Description
A spooky and delicious Halloween Chocolate Orange Layer Cake featuring a rich chocolate sponge, tangy orange buttercream, a dramatic chocolate drip, and playful meringue ghost decorations. This cake is perfect for Halloween parties.
Ingredients
Scale
- Chocolate Sponge Cake (3 x 6-inch layers):
- 250 g butter
- 250 g soft brown sugar
- Zest of one orange
- 1/2 tsp orange blossom water or 10 drops orange essence
- 4 eggs
- 160 g flour
- 90 g cocoa powder (100%)
- 10 g baking powder
- Chocolate Orange Swiss Meringue Buttercream:
- 5 room temperature egg whites
- 300 g caster sugar
- 452 g room temperature butter
- 2 tsp orange extract
- 200 g dark chocolate, melted & cooled
- 1 – 2 tsp black gel food coloring
- 1 tsp orange gel food coloring
- Chocolate Drip:
- 1 cup chocolate chunks
- 1/4 cup cream
- Meringue Ghosts (40–45 ghosts):
- 3 egg whites
- 180 g caster sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- Melted dark chocolate or black food pen
Instructions
- Make the Chocolate Orange Sponge: Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add orange zest and essence, then eggs one by one. Fold in flour, cocoa, and baking powder. Divide into three lined tins, bake at 180°C for 25–30 minutes, and cool completely.
- Prepare the Chocolate Orange Swiss Meringue Buttercream: Heat sugar and egg whites over simmering water until sugar dissolves. Whip until glossy and bowl cools. Add butter gradually, then orange extract. Divide frosting: color one-third orange, mix melted chocolate + black coloring into the rest.
- Make the Chocolate Drip: Microwave chocolate and cream in 30-sec intervals until melted. Cool slightly.
- Bake Meringue Ghosts: Whip egg whites until stiff. Add sugar slowly, then vanilla and salt. Pipe ghost shapes onto lined tray. Bake at 100°C for 30 minutes. Cool fully and add spooky faces.
- Assemble the Cake: Layer sponge with frosting between each. Crumb coat, chill, then frost with chocolate buttercream. Use a comb to create grooves, pipe in orange frosting, smooth. Add drip, refrigerate, then top with ghosts before serving.
Notes
- Chill cake between steps for clean layers.
- Cake layers can be frozen up to 4 weeks when wrapped well.
- Add meringue ghosts just before serving for crispness.
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 480
- Sugar: 40 g
- Sodium: 180 mg
- Fat: 26 g
- Saturated Fat: 16 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 9 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 52 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 6 g
- Cholesterol: 110 mg