Grease a deep cake tin and pour in the cake mixture. Bake in pre-heated oven for 30 minutes. Once ready leave to cool and remove from tin.
- Heat up the cream in a saucepan until right before boiling, break up the chocolate and add one piece at a time and watch it melt! Stir till even.
- Dip the tea biscuits in the mixture one at a time and set aside to cool. Pour the remaining mixture over the cake for a chocolate finish.
- Blend the chocolate cookies in a hand blender or smash them up with a rolling pin until small crumbs form. Sprinkle on top of the hot chocolate covering the cake.