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–+ servings

Adorable Ghost Cake with Sprinkles

Heather Baird
This adorable Ghost Cake with Sprinkles is spooky-cute on the outside and rich and chocolatey on the inside. The cake itself is a classic “wacky cake” recipe, made without dairy or eggs (and yes, that’s correct, not a mistake!) which makes it simple to mix up and surprisingly moist. Layered with ganache and covered in easy homemade candy clay sheets, this Halloween cake looks like it is covered in fondant but tastes so much better.
5 from 3 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 55 minutes
1 hour chill time 1 hour
Total Time 2 hours 55 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 10

Equipment

Ingredients
  

Cake Layers

  • 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3 cups granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons fine-grain salt
  • 1 tablespoon baking soda
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  • 3 tablespoons vinegar
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 3 cups brewed coffee cold (or cold water)

Ganache

  • 3 cups semisweet chocolate finely chopped (chips work too)
  • 1 1/4 cups heavy cream

Pink Candy Sheet

  • 24 oz. pink candy melting wafers Wilton recommended
  • 6 oz. white vanilla candy melting wafers Wilton recommended
  • 2/3 cup light corn syrup

White Candy Sheet

  • 30 oz. bright white candy melting wafers Wilton recommended
  • 2/3 cup light corn syrup
  • 1 oz melted white candy for attaching sprinkles
  • 1 cup assorted large multicolor candy sprinkles

Instructions
 

Make the Cake Layers

  • Coat five 4-inch springform cake pans with flour-based baking spray. Also coat one 5-inch springform cake pan.
  • In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, stir together flour, sugar, cocoa, salt, and baking soda.
  • In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the vanilla extract, almond extract, vinegar, vegetable oil, and cold coffee (or water). Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients, beating until well combined. The batter will be thin.
  • Fill each pan 3/4 full.
  • Bake the 4-inch cakes for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick tester comes out clean. Bake the 5-inch cake for 55 minutes.
  • If you have leftover batter, bake into cupcakes (18–22 minutes).
  • Let cakes cool in pans 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely. Level each of the 4" cakes so that they are about 1 1/4" tall each. Do not level the 5" cake.

Make the Ganache Frosting

  • Combine heavy cream and chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Microwave for 1 minute, then let stand 1 minute.
  • Whisk until smooth and glossy.
  • Let stand at room temperature until thickened, or chill in the refrigerator, stirring every 15 minutes, until thick and spreadable.

Build the Ghost Cake

  • Stack and frost the 4" cakes with the ganache to form a tall tower. Smooth ganache over the outside.
  • Trim the 5-inch cake down to 3 inches wide, keeping its dome shape. Cover with ganache.
  • Refrigerate both pieces until firm.

Make the Pink Candy Sheet

  • Place pink and white candy wafers in a large microwave-safe bowl.
  • Heat in 30-second intervals at full power, stirring between each, until melted and smooth.
  • Stir in corn syrup. The mixture will thicken into a dough. Knead the clay well, until smooth and pliable.
  • Turn out onto a parchment-lined surface, top with more parchment, and roll slightly larger than 18 inches across. (About 1/8" thickness.)
  • Cut into an 18-inch circle (use a pizza pan or large platter as a guide).
  • Let the candy set until firm but still flexible enough to drape.

Make the White Candy Sheet

  • Place white candy wafers in a large microwave-safe bowl.
  • Heat in 30-second intervals, stirring well between each, until melted and smooth.
  • Stir in corn syrup until a dough forms. Knead the clay well, until smooth and pliable.
  • Turn out onto parchment paper, cover with more parchment, and roll slightly larger than 18 inches across. (About 1/8" thickness.)
  • Cut into an 18-inch circle. Allow it to firm up but remain pliable for draping.

Drape the Ghost

  • Drape the pink candy sheet over the tall stack of 4-inch cakes, coaxing pleats with your fingers.
  • Place the domed cake on top and insert a dowel through all layers to anchor. Make sure the dowel is trimmed flush with the top of the dome so the white candy sheet drapes smoothly over it.
  • Drape the white candy sheet over the dome, arranging folds naturally around the “ghost.”

Add the Eyes & Sprinkles

  • Use a teardrop fondant cutter (or open end of a piping tip) to cut out eyes, all the way to the ganache layer. Remove the cut-out pieces. The cut-outs reveal the dark ganache underneath, creating the ghost’s eyes. No extra decorating needed!
  • Attach sprinkles to the white sheet with a dab of melted candy. Use larger, bolder sprinkles for the best look (linked in blog post).
  • Make sure sprinkles go all the way around for a 360°-cute Halloween centerpiece.

Notes

Candy Clay: If you've never made candy clay before, you can easily make a practice batch with 12 oz. Wilton candy melting wafers and 1/3 cup of corn syrup. Follow the instructions for mixing and kneading, then practice rolling it out into a 10-inch round. Candy clay will be very firm after it sets completely. You can re-knead the clay and use it for molding small decorations, just like fondant.
To make it malleable after it has set up, knead a small portion at a time until workable. If candy clay gets too soft, set aside at room temperature or refrigerate briefly. If the clay wants to stick while rolling, sprinkle your work surface with cornstarch to prevent sticking.
Sprinkle  Placement Tool: A sprinkle grabber will make easy work of placing the large sprinkles precisely where you'd like them on the outer candy sheet. This isn't an essential tool, but boy does it ever make quick work of the task. 
Keyword candy clay recipe, dairy free chocolate cake, egg free chocolate cake, ghost cake, no fondant ghost cake
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