Get into the spirit of Spooky Season with my Halloween Red Velvet cake! This easy Halloween cake is ghoulishly gory and devilishly delicious, dripping with edible blood and decorated with bloody eyeballs.
Prep Time20 minutesmins
Cook Time35 minutesmins
Total Time55 minutesmins
Course: Cake, Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Halloween Cake, Red Velvet Halloween Cake
Combine the buttermilk and food coloring in a large mixing bowl, adding as much gel coloring as needed to achieve the perfect blood-red color. Stir in in the red wine vinegar and baking soda.
¾ cup (180 ml) buttermilk, 2 tsp red paste food coloring, 1 tbsp red wine vinegar, 2 tsp baking soda
Add the sugar, vanilla, softened butter and eggs and beat with a hand mixer (or stand mixer) to combine.
1 tsp vanilla bean paste, 1 ½ cups (300g) sugar, ¾ cup + 2 tbsp (200g) unsalted butter, 3 large eggs
Sift in the cocoa powder, flour and salt then beat together until you have a smooth batter.
Divide the batter between three greased and lined 8-inch cake pans and bake until the cakes are risen, springy to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool in the pans for five minutes then carefully turn out on to a cooling rack. Allow the cakes to cool completely before frosting.
MAKE THE EDIBLE BLOOD
Combine the juice and cornstarch in a saucepan. Add the corn syrup and vanilla and bring to a simmer, stirring, until the blood thickens.
⅓ cup (80 ml) cranberry juice, 2 tbsp cornstarch, 1 cup (240g) corn syrup, 1 tsp vanilla extract
Take off the heat and add red food coloring to create the desired shade. Transfer to a jar and cool before using.
1 tsp red gel food coloring
PREPARE THE BUTTERCREAM
Beat the butter until light and fluffy then gradually add the condensed milk, beating well. Add the vanilla and salt and beat on maximum speed setting until the buttercream is smooth and holds peaks.
Drain a can of lychee reserving the juice or syrup to use in cocktails. Dry the lychee using paper towels.
6 lychee, 6 cocktails cherries, 6 candy eyes
Place a candy eye inside a cocktail cherry then insert this into the lychee – our decoration is ready to use!
ASSEMBLE THE HALLOWEEN CAKE
Pipe a generous layer of buttercream to sandwich the cake layers together. Drizzle with blood too, for added gore!
Use off cuts from leveling the cakes can be blitzed to breadcrumb consistency in a mini chopper and used to top the cake.
Drizzle the top of the cake with edible blood, allowing it to drip down the sides. Top the cake with the crumb.
Secure the eyeballs with toothpicks or wooden skewers (ideally of different heights) and stick them on top of the cake. Drizzle with more blood and serve immediately!
Video
Notes
Only add the decorations when you are ready to serve the cake. They will eventually start to melt due to the moisture. Remove the decorations before slicing the cake.
The cake layers can be prepared up to a day in advance. Cool and cover with plastic wrap until ready to use.