Spooky Black Velvet Halloween Cake

black velvet cake with black bat cookies on top and black spiders on the side with white flowers around, a stack of plates behind, and empty glasses on marble surface.

Spooky Black Velvet Halloween Cake

Spooky, moist, tender, and SO DELICIOUS! This Black Velvet Cake is easy to make and a crowd pleasing dessert that is the perfect treat to serve up this Halloween.

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 35

Total Time: 55

Servings: slices

Calories: 598kcal

Ingredients

Cake

⅔ cup black cocoa powder sifted
¾ cup boiling water
1½ cups all purpose flour
1⅜ cups granulated sugar
1½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs room temperature
¾ cup buttermilk
½ cup vegetable oil
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

Frosting

6 Tablespoons salted butter room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar sifted
½ cup black cocoa powder sifted
2 Tablespoons whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Cake

Heat oven to 350℉/177℃.
Spray three 6-inch pans with baking spray. Set aside.
In a small bowl, carefully whisk cocoa and water. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla.
Whisk in bloomed chocolate.
Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients.
Whisk until combined.
Divide evenly among prepared pans.
Bake for 35 minutes, or until cake layers test done.

Frosting

With an electric mixer, beat butter, powdered sugar, and cocoa until combined.
Add milk and vanilla.
Beat until light and fluffy.

Assembly

Level cake layers, if needed.
Place one cake layer on cake plate and spread with a layer of frosting.
Repeat with second layer.
Add third layer.
Frost entire cake.
Decorate as desired.

Notes

Expert Tips:

Room temperature is about 70℉/21℃.
Don't skip sifting the black cocoa powder!
Be careful not to over mix the cake batter.
When dividing the cake batter, it’s best to use a ladle and a scale to help ensure each cake layer is even!
If you’re unsure if the cake is baked, you can use a cake tester or a toothpick to test the cakes. If it comes out clean, the cake is fully baked!
Let the cake layers cool COMPLETELY before assembling the cake.
Depending on how the cakes bake, you may or may not need to level the cake layers.
If you’d like, when frosting this cake, you can do a crumb coat to help ensure a clean and crumb-free frosting.
To get clean slices, wipe your knife after each cut!

Nutrition