Halloween Bundt Cake

A side view of the inside of a Bundt Cake with swirls of halloween colors in the middle.

Learn how to make make a Halloween Bundt Cake complete 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.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword halloween bundt cake, halloween recipes

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 30

Cooling Time 40

Total Time 1 25

Servings

Calories 385kcal

Author Jessica - Together as Family

Equipment

Ingredients

Halloween Bundt Cake

1 box (15.25 oz) Golden Butter cake mix
7 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
3/4 cup whole milk
4 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon purple gel food color
1/2 teaspoon green gel food color
1/2 teaspoon orange gel food color

Chocolate Ganache

1 cup bittersweet chocolate *see notes
3/4 cup heavy cream
Halloween colored sprinkles

Instructions

Halloween Bundt Cake

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Prepare a bundt pan (10 cup) by spraying with cooking spray. Set aside.
* I like to use baking spray (cooking spray + flour) when I make cakes. I use the brand called Baker's Joy.
In a large mixing bowl add the dry cake mix, melted butter, whole milk, and eggs. Beat with an electric hand mixer, on medium speed, for at least 2-3 minutes until it's well combined,
Separate the cake batter into three separate bowls.
Add the purple gel food color to one bowl and stir until the color is incorporated. Repeat with the green gel food coloring and orange food coloring.
* You can just eyeball the batter when separating it out into 3 bowls, or for an exact and even amount of each, use a scale to weigh.
Randomly drop spoonfuls of each color, alternating between the 3 colors, into the prepared bundt pan.
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the top middle comes out clean.
Let the cake cool in the warm bundt pan for 10 minutes before inverting it onto a cooling rack to finish cooling.

Chocolate Ganache

When the Bundt Cake is completely cooled prepare the chocolate ganache topping.
Put the bittersweet chocolate into a glass mixing bowl or glass measuring cup. Something that will hold up to the heat of the cream.
Add the heavy cream to a small saucepan, over medium-low heat, and bring to a simmer. A simmer is when the edges start to lightly boil.
Remove from the heat and immediately pour the hot milk over the bittersweet chocolate. Let it sit for 3 minutes.
After 3 minutes whisk until it's combined and smooth.
Pour the ganache over the cake and decorate with sprinkles while the ganache is still wet. Allow the ganache set before serving.

Notes

Bittersweet Chocolate : Use bittersweet chocolate chips (dark chocolate chips) or you can use a baking bar as well. To have that true black color for this Halloween cake you need to use the darker colored bittersweet chocolate. It's not as sweet but its what will get you that black color on top. For a sweeter chocolate you can use semi-sweet or milk chocolate, but the color won't be black, it will be more of a lighter color instead.

Golden Butter Cake Mix : The flavor of the golden butter is recommended for this recipe. Sometimes it's also labeled as 'butter golden' or 'butter yellow' on the cake mix box. If you can't find it then you can substitute with a yellow cake mix, and even a white cake mix or vanilla cake mix would work as well.

Gel Food Color : Use the gel colors for the most vibrant colors in this cake. I like to use the 'neon' versions as they are brighter. You can use liquid food coloring, tho I don't recommend it, but you will need to use closer to 1 teaspoon of each color.

Butter : I think unsalted butter tastes the best in this cake but you can use salted butter as well.

Other Holidays : This same recipe can be used for any Holiday by switching up the gel food colors used and the sprinkles. You can also use white chocolate for the ganache depending on the Holiday you're decorating for. Add food coloring to the ganache for the other Holidays (only if using white chocolate for it).

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