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Happy Halloween! Or Happy Halloween season! Or happy candy-loving season (which might just be all the seasons)! Whatever the occasion, a slice of Trick-Or-Treat Cake is sure to have you screaming in delight! Rich, tender, chocolatey cake serves as the perfect platform for a creamy, indulgent peanut butter frosting and a luscious, melt-in-your-mouth ganache: it's like candy in cake form! A few candies on top really help bring out the kid in all of us! Trick-Or-Treat Cake is so magically, festively delicious, you might find reasons to let the Halloween season continue straight into Christmas!
Happy Halloween! Or Happy Halloween season! Or happy candy-loving season (which might just be all the seasons)! Whatever the occasion, a slice of Trick-Or-Treat Cake is sure to have you screaming in delight! Rich, tender, chocolatey cake serves as the perfect platform for a creamy, indulgent peanut butter frosting and a luscious, melt-in-your-mouth ganache: it's like candy in cake form! A few candies on top really help bring out the kid in all of us! Trick-Or-Treat Cake is so magically, festively delicious, you might find reasons to let the Halloween season continue straight into Christmas!
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 (15.25-ounce) box devil's food cake mix
- 1 (3.4-ounce) package chocolate pudding mix
- 1 cup sour cream
- 4 large eggs
- 1/2 cup water
For the peanut butter frosting:
- 2 cups unsalted butter
- 8 cups powdered sugar
- 1 1/4 cups creamy peanut butter
- 7 tablespoons whole milk
- kosher salt to taste
For the ganache:
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
For the topping:
- 10 peanut butter cup chocolate candies halved
- 1/2 cup peanut butter chocolate candies
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Spray two 9-inch cake pans with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl using a hand mixer, beat the devil's food cake mix, the chocolate pudding, the sour cream, the eggs, and the water together.
- Divide the cake batter among the prepared pans.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 33-35 minutes.
- Transfer the cakes to a wire rack to cool completely.
- In another large bowl using a hand mixer, beat the butter until smooth.
- Add about 1/2 of the powdered sugar and beat until smooth.
- Add the peanut butter and 1/2 of the milk and beat until smooth.
- Add the remaining powdered sugar and the salt and beat until smooth.
- In a small saucepan over low heat, heat the heavy cream just until it bubbles.
- Place the chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl.
- Pour the warmed heavy cream over the chocolate chips.
- Let the heavy cream and chocolate chips sit for 2 minutes.
- Whisk the chocolate chips and heavy cream together until smooth with no clumps remaining.
- Using a large serrated knife, level the cake layers.
- On a cake circle, using a dab of frosting to keep the cake in place, top 1 of the cake layers with 1 cup of the frosting and smooth it into an even layer.
- Top the first cake layer with the second cake layer.
- Frost the outside of the cake with the remaining frosting, reserving enough for piping.
- Drizzle the ganache down the sides of the cake.
- Spiral the ganache on top of the cake, smoothing out the top.
- Pipe the top edge of the cake with the frosting, creating a ring.
- Place the peanut butter cup candies and the peanut butter candies on the frosting ring.
- Slice and serve.
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