Zombie Graveyard Cake

October has gone way too fast!! There were so many more ideas I wanted to try before Halloween, but I am thankful I at least got to share this one because it is my favourite!

Zombie movies have always topped my fav scary film list and funny zombie movies are even better. Now I'm not talking the terrifying run really fast rage zombies, I like my undead slow, stumbling and searching for brains. Think Return of the Living Dead, which I watched again last weekend and laughed my butt off the whole way through! In fact it was the inspiration behind this cake.

Ever since I made the hearts inside valentines cake last year I've been wanting to use this technique again and what could be more fitting for Halloween then a graveyard cake bursting with zombies! Make it past the undead crawling out the top, slice into the cake and you'll find a surprise! Its full of bones (cake bones that is).

Making the cake isn't very difficult and if you often have cake off cuts like I do its a great way to us them up. If you don't have any spare off cuts it's as simple as baking a quick square of vanilla cake cutting out your bone shapes and baking them again inside your chocolate cake. Go as simple or as fancy as you like with the decorations as the real surprise is on the inside. I used chocolate fingers for the fence around the outside and crushed Oreos make a fantastically realistic graveyard dirt on top.

For the zombie graveyard cake you'll need-
Pre-baked white cake- I used half of my favourite vanilla cake recipe.
Chocolate Cake mixture (recipe at end of post)
Chocolate buttercream (recipe at end of post)
1 packet chocolate biscuit fingers
1 packet Oreos (cream filling removed and cookies crushed)
Small amount of green, orange and grey fondant

Making the fondant toppers
To make the zombie arm roll out a small length of light green fondant and slightly flatten one end. Cut off the other end and gently insert a toothpick about halfway up the arm.

Cut four slices into the flattened fondant to form a hand, add on small details like finger nails and cuts and scrapes with a toothpick . Curve the fingers over something round and leave to dry out.

Brush the fondant hands with some cocoa and red luster dust for that real zombie skin look.

To make the Pumpkin, roll a small amount of orange fondant into a ball and press down in the center to flatten slightly.

With a toothpick or lining tool draw on the ridges on the side of the pumpkin. Add a little stem to the top.

 Cut some little gravestone shapes out of grey fondant and insert a toothpick into the base of each.

Making the Graveyard Cake

Cut bones out of white cake with a cookie cutter.

Arrange bones inside your prepared cake tin.

 Scoop chocolate cake mixture over the top of the cake bones and spread evenly.

Bake cake according to recipe. 

Once the cake has cooled transfer to plate or cake board.

Spread a the top and sides of the cake with the chocolate buttercream, it doesn't need to be super neat as its covered up anyway.

Trim some of the chocolate fingers to different lengths to make the fence. Press the chocolate fingers around the outside of the cake.

Spread a layer of Oreo dirt over the top of the cake. If you like you can add some more Oreo dirt around the base of the cake, use some leftover chocolate frosting to stick it down.

Arrange the zombie hands and tombstones on the top of the cake.

Enjoy!!

Easy Chocolate Cake
125 grams butter
1/2 cup caster sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups self raising flour
2 tablespoons cornflour
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
3/4 cup milk

• Grease 6 inch round cake pan and line the base with baking paper.
• Add butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla to bowl of electric mixer, beat until combined.
• Add the flours, cocoa and the milk and beat on medium speed until smooth and lighter in colour.
• Spread into prepared pan and bake for around 40 to 45 minutes or until a skewer into the middle comes out clean.
• Remove cake from oven, allow to cool 5 minutes before tuning out onto a wire rack. Cool top side up.

Chocolate Buttercream
90 grams butter
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
2 tablespoons dark cocoa
2-3 tablespoons milk

• Beat the butter with mixer until light and fluffy.
• Add the icing sugar, cocoa and milk, beat until the icing is smooth and spreadable.

Hatching Egg Easter Cupcakes

I have always loved Easter! What's not to like? There are cute cuddly baby animals all over the place, pretty pastel colours and its a great excuse to eat silly amounts of chocolate. While its Autumn here in Australia the days definitely have a Spring feel, the end of Summer rains have made everything happy and green and the cooler days make me want to spend all my time outdoors. When I was little Mum would always spend the few days before Easter out in the gardens making sure the yard was perfect for our egg hunt on Sunday morning. My brother and I would spend Saturday night decorating our baskets with crepe paper, ribbons and fuzzy yellow chicks ready to fill with our chocolate egg loot. The fuzzy yellow chickens from my childhood have remained one of my favorite Easter decorations, I knew I had to use them to cutesy up some yummy cupcakes.

I don't really know what to say about these cupcakes, except that after I placed on the egg and chick toppers I stood back and laughed. They are just so ridiculously cute! And easy!! all you need are some hollow chocolate eggs and some baby chicks to make these adorable hatching cupcakes.

After debating about what kind of cupcake I'd like to make I went with the obvious choice. Chocolate cupcakes for the one day when there is no such thing as too much chocolate. I used my favorite chocolate cake recipe and teamed it with a pastel purple fluffy vanilla frosting, both are quick and simple and all the ingredients are usual pantry items.

For the Chocolate Cupcakes (makes 14)

1 cup sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup Dark Cocoa Powder

3/4 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup boiling water

10 medium hollow medium chocolate eggs

10 fuzzy chicks

fondant flowers

To make the cupcakes- Preheat your oven to 180 degrees c. Line cupcake pans with cupcake papers.

In a large bowl add sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, whisk together. Add the eggs, milk, oil and the vanilla to the dry ingredients.

Beat the wet and dry ingredients together on medium speed for two minutes.

Mix in the boiling water on low speed until smooth. The mixture will be pretty thin.

Evenly divide the cake mixture between the prepared cupcake pans.

Bake the cupcakes for 20 to 25 minutes, until they spring back when poked in the center. Place cupcakes on wire racks to cool.

To make the egg toppers- Unwrap 10 eggs, leave 4 of the eggs whole.

Using a hot knife cut zigzag holes in the top of 4 of the eggs, place a little chick inside each with its head poking out. Break the last 2 eggs into large and small pieces.

For the frosting-

125 grams unsalted butter (softened)

500 grams icing sugar

3 tablespoons milk

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

pinch of salt

purple colouring

To make the frosting- beat the butter on medium speed until very pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the icing sugar, milk, vanilla, salt and a couple of dots of colouring, beat on low until all the ingredients are incorporated. Increase the mixing speed to medium and beat for 5 minutes until the buttercream is smooth and fluffy.

Fit a piping bag with a large star tip and spoon in the buttercream. Pipe a swirl of frosting onto each of the cupcakes.

Stand the whole eggs and the chick filled eggs onto the tops of the cupcakes. Top the remaining cupcakes with a fuzzy chicken and press some broken egg pieces around the base. Add a few broken pieces around the bottoms of the hatching eggs also. Decorate each little cake with some fondant flowers.