27 Halloween Birthday Cakes

May 15, 2017
Oxmoor House
Whether you were born on the spookiest day of the year or you're just obsessed with Halloween, we've got 27 spooky Halloween birthday cakes that are perfect for the occasion. Featuring favorite fall flavors like pumpkin, warm spices, candy, chocolate, and a little bit of Halloween fright, these cakes make for a scrumptious celebratory centerpieces. Whether you want to go overtly goul-ishly good or have a slightly more subtle and sophisticated autumnal feel for your celebratory sweet, we have you covered. So dig in, your ideal Halloween birthday cake awaits you. 
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Bat Cake

Time Inc. Video Studio
Bat Cake Recipe
For the Halloween crafter inside all of this, this simple Halloween sheet cake is a fun, easy dessert to make. Devil’s food cake is very dark chocolaty color, but a red velvet cake would look just as fitting and festive for the bat, too. Piping bags and tips are found in craft stores or specialty baking shops. Be sure to cut the cake rounds in the prescribed order so that the bat’s head with ears comes out as 1 of the cuts.
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Witch's Hat Cake

Time Inc. Video Studio
Witch's Hat Cake Recipe
For a spooky spin on your Halloween-inspired sheet cake, look no further than this festive witch's hat cake. We opted for boxed cake mix for simplicity, but if there's a homemade recipe you prefer, that works too. As long as you're ready to get a little crafty and extra witchy, this easy, Halloween dessert will come together in a flash.

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Deserted Graveyard Cake

Photo: Jonny Valiant; Styling: Ed Gallagher
Deserted Graveyard Cake Recipe

Prepare this decadent, chocolate-frosted cake for a festive Halloween dessert. 

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Halloween Bundt Cake

Photo: Sara Tane
Halloween Bundt Cake Recipe

This epic bundt-on-bundt cake earns its title by mimicking a children's jack-'o-lantern candy pail at the end of a highly successful night of trick-or-treating. It's guaranteed to be an instant hit at any Halloween party--especially once you cut in and let the haul of candy spill of for your guests. In order to create the full pumpkin pail cake pictured, you will need to double the Pumpkin-Walnut Bundt Cake recipe below to make 2 bundt cakes. For best results, we recommend preparing the 2 batches of cake batter separately, rather than doubling the ingredients listed and dividing the double batch of batter between 2 bundt pans. If you only have 1 bundt cake pan at home, you can prepare your first cake all the way through baking, then clean the pan and prepare the second cake while the first cools on a wire rack. All of that said, this toasty and perfectly spiced fall cake is a delicious, crowd-pleasing treat even without all of the bells and whistles, so preparing just on bundt to enjoy for dessert is a fine way to go. But if you take this route, you will only need half the amount of Cream Cheese Frosting (and you don't necessarily need to color it pumpkin orange). 

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Mummified Candy-Corn Cake

Photo: Jonny Valiant; Styling: Ed Gallagher
Mummified Candy-Corn Cake Recipe

This festive candy corn-colored cake is sure to impress your Halloween guests. 

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Boo-tiful Pumpkin Cake

Oxmoor House
Boo-tiful Pumpkin Cake Recipe
Make two recipes of this pumpkin cake and create your own tasty pumpkin!
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Spiderweb Spice Cake

Photo: Mark Thomas
Spiderweb Spice Cake Recipe
Colored candies are all you need to transform a chocolate cake into a creepy, crawling Halloween-themed cake. Don't worry, even with the spiders you won't be able to resist this delicious confection.

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Pumpkin Toffee Crunch Cheesecake

Photo: Charles Schiller
Pumpkin Toffee Crunch Cheesecake Recipe
Bring Halloween cheer to the dessert table with this too-cuke cheesecake. Keep it simple by preparing just about everything for this cake ahead of time.

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Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Chocolate Glaze

Photo: Jennifer Causey
Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Chocolate Glaze Recipe

We take the classic flavors of pumpkin pie (pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg) and transform them into a tall, moist, tender Bundt cake. Whole-wheat flour enhances the fall flavors without sacrificing the tender crumb. To finish it off: a smooth, shiny bittersweet chocolate glaze that drips into all the nooks and crannies. Look for baking spray (cooking spray with fine flour added), or simply coat the pan with cooking spray, add a tablespoon of flour, and shake gently to coat. If you don't have a Bundt pan, you can bake in two standard loaf pans. Cut the loaves into slices, and drizzle the glaze over each serving.

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Salted Caramel Gingerbread Poke Cake with Pumpkin Cream Cheese Frosting

Photo: Daniel Agee
Salted Caramel Gingerbread Poke Cake with Pumpkin Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

The flavors of gingerbread, salted caramel filling, and pumpkin cream cheese frosting marry to become the ultimate fall and holiday poke cake. This cake is a great snack cake or dessert and it's pretty enough to serve to guests. One taste and you're sure to bring this cake to potlucks all season long.

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Pumpkin-Rum Cake with Brown Sugar Icing

Photo: Oxmoor House
Pumpkin-Rum Cake with Brown Sugar Icing Recipe
Pumpkin, a classic holiday flavor, gets blended with a yummy pecan streusel and doused with a fudgelike icing in this cake, an Editors' Favorite.

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Marbled Pumpkin Praline Cake

Photo: Iain Bagwell; Styling: Heather Chadduck
Marbled Pumpkin Praline Cake Recipe
There's nothing more festive than ending your holiday meals with a beautifully garnished cake like our Marbled Pumpkin Praline Cake. This wintry white cake showcases sugared pecans, kumquats, and bay leaves.
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Graveyard Cake

Photo: Mark Thomas
Graveyard Cake Recipe
Halloween desserts definitely call for having a little extra fun in the kitchen. This kinda-cute, kinda-creepy Graveyard Cake is easy to make, fun to decorate (so recruit the kids’ help), and is sure to be a perfectly spooky centerpiece for any Halloween dessert table. Black icing transforms store-bought cookies into perfectly-sized miniature headstones for the chocolate-frosted graveyard cake. And once you’ve placed your headstones, crumble chocolate wafer cookies around each to create “dirt.” Just be sure to make each "gravesite" the serving size you want to ensure easy slicing. Disperse a few candle “lanterns” throughout the chocolaty graveyard and you have the perfect cake for a Halloween birthday party. The classic chocolate cake recipe here is decadent and moist standby, but if you’re in a pinch for time, feel free to use your favorite boxed cake mix instead. Obviously, it’s all about the decorating on for this Halloween-inspired treat.

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Spider Web Cake

Spider Web Cake Recipe
This incredibly fudgy flourless chocolate cake is a much better way to satisfy your own spooky sweet cravings than dipping into your kids’ Halloween candy. Dark and delightful, this rich and chocolatey cake only requires five ingredients and about an hour to pull together. That said, this decadent Halloween dessert does need to chill for at least 6 hours before you slice, so plan accordingly. After the cake has chilled and you’ve covered it in a sleek layer of chocolate glaze, simply draw on your spider web using a white icing pen. Keep in mind, your web doesn’t have to be perfect! Finish it with a couple of candy spiders or draw your own with the icing. Trust us, a chocolate-on-chocolate spider web cake is a welcome addition to any Halloween party.

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Halloween Kitty Cake

Oxmoor House
Halloween Kitty Cake Recipe
What a sweet kitty this is! The cake is baked, cut into shapes and then put together to make a purr-fect cake for any Halloween party.
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Pumpkin-Chocolate Chip Cake

Photo: Antonis Achilleos; Styling: Gerri Williams for James Reps

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Almond Spider Cakes

Photo: Becky Luigart-Stayner; Styling: Linda Hirst
Almond Spider Cakes Recipe

A web of sugary goodness awaits you in these Halloween cupcakes. Almond paste in the batter and a colorful almond glaze give these cakes a distinctive nutty taste that kids will love. Top with plastic or gummy spiders for a spooky touch.

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Pumpkin-Chocolate-Swirl Cheesecake

Photo: Theresa Raffetto; Styling: Gerri Williams for James Reps
Pumpkin-Chocolate-Swirl Cheesecake Recipe
Family and guests alike will give thanks over this decadent, seasonal Pumpkin-Chocolate-Swirl Cheesecake.
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Pumpkin Pound Cake with Buttermilk Glaze

Pumpkin Pound Cake with Buttermilk Glaze Recipe

If you’re looking for the perfect fall dessert, let the hunt stop here. This incredibly moist pumpkin pound cake is one of our favorite cakes of all time.

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Pumpkin Cake with Little Ghosts

Oxmoor House
Pumpkin Cake with Little Ghosts Recipe

Don't let this creepy cake fool you, it's infused with hauntingly-good spices, rich pumpkin flavor, and a decadent chocolate drizzle. Even the little ghosts are edible!

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Pumpkin Pie Cake

Pumpkin Pie Cake Recipe
If you like pumpkin pie, you'll love this cake's subtle spice flavors and velvety cream cheese frosting. The slightly sweet and mild pecans add a pleasant crunch to the smooth frosting.
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Chocolate-Pumpkin Marble Cake

James Carrier
Chocolate-Pumpkin Marble Cake Recipe
Create a marbled bundt cake centerpiece for your fall party by layering two batters (one flavored with pumpkin, the other cocoa) into a bundt pan. Simply draw a knife through the batters to create your own design.

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Praline Pumpkin Torte

Monica Buck
Praline Pumpkin Torte Recipe
Notes: You can bake the cakes (through step 3) up to 1 day ahead; cover and store at room temperature. Up to 6 hours ahead, assemble layers; cover with a large inverted bowl or pan and chill. Prep and Cook Time: about 1 hour, plus 1 1/2 hours to cool cakes.

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Maple-Glazed Pumpkin Spice Cake

Photo: Miki Duisterhof; Styling: Stephana Bottom
Maple-Glazed Pumpkin Spice Cake Recipe
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Candy Corn Cake Wedges

Photo: Antonis Achilleos; Styling: Lynn Miller
Candy Corn Cake Wedges Recipe
Candy corn has never looked so good.

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Frosted Pumpkin Cake

Photo: Becky Luigart-Stayner; Styling: Sabrina Bone
Frosted Pumpkin Cake Recipe
Pumpkin cake is moist and fluffy and a great change-up from classic pumpkin pie.

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Scissor Fingers Cake

Oxmoor House
Scissor Fingers Cake Recipe
Just a few little almond slices make these ladyfingers have quite the fingernails!
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