Perfect Halloween Birthday Cake (Black Velvet Cake)

This all-black cake is the Perfect Halloween Birthday Cake. If your birthday falls in October, this delicious black velvet cake with black buttercream (no food coloring) is sure to please. It tastes incredible and is as impressive as any spooky Halloween Cake.

Halloween Birthday Cake

A couple of years ago, someone asked me about an easy Halloween birthday cake and I really didn't have suggestions since we don't celebrate Halloween and it has been years since I made any Halloween cakes.

But I've thought about it quite a few times since then, and earlier this year, when I was asked to make an all-black cake for a different celebration, I started researching black cake ideas. 

Black Velvet Cake Recipe

That's when I developed this recipe for black cake. Made with pure black cocoa (no food coloring in the cake or frosting!!), it was black velvet cake with black chocolate frosting! I tweaked and adapted this One Bowl Chocolate Cake recipe until I got the perfect recipe.

This cake has a moist, velvety texture, rich chocolate flavor, and the frosting is a perfect complement. It's a perfect cake for a Halloween Birthday Cake or so many other celebrations.

I should note - this first cake (above) did have some food coloring in the decorations. My client wanted the glossy and flawless finish of fondant so per his request, I used black fondant, and molded embellishments.

Then, I sprayed the entire cake with an edible glaze spray plus black edible spray (for the extra black, extra glossy finish). I was so stinkin' in love with this cake! And my client was thrilled with it!

But the black Halloween Cake I'm featuring and sharing today... it had zero food coloring!

Supplies for Black Halloween Birthday Cake

Lambeth Silicone Mold for Buttercream Piping

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Lambeth Silicone Mold for Piped Buttercream

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Katy Sue Shell Border Silicone Mold Lambeth Style Cake Decorating

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The Cocoa Trader Black Cocoa Powder

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Edible Glaze Spray

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Black Edible Spray

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Black Chocolate Cake

I used black cocoa powder to make this black chocolate cake and black frosting. Black cocoa is also used to make OREO cookies; there's no food coloring in them, either, so this cake tastes like Oreos and is free from all food dyes and artificial colors!!

​It took me a couple of tries to get the black chocolate cake recipe just right - black cocoa does not act (or taste) like regular cocoa powder so the acid and liquid balance took some tweaking. But I feel like I found the sweet spot - this Black Velvet Cake recipe is moist, tender, and perfection! 

And it still blows my mind that I can eat a totally black cake with black frosting and have no stained hands (from decorating) or mouth/teeth from eating it. 

Easy Halloween Birthday Cake

The great thing about this delicious black chocolate cake is you can use the same recipe to make fun Halloween cakes, monster cakes, creepy cakes and other spooky designs. And of course, a Halloween Birthday Cake!

You could add marshmallows like I did on this Halloween Cheesecake to make a spider cake or cobweb cake too. This rich black velvet cake recipe would work perfectly for any fun Halloween cake idea.

Having a Halloween Party? Make this blackout cake recipe and decorate it with Halloween decorations!

Or maybe you're doing an all-black birthday celebration (40th birthday cake idea?) - use this recipe for an all-black birthday cake. And bonus, it's a delicious cake that will look supper creepy and cool without any black food coloring!

What is the best black cocoa powder?

I tried a couple of different brands and read a bunch of reviews online and without a doubt, this black cocoa is the blackest of blacks. It's certainly a lot darker than the first brand I tried and it will give you the best black Halloween Birthday Cakes.

Other brands will give you a very dark color but not the dark color that The Cocoa Trader brand yields. 

Tools Needed

• Mixing Bowls
• Electric Mixer (Hand Mixer)
• Mixing Bowls
• Round Cake Pans

Ingredients

​You can get almost all black birthday cake ingredients at regular grocery stores. However, you may need to plan ahead to order the black cocoa online.

I live in rural Mississippi so there's no hope of me finding it locally - you might have better luck if you live in a big city.

For the Cake:

• Sugar
• All Purpose Flour
• Black Cocoa Powder - use this brand. It is by and far the best black cocoa with pure, rich black color. It's the darkest I tried and I love it!
• Baking Powder
• Baking Soda
• Salt
• Eggs
• Buttermilk - use full-fat buttermilk if you can find it. Other than the black cocoa powder, it's the only other ingredient they didn't have at Walmart. I had to go to another smaller local grocery store to find the good buttermilk. Learn all about buttermilk here.
• Vegetable Oil
• Vanilla Extract - homemade or store-bought works great.
• Hot Coffee - you can use hot water if you don't want to brew coffee, but it really does enhance the flavor without making the cake taste like coffee.

For the Frosting:

Again, the ingredients for black buttercream frosting are very common (except for the main ingredient: black cocoa powder).

• Shortening
• Salted Butter  (you can use unsalted butter if you prefer)
• Black Cocoa Powder
• Vanilla Extract
• Powdered Sugar
• ​Warm water or coffee

Find the complete recipe with ingredients measurements in the recipe card below.​

How to Make a Black Cake

I've never been great at naming my recipes but I consider this a Black Chocolate Velvet Cake or a Black Cocoa Buttermilk Cake. Or maybe a One Bowl Black Chocolate Cake, since that is the recipe I used as inspiration. Anyway - no matter... here are the super simple instructions:

Black Cake Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. 
2. Prepare two 8-inch round cake pans with cake release (use homemade cake release if you like!)
3. Combine the dry ingredients (sugar, flour, black cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt) in a large mixing bowl. Mix until well combined.
4. Then add the wet ingredients (eggs, buttermilk, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract) to the flour mixture. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes until the cake batter is smooth.
5. Gradually stir in 1 cup of hot coffee (the batter will be thin).
6. Divide batter evenly into the prepared pans.
7. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
8. Allow the cake layers to cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

While the cakes are baking, make the frosting...

How to Make Black Frosting

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream shortening and butter until completely smooth and creamy.
2. Add vanilla to the butter mixture.
3. Gradually add powdered sugar to the creamed butter mixture, beating well after each addition.
4. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl often!
5. When all sugar has been mixed in, the frosting might be dry and a little crumbly.
6. Add in the black cocoa powder.
7. Add extra coffee (or water) one tablespoon at a time to soften and thin it.
8. Continue to add and mix until you get the consistency you desire. I added a little more liquid than I normally would to get a really smooth, glossy frosting!
9. Stack and decorate the cake as desired. I used a few different piping tips to do a classic buttercream design, then added some Halloween sprinkles on top of the cake to make it a festive Halloween Birthday Cake.
10. You could also decorate it with a mix of black sprinkles or your favorite candies (for me, that's candy corn)!

This is the perfect Halloween cake recipe that the whole family will love. You will use it again and again for Halloween parties or Halloween cakes for birthdays (if you're lucky enough to have a birthday during the Halloween season and you love to celebrate with Halloween decorations).

Variations

If you want the black velvet layer cake but not the black frosting, you could use any frosting recipe you like. I recommend one of these:

• Cream Cheese Frosting
• American Buttercream
• Peanut Butter Frosting

Pro Tips

Room Temperature. Have all ingredients at room temperature for the best black cake.

Parchment Paper. If you like extra assurance that your cake will not stick to the pans, line them with parchment paper. I have an easy tutorial for that here.

Want more chocolate flavor? Black cocoa does not taste like traditional cocoa so this black cocoa cake will not taste like a traditional chocolate cake. If you want more chocolate flavor (and are not concerned with the deepest black color) use half black cocoa and half natural cocoa powder. You can make this substitution in the cake and/or frosting.

Use the coffee! If you're in doubt about using coffee in the cake and frosting recipes - try the coffee. Your cake and frosting will not taste like coffee at all - but the coffee does enhance the chocolate flavor.

Serving Suggestions

If you're having a Halloween-themed birthday party, order some Halloween Birthday Party invitations, set up a Halloween dessert table, and have this All Black Cake as the centerpiece!

Call me dark, but this cake recipe would also work for a black wedding cake or a stunning Christmas cake if you added some pops of red in the decorations. It would actually be stunning for any special occasion where you wanted the cake to be the showstopper!

Storage Suggestions

Store any leftover black cake velvet cake in an airtight container or wrap it in plastic wrap. The cake will stay fresh for up to 5 days before it begins to dry out.

FAQ

Happy Birthday... or Happy Halloween!