Instructions

For the Black Chocolate Cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F (177°C). Prepare two 8-inch round cake pans with parchment rounds, and grease the sides. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, sift flour, cocoa, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Whisk to combine, set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy, 4-6 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
4. Lower the speed to medium-low and add eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition until just combined. Scrape down he sides and bottom of the bowl.
5. In a small bowl, combine the vanilla and instant coffee granules. Add the sour cream to the batter along with the vanilla coffee mixture and beat on medium speed until combined.
6. Alternately add dry ingredients in thirds and buttermilk in 2 additions to the batter, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Beat each addition just until combined. Divide batter equally between the cake pans, a little over 2 cups per pan.
7. Bake two layers at a time for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and cake springs back when lightly touched.
8. Remove cakes from oven and allow to cool in pans for about 10 minutes, then turn onto cooling racks to cool completely before frosting. Or at this point, you can wrap all the cake layers tightly in plastic wrap and freeze or refrigerate until ready to assemble.

For the Green Vanilla Cake:

1. Position oven rack to the middle. Preheat oven to 350° F (177°C). Prepare two 8-inch round cake pans with parchment rounds, and grease the sides. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and whisk to combine. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using a hand mixer, beat the butter, sugar, sour cream, vegetable oil and vanilla on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.
4. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Lower the speed to medium-low and mix in the eggs, one at a time until just combined.
5. Add ⅓ of the dry ingredients and beat just until combined, then add ½ of the buttermilk and mix until just combined. Continue mixing in ½ of the remaining dry ingredients, remaining buttermilk, then remaining dry ingredients. Remember to mix after each addition before adding the next.
6. Tint the batter using leaf green gel food colouring. Divide the batter between the two pans. Use a small offset spatula to spread the batter into an even layer.
7. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs.
8. Remove cakes from oven and allow to cool in pans for about 10 minutes, then turn onto cooling racks to cool completely.

For the Black Chocolate Buttercream:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand-held mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 5-6 minutes).
2. Turn the mixer to low, and gradually add half of the sugar one cup at a time. Add both cocoa powders.
3. Once incorporated, add heavy cream, vanilla and salt and beat until combined.
4. Add the remaining powdered sugar one cup at a time and mix on low until combined.
5. Once the sugar is combined, add a few drops of black gel food colouring.
6. Increase mixer speed to high and whip until light and fluffy, about 5-7 minutes.

For the Green Vanilla Buttercream:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand-held mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 5-6 minutes).
2. Turn the mixer to low, and gradually add half of the sugar one cup at a time. Once incorporated, add heavy cream, vanilla and salt and beat until combined.
3. Add the remaining powdered sugar one cup at a time and mix on low until combined.
4. Once the sugar is combined, add a few drops of green gel food colouring.
5. Increase mixer speed to high and whip until light and fluffy, about 5-7 minutes.

For the Green Slime Filling + Topping:

1. Prepare the vanilla pudding according to package instructions, add a few drops of neon green food colouring while mixing. Set aside.

For the Candy Melt Fire:

1. Line a large baking sheet with wax paper. Set aside.
2. Add the red, yellow and orange candy melts to three separate heat safe bowls. Microwave each bowl one at a time in 30 second intervals until candy melts are completely melted and smooth.
3. Dip the tip of a small offset spatula into the red candy melts and swipe a small amount onto the wax paper lined baking sheet in an upwards motion. This is the bottom of the flame. Make a few rows of this, I used about 20 flames around my cake but it’s best to make as much as you can so you have extra just incase any break.
4. Without cleaning the spatula, repeat the same swiping motion using the orange candy melts. Make sure the orange is touching the top of the red stroke so they could blend in the middle.
5. Repeat with the yellow candy melts, except this time don’t swipe. Just add a touch of yellow to the top.
6. Then use a toothpick to swirl the colours together and pull the top part up to create a flame shape. It’s important to work quickly because once the candy melts set, you won’t be able to do this. Allow to set at room temperature for about 30 minutes to an hour or transfer to the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes.

Assembly:

1. Trim the cake layers, if needed.
2. Use an offset spatula to place a dollop of frosting onto a cake board or serving platter that’s on a turntable. Place one cake layer (black or green) onto the cake board.
3. Scoop some green frosting into a disposable piping bag and snip off the end. Pipe a double rim around the edges of the cake and pour on a cup of the green vanilla pudding and spread into an even layer. Repeat with all layers, placing the final layer upside down.
4. Frost entire cake in a thin layer of black frosting to seal the crumbs and refrigerate for 30 minutes of freeze for 10 minutes.
5. Spread a layer of the remaining green frosting around the middle of the cake. Press candy eyeballs and bones onto the green frosting.
6. Add black frosting to a large piping bag and pipe the frosting around the top and bottom of the cake. Smooth out the sides and top.
7. Melt the candy melts and pour into a small disposable piping bag and snip off the tip. Drip it off the top and middle edges of the cake.
8. Once candy melt fire is set, cut off the bottom so the fire can stand flat. Add a dollop of frosting to the back of the fire candy melts and place around the bottom of the cake.
9. Spoon remaining pudding on top of the cake and decorate with halloween treats. Slice and serve, if you dare!