National Cake Decorating Day: Halloween

NATIONAL CAKE DECORATING DAY OCTOBER 10TH

Cakes have been around since the 1500s. What better way to celebrate them then by giving them their own day! Local cake art dabbler, Skye Tucker, shares a super simple way to decorate a Halloween cake that is sure to WOW all guests at your Halloween party!

images by Bethany Rau

MAKE AN EASY STEP-BY-STEP DECORATIVE HALLOWEEN CAKE

Box cake mix 1 stick unsalted butter cream 2 cups powdered sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream Orange food coloring Bag of white candy melts Bag of black candy melts Sprinkles for decoration

INGREDIENTS

DIRECTIONS

1 For the cake itself, grab a box cake mix from the grocery store, and split it into three round 6-inch pans. Once your cakes are cooled, it's time to move on to the decorating. 2 For the butter cream icing, add 1/2 cup of room temperature unsalted butter to a mixer or use a hand mixer, beat until fluffy. 3 Next, slowly add in 2 cups of powdered sugar. 4 Once the sugar is fully incorporated, add in 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract. 5 Lastly, mix in 2 tablespoons of heavy whipping cream. 6 Now that the icing is finished, add a few spoonfuls on top of each cake layer, spread it evenly. Then stack your three layers. 7 Next, create what is called a crumb coat on the outside of the cake by spreading a thin layer of icing all around the cake. Add a few drops of orange food coloring to your icing and spread that evenly around the cake. It helps if you place your cake on a lazy susan and use a scraper to get a nice even sharp coat of icing. 8 The next steps are the most fun part! Pour white candy melts in a bowl and place in the microwave for approximately one minute or until evenly melted. 9 Place a piece of wax paper on a tray and use the back of a spoon to spread the candy in a downward motion making little ghost. Melt black candy melts and pour it into a Ziploc bag, cutting a small hole at the tip. Use this to make eyes and a mouth for the ghost. 10 Returning to the cake, mix different types of sprinkles and stick them to the base of your cake. 11 To attach the ghost, add a dollop of icing on the back of each ghost and simply stick them around the outside. 12 For finishing touches, use piping tips to add little swirls on top and add some more sprinkles!