Spooktacular Halloween Graveyard Cake Food

HAUNTED GRAVEYARD CAKE

Steps:

• To make the ghosts, heat oven to 110C/90C fan/gas ¼. Whip the egg white in a clean bowl until stiff peaks form. Whisk in the sugar a tbsp at a time and keep whisking for a couple of mins until the mixture is thick and resembles shaving foam. Gently spoon the mixture into a large freezer bag, then cut a 1.5cm hole in one of the corners. Cover a baking sheet with some baking parchment. Carefully squeeze a small circle of whipped egg white out of the bag, pulling upwards as you do to make a ghost shape. Repeat until the mixture is used up - you should get about 15 ghosts. Bake for 1½ hrs until crisp. Can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
• Now make the cake. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Tip the cocoa powder, self-raising flour and sugar into a large bowl, breaking up any clumps of sugar. Mix together the eggs, milk and oil in a measuring cup or bowl, then pour over the dry ingredients and stir everything together until smooth. Grease and line a deep baking dish (20 x 30 x 5cm) with baking parchment. Pour in the cake mixture and bake for 30 mins. Leave to cool, then turn out onto a serving plate. Alternatively, wrap well and store for up to 2 days.
• Finish decorating the cake: heat cream in a saucepan until just boiling. Place the dark chocolate in a large bowl and pour over the hot cream. Stir until the chocolate melts. Use a clean brush to paint a layer of chocolate over 7 rich tea finger biscuits, then set aside to cool. Pour the rest of the chocolate mixture over the cake and smooth over with a knife. Whizz the chocolate cookies, or bash in a freezer bag with a rolling pin, until small crumbs form. Sprinkle over the top of the cake.
• Place the white chocolate in a small bowl, set over a pan of simmering water. Leave for 5 mins or until melted, then spoon into a small freezer bag. Wait for 10 mins so the mixture is not too runny, then cut a tiny hole in one corner of the bag. Pipe out 2 small blobs onto each ghost, place a silver ball on each to make eyes, then pipe out suitable words and shapes on the gravestones. Leave for 30 mins to set, then push the biscuit gravestones into the cake and arrange the ghosts around. To get the ghosts to 'fly', push a thin wire (you can get these from a florist shop - remember to remove before eating) into the bottom of the ghost, then place in the cake, hiding the wire behind a gravestone.

SPOOKTACULAR HALLOWEEN GRAVEYARD CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Mix together cake mix, water, oil, and eggs according to package directions.
• If your package requires different ingredients to make cake, follow those instructions instead.
• Grease and flour a glass 13x9-inch cake pan.
• If you use a dark or coated pan, do your baking at 325°F.
• Pour batter into prepared pan and bake in a preheated oven for approx 35 minutes (38-40 minutes for dark or coated pans) or until cake is done.
• Allow cake to cool in the pan.
• Spread frosting evenly on cooled cake.
• Sprinkle frosting with crumbled cookies (oreos or whatever you are using).
• Using gel frostings, write sayings on 1/2 of the milano cookies (some sayings might be"Justin Tyme","Yul B Next","RIP","M T Tomb","Will B Back","Barry M Deep", etc).
• Press 1/2 of cookie down into cake and icing to resemble a standing tombstone.
• Arrange ghost marshmallows in a standing position on top of cake.
• Scatter candies and/or sprinkles or sugars on cake to garnish.

GHOSTS IN THE GRAVEYARD

Steps:

• Crush the oreo cookies in a plastic bag using a rolling pin, or in a food processor.
• Pour milk into large bowl.
• Add pudding mixes.
• Beat with wire whisk 2 minutes or until well blended.
• Let pudding stand 5 minutes.
• Gently stir in 1/2 each of the whipped topping and crushed cookies.
• Spoon into 13x9-inch dish; sprinkle with remaining crushed cookies to be the"dirt" of the graveyard.
• Refrigerate for at least an hour or until ready to serve.
• Decorate the remaining cookies with assorted icings to resemble tombstones,"RIP" and"BOO" are nice sayings; stand up cookies in top of dessert like graves.
• Add candies and plastic"scary" creatures, if using.
• Drop remaining whipped topping by spoonfuls onto dessert to resemble ghosts.
• What works best is to make the cool-whip"ghosts" ahead on a cookie sheet and store them in the freezer until ready to use.
• That way they don't flop over.
• Two or three small, round dollups of cool-whip (like a snowman) make nice looking ghosts.
• You should be able to make 2 or 3 ghosts.
• Remove"ghosts" from the freezer and give them"eyes" and a"mouth" using the brown decorating icing.
• Place"ghosts" in the graveyard.
• Small plastic spiders, cobwebs, or mini monsters are a nice addition too.
• To serve, just scoop out into bowls.
• Store leftover dessert in refrigerator.