Halloween Bundt Cake

Learn how to make make a Halloween Bundt Cake with layers of spooky Halloween colors, topped with a chocolate ganache, and lots of Halloween sprinkles on top! This easy dessert starts with a cake mix that is dyed with neon gel food coloring to create those festive and colorful layers inside. 

Check out my other festive Halloween recipes like these Mummy Rice Krispie Treats, Candy Corn Cookies, and Leftover Halloween Candy Cookie Bars. 

Halloween Bundt Cake Recipe

This festive Halloween Bundt Cake has swirls of purple, green, and orange colors inside and it’s topped off with a spooky black ganache glaze. Of course, we can’t forget the cute halloween themed sprinkles on top as well. 

It’s the perfect recipe to make for a Halloween party, gathering, or dessert to celebrate the fun Holiday with your kids. 

Fun to make & eat with the bold and bright layers of color! And it’s really easy to make because it starts with a doctored up cake mix recipe. 

Ingredients Needed

• Swirled Bundt Cake Ingredients

  • Golden Butter Cake Mix – If you can’t find the golden butter version of a yellow cake mix, then use a regular yellow cake mix in it’s place. It’s labeled as ‘golden butter’ or ‘butter golden’ on the box of cake mix. Do not follow the directions on the back of the box. Follow the recipe card below using the milk, extra eggs, and melted butter.
  • Whole Milk
  • Large Eggs
  • Melted Butter
  • Gel Food Coloring – For this Bundt Cake you will need purple, orange, and green gel food color. It’s best to use the gels because you need less of it to dye the cake batter. You can find the gel food colors in the baking aisle at the store, or the cake decorating aisle at a store like Walmart is usually the best place to find them. I like to use the neon versions of the colors as they are brighter in color. 

• Black Ganache Topping

  • Heavy Cream – There are no substitutes for this! 
  • Bittersweet Chocolate – For the truest black color for Halloween its best to use bittersweet chocolate. You can use semi-sweet chocolate but the color won’t be as black as what is pictured above. You can use bittersweet chocolate chips or a bittersweet baking bar. 
  • Halloween Sprinkles – Use anything you want here. I like to find one that has the same colors as the cake in it; purple, orange, and green.

How To Make a Bundt Cake for Halloween with Colorful Swirls

Learn how to make this easy and festive Bundt Cake for your next Halloween party of gathering! Be sure and read to the bottom of the post where there is a printable recipe card, a pin it button so you can save it for later, and a detailed recipe card with all the ingredients and detailed instructions. 

• Prep : Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 10-cup bundt pan with cooking spray. I like to use a spray called Baker’s Joy, which is cooking spray + flour, as it helps to ensure the Bundt Cake won’t stick to the pan because of the added flour in the cooking spray. 
• Cake Mix Batter : Add the dry cake mix, whole milk, eggs, and melted butter into a mixing bowl. Beat on medium speed for at least 2-3 minutes until it’s combined well. 
• Colors : Separate the cake batter into 3 separate bowls. You can eyeball this and just try to pour it evenly between the bowls, or you can get it really exact and use a scale to measure out each bowl of batter. Add the purple gel dye to one bowl and stir. Add the green gel dye to another bowl and stir. Lastly, add the orange gel dye to the final bowl and stir. 
• Bundt Cake : Randomly drop scoops of the 3 cake batters, alternating between the 3, into the prepared bundt pan. 
• Bake : Set the oven time for 30-35 minutes and let it bake until a toothpick inserted into the top middle comes out clean. 
• Cool : Allow the cake to cool in the warm bundt pan for 10 minutes before inverting it onto a cooling rack to cool completely before adding the ganache topping. 
• Ganache : Add the heavy cream to small saucepan, over medium low heat, and bring to a simmer. A simmer is when it’s boiling around the edges. Remove the cream from the heat and immediately pour it over the bitter-sweet chocolate inside a mixing bowl. Let it sit for 3 minutes and then stir to combine it together until smooth. Pour it over the cooled Bundt Cake and add some Halloween sprinkles. Let the ganache set before serving. 

Halloween Bundt Cake FAQ’s

• How To Store Leftovers

  • Leftover cake can be stored in an airtight container, or cover the plate with plastic wrap, at room temperature for up to 3 days. 
  • The ganache topping should not be out at room temperature for longer than 3 days. The ganache is ok at room temperature because we are heating it up first, essentially cooking it, before we combine it with the melted chocolate. 
  • Alternately, the cake can also be stored in the fridge but it will lose some of its moist crumb if cold. 

• Do I Need To Use Gel Food Coloring?

  • Yes, I do recommend gel food coloring only in this recipe. The gel colors produce a more vibrant color which will make the colored layers and swirls stand out. 
  • If using liquid food color then you will need more of it, which is not the best thing, because then you are adding more liquid to the batter which can potentially ruin the baking process. If using liquid food color you will need to increase the amount to 1 teaspoon or more depending on how well the batter dyes. 
  • I highly recommend only using gel food colors when making it. I like to use the ‘neon’ version of the green and purple for a brighter color. 

• Variations & Substitutions

  • Ganache Chocolate : For the truest and best black color use bitter-sweet chocolate only. It is not sweet which might not be preferred by some, but the sweetness of the cake will offset that slightly. You can use semi-sweet chocolate or even milk chocolate, but if you do, just know that the ganache won’t be black as pictured. It will be much lighter in color. 
  • Sprinkles : Use any sprinkles you want! I like to use ones that have the same colors as the cake; purple, orange, and green. 
  • Different Holidays : Use this recipe for any Holiday by switching out the gel food dye colors and the sprinkles. You can even use a white chocolate for the ganache if wanted depending on the Holiday. 
  • Cake Mix : You want to use a lighter colored cake mix only so you can easily dye the batter. The flavor of the golden butter is preferred but you can use yellow cake mix, white cake mix, or vanilla cake mix instead. 

• Can I Make It Ahead of Time?

  • Yes you can! You can bake the cake the day before and let it sit out at room temperature overnight, covered well to prevent it from drying out, and then make the ganache the following day right before serving.
  • I do not recommend making the cake and the ganache and letting it sit for a day before serving. 
  • If you want to make it ahead of time make the cake and wait to frost it with the ganache until before serving. 

Recipe Tips

Here are a few of my tips for this Halloween recipe so that you can have success making it in your own kitchen ♥

• Bundt Pan : You will need at least a 10-cup bundt pan to ensure there is enough space for the cake to bake without spilling over. 
• Use Gel Food Coloring : This is explained in better detail above in the FAQ’s section, but for the most vibrant and concentrated color, use gel food colorings. You can find them most commonly in the cake decorating aisle like at Walmart. 
• Black Ganache : To get that black chocolate ganache on top, like what is pictured, you want to use bitter-sweet chocolate. Bitter-sweet chocolate is not a favorite because it’s not very sweet but the sweetness of the cake will balance it a bit. You just have to decide do you want a sweeter chocolate (semi-sweet or milk) or would you rather have a true black color that goes with the Halloween theme? Any chocolate works but depending on what you use it might be lighter in color, like closer to a brown color. 

More Halloween Party Recipes You’ll Love

• Candy Corn Sugar Cookie Bars
• Halloween Monster Cookies
• Melted Jack o’ Lantern Brownies
• Halloween Poke Cake