Spooky Poison Apple Cake That’s Perfect For Halloween

Learn how to make this Spooky Poison Apple Cake for Halloween!  

Halloween is right around the corner! This Poison Apple Cake will be the star of your Halloween party! 

This Poison Apple Cake is made with bright green vanilla cake layers filled with creamy purple vanilla buttercream and black mirror glaze dripping down the cake. But the real star is the wicked poison apple on top. 

The green cake layers perfectly match the bright green of the granny smith apple. You can use any cake recipe you like with this cake design like dark chocolate cake, apple spice, or a caramel cake, to name a few. 

These green cake layers are filled with a velvety smooth vanilla buttercream that’s colored with bright purple gel food coloring. This frosting is one of my favorite buttercream recipes, it’s super simple, and anyone can make it. It’s perfect for beginners but delicious for everyone to enjoy! 

The green cake and purple buttercream stand out with the black mirror glaze all over the cake. The black mirror glaze is made with sugar, sweetened condensed milk, gelatin, and white chocolate. This mixture is heated together and dyed with super black gel food coloring that makes it extra spooky. 

The key to working with this glaze is getting the temperature just right before pouring it over your apple and cake. 

You can use a food thermometer to help you gauge the temperature. The ideal temperature is 85 °F-87 °F, officially stir the glaze, so a crust does not form on top of the glaze. It should be thick and easily coat the back of a spoon before pouring. 

Now here’s a cool tip if you are rushed for time and can’t sit around for an hour to wait for the glaze to cool. Make the glaze the day (or the week) before and pour it into an airtight container. It’ll look like super thick jello. Begin to melt the glaze in the microwave in 1-minute increments until the glaze is mostly melted. Then use a spoon to continue to mix the glaze until it’s all melted. It’ll be at the right temperature and ready to pour over the apple and cake. 

Tips for success: 

• Read through all the ingredients and instructions so you can get a better idea of how much time and what you need to make this cake.

• You can bake the cake layers ahead of time. Wrap the cake layers in plastic wrap and freeze up to one month. 

• You can make the buttercream a day ahead and refrigerate it overnight. Then take them out to come back to room temperature. Make sure the buttercream is at room temperature before re-whipping.

• A single batch of this cake recipe makes three, 6-inch round cake layers or two 8-inch round cake layers. Double the cake recipe to make enough cake batter for three, 8-inch cake layers.

• Be careful not to overmix this cake batter or else the cake will come out dense. Mix until all ingredients are well incorporated. 

• Food coloring gets darker over time, so it’s best to add food coloring gradually.

• I put 2-3 granny smith apples in the recipe so that you can practice with the black mirror glaze. 

• For the poison apple: cut out a skull face (2 eyes and 1 nose) out of parchment or wax paper. Then add a thin layer of buttercream or corn syrup to the back of the cutout pieces before placing them onto the granny smith apple. Slowly pour the black mirror glaze over the top of the apple. You might need several layers of glaze the apple. Use a toothpick for popping any bubbles that might have formed. Let sit for 10-15 minutes. Use a toothpick to remove the paper, cut out pieces carefully. Use a damp cotton swab to clean up any buttercream or corn syrup on the apple. 

• The key with getting a useable skull face and drips on the cake is making sure the black mirror glaze has had time to cool and thicken. Insert a metal spoon into the black mirror glaze and see if the glaze coats the spoon. If the glaze runs off the spoon quickly, then it still needs time to cool. If the glaze holds onto the spoon and you can see any silver showing there, then it’s perfect and ready to pour. 

• You can make the black mirror glaze in advance after it’s been made pour into an airtight container to cool to room temperature before placing it into the refrigerator overnight or store it up to one week. When ready to use melt in the microwave in 1- minute increments until it’s mostly melted. Then use a spoon to mix it. If there are clumps remain, pour the glaze through a strainer to remove any clumps. 

• Serve the cake at cold. Cut the cake when it comes right out of the fridge as it’ll be easier to cut it. The mirror glaze is sticky at room temperature and will be challenging to cut into and serve with making a mess.

What Tools You’ll Need to Make This Cake: 

• 3, 6-inch cake pans or 2, 8-inch cake pans
• Offset spatula 
• 8-inch or 10-inch white cake board 
• Serrated knife or cake leveler 
• Turntable 
• Cake scraper or bench scraper
• Piping bag (I use silicone reusable bags)
• Whisk or sifter
• Rubber Spatula
• Non-Stick Cooking Spray and Parchment Paper
• Ice Cream Scooper with Trigger Release (for dividing cake batter evenly)
• Cake Stand, optional
• Neon green gel food coloring
• Electric purple gel food coloring 
• Super black gel food coloring
• Cooling rack
• Strainer, fine mesh
• Baking sheet pan
• Large liquid measuring cup 
• Digital food thermometer or Infrared temperature gun

Here’s how to make this Spooky Poison Apple Cake! 

Let’s Get Decorating! 

How to Make Bright Green Vanilla Cake 

1. Preheat oven to 350 °F. Spray three 6-inch round cake pans with non-stick spray, line the bottom of each pan with parchment paper and spray again. Set aside.
2. In a medium-size bowl, whisk and stir together the cake mix, all-purpose flour, and salt. Set aside. 
3. In the stand mixer bowl fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, oil, and sugar on medium-high for 5 minutes.
4. Add eggs, one at a time to the stand mixer bowl and beat on medium until well incorporated.
5. Turn the mixer on low and add half of the flour mixture to the butter mixture until fully incorporated. 
6. Add the vanilla and milk, beat on low until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Finish by adding the remaining flour mixture, add a few drops of neon green gel food coloring, and mix on medium for another 30 seconds.
7. Evenly distribute the cake batter among the three cake pans and bake for about 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.
8. Remove cakes from oven and let cool in pans for 10 minutes before inverting onto cooling racks to cool completely. Wrap cakes in plastic wrap and place into the freezer to chill for 30 minutes. 

How to Make Purple Vanilla Buttercream

1. In the stand mixer bowl fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on high until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
2. Turn the mixer to low, gradually add powdered sugar, followed by the cream. Then add vanilla extract and salt. Mix until incorporated completely. Scrape down sides of the bowl. 
3. Turn the mixer to medium-high and beat the buttercream for about 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Scrape down sides of the bowl. Turn the mixer on low and mix for 2 minutes to push out any air bubbles.  
4. Add 1-2 drops of electric purple gel food coloring to color the buttercream a bright purple. 

How to Make Spooky Black Mirror Glaze

1. In a small bowl, add water and sprinkle the powdered gelatin over the water. Use a spoon or rubber spatula to mix the gelatin thoroughly. Set aside to bloom the gelatin for 5 minutes. 
2. In a medium bowl, add white chocolate chips and set aside. 
3. In a medium saucepan and medium-high heat, combine the corn syrup, sugar, water, and sweetened condensed milk. Bring to a boil. 
4. After the mixture has reached a boil, turn the heat to low, add in gelatin and stir with a rubber spatula and whisk. Continue to stir until the gelatin has melted. 
5. Pour the hot mixture over the white chocolate chips. Let the hot mixture melt the chocolate chips for 2 minutes before mixing with a whisk. Continue to stir until the chocolate has melted. 
6. Then add a drop of black gel food coloring. Mix until incorporated. 
7. Place a strainer over a large measuring cup, and pour the black glaze over the strainer to remove any remaining clumps. 
8. Occasionally stir the black glaze to reduce the temperature between 85 °F-87 °F before pouring over the apple and cake. 

How to Put this Cake Together

1. Place a small (6-inch) cardboard on top of a larger (8-inch or 10-inch) cake board attached with painters or masking tape.  
2. Layer one neon green vanilla cake, cut side up onto cake board. Add a 2/3 cup of purple vanilla buttercream over the cake. 
3. Place another cake layer cut side down over the top. Repeat the process for another layer — Crumb coat with purple vanilla buttercream and freeze for 30 minutes. 
4. Add a thick layer of purple buttercream all over the cake. Use an offset spatula to fill in any gaps with more buttercream. 
5. Then use a cake scraper to smooth out the sides of the cake. Use the offset spatula to make the top edges sharp and smooth — place the cake in the freezer for 20 minutes to set buttercream. 
6. Place the cooling rack into the baking sheet pan and set aside. 
7. Cut out a skull face (2 eyes and 1 nose) out of parchment or wax paper. Then add buttercream or corn syrup to the back of the cutout pieces before placing them onto the granny smith apple. 
8. Carefully separate the cake from the larger cake board and place the cake and apple onto a cooling rack. 
9. Slowly pour the black mirror glaze over the top of the apple. You might need several layers of glaze the apple. Use a toothpick for popping any bubbles that might have formed. Let sit for 10 minutes.
10. Use a toothpick to remove the paper, cut out pieces carefully. Use a damp cotton swab to clean up any corn syrup or buttercream on the apple. 
11. Then drizzle the black glaze over the edges and top of the cake. Allow the black glaze to drip down the sides. If needed, use an offset spatula to smooth on top of the cake. Let sit for 10 minutes to set before moving the cake to a cake stand or cake board. 
12. Place the apple on top of the cake. It’s challenging to move the apple without messing up the glaze once it’s set, be sure to plan this out ahead of time. 

You May Also Enjoy: 

• Common Baking Mistakes & How to Avoid Them (free ebook)
• Cake Planning Checklist (freebie)
• How to Decorate Your First Cake (free course)
• Cake Decorating for Beginners (online course)
• Cake Decorating Tool Kit (24-piece kit with free shipping)

Halloween is an excellent time of year to step out of your comfort zone and try new techniques! And think about your guests’ reactions to seeing this spooky cool Halloween cake, it’ll be so much fun!  

Happy Halloween! 

Hey, if you liked this tutorial, you really should check out, Cake Decorating Creator Program, my online cake program. I coach you on everything I teach on these cake tutorials so that you can uplevel your baking and decorating skills. We 10x it so you get the results you want most. Like any new skill, it’s important to learn from the ground up to build a foundation, so you can take on any cake challenge. It is an investment your future self will thank you for. Check it out at XOKatieRosario.com/online-cake-course. I will see you there!

Watch The How-to Video Below: 

 

 

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