Halloween Chocolate Cake #HalloweenTreatsWeek

This Halloween chocolate cake is moist, rich, and super delicious. I love Halloween baking and this poke cake was a lot of fun with a layer of pumpkin spice caramel and topped with a homemade powdered sugar chocolate frosting. 

This recipe and post were created for #HalloweenTreatsWeek! Sponsor companies sent me samples, but as always opinions are 100% mine.

There are many more bloggers joining in the fun, so be sure to scroll down and find links to their blogs, as well. 

You can also enter #HalloweenTreatsWeek into any social platform and you’ll find the desserts that we’re making this week!

This was a fun chocolate cake to make and it turned out so moist and the caramel flavor was subtle and made for a nice addition to this cake.

What do I need for this Halloween cake?

• Flour
• Dixie Crystals Sugar
• Baking soda
• Baking powder
• Salt
• Unsweetened cocoa
• Vegetable oil
• Eggs
• Adams Best Vanilla Extract
• Buttermilk
• Water
• Litehouse Pumpkin Spice Caramel
• Butter
• Dixie Crystals Powdered Sugar
• Half and half or heavy cream
• Wilton Halloween Sprinkles
• Treat Street Marshmallow Skull Lollipops
• Large and medium bowls
• Spatula
• Hand mixer
• 13″ x 9″ cake pan
• Non-stick spray
• Oven

Full recipe and printable instructions at the bottom of the post

We have a lot of great sponsors for #HalloweenTreatsWeek including Dixie Crystals, Wilton, Litehouse Foods, Adams Extract, and Treat Street. I really enjoyed the products and loved making the cake with their help. 

How do you make the chocolate cake from scratch? 

1. Add the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and unsweetened cocoa to a large bowl. Mix. 
2. Next, add the vegetable oil, vanilla extract, eggs, and water to the bowl. Mix. 
3. Finally, add the water and mix again.
4. Pour into a greased 13″ x 9″ cake pan. Gently tamp the pan down to get all of the air out of the batter. 
5. Bake for 30 minutes at 350-degrees or until a cake tester comes out clean. 
6. Set aside while you make the homemade chocolate frosting.

Halloween Chocolate Cake

Start by adding the dry ingredients to a large bowl. Add the sugar and flour. 

 

Next, add the baking soda, baking powder, and salt to the bowl. 

 

Now, add the unsweetened cocoa to the bowl and mix the dry ingredients. 

 

Pour the vegetable oil into the mixture. 

 

Add the vanilla extract. 

 

Now, add the eggs to the mixture. 

 

Pour the buttermilk into the bowl and mix everything. 

If you don’t have any buttermilk, that’s ok. I used one cup of 2-percent milk and added one tablespoon of vinegar to it. I let it sit for a couple of minutes and then added it to the cake. 

 

Finally, pour the water into the bowl and mix the ingredients. 

 

Pour the batter into the cake pan. It will be a very runny and thin batter. Bake the cake for 30 minutes at 350-degrees, or until a cake tester comes out clean.

My cake came out a little wrinkled on top, which is ok, but I couldn’t figure out what I did to cause it. 

After talking with my friend, she said I needed to tamp out the bubbles before sticking the chocolate cake batter into the oven to bake. 

She also mentioned that using a glass cake pan doesn’t distribute the heat as evenly as a metal cake pan. My cake still turned out fantastic, and I almost prefer glass because I like this large dish. 

So, if you get wrinkles on top, like in the photo below, don’t worry about it. You’re going to cover it with frosting, so no one will ever know. 

But, believe me, it tasted so moist and fantastic, so the wrinkles won’t mean a thing. 

Once the cake cools a little, poke some holes throughout. I used a straw, which wasn’t fun to clean after, but I didn’t have anything else that would work. It did the trick and that’s what counts. 

 

Melt the Litehouse Pumpkin Spice Caramel Dip in the microwave for two minutes and spread over the cake, gently working it back-and-forth to get it down into the holes. 

Homemade Chocolate Frosting

How do I make the homemade frosting? 

1. Add the softened butter to a medium-sized bowl. 
2. Next, add the powdered sugar and unsweetened cocoa to the bowl. Mix the three ingredients. 
3. Now, start by adding two tablespoons of milk or heavy cream to the bowl and mix. If the frosting is still dry, add more tablespoons until you reach your desired consistency (I used about 5 tablespoons for this recipe). 
4. Spread on the cake. 

Add the softened butter to a medium-sized bowl. 

 

Next, add the powdered sugar and unsweetened cocoa to the bowl. Mix a little. 

 

Pour the milk into the bowl. I started with two tablespoons, mixed the chocolate frosting, and then added more until I was happy with the spreading consistency.

 

Spread the chocolate frosting onto the cake. 

 

Add your candy decor on top. The Halloween sprinkles and ghosts came in a pack from Wilton. 

 

The marshmallow skull comes from Treat Street USA.

 

Dixie Crystals sent powdered sugar that makes the best frosting. 

 

Check out the Halloween Chocolate Cake Recipe card below, grab those ingredients, and start creating! This is a great Halloween dessert for kids and parties and I think you’ll really love it.

Then, share your comments below and click here to share a picture of your cake on the Pinterest Pin!  If you made any changes or added something different, be sure to share with us so we can try it, too!

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Yield: 24 pieces

Halloween Chocolate Cake

Print

This Halloween chocolate cake is moist, rich, and super delicious. I love Halloween baking and this poke cake was a lot of fun with a layer of pumpkin spice caramel and topped with a homemade powdered sugar chocolate frosting. 

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Additional Time 20 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Ingredients

Chocolate cake

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup hot water

Caramel Layer

• 1 - 16 oz. container Litehouse Pumpkin Spice Caramel Dip (or similar)

Chocolate frosting

• 2 sticks butter, softened
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
• pinch salt 2-5 Tbsp. heavy cream

Instructions

Chocolate cake

1. Preheat oven to 350-degrees and grease a 13" x 9" baking dish.
2. Add the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt to a large bowl.
3. Next, add the vegetable oil, vanilla extract, eggs, buttermilk, and water and mix.
4. Pour into the greased pan and tamp it down a little to get out any air bubbles.
5. Bake for 30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
6. After the cake cools for about 20 minutes, poke holes with a straw or handle of a wooden spoon.

Caramel Layer

1. Melt the caramel in the microwave for about two minutes.
2. Pour over the cake and gently spread, pushing the caramel into the holes.

Chocolate Frosting

1. Add the softened butter to a medium-sized bowl.
2. Next, add the powdered sugar and cocoa and mix.
3. Start by adding two tablespoons of heavy cream and mix. If the frosting is still thick, add more tablespoons, one at a time.
4. Frost the cake and add the sprinkles and Halloween decorations.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

• 
  Pampered Chef Mix N Scraper #1657
• 
  KitchenAid 606354-KHM512HT Hot Sauce 5-Speed Ultra Power Hand Mixer
• 
  Duralex 100009 Made In France Lys Stackable 9-Piece Bowl Set

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

24

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 420Total Fat: 22gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 43mgSodium: 288mgCarbohydrates: 60gFiber: 5gSugar: 36gProtein: 4g

Nutrition is approximate.

Check out the amazing #HalloweenTreatsWeek recipes from our bloggers today!

• Poison Apple Cupcakes from Big Bear’s Wife
• Apple Cider Jello Shots from Fake Ginger
• Ghost Meringue Cookies from Cookaholic Wife
• Eyeball Monster Cookies from Jen Around the World
• Spooky Eyeball Truffles from Sweet Beginnings
• Halloween Chocolate Cake from Back To My Southern Roots
• Bloody Eyeball Crinkle Cookies from Creative Southern Home
• Day of the Dead Margaritas from The Spiffy Cookie
• Ectoplasm Fluff Salad from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
• Loaded Bat Bark from Who Needs A Cape?
• Halloween Icebox Cake from Lemon Blossoms
• Creepy Eyeball Popcorn Balls from West Via Midwest
• Purple People Eater Cupcakes from Jonesin’ For Taste
• Caramel Apple Cheesecake Cheeseballs from Sweet ReciPEAs
• Pumpkin Patch Cupcakes from The Beard and The Baker
• Halloween Cakesickles from Pint Sized Baker
• Halloween M&M Cookie Bars from Katie’s Cucina
• Witches Midnight Puppy Chow from My Sweet Zepol
• Individual Jack Skellington Cheesecakes from Savory Moments
• Vegan Pumpkin Cupcakes with Dark Chocolate Sprinkle Frosting from The Baking Fairy
• Halloween Brownie Parfait from Intelligent Domestications
• Bloody Good Fudge from A Blender Mom
• Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Pumpkin Frosting and Spooky Sprinkles from Nancie’s Table
• Spooky Shortbread Cookies from Shockingly Delicious

Happy Halloween! It’s October which means it’s time for Spooky Season and this year’s #HalloweenTreatsWeek event! #HalloweenTreatsWeek is hosted by Angie from Big Bear’s Wife & its a creepy and haunting week-long event is filled with some amazingly wicked Halloween treats, recipes and some frightfully fun giveaways.

“When witches go riding, and black cats are seen, the moon laughs and whispers ‘tis near Halloween.”

For the 2nd annual #HalloweenTreatsWeek event we have 41 fantastically talented bloggers that are sharing their favorite Halloween recipes throughout the week! There are going to be over 160 Halloween themed recipes shared during this year’s #HalloweenTreatsWeek and we can’t wait for you to see them all! Follow the hashtag #HalloweenTreatsWeek on social media and look at the bottom of each post to see all of the Halloween recipes that we’re sharing!

Plus, don’t forget that we have 6 (six) great giveaways for you this week thanks to our amazing sponsors!

Scroll down to take a look!

Prize #1

Prize #1 — Dixie Crystals is giving away a “Dinner and Dessert Set” – ONE 6-Quart Cook & Carry Programmable Slow Cooker, a Pyrex mixing bowl set plus some fun Dixie Crystals items like a Dixie Crystal Apron and Cookbook!

 

Prize #2

 

Prize #2 — Adam’s Extract is giving away – 1 Gift Pack – including 4oz Adams Best, 1.5 oz Peppermint, 1.5oz Almond, 1 bottle vanilla cinnamon sugar, 1 bottle pumpkin pie spice

 

 

Prize #3

Prize #3 —Wilton is giving away a Texturra 7-Piece Bakeware Set

 

Prize #4

Prize #4 — Sweets and Treats Shop is giving away a large baking box of goodies! Sweets and Treats will send one lucky winner a large assortment of sprinkles and lines and other samples of their products!

 

Prize #5

 

Prize #5 — Treat Street USA is giving away a set of Holiday Treat Decorations (1 Gummy Assortment, 1 Marshmallow Snowman, 1 Toy Solider and 1 Gingerbread Men)

 

Prize #6

Prize # 6– Litehouseis giving away the following: 1 Litehouse® Honeycrisp Apple Cider, 1 Litehouse® Old Fashioned Caramel, 1 Litehouse® Pumpkin Spice Caramel, 1 Litehouse® Butterscotch Caramel & 1 Litehouse® Chocolate Dip, Snack Packs

 
 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 
 

Giveaway open to US Residents 18 years or older. All entries will be verified. No PO Boxes Please. Prizes will be sent directly from sponsors to winners, bloggers are not responsible for prizes. This giveaway runs from October 7th – October 13th at 11:59PM EST. Winners will be selected soon afterward and contacted by e-mail. Winners will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. There are a total of 6 (six) prizes and therefore we will have a total of 6 (six) winners. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law.

 

Disclaimer: These posts and recipes are part of the week-long event, #HalloweenTreatsWeek but all opinions are 100% mine! We would like to Thank our amazing sponsors: Dixie Crystals, Adam’s Extract, Wilton, Sweets and Treats Shop, Treat Street USA and Litehouse! These wonderful sponsors provided the prize packs for our giveaways and also sent samples and products to the #HalloweenTreatsWeek bloggers to use in their recipes.