Description
A spooky and delicious Black Velvet Halloween Cake with deep chocolate flavor and a moist crumb, perfect for Halloween celebrations.
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup unsalted butter (plus extra for browning)
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Black food gel or activated charcoal (for color)
- Optional: 1/4 cup blackstrap molasses or dark corn syrup
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Butter and flour two 9-inch round pans, then line the bottoms with parchment.
- Brown the butter slowly in a skillet until it smells nutty and turns warm amber; cool slightly.
- Sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
- In your mixer, beat the sugars with the browned butter until fluffy, then add the eggs one at a time.
- Stir in vanilla and alternate adding the dry mix with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Avoid overmixing.
- For a deeper black, fold in a small amount of black gel food coloring or activated charcoal and mix until evenly distributed.
- Pour batter into prepared pans and bake for 28–35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs.
- Let cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.
- For the frosting, whip room-temperature cream cheese or mascarpone with powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth, or prepare a dark chocolate ganache with heavy cream and chopped bittersweet chocolate.
- Decorate as desired with ghostly swirls, edible glitter, or fondant pumpkins.
Notes
For a richer flavor, you can substitute part of the butter for applesauce or use whole-grain pastry flour.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 400
- Sugar: 35g
- Sodium: 300mg
- Fat: 20g
- Saturated Fat: 10g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 50g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 5g
- Cholesterol: 80mg
Keywords: Halloween cake, Black Velvet cake, spooky dessert, Halloween treats, chocolate cake
