Spooky Spooky

Spooky Chocolate Pumpkin Cake | La Pêche Fraîche

There’s a ghost in my lungs and it sighs in my sleep,
Wraps itself around my chest as it softly weeps.
Then it walks, then it walks with my legs
To fall, to fall, to fall at your feet.

There but for the grace of God go I
And when you kiss me, I am happy enough to die.

Ghosts, Florence and the Machine

Spooky Chocolate Pumpkin Cake | La Pêche Fraîche

Happy almost-Halloweenie, my little ghouls, goblins, vampires, zombies, sexy cats, and everyone else in between!

It is the witching week.

Spooky Chocolate Pumpkin Cake | La Pêche Fraîche

Also, today is technically National Pumpkin Day, so this cake is perfectly timed.  Accidentally or not.  Whatever.
I am soooo seasonally aware.
Get on the autumnal train, people, or you will be LATE.

My advice is to do so with cake, not cinnamon-apple-scented Yankee Candles, but hey—à chacun son goût!
Grab your infinity scarves!
And tiny, tiny gourds!
And plaid, plaid, plaid.

Spooky Chocolate Pumpkin Cake | La Pêche Fraîche

So. 10/26: National Pumpkin Day.  Wauuuww.
As if we weren’t pumpkin obsessed enough already…!

But, to be fair, pumpkin spice lattes are, like, the ultimate representation of Fall, so National Pumpkin Day must be kind of, like, a big deal.

To be even fairer, though, there are so many amazing things about autumn that have nothing to do with a certain orange squash.  Keep your pants on, butternut, I’m not talking about you.
(Quick aside: I’m definitely making butternut squash mac and cheese for the third year in a row for Thanksgiving. So dang good.  Praise be to Jessica.)

Spooky Chocolate Pumpkin Cake | La Pêche Fraîche

Here, I’ve collected a boatload of sweet foody links, pumpkin or no, that strike me as particularly autumnal.

Speaking of pumpkin round-ups, Cake over Steak hosted an enormous pumpkin party.
So many amazing savory and sweet recipes!
No, seriously: so many.

Some of my favorites from the punkin’ party include:
Courtney from F2B made an amazing orange pumpkin brûlée pie—I had never thought of that combination before, but golly it sounds good now that I have…

HEY what’s up helloooo—Alana turned all my pumpkin cheesecake dreams into a fluffy, cloud-like Japanese ones, and then added caramel and pecans.

Cindy and I had the same thought process with the whole pumpkin + chocolate situation.  All those buttery crumbs make me reconsider my preference for layer cakes over coffee cake.

Speaking of chocolate and pumpkin, the hot cocoa glaze on Tieghan’s baked buttermilk pumpkin donuts is mesmerizing.

Spooky Chocolate Pumpkin Cake | La Pêche Fraîche

Maple syrup/maple flavored goods are my favorite fall/winter flavor, by far.
Laura’s quinoa porridge with maple roasted pears is such a glorious way to start the day.  Maybe at some point I’ll get my life together and be able to have a composed breakfast.

Alanna takes the best photos, my Lord.
And these maple chestnut pudding chômeurs are incredible.
Listen, the Québécois know autumn, and know winter, and they definitely know maple.  I trust their choice to have such a delectable, classic dessert.
(Fun fact/knowledge drop that Alanna included: chômeur/chômeuse means unemployed individual in French.  These puddings were said to bring comfort to these Québécois during the Great Depression.)

Spooky Chocolate Pumpkin Cake | La Pêche Fraîche

Finally, chocolate and cakes are always welcome:
Megan’s wreaths would be so cute during the holidays, and they’re legitimately the prettiest brioche I have ever laid eyes upon.  Brava!

Michelle’s naked chocolate and hibiscus cake is so pretty.
Naturally pink frosting is particularly appropriate for breast cancer awareness month!

Yossy’s is the most attractive carrot cake ever.
Those process shots always impress and inspire me, since I never photograph them.

Spooky Chocolate Pumpkin Cake | La Pêche Fraîche

I told you that was going to be a lot of links.

But now, I’m going to bring it back around to my little contribution to Halloween/National Pumpkin Day.
This isn’t quite as scary as my heart cake was, but I think the poor unfortunate souls trapped in the salted ganache are adorable and just the right amount of spooky.
You may want to make the tops of your ghosts a little more rounded or folded over.  My piping bag may or may not have been uncooperative, leading to some not unkind, worried probes into what exactly these little white ~hoods~ were supposed to be.
Well. IMHO they are clearly ghosts.  So let that conversation be terminated, thank you and goodnight.

Spooky Chocolate Pumpkin Cake | La Pêche Fraîche

Little crunchy meringue ghosts haunt this cake.
They sit atop a wash of salted dark chocolate ganache that drips down the sides of a moist, heavily spiced pumpkin cake frosted with fluffy, 3-ingredient chocolate buttercream and filled with spicy sweet pumpkin butter.

Each bite balances rich and salted chocolate with spicy pumpkin—it’s a more complex twist on the traditional cream cheese/pumpkin combination, and it keeps the cake from being cloying.
This cake is incredible with or without the crunch of the meringues, so don’t stress if you don’t feel like drawing faces on fifty thousand little cookies.
You can totally leave out the pumpkin butter if you can’t find any—just add a little extra frosting between the layers!

This would be such a cute centerpiece for a Halloween celebration!  It’s definitely an attention grabber.
It somehow tastes even better on the second day, so you can make it ahead (just leave the meringues off until before serving)—
this is the perfect spooky party cake!

Spooky Chocolate Pumpkin Cake | La Pêche Fraîche

Chocolate Pumpkin Cake with Meringue Ghosts
makes 1 3x6inch layer cake
cake portion adapted from Cooking Classy

ingredients:
for the cake:
55 grams (1/4 cup, 2 ounces) butter, soft
50 grams (1/4 cup) neutral oil
135 grams (1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons) sugar
85 grams (1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons) brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
220 grams (7 1/2 ounces, 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons) pumpkin purée
30 grams (2 tablespoons) milk
195 grams (1 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons) flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

for the whipped ganache frosting:
225 grams (8 ounces, 1 cup, 2 sticks) butter
180 grams (6 ounces) dark chocolate, chopped
1 tablespoon corn syrup, optional
small pinch salt

for the ganache drip:
45 grams (1.5 ounce) dark chocolate, chopped
45-60 grams (3 tablespoons-1/4 cup) heavy cream
small pinch salt

for the meringue ghosts:
3 egg whites
150 grams (3/4 cup) sugar
45 grams (3 tablespoons) water
1 tablespoon corn syrup, optional
pinch salt
black food writing pen

to assemble:
pumpkin butter, if desired

directions:
Make the meringue ghosts, up to 2 days before: preheat oven to 200 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment.
Prepare a piping bag with a round tip.
Place egg whites in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
Place sugar, water, corn syrup, and salt into a small pot over medium heat, and start the egg whites to whipping.
When the egg whites reach stiff peaks, the sugar syrup should be at 245 degrees F.
Remove from heat and carefully pour into whipping egg whites.
Allow to whip until somewhat cooled, about 4 minutes, then fill the pastry bag and pipe out little ghost shapes.
Bake for 2 hours, then turn off the oven and allow to dry in the oven overnight.
When dry, use a black food color pen to draw on little ghost faces!
Now, make the cake: preheat oven to 350 degrees F and butter and flour 3 6-inch pans.
Place butter and oil in the bowl of a stand mixer with both sugars and the salt.
Beat on high speed for 4 minutes, until very light and fluffy and not gritty.
Add in the eggs, vanilla, and spices, and beat for 3 more minutes.
Scrape the sides of the bowl and stir in pumpkin purée and milk.
When almost homogeneous, add in the flour and baking soda and baking powder all at once.
Stir for another minute or so until fully homogeneous.
Portion out into the prepared pans.
Bake for 22-25 minutes until a tester comes out with only a few moist crumbs.
Allow to cool completely.
Meanwhile, make the whipped ganache: place butter, chocolate, corn syrup, and salt into a microwave safe bowl and microwave in 30 second bursts until 2/3 of the way melted.
Whisk vigorously until smooth and shiny.
Allow to cool to room temperature.
Whip at high speed for 3-4 minutes until very fluffy and light in color.
Frost cake right away by spreading a tablespoon or two of pumpkin butter on a layer, then adding a 1/4 cup of frosting, then repeating until all layers are used up.
Frost with a generous layer of fluffy ganache, then refrigerate while you make the ganache drip.
To make the liquid ganache, place chocolate and salt in a microwave safe bowl and microwave until 2/3 of the way melted.
Microwave the heavy cream until lukewarm, about 30 seconds, then whisk vigorously into the chocolate until the ganache is smooth and shiny.
Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes until somewhat thickened.
Meanwhile, to get the mottled look that I’ve gone for, use a hot offset spatula to smooth and slightly melt the chilled frosting, then carefully pour the still-warm ganache over the edge of the chilled cake.
Refrigerate until the drip is set, then place the ghosts on top!

46 comments

  1. Hey lady! Thanks so much for the mention 😀 I was seriously drooling for days over all those pumpkin treats!! Basically, my face forever looking like these adorable ghost meringues do!
    Halloween cakes make me so incredibly happy. I absolutely love this one<3

    1. LOL I too spent literal hours holed up with that list of links. Thank you so much Courtney xxxxx

  2. THIS IS SO CUTE.

    and thanks for the shout-out! xoxo

    1. Thanks Michelle! Hugs! xxxxx

  3. This cake is adorable! I love the little merigne ghosts on top. It’s absolutely perfect. thanks for sharing all those great links. Theres some wonderful desserts out there 🙂

    1. Kathleen, there really are! I’m always astounded by the creativity in our little portion of the blogosphere 🙂

  4. Thanks for sharing the pumpkin party love! :-*

    1. Hugs! xoxo

  5. Your comment about the probes on what the hoods ~really~ mean crack me up. I was recently googling Halloween cakes and came across a photo similar to what you’ve created, and told my husband I wanted to make it. He glanced at it and said, “a KKK cake?!” Needless to say, I didn’t attempt it.

    1. HAHA Ashley, my boyfriend had a similar thought… then upon being reprimanded, he became convinced they looked like bananas… Can’t win, can you?! 😛

  6. GAHHH!! The cutest cake ever!! Thanks so much for the link!!

    1. Thanks so much Alana! xoxoxox

  7. This is my first time to your site, and I love it! This cake is equal parts sweet and spooky and it looks like it would taste pretty darn good, too. Check, check and check!

    xx Hannah // http://www.HomemadeBanana.com

    1. Thanks Hannah! So glad you found me—love your blog too. Plus bonus points for both of us spelling Hannah the correct way 😉

  8. Ok, I am officially OBSESSED with your blog. This is literally a foodporn heaven! Every time I look at a picture I’m like: “Is that even possible to make?”, not to mention perfect lighting, accessories and background in all of the photographs. You created a masterpiece Rachel! Thank you for that!

    1. Klaudia! Thank you so much sweet girl! It really means a lot. BTW: I’m currently rubbing my oiliest lotion on my nails in an attempt to recreate your oil trick! xoxoxo

    2. Made this cake last fall and it was a HUGE hit! Looking forward to making it again this Halloween!

  9. Ohmygoodness this cake – and all of your creations – is too perfect!! I showed these photos to all the ladies at our weekly church baking circle meeting last night, and everyone was so astounded at the perfection. My family and I are huge fans, can’t wait to see what you make throughout the rest of this busy holiday season! With admiration, the Confection Queen.

    1. Thank you so much for your kind words! So glad you found me 🙂 xoxoxox

  10. Another gorgeous creation! Are you sure you aren’t a pastry chef?? 😉

    1. Beeta—I’d be lying if I said there weren’t days when I daydream about putting all my money into a little tiny corner bakery 😉

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  13. Omg this cake! I love it so much -how can I not? There’s ghosts, pumpkin, and chocolate! 😀

    1. Thanks so much Anne! xoxoxo

  14. Your blog is lovely and I’ve to admit I just love this cake! The little ghosts on the frosting are adorable 🙂

    1. Thanks so much! xoxoxo

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  16. This is adorable! First time I have stumbled across your blog, but I am so glad you did! I love your style of photography, and especially the cute titles you gives your posts 🙂 I will be a regular visitor from now on for sure

    1. Rosie, thank you SO much for your kind words—not many people comment on my titles so I’m absolutely tickled that someone noticed 🙂 Glad to have you! xoxo

  17. Hi, I am making a cake for Halloween on Monday, but I think a 6 inch will be too small for the party. If I wanted to do 8 or 9 in pans, would I need to double the recipe? Thanks in advance!

    1. Lacie, sorry for the delayed response. You could double the recipe or not. If you do, you’ll have a comparably tall cake; if you don’t, it will just be much thinner. Completely up to your aesthetic! To make it look most like this cake, I would recommend doubling the recipe 🙂 Hope your party goes well! xoxoxo

  18. I’m going to try to make this into cupcakes. Any idea how many it might make?

    1. Hi Hilary! I think it would make 12, but I haven’t fully tested that out. Let me know how it goes! xo

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