Halloween Bundt Cake

Now when Halloween is behind us and the spooky party has finished we can rethink our menu strategy and announce the party menu winners. Our first stage winner is without a doubt one very popular and easy to bake cake well known under different names in Germany, Austria, Czech Republic and Slovakia. Usually served with hot coffee or your afternoon tea, in England commonly familiar as a marble cake, a poppy seed ring or a Bundt cake.  I would like to share with you my mother’s simplified version of this cake. But be aware, there is a challenge!

The base for the Bundt cake is not difficult to prepare, very easy to mix and even easier to finish. The most complicated part of this Halloween version is the decoration. Because this masterpiece was made for very special purposes, the design is a bit more complex to handle. The usual humble version of this cake comes without icing, but not the special Halloween version! This one was decorated with a style to impress our guests and form an edible sweet cake pumpkin. The preparation is a bit unusual too. Instead of one cake, we will bake two. From the spare mixture you can easily bake twelve cupcakes. With these two cakes we are going to build the main base of our cake pumpkin when connected together. Then we will brush a thin layer of apricot jam known as a apricot glaze between them to work as a glue to attach the two parts together. But let’s list the ingredients before having a more detailed look at the directions.

Ingredients for the cake base

4 medium sized eggs
250 g of caster sugar
1 unsalted butter or margarine
350 g plain flour
200 ml milk
10 g baking powder

Ingredients for the decoration

icing sugar
orange icing sugar paste
green icing sugar paste
yellow icing sugar paste
few drops food colouring – optional

Method

First separate egg whites and egg yolks. Whisk the egg whites in a large mixing bowl until soft but not dry. Using the same whisk save on washing,  beat the butter in a large bowl until soft. Add icing sugar and 4 yolks. Sift the flour over the mixture and fold in. Add milk and stir the egg whites into the mixture. Mix gently. Divide the mixture into separate bowls 400 g each.

Pour the three quarters of the butter from one bowl into the prepared well oiled Bundt tin. Sift about 25 g of cocoa into the mixture and stir until well blended. Add the cocoa mixture into the tin and level the surface. Take a skewer and swirl it around the mixture in the tin a few times to create a marbled effect. Bake the cake for 45 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Turn out onto a cooling rack and leave to cool. Bake the remaining mixture the same way. If you have any left you can use them for cupcakes.

The cake building

When cooled trim the bottoms of the cakes so they lie flat against each other. Glaze the flat surface of the bottom cake using prepared apricot glaze and place the other cake on top. Glaze the entire cake.

The decoration

While the glaze is drying sprinkle sugar over your working surface and a use a rolling pin to flatten black icing sugar paste. Decide on what side you want to have a face and  using your rolling pin transfer black icing sugar paste on the cake. Using the same technique prepare the orange icing sugar paste. Cut the eyes, nose and mouth. Again using the rolling pin transfer the orange icing sugar paste onto the black icing sugar paste. Gently with your hands tap the orange icing sugar paste on the cake. You can add extra details to create a more expressive face, or just simply use a Halloween cake topper glued sideways. Another possibility is to design personalised cake topper designs. Finish as you desire and done.