Description
This So-Easy-It’s-Spooky Bat Cake is a fun and festive dessert perfect for Halloween parties or any spooky celebration. Made from a devil’s food or orange cake mix and decorated with either vibrant orange or rich chocolate frosting, this cake is topped with a striking bat design created by dusting cocoa or confectioners’ sugar over a bat-shaped stencil. Topped with chopped peanut butter cups for an extra treat, this cake not only looks impressive but is simple enough to whip up quickly.
Ingredients
Scale
Cake
- 1 devil’s food or orange cake mix (regular size)
- 1 teaspoon orange food coloring (optional, for orange cake)
Orange Frosting (for devil’s food cake)
- 4-2/3 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Orange food coloring (to desired color)
- 6 to 7 tablespoons 2% milk
Chocolate Frosting (for orange cake)
- 4 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 2/3 cup baking cocoa, sifted
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 6 to 7 tablespoons 2% milk
Topping
- 10 peanut butter cups, finely chopped
- Dutch-processed cocoa or confectioners’ sugar (for dusting)
Instructions
- Prepare and Bake Cake: Follow the package directions on your chosen cake mix to prepare the batter. If making an orange cake, add 1 teaspoon of orange food coloring to the mix before baking. Pour the batter into two 9-inch round baking pans and bake for about 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool completely as directed on the package.
- Create Bat Pattern: While the cake cools, cut a bat-shaped stencil out of cardstock and wrap it in foil to create a solid surface for dusting cocoa or sugar. This will be used to decorate the cake after frosting.
- Make Frostings: For devil’s food cake, prepare the orange frosting by beating together confectioners’ sugar, softened butter, vanilla extract, orange food coloring, and enough 2% milk (6 to 7 tablespoons) to reach a smooth, spreadable consistency. For orange cake, prepare the chocolate frosting by mixing confectioners’ sugar, sifted cocoa, softened butter, vanilla extract, and 2% milk until smooth and spreadable.
- Level the Cakes: Using a long serrated knife, gently trim the tops of both cakes if they have domed to create flat layers for easier stacking.
- Assemble the Cake: Place one cake layer on a serving plate. Spread about 1 cup of the chosen frosting evenly over the top. Sprinkle finely chopped peanut butter cups on the frosting to add texture and flavor. Carefully place the second cake layer on top, upside down to have a flat top surface, and spread the remaining frosting evenly over the top and sides of the cake.
- Chill the Cake: Refrigerate the assembled cake for about 30 minutes to let the frosting set, which makes decorating easier.
- Decorate with Bat Design: Lay the foil-wrapped bat stencil on top of the chilled cake. Using a fine-mesh strainer, sift Dutch-processed cocoa powder or confectioners’ sugar evenly over the stencil and frosting. Carefully lift the stencil straight up to reveal a crisp bat silhouette on the cake surface.
Notes
- Use foil-wrapped cardstock to create a clean, reusable stencil for the bat design.
- You can switch frostings based on the cake choice: orange frosting complements devil’s food cake, while chocolate frosting goes well with orange cake.
- Refrigerating the cake before decorating helps the frosting firm up, making it easier to dust cocoa or sugar evenly.
- Finely chopping the peanut butter cups ensures they spread evenly without making the layers uneven.
- For a darker bat silhouette, use Dutch-processed cocoa; for a lighter bat shape, use confectioners’ sugar to dust.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice (1/16 of cake)
- Calories: 320
- Sugar: 28g
- Sodium: 240mg
- Fat: 17g
- Saturated Fat: 10g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5g
- Trans Fat: 0.5g
- Carbohydrates: 40g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 4g
- Cholesterol: 50mg
