Happy Halloween! A lot of things are different this year, but I did still get to watch my favorite Halloween movie, Hocus Pocus. And since tonight there will be a full blue moon, I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate than with this Black Flame Candle Cake. Made from the fat of a hanged man, legend says that on a full moon it will rise the spirits of the dead when lit by a virgin on Halloween night. Just kidding! This spooky cake is just yellow cake with chocolate frosting and fondant decorations.
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For this cake, I used a 9×9-inch square pan and a 4-inch round cookie cutter. If you want, you could also use 4-inch round cake pans, just adjust the bake time as they will bake faster than the 9×9-inch cake.
To make the batter, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside. In a separate bowl, beat the butter until creamy. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Then, add in the eggs and egg yolks, one at a time, beating after each addition. Combine the milk and the lemon juice in a measuring cup and then alternately add the flour mixture and the milk, starting and ending with flour. Mix just until combined and then transfer to greased cake pans and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If your cake starts to get brown, you can place a tent of aluminum foil over it as it bakes.
Remove the cake from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes in the pan before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Once the cake has cooled completely, use a serrated knife to trim to the edges and top of the cake so you have a flat square. Use the round cookie cutters to cut out four cake rounds. Set aside while you make the frosting.
To make the frosting, whisk together the cocoa powder and melted butter. Gradually beat in the powdered sugar and milk. Add a few drops of black gel food coloring and then beat on medium speed until the frosting is fluffy. Transfer to a piping bag and then begin assembling the cake.
To assemble the cake, place one of the cake rounds, cut side up, on a cake board. Pipe some frosting onto the top and spread with an off-set spatula. Place a second cake round, cut side down, and pipe another layer of frosting. Place the third cake round, cut side up, pipe a layer of frosting, and then place the last cake round, cut side down on top of it. Pipe frosting on the top of the cake and around the sides of the cake. Using the off-set spatula, spread the frosting into a smooth layer. Place the cake in the refrigerator for 15 minutes or until frosting is set.
Meanwhile, prepare the fondant decorations. Take a small amount of the white fondant and add a few drops of black gel food coloring. Mix together using gloved hands. Shape into a flame and attach to a toothpick. Set aside.
Place a couple drops of brown gel food coloring onto the remaining white fondant and mix together using gloved hands. On a large surface, lightly dusted with powdered sugar, roll out the fondant to about ¼ inch thickness, making sure to keep it in a round shape.
Remove cake from the refrigerator and transfer to a cake stand or overturned plate. Roll fondant onto the rolling pin to transfer it to the cake. Drape fondant over the cake and use your hands to smooth the fondant down the sides of the cake, gently pulling the folds out and down.
Smooth the top and sides of the cake. Since it’s meant to look like an old candle, it’s okay if there are some bumps or weird edges. If desired, leave the excess fondant hanging off the bottom of the cake to look like melted wax. Otherwise, cut the excess fondant off the cake using a sharp knife.
The last part is decorating the cake. The Black Flame Candle in the movie is decorated with a variety of images, including witches being hanged. I decided to use my own images so my Black Flame Candle Cake is not an exact replica of the one in the film. To add the images, I used plastic stencils with a variety of Halloween images.
To paint them onto the fondant, I used a small clean, never-been used with paint, paint-brush and red gel food coloring. Gently press desired stencils onto the cake. Dip clean paintbrush into red gel food coloring and paint the stencils onto the cake. Insert the toothpick with the fondant flame into the center of the cake.
Enjoy this Black Flame Candle Cake! If you’re looking for more Hocus Pocus recipes, be sure to check out my Hocus Pocus Spellbook S’mores Pops, Binx Cookies, and Winifred’s Cauldron Cups!
Have a happy Halloween!
Black Flame Candle Cake
Ingredients
Yellow Cake
- 2 ½ cups cake flour
- 3 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 ½ cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 large egg yolks, room temperature
- 2 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ⅓ cups milk
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Chocolate Frosting
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- ⅔ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- ⅓ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- black gel food coloring
Decoration
- 10 oz white fondant
- red gel food coloring
- brown gel food coloring
- black gel food coloring
Equipment
- Halloween stencils
- small clean paintbrush
- cake board
- 9 x 9 square pan
- 4- inch round cookie cutter
- off-set spatula
- food-safe gloves
- toothpick
Instructions
Yellow Cake
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Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease and line cake pan with parchment paper.
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In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
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In a large bowl, beat the butter until creamy. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy.
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Add the eggs and egg yolks, one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract.
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In a measuring cup, combine the milk and lemon juice.
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Alternately add the flour mixture and the milk, starting and ending with flour. Mix just until incorporated.
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Transfer the batter to the prepared cake pan and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If the cake starts to brown, place a tent of aluminium foil over it to help prevent browning.
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Let the cake cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Chocolate Frosting
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In a medium bowl, whisk together the butter and cocoa powder.
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Gradually add the powdered sugar and the milk. Beat until combined.
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On medium speed, beat until fluffy. Stir in the vanilla extract and a desired amount of black gel food coloring.
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Transfer to a piping bag.
Assembly
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Using a serrated knife, trim the edges and the top off the cake.
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Cut the cake into four rounds using the 4-inch round cookie cutter.
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Place one of the cake rounds, cut side up, on a cake board. Pipe some frosting onto the top and spread with an off-set spatula. Place a second cake round, cut side down, and pipe another layer of frosting. Place the third cake round, cut side up, pipe a layer of frosting, and then place the last cake round, cut side down on top of it. Pipe frosting on the top of the cake and around the sides of the cake. Using the off-set spatula, spread the frosting into a smooth layer.
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Place the cake in the refrigerator for 15 minutes or until frosting is set.
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Meanwhile, prepare the fondant. Take a small amount of the white fondant and add a few drops of black gel food coloring. Mix together using gloved hands. Shape into a flame and attach to a toothpick. Set aside.
-
Place a couple drops of brown gel food coloring onto the fondant and mix together using your hands.
-
On a large surface, lightly dusted with powdered sugar, roll out the fondant to about ¼ inch thickness, making sure to keep it in a round shape.
-
Remove cake from the refrigerator and transfer to a cake stand or overturned plate. Roll fondant onto the rolling pin to transfer it to the cake.
-
Drape fondant over the cake and use your hands to smooth the fondant down the sides of the cake, gently pulling the folds out and down.
-
Smooth the top and sides of the cake. Since it’s meant to look like an old candle, it’s okay if there are some bumps or weird edges. If desired, leave the excess fondant hanging off the bottom of the cake to look like melted wax. Otherwise, cut the excess fondant off the cake using a sharp knife.
-
Gently press desired stencils onto the cake. Dip clean paintbrush into red gel food coloring and paint the stencils onto the cake.
-
Insert the toothpick with the fondant flame into the center of the cake.