Peeps Spooky Graveyard Cake Recipes

PEEPS® GHOSTS IN A GRAVEYARD CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Spray 2 (8- or 9-inch) round cake pans with cooking spray. Line bottoms of pans with cooking parchment paper, if desired, to prevent sticking.
• Make and bake cake as directed on box for two 8- or 9-inch round cake pans. Cool in pans 10 minutes. Remove from pans to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour. Meanwhile, use black and orange gel or icing to write RIP on oval-shaped cookies and miniature candy bars; set aside.
• On serving plate, place 1 cake layer, rounded side down. Frost top of cake layer with about 1/3 cup of the chocolate frosting. Top with second layer, rounded side up. Frost side and top of cake with remaining frosting.
• Sprinkle chocolate cookie crumbs on top of cake to make dirt. Insert cookies and candy bars into top of cake for tombstones. Insert 1 end of toothpick into bottom of each ghost-shaped marshmallow. Insert other end into top of cake.
• Break 8 of the pretzel sticks into thirds. Use whole pretzels and pretzel thirds to make a fence around edge of cake as shown in photo.

PEEPS® SPOOKY GRAVEYARD CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray. Make cake as directed on box for 13x9-inch pan. Cool in pan on cooling rack until completely cooled, about 1 hour.
• Spread chocolate frosting on top of cake; place marshmallows around edges of cake. Sprinkle with cookie crumbs to look like dirt. Cut into 5 rows by 4 rows.

PUMPKIN CAKE GRAVEYARD

Steps:

• For the pumpkin cake: Spray a 12-cup Bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a large bowl, combine 2 boxes of the pound cake mix, 1 stick of the butter, 4 of the eggs, 1 can of the pumpkin puree and 2 teaspoons of the pumpkin pie spice. Mix with a handheld electric mixer on high speed until blended, about 1 minute. Pour into the prepared Bundt pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes.
• Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then unmold onto a wire cooling rack. Repeat the process to make a second Bundt cake.
• Once the cakes are cooled, level off the bottoms with a serrated knife so the cakes will sit flat. Place one of the cakes cut-side up and spread the vanilla frosting over it. Place the second cake, cut-side down, on top to form a pumpkin.
• For the glaze: In a medium bowl whisk together the confectioners' sugar, cream cheese, milk and food coloring. (The glaze should be a bright orange color; add a few more drops of food coloring if needed.) The mixture will be very thick but still pourable. Place the pumpkin cake on a baking sheet fitted with a wire rack. Slowly pour the glaze over the top, moving in a circular motion around the top of the cake and letting the glaze drip down the sides. Set aside until set, about 1 hour.
• Wrap some fruit leather around the green ice cream cone and press it into place upside down on the cake to form a stem. Dust a work surface with confectioners' sugar, place some fruit leather on top, and cut out a leaf with a leaf-shaped cookie cutter. Press the leaf into place on the cake near the stem.
• For the graveyard: Spray an 18-by-13-inch baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray and line with parchment; spray the parchment.
• Prepare both boxes of brownie mix according to the package instructions and pour into the prepared baking sheet. Bake according to the package instructions. Let cool completely, then remove from the pan and place on a large cutting board.
• Frost the top of the brownie sheet with the chocolate frosting. Slice about 60 of the chocolate ladyfingers in half crosswise. Press the halved cookies, cut-side down, side-by-side around the top edge of the frosted brownie sheet to form a fence. On one of the long sides of the brownie sheet, leave a 3-inch opening in the fence to create an entrance. Place 2 whole ladyfingers on either side of the opening to form the gate entrance. Place another whole ladyfinger on top of the two ladyfingers to make the top of the gate, using a little bit of frosting to adhere it.
• Cover the top of the frosted brownie with the crumbled chocolate cream-filled cookies to make dirt. Place the pumpkin cake in the center of the graveyard.
• To make the gravestones, place the rectangular cookies and vanilla wafer sandwich cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spray both sides of the cookies with the silver spray food coloring.
• Use a knife to cut slits into the brownie to hold the gravestones. Carefully place the gravestones into the slits.
• Place the small candy pumpkins and marshmallow ghosts in the graveyard around the pumpkin. Serve immediately.

HALLOWEEN GRAVEYARD CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a disposable foil pan with a domed plastic lid.
• Beat cake mix with water, eggs, and oil in a large bowl using an electric mixer until no dry spots remain. Increase speed to medium; blend well. Pour batter into the prepared pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 32 to 36 minutes. Let cool completely, at least 30 minutes.
• Frost the cooled cake with frosting.
• Push fudge sticks upright about 1/2-inch apart into 3 outer edges of the cake to represent fence posts. Place additional fudge sticks about 1/2-inch apart in a diagonal line across the cake starting at the fourth corner to create a small area outside the graveyard. Weave licorice whips through the fence posts for crosspieces. Connect 2 parallel sticks with a third diagonal one and attach with frosting to make a gate.
• Make a winding path from the gate to the far edge of the cake with 2 parallel lines of chocolate covered raisins as boulders. Fill the path with toffee chip for rocks. Assemble a licorice whip tree; insert in the middle of the path in the far corner of the graveyard.
• Mix coconut with green food coloring in a small bowl until thoroughly dyed. Arrange outside the gate into a lawn. Pile a mound of candy pumpkins in 1 corner of the graveyard and a few on the grass.
• Write spooky phrases on the upper thirds of the oval cookies with black decorator gel icing such as 'RIP" with a skull and crossbones, "Yul B. Next," or "Here Lies ---." Stick cookie gravestones carefully into the cake. Scatter cookie crumbs all over the graveyard to represent dirt; stack any extra crumbs into a dirt pile in front of a gravestone. Place a marshmallow ghost at the fence, peeking out from between two posts.

HAUNTED GRAVEYARD CAKE

Steps:

• To make the ghosts, heat oven to 110C/90C fan/gas ¼. Whip the egg white in a clean bowl until stiff peaks form. Whisk in the sugar a tbsp at a time and keep whisking for a couple of mins until the mixture is thick and resembles shaving foam. Gently spoon the mixture into a large freezer bag, then cut a 1.5cm hole in one of the corners. Cover a baking sheet with some baking parchment. Carefully squeeze a small circle of whipped egg white out of the bag, pulling upwards as you do to make a ghost shape. Repeat until the mixture is used up - you should get about 15 ghosts. Bake for 1½ hrs until crisp. Can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
• Now make the cake. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Tip the cocoa powder, self-raising flour and sugar into a large bowl, breaking up any clumps of sugar. Mix together the eggs, milk and oil in a measuring cup or bowl, then pour over the dry ingredients and stir everything together until smooth. Grease and line a deep baking dish (20 x 30 x 5cm) with baking parchment. Pour in the cake mixture and bake for 30 mins. Leave to cool, then turn out onto a serving plate. Alternatively, wrap well and store for up to 2 days.
• Finish decorating the cake: heat cream in a saucepan until just boiling. Place the dark chocolate in a large bowl and pour over the hot cream. Stir until the chocolate melts. Use a clean brush to paint a layer of chocolate over 7 rich tea finger biscuits, then set aside to cool. Pour the rest of the chocolate mixture over the cake and smooth over with a knife. Whizz the chocolate cookies, or bash in a freezer bag with a rolling pin, until small crumbs form. Sprinkle over the top of the cake.
• Place the white chocolate in a small bowl, set over a pan of simmering water. Leave for 5 mins or until melted, then spoon into a small freezer bag. Wait for 10 mins so the mixture is not too runny, then cut a tiny hole in one corner of the bag. Pipe out 2 small blobs onto each ghost, place a silver ball on each to make eyes, then pipe out suitable words and shapes on the gravestones. Leave for 30 mins to set, then push the biscuit gravestones into the cake and arrange the ghosts around. To get the ghosts to 'fly', push a thin wire (you can get these from a florist shop - remember to remove before eating) into the bottom of the ghost, then place in the cake, hiding the wire behind a gravestone.