My daughter’s birthday is on Sunday, but we won’t be able to celebrate with her because we are attending a wedding.  My parents will be watching her, and my mom decided to throw her a party.  She invited some of her friends and their grandchildren for a birthday shindig.  My mom is pretty excited, it’s cute.  She asked me to bake a cake, and since I have a ton of decorations and candy left from our Halloween Oreos, obviously I am going with a Halloween cake.

I decided to buy a cake mix, and add a few touches to make it taste more homey, like I did with my mocha layer cake.  I am not fond of store bought frosting, so I decided to make my own buttercream frosting.  This was also a good chance to redeem myself from my frosting fiasco when I made my mocha cake.

Zoe picked out a rainbow cake mix from Target.  I mean, come on.  It’s a rainbow cake.  It is way cooler than a plain old chocolate or vanilla cake.  I followed the cake mix directions to make a 9×13 sheet cake.  I used some of Rachael Ray’s advice to make the cake mix better.  Since the cake mix only wanted egg whites, I added a tablespoon of melted butter for each missing egg yolk.  I substituted milk for the water, and melted butter for the vegetable oil.  I also added a big splash of vanilla extract.

The cake mix came with food coloring and instructions on how to mix the colors.  This was an exciting cake to make.

I poured in the different colored batters and swirled a butter knife around a few times.  After the cake finished baking, I let it cool in the pan for about 10-15 minutes before transferring it to a wire cooling rack.

I had to resist the urge to cut the cake to see what the inside looked like.  I suppose I could have cut it and glued the pieces together with frosting…but that would have been unnecessary trouble.  The cake is on my cake carrier by the way, since I will be transporting the cake.

I found an easy and tasty chocolate buttercream frosting recipe from Divas Can Cook.  I followed the recipe fairly closely.  The key word for this frosting is FLUFFY.  It’s so fluffy I’m gonna diiie!

I sifted the cocoa powder and the powdered sugar.  I don’t have a fancy sifter, I just use a mesh strainer.  See those big lumps of cocoa?  Sifting gets rid of those lumps and makes the powder fluffy and soft.  Use the same bowl for the cocoa powder and powdered sugar.  No need to dirty another bowl.

Here is my butter and heavy cream.  Make sure to take the butter out of the fridge for a couple of hours until it warms up.  Don’t use the microwave to warm it up.  Mix until the butter turns into a smooth and fluffy pile.

Here is my chocolate butter, which sounds really delicious spread on a warm croissant.

Here is my chocolate frosting.  When you first mix in the powdered sugar and cocoa powder, start on low speed or else you will have a blast of powder choking your eyes, nose, and throat.  Work your way to medium/high to high speed and keep going until the mixture changes from a dark colored, shiny, clumpy brown blob to a light brown, matte colored, smooth and fluffy brown frosting.

I frosted my cake.  I realize I did a really messy job frosting.  There is a reason.

I got these cute bone and gravestone molds on sale.  I melted a little white candy for the bones, and then I mixed some white and black candy together to make gray for the gravestones.

I used my mortar and pestle to smash up a few Oreos to make dirt.  Sure, I could use my food processor, but that thing is so heavy and in too many pieces, and just total overkill for a few Oreos.  If you don’t have an alchemist’s tools, you can also use your fists and crush them like a worm.

Now it’s really fun time.  This reminds me of building a gingerbread house, except it takes place in a graveyard, with worms, and dirt, and creepy things…  A couple of my Halloween Oreos came to hang out at the graveyard too.

First I made the graveyard.  I stuck the gravestones into the frosting and cake, then I made Oreo dirt mounds.  Some gummy worms and bones up the creepy factor.

I made an M&M path.

Pumpkin patch in the corner, and spooky Oreo buddies out and about.

I made a candy corn and M&M fence around the graveyard and pumpkin patch.  Then I added some finishing touches.  I sprinkled black sugar crystals all over the cake.  I sprinkled some green sugar crystals over the pumpkin patch.  I spread worms, candy ghosts, and candy leaves and acorns everywhere.  Good luck to my mom with cutting the cake.

This is so freaking cute.  Patting myself on the back here.

Close ups for your viewing pleasure.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting adapted from Divas Can Cook
Ingredients
– 2 sticks of unsalted butter
– 1 tbs heavy cream
– 2 tsp vanilla extract
– 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
– 1/2 cup cocoa powder
– 2.5 cups powdered sugar
– pinch of salt

Directions
– Let the butter warm up at room temperature until it is soft.
– Melt the chocolate chips and let it cool down.
– Sift the cocoa powder and powdered sugar.
– Cream the butter until fluffy.  Add the heavy cream and mix it some more.
– Mix in the vanilla and melted chocolate.
– Slowly mix in the cocoa powder, powdered sugar and salt.  Start on low speed and work your way to medium high to high speed.  Keep mixing until the mixture turns from dark brown and shiny to light brown, matte colored, and fluffy.