This easy Halloween monster cake lives up to its name. With cute monster decorations, marbled cake, and all the monster sprinkles on top, this is an easy Halloween dessert that won’t tax your decorating skills!
For more fun Halloween treats, consider my Halloween pimento cheese spread brain or maybe these pumpkin spice cinnamon rolls.
And please scroll on down to see the rest of today’s #Halloweentreatsweek treats.
For ease of browsing, you can find all my cake recipes in one place. Thanks so much for visiting!
Why You Need to Make This Cake
A fun and easy Halloween cake is just a boxed mix, some sprinkles, and food coloring away!
Color your batter in whatever colors you want, and decorate with whatever sprinkles you like.
For whatever reason, “monster colors” seem to be green, purple, and black, so that’s what my sprinkle mix is. I brought in some Halloween orange with the swirls in my cake.
So make this guy when you’re feeling crafty but don’t have a Cricut machine. For when you want some spooky dessert action but don’t want to deal with fondant.
Easy monster cake is honestly just as easy as the name implies!
Coloring Cake Batter
Generally speaking, I don’t like to mix batter any more than absolutely necessary, because it tends to toughen the cake.
The good news is that, with a boxed mix, it’s really hard to overwork the batter, making it easy to divide the batter and stir in whatever colors you like.
You can certainly use regular food coloring from the grocery store. I used a few colors from a set of neon gel colors.
If your food coloring has a dropper top, start with maybe 4-5 drops per color and add more if necessary.
If you don’t have a dropper top, use a toothpick or even the handle end of a fork or spoon to pick up some color and then mix it into your cake batter.
As you can see, I decided to add additional coloring after mixing in the initial amount. I wanted really vibrant colors.
How To Make
As advertised, this really is an easy monster cake.
Let me show you what you need, where to get some of the stuff you might need, and how to put it all together.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Here’s everything you’ll need:
- 1 boxed white cake mix or your favorite white cake recipe
- 2-4 cups of white/vanilla/cream cheese frosting, depending on how lavish you are with your frosting
- gel food coloring (I bought this set)
- monster sprinkles which I got from Sweets & Treats Boutique
- monster toppers (I used these ridiculously adorable little monster rings. So after you serve kids the cake, they can wash and wear the rings. Fun!)
Procedure
Prepare the batter according to the directions from the box or your recipe.
Divide into separate bowls, one for each color you want to use.
Add a few drops of food coloring to each bowl and mix until uniform.
Plop different colors of batter randomly into your pan then swirl loosely with a knife. (See video clip a little bit below)
Bake and cool your cake completely.
You can leave it in the pan or turn it out if you prefer.
Frost all over with frosting of choice, add a TON of sprinkles, and put a monster topper on top of each slice so each piece will have a monster ring.
Equipment You May Need
If you don’t have a 9″ x 13″ cake pan, you are missing out. It’s versatile, and I use mine for everything from cakes to lasagna.
This is the one I have had for years, and it performs really well.
Frosting a Sheet Pan
If you are not a regular cake decorator, you may not have cake circles and squares on hand.
And you might not even have anywhere to store stuff like that.
So, it’s good to know you can serve your cake on an upside-down cake pan (at least 2″ larger in diameter than your cake if it’s a round cake) or a half-sheet pan for rectangular cakes. And sheet pans are way more versatile than cake boards!
Spread a little icing onto the center of your pan to anchor your cake, place it where you want it, and then frost as desired.
Once your cake is frosted, use a different color frosting (or not) to spread a thin layer of icing all over the surface of the sheet pan and down the sides to the curled edge.
I think it gives a more finished look to the presentation, it’s not hard to do, and it keeps you from having to buy more throw-away cardboard.
Could I have been a bit neater? Yes. Was I? No. You’ll do better than I did. I have faith in you.
Variations
Consider making a chocolate cake (my chocolate stout cake would be kind of awesome here). Then, you can introduce the monster colors by coloring portions of your frosting.
Or stick with white frosting and use a ton of sprinkles. I don’t think you can really use too many sprinkles, so have at it!
Tips for Success
For the truest colors, you’ll want to use a white cake mix rather than a yellow cake mix.
Spoon the different batter colors into your pan using different spoons for each color to keep your colors from bleeding together and getting “muddy.”
When it’s time to swirl the colors together, use the blade of a dinner knife or a small, thin spatula and run it through your batter in circles.
Visual How-To
I wanted to share this quick video clip with you, showing how I made my swirls.
Monster Cake Q & A
Yes. Use your favorite gluten free or vegan mixes or recipes. Since I am sharing more of an easy decorating technique than a hard-and-fast recipe, you can customize the components to your way of eating.
It’s not strictly necessary to refrigerate it. Keep it covered in a rectangular cake taker. It will be fine for 3 or 4 days. If you do refrigerate it, use a cake mix that doesn’t require butter. Butter cakes get harder in the fridge and will need to sit out for an hour or so before slicing.
Try this spooky-cute Jack Skellington cake my friend Laura made. It’s pretty awesome and requires a bit more decorating skill than this guy.
Questions
If you have any questions about this or any other recipe or post on the site, there are a few ways to get in touch.
You can leave a comment on the post, and I’ll be back in touch within 24 hours.
If your question is more pressing, don’t hesitate to email me, and I should be back in touch within 4 hours (unless I’m asleep) or often much more quickly than that.
A Note About Measurements
This is the kitchen scale that I recommend for home cooks and bakers. Using a scale will help you be more accurate and consistent in your measurements.
It is lightweight, easy to store, accurate, and very easy to use.
Don't let its small price and small size fool you. The Escali Primo is an accurate and easy-to-use food scale that I have used for years. It's easy to store, easy to use, has a tare function, and easily switches between grams and ounces/pounds for accurate measurements.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!
Welcome to 2022’s #HalloweenTreatsWeek event!
#HalloweenTreatsWeek is a yearly Halloween blogging event that is hosted by Angie from Big Bear’s Wife . This event is an online, week-long event that is filled with some amazingly wicked Halloween treats and recipes from some fantastic Halloween loving bloggers!
For this years 5th annual #HalloweenTreatsWeek event we have 20 hauntingly talented bloggers that are sharing their favorite Halloween recipes throughout the week! You can following the hashtag #HalloweenTreatsWeek on social media to collect all of these frightful recipes to use at your own Halloween parties and events!
Make Sure to check out all of the fun Halloween recipes that we’re sharing this week!
Check Out More Halloween Recipes from Participating Bloggers
Check out all of these great #HalloweenTreatsWeek recipes for today
- Jack Skellington Biscuit Donuts from Big Bear’s Wife
- Easiest Halloween Cookies Ever from SemiHomemade Recipes
- Halloween Sangria from Fresh April Flours
- Chocolate Truffle Spider Cheesecake Bites from Sweet ReciPEAs
- Witches Hat Cookies from Best Cookie Recipes
- Easy Monster Cake from Pastry Chef Online (You’re here!)
- Pumpkin Patch Spice Cake from Jen Around the World
I hope you’ve learned something from this post or that you’ve decided to make the recipe.
It would really help me and other readers out if you’d rate the recipe using the star ratings in the recipe card.
It’s also very helpful to me and to other readers if you leave a comment and/or a recipe review.
Thank you so much for being here and for helping others find my recipes by sharing on your social platforms!
Halloween Monster Sheetcake
This easy Halloween monster sheet cake uses boxed mix (or a scratch-made cake) and frosting of your choice to make this Halloween dessert.
Color your batter with 3-4 colors and swirl them together for a spooky, colorful treat.
I decorated mine with tons of sprinkles and monster rings that kids (or you) can wash off and wear after eating your cake!
Note: Calories are based on 12 servings with a generic cake and frosting.
Ingredients
- 1 9" x 13" sheet cake made with boxed mix or your favorite cake recipe
- food coloring (I used gel colors in orange, purple, and green)
- 3 cups frosting (either canned or homemade)
- 1/2 cup Halloween-themed sprinkles
- Monster cupcake toppers or rings
Instructions
- Line the bottom of a 9" x 13" cake pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Make your batter according to package directions.
- Divide the batter among three bowls and color each as desired.
- Randomly spoon the three different colors into your cake pan, and then use a knife to swirl them together. Don't do too many swirls or your colors may bleed together and become muddy.
- Bake until cake tests done, about 30 minutes.
- Cool on a rack for 20 minutes, then carefully turn your cake out on a cooling rack. Place another cooling rack on top of your cake and then flip the whole thing so the top of the cake is up. Allow the cake to cool completely.
- Frost as desired and add sprinkles or other Halloween decorations as you wish.
- Top each slice of cake with a monster ring (or any desired Halloween decoration).
Notes
For best results with color, use a white cake mix and not a yellow cake mix. Or make a chocolate cake and introduce the colors in the frosting.
Nutrition Information
Yield 12 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 585Total Fat 27gSaturated Fat 7gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 19gCholesterol 39mgSodium 307mgCarbohydrates 88gFiber 1gSugar 75gProtein 3g
The stated nutritional information is provided as a courtesy. It is calculated through third party software and is intended as a guideline only.
Thanks for spending some time with me today.
I hope you (and your kids) love this easy monster cake. It really is a fun Halloween sheet cake to make.
Take care, and have a lovely day.
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