Description
Create a spooky Halloween bone cake centerpiece perfect for festive parties. Two red velvet cakes are stacked and decorated with homemade meringue bones piped and baked to crisp perfection, then attached with simple icing for a striking Halloween effect.
Ingredients
Scale
Meringue Bones
- 1 large egg white
- 70g caster sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Icing
- 50g icing sugar, sifted
- ½-1 tsp cold water
Cake
- 1 Tesco Finest red velvet cake (serves 6)
- 1 Tesco Finest red velvet cake (serves 14)
Instructions
- Whisk to stiff peaks: Preheat your oven to gas mark ½, 130°C, fan 110°C, and line two large baking trays with nonstick baking paper. In a large, clean, non-plastic bowl, place 1 large egg white and use an electric whisk starting at low speed, gradually increasing to high. Whisk for about 3 minutes or until the egg white forms stiff peaks.
- Mix in the sugar slowly: Gradually add 70g caster sugar, one tablespoon at a time, whisking thoroughly between additions to ensure a smooth and glossy meringue. Avoid adding sugar too quickly to prevent collapse. Whisk in ½ tsp vanilla extract, then transfer the meringue into a piping bag fitted with a 3mm round nozzle.
- Pipe meringue bones: Pipe bone shapes onto the lined trays—6cm long and 5mm thick on one tray, and shorter 4cm bones on the other. To form each bone, pipe a heart shape, then extend a line ending with another heart to mimic a bone shape. You should get approximately 50 bones in total. Bake these in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, then remove and allow them to cool completely.
- Make the icing: Place the smaller red velvet cake (serves 6) on top of the larger one (serves 14) to create a tiered effect. Mix 50g sifted icing sugar with ½ to 1 teaspoon of cold water to form a thick but slightly runny icing that is strong enough to hold decorations but easy to pipe. Spoon this icing into a piping bag fitted with a 3mm nozzle.
- Decorate the cake: Once the meringue bones have cooled, pipe a small amount of icing onto the back of a larger bone and press it gently onto the side of the larger cake tier. Next to it, stick a smaller bone. Continue around the cake, alternating between large and small bones until the entire lower tier is covered.
- Fill in the gaps: Repeat the decoration process with the top tier, filling any spaces with smaller bones or broken meringue pieces to create a cohesive, full look.
- Finish with crossed bones on top: Complete your spooky cake by arranging crossed meringue bones decoratively on the top of the cake tiers for a dramatic Halloween effect.
Notes
- Use a clean, non-plastic bowl for whipping egg whites to ensure maximum volume.
- Add sugar slowly to prevent the meringue from collapsing.
- Allow meringue bones to cool fully before attaching to avoid melting.
- Adjust icing thickness as needed to ensure it holds the meringue bones without dripping.
- Store any leftover cake in an airtight container to keep fresh.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice (approx. 1/20th of cake)
- Calories: 320 kcal
- Sugar: 30 g
- Sodium: 120 mg
- Fat: 15 g
- Saturated Fat: 6 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 40 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Cholesterol: 35 mg
