Description
A whimsical chocolate cake shaped like a black cat, featuring deep black cocoa layers and large candy eyes for a spooky effect.
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 cups cake flour
- 3/4 cup black cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened (for frosting)
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup black cocoa powder (for frosting)
- 1 tsp black gel food coloring
- 2 tbsp heavy cream
- 2 large candy eyes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and grease two 8-inch round cake pans.
- Whisk together cake flour, black cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.
- Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in eggs one at a time.
- Alternately add dry ingredients and buttermilk to the butter mixture, stirring in vanilla extract.
- Divide batter equally between pans and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool cakes completely on a wire rack.
- Carve the cake layers into a large oval for the body and a circle for the head, using scraps to cut two triangles for ears.
- Beat frosting butter with powdered sugar, black cocoa, gel coloring, and heavy cream until smooth.
- Stack the head on the body using buttercream as glue.
- Apply a thin crumb coat of frosting, chill for 20 minutes, then apply the final smooth layer of black buttercream.
- Attach the triangle ears to the top of the head.
- Press the candy eyes into the head to complete the cat face.