31 October certainly isn’t a day for those of you who are easily frightened, with everyone donning their spooky outfits for an annual evening of scares. However, for those of you with a sweet tooth it could very well be one of the best nights of the year. Halloween may predominantly be a night that’s about dressing up as your favourite horror character, but over the years it’s also become synonymous with candy, chocolate, and, to be honest, anything with sugar in it. We’re certainly not complaining because who doesn’t like an excuse to stuff their face with sweet treats?
While some people might be satisfied with buying vast packs of sweets and humungous bars of chocolate to eat their way through, for those of you who are feeling ambitious, there are plenty of eerie Halloween recipes out there to have a go at. Whether you’re hosting a fancy dress party and want to provide some spooky snacks or simply want to do something with the kids to keep them entertained, making a Halloween cake or dessert can be a lot of fun. The good news is it’s not a difficult occasion to find creative inspiration for. Ghost-shaped cookies, spider-topped cupcakes, doughnuts filled with strawberry-flavoured blood - the possibilities are endless. However, with so much inspiration flying around, it can also be hard to know where to start.
Here at SquareMeal, we are all about going big for Halloween, so below we have put together a selection of our favourite spooky cake and dessert ideas, for you to recreate at home. We've included a mixture of child-friendly cakes along with a few more grown-up numbers. They all have one thing in common though - they're guaranteed to have your guests jumping both in fright and joy.
The best Halloween cake and dessert ideas for kids and adults
Coffin cake
Sometimes the simplest things are the most effective and that’s certainly the case with this pumpkin flavoured coffin cake. You don’t even need to take it out of the baking tin; simply mummify the sponge with strips of white icing and pop some candy eyeballs on top. Once placed on top a black sarcophagus cut out, this cake is bound to make an impression at a Halloween party.
Read the full recipe at Woman's Day
Eerie eyeball pops
If you’re in a bit of a rush, or want to create something quick and easy with the kids, pre-trick or treating, these eerie eyeball pops could be just the thing. Requiring minimal effort to make the balls of sponge which will become your eye balls, the real fun begins when it’s time for the icing pens come out to draw on some gruesome veins.
Read the full recipe at BBC Good Food
Towering haunted house cake
One for the more experienced bakers out there. This impressive haunted house cake may require a fair amount of commitment but if you’re up to the challenge, it has the potential to be a real Halloween showstopper. Featuring everything from a chocolate fence, to miniature skull and bones sprinkles sitting above the door, this cake has got bucketfuls of wow-factor.
Read the recipe at Country Living
Dracula dentures
Count Dracula has to be one of the most infamous villains out there and certainly the the best known vampire. So it seems only right that his famous fangs should make an appearance on the most frightening night of the year. These toothy biscuits see vanilla frosting and marshmallows sandwiched between semicircles of chocolate chip cookie.
Read the full recipe at Delish
Chocolate spiderweb doughnuts
Halloween can be a great time to play a few party games, particularly if you’re wanting to keep the kids busy. One of our favourites is the doughnut on a string game, and these spiderweb doughnuts are the perfect thing to use if you fancy making your own. The web effect is also super easy to create and requires only a single cocktail stick.
Read the full recipe at The Baking Explorer
Toothy green monster cupcakes
Who doesn’t love a cupcake? They’re much smaller than slices of standard cake meaning you can twice as many. Now we know that Halloween is meant to be a time to spook out your guests but we have to admit these toothy green monster cupcakes are kind of cute. The piping may require a steady hand but other than that the recipe is incredibly easy. These are also great little guys to keep by your front door if you happen to get called on by trick or treaters.
Read the full recipe at Tesco
Skull caramel apples
As classic combos go, they don’t come much better than a toffee apple. The mission of biting into the tooth-shattering caramel before reaching the crisp apple inside, can’t help but send you back into a childlike frenzy. As if they aren’t sweet enough already, these skull caramel apples have an added layer of white chocolate on the outside to give them a more ghostly complexion.
Read the full recipe at The Spruce Eats
Jack-o’-Lantern rice creepies
These fantastic little Jack-o’-Lantern-inspired crispy cakes look tempting enough as they are. However, kids in particular will be delighted when they bite into them, to find that there’s a bit of a surprise hiding within. Stuffed with chocolate and sweets, these really are the ultimate Halloween treat and are very simple to recreate.
Read the full recipe at Real Simple
Dead velvet cake
If there’s one ingredient you certainly can’t overdo it with on 31 October it’s red food colouring. The more you add, the more gruesome any haunting concoction begins to look. You may not think that the average red velvet cake could be much redder than it already is, but this cleverly named dead velvet cake featured a “blood” syrup poured over the top for added gore.
Read the full recipe at Delish
Skeleton gingerbread men
How could something as cute as a little gingerbread man be made scary we hear you ask? Well these gingerbread men are perhaps better described as gingerbread skeletons as they feature haunting bones piped on top of the crunchy gingerbread. These are a great option if you’re wanting to bake something that’s easy to make look good.
Read the full recipe at Olive
Strawberry ghosts
Halloween snacks don’t come much easier than these. You just can’t go wrong with a chocolate-dipped strawberry and these strawberry ghosts are basically a playful taste on that. Now we know that these are meant to be a bit scary, but they’re also pretty adorable with their little icing faces.
Read the full recipe at Delish
Halloween cat cake
The black cat - one of the most iconic symbols of Halloween and also a classic costume at fancy dress parties too. So why not recreate it in cake form? This is another recipe which requires a bit of time but it looks amazing once completed. We particularly love the addition of the candy floss tail because realistically who can say no to an extra bit of sugar?
Read the full recipe at Woman's Day
Witches' fingers
There’s something particularly grotesque about these ‘witches’ fingers’ dough sticks. We don’t know whether it’s the blanched almond nails or the strawberry jam blood hiding behind them, but they look almost too realistic to put in your mouth. However, for those brave enough to try, they actually taste rather delicious and are even better when dipped in chocolate.
Read the full recipe at Good to Know
Pumpkin Bundt cake
There’s something particularly magical about an illusion cake when done well. Until you plunge the knife in to reveal the sponge within, this bundt cake could conceivably be an actual pumpkin. However, coming packed full of warming spices and filled with cream cheese frosting, this cake is certainly tastier than your average pumpkin.
Read the full recipe at Preppy Kitchen
Fancy serving some fancy drinks at your Halloween party? Why not check out our selection of cocktail recipes