Description
Create spooky and delightful Witches Brew Halloween Cake Jars featuring rich black cocoa chocolate cake layers, vibrant green buttercream frosting, and decorative fondant witch legs and shoes, all assembled in jars for a festive treat perfect for Halloween celebrations.
Ingredients
Scale
Cake
- 330 g self raising flour
- 360 g granulated sugar
- 360 g butter
- 6 eggs
- 30 g unsweetened black cocoa powder
- 1½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 90 ml milk
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Buttercream Frosting and Decoration
- 400 g salted butter
- 800 g powdered sugar (icing sugar)
- 1¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoon milk or cream (optional if buttercream is too stiff)
- Electric green food coloring (a few drops)
- 250 g orange fondant
- 200 g black fondant
- 1 tablespoon CMC powder
- Sprinkles
Instructions
- Prepare Fondant Legs: Knead half a tablespoon of CMC into orange fondant until soft and pliable. Roll into long strips about 5mm in diameter, cut into 10 cm lengths, making 18 pieces. Keep covered to prevent drying.
- Add Black Stripes to Legs: Roll black fondant into thin strips approximately 2-3mm diameter, about 25-30cm long. Lightly dampen orange fondant legs using a brush and attach black stripes, cutting excess. Create 5 stripes per leg. Keep covered while working.
- Make Black Fondant Shoes: Knead remaining ½ tablespoon CMC into black fondant, form 18 balls (~2 cm diameter). Roll each ball into a short sausage, pinch bottom to make heel, press right end to thicken top part, pinch and curl left end for pointed front. Use a ball tool to make an opening for the leg.
- Attach Shoes to Legs: Moisten inside opening of shoe with damp brush, insert orange leg, press gently, and place flat to secure. Repeat for all shoes attached to legs. Let dry overnight until firm.
- Preheat Oven and Prepare Tin: Preheat oven to 170℃. Grease and flour one 9-inch square cake tin.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: Beat butter and sugar on medium speed for about 2 minutes until light and fluffy, scraping bowl sides midway.
- Add Eggs: Add eggs two at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In separate bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, cocoa powder, and salt. Sift into creamed mixture in three batches, alternating with milk, folding gently. Fold in vanilla extract.
- Bake Cake: Pour batter into prepared tin and bake for 50 minutes. Test doneness with skewer; cake is done if it comes out clean and surface springs back. Cool in tin 2-3 minutes, then invert onto rack and cool completely.
- Make Buttercream Frosting: Beat butter until soft, then mix in powdered sugar with spatula to moisten before whipping with mixer. Add vanilla and beat until smooth. Add milk if too stiff, then mix in green food coloring thoroughly. Transfer to piping bag with large star tip.
- Prepare Cake Layers: Level cake top, slice horizontally into two layers. Use round cutter to cut nine circles from each layer.
- Assemble Cake Jars: Place sprinkles at bottom sides of each jar for decoration. Insert first cake circle, pipe buttercream layer from sides to center, add more sprinkles on sides. Top with second cake circle, then pipe final buttercream swirl. Add sprinkles all over top.
- Add Witch Legs Decoration: Use wooden skewer to make two holes in top buttercream layer, insert witch legs into holes to complete decoration.
Notes
- Make fondant legs a day ahead to ensure they set firm and avoid bending after assembly.
- Use a fondant smoother instead of hands to roll orange fondant strips for smoother finish.
- In humid environments, add CMC powder and work in air-conditioned room or insert lollipop sticks into legs to prevent sagging.
- Dampen brush lightly to apply water as glue; too much water causes sogginess and color bleeding.
- Keep black fondant balls covered while shaping shoes; knead if they feel dry.
- Shoes take longer initially but speed up with practice.
- Add food coloring gradually for desired buttercream color; gel coloring is highly concentrated.
- Plan cutting layout on cake layers before cutting to fit nine circles per layer.
- Adding sprinkles at jar bottoms is optional, used to fill space if jar bottoms are uneven.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 jar
- Calories: 650 kcal
- Sugar: 70 g
- Sodium: 150 mg
- Fat: 35 g
- Saturated Fat: 20 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 12 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 80 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 6 g
- Cholesterol: 140 mg
