Graveyard Cake Is A Fun Way To Use Pumpkin Candies And Marshmallow Ghosts

When you start seeing fall specials like the Starbucks pumpkin cookie crumble, then you know that Halloween can't be far behind. And that means it's time to start channeling your creativity towards the spooky and the kooky. As far as Halloween eats are concerned, one of the best canvases you can have is the top of a cake, and what better way to create spooky food scenes than with Halloween candy? With mini candy jack-'o-lanterns, cookie gravestones, and marshmallow ghosts, making a graveyard cake is almost as much fun as eating it. It is also surprisingly easy, making it just right for a last minute treat or for assembling with little ones.

A graveyard cake, or most spooky cakes, for that matter, can use basic store-bought or boxed cake-mix cakes as a base. Apart from ensuring you don't make any major cake baking mistakes, you don't need to spend too much time or elbow grease on it, allowing you more time to focus on the fun stuff — decorating the cake. There's a bewildering amount of candy you can use for edible decoration, but if you end up getting too much, you can always use leftover Halloween candy for baking projects even after the holiday. What's more, it's highly customizable and easy to scale to your time and effort. Your graveyard cake can be as elaborate or as simple as you want, and the results will almost always delight.

When picking a cake for a Halloween graveyard scene, ensure it complements the flavors of the decorative candies. It's also a good idea to use a cake with a bit of frosting, which makes it much easier to fix spooky edible embellishments on it. Finally, since candy is generally dry, make sure the cake is sufficiently moist to counteract this (sauerkraut is the surprising secret ingredient for moist cake). Now, on to the decorating.

A basic graveyard cake can be made using cookies for tombstones and a narrow piping bag to write inscriptions with icing. You can buy marshmallow ghosts or just cut regular marshmallows into the required shapes and add eyes using edible ink, nonpareils, or another edible decoration. If you're feeling a little more hands-on, consider making your own ghosts with simple homemade meringues, which you can flavor as you like. For a more creepy-crawly theme, look to jelly candies like gummy worms.

When decorating your graveyard cake, consider how the cake will be stored and served. For example, if the cake is going to remain at room temperature for an extended period, use decorations that won't melt. Marshmallows and candy corn pumpkins work well for such cakes as they remain stable at room temperature. However, if you plan on using frosting as decoration, you may want to refrigerate the cake until serving time, lest the cream melts and your decorative ghosts turn into spooky little puddles.