My Halloween Bat Cake is chock full of all your favorite fall spices and beyond moist thanks to lots of pumpkin and a few other helpful ingredients. It might look fancy but it’s actually much easier than you might think!
Pro Tips for an Amazing Pumpkin Cake
- If you can’t find candy melts at your local market then you can TOTALLY use chocolate for the bats. Just try and temper it so the bats are shiny and don’t melt right away.
- If you’re not using 6-inch pans, double the recipe for 8-inch pans or triple the recipe for 9-inch pans.
- You can substitute whole milk yogurt for the sour cream if desired, I do it all the time and can’t really tell the difference.
- To get FLAT layers that are moist inside and out try using cake strips! You can buy a set on the shop page or make your own from foil and paper towels at home. I made a whole blog post on it so check it out if you’re interested!
- If you don’t want to make Italian buttercream you can cover the cake in the pumpkin buttercream and skip the ombré.
- MIX that meringue buttercream RIGHT before use!!! It loses consistency quickly.
- Hate cloves, nutmeg or some other spice in this recipe? Skip it and use which ever spices you prefer!
If you find cake decorating to be a bit intimidating then check out my How to Decorate a Cake post, it has lots of helpful tips and a full how to video.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make this cake in advance?
- YES! You can make the layers in advance, wrap them up and refrigerate for up to three days or freeze them for up to two months.
- The frosting will keep for two weeks in the refrigerator and two months in the freezer. Let it come back to room temperature and give it a quick whip before using to restore it’s silky consistency.
- The Whole cake will keep in the refrigerator for up to three days. Make sure to cover it so it doesn’t absorb any errant smells. Allow to warm back to room temperature before enjoying. Add the bats on before serving.
What is candy melt?
Candy melts are a chocolate substitute that melts and hardens very easily. The taste will remind you of Mother’s Cookies if you’ve ever had those. The benefits of candy melts are you don’t have to worry about burning them and there is no need for tempering them. Chocolate must be tempered in order to get a nice shiny coating with a good snap that won’t melt in your hand or are room temperature.
How do you know when the cake layers are done?
- You will see the edge of the cake pull away from the pan and the center will spring back when touched gently. A skewer will also come out cleanly when inserted in the center.
- I like to tap the side of the pan so the cake layer moves around a bit in the pan before inverting it onto a wire rack. This really helps get a clean release every time.
How do you make Italian Meringue Buttercream???
This silky smooth buttercream is intimidating for very little reason, once you get the few simple steps down you’ll be making this with the greatest ease. Italian meringue buttercream is less sweet than American buttercream and some people complain that it’s too buttery but you can always add more sugar to the recipe if desired!
If you’d like a complete run through of the FULL step-by-step head over to my post on it OR watch the video below!
What can I do if my Italian Buttercream gets soupy after I add the butter in?
DON’T PANIC! Just keep adding the butter in while whipping. If it’s still a liquid after ALL the butter goes in then you can pop the bowl into the fridge for five or so minutes and whip.
How to make a Bat Cake
1. Heat oven to 350F. Butter and flour three six inch cake pans. Sift the flour, leavening agents, salt and spices together into a large bowl. Whisk together and set aside.
2. in a large bowl combine the oil, eggs, sugars, pumpkin, sour cream, and vanilla. Whisk to combine.
3. Pour the wet into the dry and mix until combined.
4. Divide the batter evenly into three six inch pans; I use cake strips to get nice flat cake layers. Bake at 350F for about 24-30 minutes or until the centers are springy to the touch.
5. While the cakes bake it’s time to make your buttercream. Add 1 cup of sugar and 1/3 cup of water to a small pot, stir together and place on medium-high heat. While the sugar heats up beat the egg whites, salt, and cream or tartar until frothy. Slowly drizzle in 1/2 cup of sugar while mixing on high. The egg whites should form pretty firm peaks by the time your sugar reaches 240F.
6. Once your Egg whites have nice peaks and the sugar is at 240F you can CAREFULLY drizzle the sugar into the meringue while mixing on low. Run the mixer until the meringue is room temperature. I usually pack the bowl in frozen peas so it cools down more quickly. Add on pound of room temperature butter a tablespoon at a time to the meringue while mixing at a medium speed. Divide buttercream into 5 batches and color with different amounts of orange buttercream to create a gradient.
7. Beat the butter, pumpkin purée and salt until combined. Scrape the bowl down and mix once more. Sift in the sugar and spices, and instant espresso then beat until smooth and fluffy. Add more sugar as needed to get a pipeable consistency.
8. Pipe the bats with melted candy melt. You can snip the tip off of a piping bag or use a #2 or 3 tip. Allow to harden before handling. For best results pipe onto parchment paper so the bats are easy to remove.
9. Pipe the pumpkin buttercream onto the cooled cake layer and assemble. Cover in a thin layer of buttercream on the outside for the crumb coat.
10. Smooth the cake and then chill until firm. If your cake is unstable place a skewer through the middle to hold layers in place while it firms up in the refrigerator.
11. Give your batches of Italian meringue buttercream a quick whip then transfer to piping bags with the end snipped off. Pipe the ombré onto the cake and smooth.
12. Carefully place the bats onto your cake and enjoy!
You can download and print out the template above to use as a guide for your bats!
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried this spooky bat cake then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Halloween Bat Cake
Video
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 2 cups all-purpose flour 250g
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups white sugar 320g
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil 60mL
- 1/4 cup sour cream 60mL
- 1/2 cup coconut oil 120mL
- 1 can pumpkin purée 15oz
- 2 tsp baking powder 8g
- 1 tsp kosher salt 6g
- 1 tsp baking soda 6g
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon 5g
- 1/2 tsp ginger 1g
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg .5g
- 1/2 tsp allspice .5g
- Pinch ground cloves
- 1 tsp vanilla extract 5mL
For the Pumpkin Buttercream
- 1 cup butter unsalted 226g
- ¼ cup pureed pumpkin 60mL
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 4 cups confectioners sugar 450g
- 2 tsp vanilla extract 10mL
- 2 tsp cinnamon 5g
- 1 tsp instant espresso
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg .25g
- ¼ tsp allspice .25g
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger .25
For the Italian Meringue Buttercream
- 4 egg whites large
- 1 1/3 cups sugar 290g
- Pinch kosher salt
- 16 ounces butter 450g unsalted, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract 5mL
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar 1g
- 1/3 cup water 80mL
- Orange and brown gel food coloring
- For the Bats:
- 1 cup black candy melts melted 240mL
Instructions
For the Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.Butter and flour 3 six inch cake pans. (I always wrap mine in cake strips)
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together the eggs, sugar, oils, sour cream, vanilla and pumpkin.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, salt and spices; add to wet ingredients and mix thoroughly.
- Spread into prepared pans. Bake for approximately 25-30 minutes or until centers are springy to the touch and the edge is pulling away from the pan.
For the Italian Meringue Buttercream
- Beat the egg whites, salt and cream of tartar. Slowly add in 1/3 cup of sugar and continue beating until soft peaks form.
- In a medium saucepan add 1 cup sugar and 1/3 cup water and place on medium-high heat. Stir until sugar melts and becomes clear.
- Maintain at medium-high heat until temperature reads 240F.
- Drizzle the sugar into the mixer immediately. Run mixer until meringue is cool/tepid.
- Switch to a paddle attachment. Add room temperature butter into running mixer one tablespoon piece at a time. Add vanilla.
- Beat until butter is combined and mixture has reached a silky consistency.
- Separate into bowls. Dye a gradient of color using orange and brown food coloring.
For the Pumpkin Buttercream
- Beat the butter, salt, and pumpkin together in the bowl or your stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.
- Sift in the sugar, spices, and instant espresso and beat until smooth and creamy. Add more sugar if needed to thicken consistency.
For the Bats
- Print out 3 pages of bat outline. Arrange them side by side. Add a sheet of parchment paper
- Melt the candy melts and transfer to a piping bag. Snip off the tip.
- Pipe the outline of each bat. Set aside to dry.
For the Assembly
- Pipe pumpkin buttercream between each layer. Cover completely, smooth with a bench scraper and off set spatula. Transfer to the fridge to chill.
- Give each batch of the Italian meringue buttercream a quick whip. Transfer each color into piping bags and snip off the tips.
- Starting with the darkest orange, pipe each color of Italian meringue in a gradient. Smooth with tools and transfer to the fridge again.
- Carefully separate bats from the parchment paper. They can be very fragile!
- Attach bats by gently pressing onto the buttercream.
Notes
- If you can't find candy melts at your local market then you can TOTALLY use chocolate for the bats. Just try and temper it so the bats are shiny and don't melt right away.
- If you’re not using 6-inch pans, double the recipe for 8-inch pans or triple the recipe for 9-inch pans.
- You can substitute whole milk yogurt for the sour cream if desired, I do it all the time and can’t really tell the difference.
- To get FLAT layers that are moist inside and out try using cake strips! You can buy a set online or make your own from foil and paper towels at home. I made a whole blog post on it so check it out if you’re interested!
- If you don't want to make Italian buttercream you can use the American variety. I just prefer the smoothness and taste of the Italian variety. I know it's a pain to make two different types of frosting though!
- MIX that meringue buttercream RIGHT before use, it looses consistency quickly!!!
