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How To Bake: Day of the Dead Halloween Skull Cake

09 October 2017

 | 

5 mins

Halloween is just around the corner so we’re showing you how to make a showstopping celebration cake, Biscuiteers style! Inspired by the Mexican holiday Día de Muertos and our brand new Day of the Dead biscuit tin full of spooky Halloween biscuits, this cake is the perfect centre piece for any Halloween party.
Guaranteed to impress, this skull cake is made with a vanilla sponge, filled with raspberry jam and then covered with buttercream and decorated with intricate piping and a biscuit flower crown. Sure to be a party hit, invite your friends and family to sink their fangs into this spookily good Halloween cake!
What you need:
  • 2 x 10 inch round cake tins
  • Greaseproof paper
  • Offset spatula
  • Sharp knife
  • Cake board or platter
  • Flower biscuits (follow our recipe and method here.)
  • Various coloured line icings (follow our recipe and method here.)

    • ingredients

    • - For the cake (makes 2 x 10 round cakes):
    • - 540g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing (room temperature)
    • - 2 tsp vanilla extract
    • - 8 medium eggs (beaten, at room temperature)
    • - 540g self-raising flour
    • - 1.5 tsp baking powder
    • - For the vanilla buttercream and filling:
    • - 500g unsalted butter (room temperature)
    • - 1kg sifted icing sugar
    • - 2 tsp vanilla extract
    • - Approx. 5 tbsp raspberry jam (shop bought or homemade)

    serves:12

    difficulty:medium

    1 hour

    Decorating:
  • Preheat your oven to 170°C fan/gas mark 5. Grease and line 2 x 10-inch round cake tins with greaseproof paper.
  • In a large mixing bowl, cream together the unsalted butter and caster sugar with an electric mixer, until light and fluffy.
  • Gradually add your vanilla and beaten eggs to the butter mixture and beat together on a low speed.
    • Top tip:

    If it looks as though your batter is curdling, you can add 1 tsp of flour!

  • In a separate large bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder, then fold by hand into the batter - do not over mix!
  • Divide the mixture equally between the prepared cake tins.
  • Bake in your hot oven for 45-50 minutes, or until golden brown. Check if your cakes are ready by inserting a skewer into the middle. If the cakes are baked, the skewer will come out clean. If it doesn’t, pop the cake back in the oven for another 5 minutes.
  • Set your cakes aside to cool and begin making your vanilla buttercream.
  • Sift your icing sugar into a large bowl and set to one side.
  • Beat your unsalted butter with your electric mixer on a high speed for 5 minutes until light and fluffy.
  • Add your vanilla extract and beat for 1 minute.
  • Add your icing sugar to the butter a large spoonful at a time and mix on a medium speed until fully incorporated.
    • Top tip:

    If your buttercream looks too thick, you can add 1 tsp of milk at a time until you reach your desired consistency.

    A colourful sugar skull cake decorated with vibrant, iced details
    Cake and Buttercream methods:
  • Once your cakes have completely cooled use a sharp knife to carefully level them off so that they both have level, flat tops.
  • Spread a small amount of buttercream onto a your board or platter, then gently secure one of your sponge layers to the board.
  • Use an offset spatula to generously spread on some buttercream to the top of the sponge and dollop some raspberry jam into the centre and spread out.
  • Top this base layer with your other sponge layer. Leave to settle for 10 minutes.
  • Use a sharp knife to carefully cut your layered cake into the shape of a skull. We printed the shape of a skull of the internet and placed it onto the top of the cake to use it as a template. We recommend that you use your knife to lightly score on the design before you start cutting.
  • Once your cake is cut to shape, use your spatula to spread an even layer of buttercream all around the sides and top of your cake so that it is coated all over.
  • Now for the best bit, time to decorate! You can follow the design of our cake inspired by our Day of the Dead biscuit tin or improvise, but you should plan your design before starting by drawing it out on some paper.
  • Your design can be as basic or detailed as you like, we started by adding some dots and swirls with coloured line icing and then developed the design from there - just remember to leave some space for your biscuit flower crown at the top of the cake!
  • Once you are happy with the icing design on your cake, add the finishing touches to your cake with your flower biscuits. Pipe a small amount of line icing onto the back of each biscuit, then secure them in a semi circle shape across the top of the cake.

    • If you don't have time to make your own showstopping Halloween cake, our Day of the Dead biscuit tin is full of intricately detailed, hand-iced sugar skulls and comes beautifully presented in our hand-illustrated gift tin. Discover our collection of Letterbox Frights or explore our full range of Halloween biscuits to buy in our Halloween Shop.