Chocolate blackberry elegantly gothic Halloween cake - three layers of moist chocolate cake, filled with blackberry jam, iced with blackberry swiss meringue buttercream & topped with blackberry ganache & chocolate bark
It does occur to me that seeing as my blog name is the Domestic Gothess there is a serious lack of gothic bakes...this cake is here to rectify that oversight. I went all out with the food colouring for this one so make sure that you have a couple of pots of each colour, one probably won't be enough!
This is a Halloween cake for those of you who don't like the gory side to the holiday, but it isn't just about the decoration; take away the food colouring and bits on top and you are left with an utterly delicious chocolate blackberry cake which would be suitable for any occasion.
Indeed you don't even really need the colouring as the blackberry puree in the buttercream dyes it a beautiful natural shade of purple, and the blackberry ganache is a purply-red; natural just wasn't what I was going for here!
There are three layers of moist chocolate cake (dyed black), filled with blackberry jam and iced with blackberry swiss meringue buttercream, topped with blackberry ganache and purple marbled chocolate bark shards and black fondant roses; it is delicious, decadent and thoroughly over the top gothic.
I baked the cakes in three 15cm/6inch cake tins for a really tall but not overly large cake, but you can also use two 20cm/8inch ones instead.
I used a couple of different types of dye, black gel
It is very important to use only powdered or oil based food colouring for the chocolate, as if you use a water based one (including gel) your chocolate may seize. I used shop bought black fondant to make the roses on top, following this tutorial.
Don't be intimidated by the long recipe, the cakes can be baked the day before assembly, or even a good while in advance if you wrap them well once cold and freeze them; just remove them from the freezer an hour or so before you want to ice them.
The chocolate bark can be made up to a week ahead and stored in an airtight container; the fondant roses can be made a couple of days in advance, in fact it is best to do so so they can dry out.
However, I don't recommend making the buttercream or ganache in advance; you can make the buttercream a few days ahead and store it in the fridge, but if you leave it sitting around for any length of time (even for a couple of hours) you may find that it splits (don't worry, this doesn't happen once the cake has been iced).
This isn't the end of the world and if it happens all you need to do is microwave a dollop of the buttercream until it melts then gradually drizzle it back into the remaining buttercream while whisking at a high speed and it will come back together.
You will probably have a bit of blackberry puree left over after making the buttercream and ganache, don't throw it away, it will keep in the fridge for a few days and is delicious swirled into yoghurt or with pancakes.
More Halloween Recipes:
- Witches' finger cookies
- Chocolate glazed black cat doughnuts
- Mini bleeding heart Halloween cakes
- Haunted pavlova
- Meringue bone palace Halloween cake
- Jack-O-Lantern pumpkin pies
- Monochrome cake
If you tried this recipe why not tag @domestic_gothess on Instagram and hashtag it #domesticgothess
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Chocolate Blackberry Elegantly Gothic Halloween Cake Recipe:
Chocolate Blackberry Elegantly Gothic Halloween Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 60 g (½ cup) cocoa powder, sifted
- 6 tablespoon boiling water
- 4 teaspoon black gel food colouring optional
- 100 g (⅓ cup + 1 heaped tbsp) softened butter
- 175 g (1 cup) light brown soft sugar
- 100 g (½ cup) caster sugar
- 175 g (1 + ½ cups) self-raising flour, sifted
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 3 large eggs beaten
Chocolate Bark
- 150 g (5oz) dark chocolate, chopped
- 75 g (3 oz) white chocolate, chopped
- about ½ teaspoon purple powdered food colouring optional (DO NOT use water based colouring (including gel), powdered or oil based only)
Blackberry Puree
- 500 g (17 oz) blackberries (fresh or frozen)
- 50 g (¼ cup) sugar
Blackberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- 200 g egg white (5 large)
- 275 g (1 + ⅓ cup) caster sugar
- 375 g (1 + generous ½ cup) softened butter
- 125 g blackberry puree (⅓ + ⅛ cup)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- about 1 teaspoon purple gel or powdered food colouring optional
Blackberry Ganache
- 100 g (3.5 oz) dark chocolate, chopped
- 100 g blackberry puree (generous ⅓ cup)
- 30 ml (⅛ cup) full fat milk, plus extra as needed
- 30 g (2 tbsp) butter
- about 1 teaspoon black gel food colouring optional
To Assemble
- about 4 heaped tablespoon blackberry jam
- black fondant for the roses
- Silver lustre dust
- black and purple sprinkles as desired
Instructions
To Make The Cake
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4, grease and line three 15cm/6in round tins (or two 20cm/8inch ones).
- Mix the cocoa powder and boiling water together in a large bowl until it forms a smooth paste, mix in the food colouring then add all of the other ingredients and beat with an electric mixer until it forms a smooth, thickish batter.
- Divide the mixture between the tins and bake for about 25 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean, leave to cool in the tins for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
To Make The Chocolate Bark
- Line a baking tray with a sheet of greaseproof paper.
- Melt the dark and white chocolates in separate bowls over a pan of gently simmering water, do not allow the water to become too hot and don't get any in the chocolate.
- Mix the powdered food colouring into the white chocolate a little at a time until you reach your desired shade.
- Pour the dark chocolate onto the greaseproof paper and spread it out into an approx 15x25cm/6x10in rectangle, drizzle the white chocolate over the top and drag a toothpick through it to swirl the two colours together.
- Set the chocolate aside until it has set but is still slightly soft then use a very sharp knife to cut it into triangular shards of varying sizes, place in the fridge until hard. Store in an airtight container.
To Make The Blackberry Puree
- Place the blackberries and sugar in a saucepan, bring up to a simmer and cook until the blackberries have broken down and become mushy. Pour into a blender and blitz until it becomes a puree then pass it through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl, cover and refrigerate until cold.
To Make The Blackberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- Place the egg whites and sugar in a spotlessly clean heatproof bowl (the bowl of your stand mixer if you have one) and place the bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, make sure that the base of the bowl doesn't touch the water.
- Gently whisk the eggs (with a hand whisk, not an electric one) until the sugar has dissolved, if you rub the mixture between your fingers it should feel smooth with no hint of graininess. It should measure 60C/140F on a thermometer.
- Remove the bowl from the heat and whisk with an electric mixer/stand mixer on high until the egg whites have formed a stiff, glossy meringue and the mixture is completely cold, the base of the bowl should feel cool to the touch, this will take about 10 minutes.
- Turn the mixer down to low and gradually add the butter, a tablespoon at a time, mixing to incorporate after each addition. The mixture may curdle or begin to look soupy, just keep on whisking and it will come back together.
- Once all of the butter has been incorporated and the buttercream is smooth and silky, whisk in the blackberry puree gradually, a spoonful at a time. The mixture shouldn't split, but if it does don't worry! Just place a couple of heaped tablespoons of the buttercream in a small bowl and microwave it until it has melted, then drizzle it back into the rest of the buttercream slowly while whisking on a high speed, after a couple of minutes of whisking it will come back together.
- Finally whisk in the vanilla extract and add the food colouring a little at a time until you reach your desired shade.
Assemble The Cake
- Trim the tops of the cakes if necessary to level them then place one layer on a cake stand or serving platter, spread over a thinish layer of the buttercream. Place a generous dollop of the buttercream in a piping bag fitted with a large (1.5cm) plain nozzle; pipe a ring of the buttercream just inside the edge of the cake, this forms a dam to stop your jam from leaking out.
- Fill the gap in the middle of the ring with a couple of heaped tablespoons of blackberry jam. Spread a thinish layer of the buttercream over the bottom of one of the other cake layers and place in buttercream side DOWN on top, press down gently. Spread a thinish layer of buttercream on top of the cake, pipe another ring of buttercream around the edge and fill with jam. Spread a thinish layer of buttercream over the TOP side of the remaining cake layer then place it buttercream side DOWN on to the cake so that the top surface of the cake is the base to create a completely flat surface, press down gently.
- Crumb coat the cake by spreading a very thin layer of buttercream over the entire cake, don't worry about being too neat at this point, just make sure that the whole cake is covered. Place in the fridge for 15 minutes until the buttercream has set.
- Spread a thick layer of buttercream over the whole cake, using an offset palette knife or plastic dough scraper to get it really smooth, take your time and fill in all the gaps but don't worry too much about getting it absolutely perfect. Place the cake in the fridge while you make the ganache.
To Make The Blackberry Ganache
- Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl, heat the blackberry puree and milk together in a small pan until boiling then pour over the chocolate and stir until smooth, add the butter and stir until it has melted.
- Add the food colouring a little at a time until it reaches the desired shade. Due to the blackberry puree the ganache is a little thicker than usual and will not set as firm as regular ganache. If you find that it is too thick to pour so that it drips down the sides of the cake, stir in some warm milk a little at a time until it reaches a pourable consistency.
- Pour the ganache over the top of the cake, using a palette knife or the back of a spoon to encourage it to drip over the edge and down the sides.
- Allow the ganache to set a little then place any leftover buttercream in a piping bag fitted with a small star nozzle. Decorate the top of the cake with the chocolate shards and fondant roses, pipe blobs of the buttercream and sprinkle with edible lustre dust and black and purple sprinkles if you have them.
I am sharing this with Saucy Saturdays Hosted By The Flavour Bender, Take Two Tapas, La Petit Chef and Mid-Life Croissant, Fabulous Foodie Fridays, Fiesta Friday hosted by Cooking With Aunt Juju and I'll Cook You Wash, Foodie FriDIY, Foodie Friends Friday, Friday Favourites, Friday Features and Cake Club
illcookyouwash
Oh. My. Goodness!! This looks SPECTACULAR! I absolutely love the colours and the dramatic gothic-ness of the entire thing. It sounds delicious as well. This is the first FF post I'm looking at and I'm already starving! Thanks for sharing 🙂
hannahhossack
Thank you!
Lauren @ Create Bake Make
Wow, this cake looks too good to eat! It's stunning!
Thanks for linking up with us for Fabulous Foodie Fridays!
hannahhossack
Thanks Lauren 🙂 I was very reluctant to slice into it!
carolinescookingblog
That cake is absolutely stunning! And I love the blackberry flavoring as well.
hannahhossack
Thanks Caroline 🙂
Feeding Finn
Oh wow this looks amazing 🙂 Chocolate and blackberry - yum x
hannahhossack
Thank you!
Ginger
Fantastic - it sounds as delicious as it looks!
hannahhossack
Thank you 🙂 it definitely is just as delicious as it looks!
loveswah
Oh wow this cake is incredible!!
hannahhossack
Thank you!
Angela - Patisserie Makes Perfect
This is really impressive Hannah. There's a lot of techniques in here. You've executed the flowers amazingly and the I love the vibrant purple of swiss meringue buttercream. A great cake! x
hannahhossack
Thanks Angela, there are a lot of components! At least it can be prepared over the course of a few days! x
Elizabeth
Oh my goodness gracious me I am in love with this cake - it's beautiful!!! #recipeoftheweek
hannahhossack
Thanks Elizabeth 🙂
Charlotte Oates
This is just stunning Hannah, I love how you've made the buttercream look like velvet. You should definitely do more gothic bakes on the blog.
hannahhossack
I hope to! I don't know whether they will only be popular around Halloween though...
hijackedbytwins
Oh wow that looks amazing! Delicious and elegant x #BakeoftheWeek
hannahhossack
Thanks Kirsty 🙂 x
Honest mum
This is INCREDIBLE! Please tell me you are writing a book. Thanks for linking up to #tastytuesdays
hannahhossack
Ha ha! Thanks Vicki 🙂 x
apuginthekitchen
Thats an amazing cake, you are so incredibly talented and creative.
hannahhossack
Thank you!
Take Two Tapas
If you ask me, there are not enough goth bakes!! I feel you! Can't wait to follow and see what other "dark" treats you make!!! Thanks for linking up with Saucy Saturdays!!
hannahhossack
Agreed! I need to make more!
Louise | Cygnet Kitchen
Wow, Hannah!! Such a lot of work has gone into this amazing cake, you are so clever!
hannahhossack
Thanks Louise 🙂 it took me two days...it's a good job I enjoy being in the kitchen! x
Dini @ The Flavor Bender
I cannot get over how beautiful this looks Hannah!! I am in absolute awe! Love the colours and the decorations 🙂
hannahhossack
Thanks Dini 🙂
Johanne Lamarche
Having just returned from New Orleans, that cake could totally rock Mardi Gras too! Drop dead gorgeous but bet it was sooooo good too. Love the blackberries and athe white and dark chocolate. Work of art.
hannahhossack
Oh I'd love to go to Mardi Gras one day! New Orleans sounds amazing 🙂 Thanks Johanne
Nikki Frank-Hamilton
This is so gorgeous, the coloring, shapes, artistic aesthetic. I love it. I can imagine the flavor is as good as the look!!! Love it/!
hannahhossack
Thanks Nikki! And yes, it does taste as good as it looks!
Linda
What a gorgeous gothic cake! I love the deep violet color....beautiful and elegant! 🙂
hannahhossack
It is a lovely purple isn't it, it was a beautiful colour before I added food colouring as well due to the blackberry. Thanks Linda!
Food For The Soul
Wow...this is amazing. What a treat!
hannahhossack
Thank you!
Anne
Hi Hannah! I'm in the process of making a cake inspired by yours, all I've got left to do is make the ganache.. I've run into a little problem though, in the description for how to make the ganache you mention butter but there is no butter in the ingredients list? Please help!
hannahhossack
Hi Anne, I'm so sorry about that and thank you for pointing it out to me! It should be 30g (2 tbsp) butter, I've updated the recipe. I hope my error didn't spoil your cake!