Drop of Disney

Welcome, foolish mortals, to the Haunted Mansion! Today, the Haunted Mansion celebrates its 50th Anniversary and we’re joining the 999 happy haunts in celebrating!

The Haunted Mansion is one of my favorite rides. I love the music, the spooky but not terrifying feeling, and the overall design of the ride. It’s the perfect way to get in the Halloween spirit year round.

I especially love the distinctive Doom Buggies that carry you through the mansion and so to celebrate this special anniversary, I’ve created these edible doom buggies, made of a rich chocolate cake and topped with ghoulishly green ice cream ghosts.

Cake and ice cream is such a wonderful combination, especially in summer, and I love how the ice cream ghosts combine with the moist cake to create a deliciously satisfying dessert.

To make the cake buggies, I used a half dome cake pan. The pan makes four domes that are larger than cupcakes but still work as an individual dessert or can be shared by two people. Once the cakes are baked and cooled, I recommend placing them in the refrigerator to chill. I found this helped the domes keep their shape and have less crumbs when being cut.

To create the doom buggy seat, cut a small chunk out of the top of each cake. Make sure to cut the top part at an angle and not straight down so it creates an overhang, similar to the shape of the doom buggy.

Once the cakes are cut, return them to the refrigerator to rest while you make the decorations. I started with the ice cream ghosts as they need a little extra time to refreeze once shaped.

For the ghosts, use your favorite ghostly ice cream. This can be a plain vanilla or something a little more green. I chose to use a mint chip ice cream as most of the ghosts in the Haunted Mansion have a somewhat ghoulish green coloring. I also love the combination of chocolate and mint. If you’re looking for something a bit more adventurous, a green tea or pistachio ice cream are also good.

To shape the ghosts, first press the ice cream into a flat rectangular container. I used a small baking sheet covered in wax paper. Aim to have the ice cream layer about 1/2 to 1 inch thick. This will help keep it from melting quickly later.

Place the ice cream back into the freezer to re-freeze, around 30 minutes. Using a sharp knife, cut out ghost or tombstone shaped pieces, placing them onto a fresh piece of wax paper. Press two chocolate chips into the ice cream for eyes, and then place back into the freezer to re-freeze.

To make the safety bar, I used a little bit of black fondant cut into strips. I wanted them to stick out a bit from the cake and so I placed the strips onto the outside of the cake pans and let them dry out a little bit so that they would become firm.

To attach them to the cake, I used a little bit of frosting. Since you only need a little bit, I used some leftover frosting but you can also use some store bought frosting or make your own.

When you’re ready to serve, place one ice cream ghost into each doom buggy and then secure the fondant safety bar across the outside of the cake.

Enjoy!

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Haunted Mansion Doom Buggies

Greetings foolish mortals! Join the 999 happy haunts in celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Haunted Mansion with these delicious chocolate doom buggies with ghoulishly green ice cream ghosts!

Course Dessert

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Rest TIme 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes

Servings 4 small cakes

Ingredients

Chocolate Doom Buggy Cakes

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup + 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 6 tablespoons cocoa powder
• ¾ teaspoon baking powder
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• ½ cup milk
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ½ cup boiling water

Decoration

• black fondant
• small amount chocolate frosting
• 1 pint green or white ice cream (mint chocolate chip, green tea, pistachio, vanilla, etc.)
• chocolate chips

Equipment

• half-dome cake pan

Instructions

Doom Buggy Cakes

1. Preheat oven to 350 Spray half-dome pan with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, combine sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
3. Add in eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla; beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.
4. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin and runny).
5. Pour into prepared cake pans.
6. Bake 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
7. Cool 10-15 minutes in the pan before transferring to a cooling rack.
8. Once cooled completely, place cakes on a cutting board or flat tray, cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Make the decorations while the cakes chill.
9. Once cakes are chilled, use a sharp knife to cut a small half dome shaped piece out of one the top of each cake. Re-cover with plastic wrap and keep in the refrigerator until ready to assemble.

Decoration

1. Lightly dust a flat surface with powdered sugar. Roll out a small chunk of black fondant and cut out 4 long strips.
2. Place the strips along the outer edge of the half dome pan so the fondant strips become curved. Let rest until cakes are chilled.
3. Line a small rectangle tupperware or baking sheet with wax paper. Remove ice cream from the freezer and press into prepared tupperware or baking sheet. Smooth the top, creating a flat layer of ice cream about ½ to 1 inch thick.
4. Place in the freezer to refreeze for about 1 hour. Once frozen, use a sharp knife to cut out ghost shapes. Press two chocolate chips into the ice cream for ghost eyes and refreeze until ready to assemble.

Assembly

1. Remove cakes from the refrigerator.
2. Place an ice cream ghost on the seat of each doom buggy.
3. Dab a small amount of frosting onto the ends of the fondant strips. Place one strip across the front of the cake, to look like a safety bar. Press the ends of the fondant into the cake until they stick.