Go Back Email Link
+ servings
Kawaii Ghost Cake, perfect for Halloween
Print Recipe
No ratings yet

Kawaii Ghost Cake

This Pumpkin Spice Layer Cake is decorated to look like an adorable kawaii ghost! It's perfect for Halloween.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Decorating time45 minutes
Total Time1 hour 30 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American, Japanese
Keyword: almond milk, apple cider vinegar, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon, ginger, golden caster sugar, icing sugar, non-dairy butter, nutmeg, plain flour, pumpkin puree, vanilla, vegetable oil
Servings: 16 people

Equipment

  • 1 x 7 inch cake tin
  • 2 x 6 inch cake tin
  • 1 x 5 inch cake tin

Ingredients

For the cake

  • 375 grams plain flour
  • 3 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1.5 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 pinch ground nutmeg
  • 425 grams pumpkin puree
  • 175 millilitres vegetable oil
  • 100 millilitres plant milk e.g. almond or oat milk
  • 300 grams golden caster sugar
  • 1 tsp apple cider vinegar

To decorate

  • 250 grams icing sugar
  • 100 grams non-dairy butter
  • 0.25 tsp vanilla paste
  • 1 kilogram white fondant
  • pink food colouring
  • black food colouring

Instructions

To bake the cake

  • Pre-heat your oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4 and line your cake tins with grease proof paper. (You will need 1x 7 inch cake tin, 2x 6 inch cake tins and 1x 5 inch cake tin.)
  • In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, and spices.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, vegetable oil, plant milk, sugar and apple cider vinegar.
  • Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and carefully fold them until the cake batter is smooth.
  • Pour the cake mix across the three tins ensuring they are all as level as possible.
  • Place the cake tins into the oven and bake for 20 minutes.
  • Once the 20 minutes is up, check on the smallest of the cakes. If it is bouncy to the touch and pulling away from the edges of the tin remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack.
  • Leave the remaining 3 cakes to bake for a further 10 minutes before checking to see if they have finished baking. (The largest of the 3 cakes may require an additional 5 minutes).
  • Once all of the cakes have been removed from the oven, remove from their tins and place on a cooling rack.

To decorate

  • Once the cakes have completely cooled, whisk together the non-dairy butter and the icing sugar until you have a creamy, spreadable buttercream.
  • Stick the 7 inch cake to a cake board with a small amount of the buttercream.
  • Spread the base of one of the 6 inch cakes with buttercream and stack on top of the 7 inch cake.
  • Spread a layer of buttercream on top before stacking the second 6 inch cake on top of the first.
  • Add another layer of buttercream before topping the cake with the 5 inch sponge.
  • Using a serrated knife, carve the cake so that it has a domed top and gets slightly wider towards the base. You can use any off cuts to fill in any gaps making sure the cake is one smooth shape.
  • Cover the cake in the buttercream until smooth all over.
  • Coat a clean work surface with a dusting of icing sugar.
  • Roll out roughly 750 grams of white fondant into a circle large enough to cover the cake.
  • Drape the white fondant over the cake and let it naturally create ruffles and pleats. Gently press the fondant into the buttercream to ensure it's secure.
  • Keep roughly 200 grams of the remaining fondant and place it to one side.
  • Split the remaining 50 grams in half and colour one half pink and the other half black.
  • Roll out the pink fondant and cut out two circular rosey cheecks and one "u" shaped mouth.
  • Roll out the black fondant and cut out two oval shaped eyes.
  • Pinch four small balls from the remaining white fondant. Press these out gently until they are small, flat discs. Secure these to the black eyes using a little of the leftover buttercream.
  • Attach the eyes to the cake using some leftover buttercream.
  • Next, attach the rosey cheeks directly below the eyes, followed by the mouth (again using leftover buttercream as glue).
  • Finally, split the remaining white fondant in two and roll into two sausage like arms. Pinch the tops of each arms so that they are thinner than the ends.
  • Attach the arms to the body using the last of the buttercream.
  • Optional: add a spooky cake topper or even a fondant bow to make it extra cute!