Graveyard Cake

$10 - $15 (based on 2019 prices)

Makes one cake 

 

Sometimes mistakes can lead to unexpected and pleasant surprises. That was the case for this graveyard cake I made for a friend’s party. I originally intended to make a burial plot with a chocolate sheet cake; however, it crumbled while removing it from the pan, so I quickly decided to piecemeal it back together and add cherry filling for blood. 

 

Chocolate Cake

• 2 ⅓ Cups flour
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• ¼ Cup cocoa powder
• ¾ Teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ Cups sugar
• ½ Cup butter
• 3 Eggs
• 1 Cup milk
• 1 Teaspoon vanilla
• One six-ounce container of cherry yogurt

Cherry Filling

• ½ Cup sugar
• 1 Teaspoon lemon juice
• ½ Cup water
• 3 Tablespoons corn starch
• 5 Cups pitted cherries

Decorations

• 32 Ounces crushed Oreo cookies
• Five small yellow artificial lilies
• Three large white artificial lilies
• Three artificial leaves
• One plastic skeleton hand

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and then, in a large bowl, sift together the baking powder, cocoa powder, flour, salt, and sugar.

2. Add the butter, cherry yogurt, eggs, milk, and vanilla to the dry ingredients and beat with a hand mixer on low for three minutes until the batter is well blended.

3. Pour the batter into a greased rectangular baking pan and bake for thirty minutes or until a golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

4. As the cake bakes, thoroughly wash and dry the leaves, lilies, and skeleton hand, since these items will be used to decorate the cake and need to be food safe.

5. Once the cake is baked, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool for at least ten minutes. Then, remove it from the pan, transfer it to a large baking sheet (or whatever platter you plan to serve it on), and break apart the middle, creating a mound with the pieces.

6. In a food processor, mince the Oreo cookies. You can chop them into fine crumbs or leave larger chucks to give the dirt a more realistic look. To prevent the cake from being too sweet, remove the cream. After this, line the outside of the cake with the fake dirt and dust the mound with the remaining pieces.

7. To make the cherry filling, begin by mixing corn starch and water together to form a paste. Then, in a large saucepan, cook the cherries, lemon juice, paste, and sugar on a stovetop until the concoction thickens. After this, you will need to chill the filling in the refrigerator for at least twelve hours before use. It might be best to perform this step first or the night before. For the time-pressed haunter, a can of store-bought pie filling will also work. After the filling is chilled, fill the mound with the mixture and pour it along the edges of the cake to look like blood. You can also reserve extra to garnish each slice once the cake is cut and served.

8. Position the leaves and lilies around the cake and insert the skeleton hand into the mound. You can also add further accents like a small ceramic tombstone or fake bugs (since these will also need to be food safe, you will want to thoroughly wash them along with the other decorative elements in step four).