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This cake! Oh my gosh!! Where do I begin?
Well, for one, I think it’s no secret around here that I am both Harry Potter and Halloween obsessed, so you guys had to have an idea that Halloween inspired treats were coming. Every October I have way too much fun baking up spooky Halloween goodies. I’ve never really gotten into making spooky dinner type food because, to be completely honest, eyeballs in my pasta just weirds me out too much. SO I’ll just stick to making creepy cheese boards, desserts and fun drinks!
This forbidden forest chocolate butterbeer cake is just the beginning of the Halloween treats to come, but I have to say, it will probably be my favorite for the month.
I mean, just look at this cake! I get excited just thinking about its butterbeer insides and all of its chocolately goodness… it. is. the. BEST!
I know some of you might be thinking that after spending three days at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter this last week that I came right home and made this cake. Nope, I’ve actually been dreaming about this cake since August. Yes, like for real. I think about holidays way too far in advance, but I mean, I love it, so whatever.
Anyway, I’ve been planning this cake for the longest time and when I finally made it the other week, I was pretty ecstatic with how it turned out. Sometimes I can have these grand pictures of how recipes should look in my head and then they just kind of fall flat. But this cake actually turned out better than the picture in my head and it tastes far better than it looks. <–truth.
OKok. Since I feel like there’s a ton to go over with this cake, let’s just dive right into the details. Chocolate lovers unite, cause this is totally your kind of cake…
Sooo, everything starts out with my favorite chocolate cake recipe. I did a three layer cake because I figured, it’s Halloween and I mean, why the heck not?! Next we move onto the frosting. This frosting is everything, it’s chocolate butterbeer and it is addicting. Think whipped chocolate buttercream with the addition of rich butterbeer sauce…aka butterscotch sauce. It’s simple, perfect and well, I could totally just eat it with a spoon and be happy. YUM.
Ok, but it doesn’t end there. After you layer the cakes with frosting, you then add a generous drizzle of butterbeer sauce. Once the cake is all frosted and looking good, then comes the super fun part… you ready?
A marshmallow spider wed. Um, yes. I first learned of this idea here, and the second I saw it, I knew it had to be part of my butterbeer cake. Then I could call my cake the Forbidden Forest Cake and add black spiders.
Done and DONE.
If you guys know anything about Harry Potter than you know that the Forbidden Forest is full of black spiders, so it makes sense if you’re a Harry Potter freak like me. If you’re not, just think of this cake as a cute Halloween Spider Web Cake. Either way, the cake is going to be fun, cute and just plain awesome.
Ahh, but wait, there’s still more, I know, I know! So once you add the marshmallow spider web, you need to make the chocolate pretzels spiders and the weeping willow chocolate trees. Both are cute and kind of DELISH. I mean, chocolate + peanut butter + pretzels? Yup, I’m totally down with that!
Now, I know this cake sounds like a lot of work, and I’m not going to sit here and tell you that it can be made in thirty minutes, because it can’t, BUT what I will say is that this cake is a really fun one to make, and while it has a few components to it, none of them are hard or extremely time-consuming. AND the best part about this cake is that it’s meant to be a Halloween Cake. Meaning perfection is not what we are going for. Creepy one-legged spiders will work, and crooked trees are totally what we are going for here!
Bottom line, perfection is not what you want…what you do want is spooky! 🙂
Also, after trying the butterbeer at Harry Potter, I can now officially say that this cake has legit “butterbeer flavors”. Not going to lie, the butterbeer drink itself was way too intense for me. Meaning, way too much sugar in a cup. It was delish, but I was done after a couple sips. Whoa sugar rush!
And done… Happy Friday everyone!! Hope your weekend is filled with October things like picking apples, hunting for perfect pumpkins and baking butterbeer cakes!
Forbidden Forrest Butterbeer Chocolate Cake.
Servings: 18 Servings
Calories Per Serving: 698 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 3 eggs at room temperature
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons buttermilk
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons plain greek yogurt
- 3/4 cup canola oil
- 1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup cream soda or ginger beer
Whipped Butterbeer Frosting
- 1 (11 ounce) bag butterscotch chips
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 cups (4 sticks) salted butter softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
For decorating
- 1 (8 ounce) bag marshmallows
- 8 ounces melted semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
- 4 cups crushed pretzel sticks + 1 cup whole pretzel sticks
- candy eyes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease three 8-inch round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter/spray with cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl combine the flour, sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or use a hand held mixer) beat together the eggs, buttermilk, greek yogurt, canola oil and vanilla until smooth. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients with the mixer on low until there are no longer any clumps of flour. Add the cream soda (or ginger beer) and mix until combined. The batter should be pourable, but not super thin. Divide the batter evenly among the 3 cake pans. Transfer to the oven and bake 20 to 25 minutes, until the tops are just set and no longer wiggly in the center. Remove and let cool five minutes, then run a knife around the edges of the pan. Grab 3 large flat plates, line them with wax or parchment paper and invert the cakes onto the paper lined plates. Cover and let the cakes cool completely before frosting.
- To make the frosting. Add the butterscotch chips and cream to a small saucepan. Set over low heat, stirring often until melted and smooth. Remove from the heat. Set the butterbeer sauce aside.
- Add the butter and powdered sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer (or use a hand held mixer). Beat the butter, peanut butter and powdered sugar together until the butter is light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the cocoa powder and vanilla and beat, scraping down the sides as needed another 2 minutes or until there are no streaks of white. Add 1/2 cup of the butterbeer sauce and whip the frosting for 2-4 minutes or until light and fluffy.
- To assemble the cake. Place 1 cake layer, flat side up, on a plate or cake stand. With a knife or offset spatula, spread the top with frosting. Drizzle with 2-4 tablespoons butterbeer sauce. Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and spread the frosting. Drizzle with 2-4 tablespoons butterbeer sauce. Add on the final layer, rounded side up, and top with the remaining frosting, evenly spreading on the top and sides of the cake. Drizzle the cake all over with the remaining butterbeer sauce.
- To make the web: Melt the marshmallows in the microwave on 30 second intervals, stirring after each, until melted and smooth. Let cool 3-5 minutes and then use your hands to stretch/pull the melted marshmallow around the cake to create a spider web. Go in as many directions as possible. It will be messy, but fun! Cake should be kept in an airtight container in a cool, dry place or in the fridge.
- To make the spiders. Melt together the chocolate chips and peanut butter in the microwave or over a double broiler. Stir in the crushed pretzel sticks. Mound the pretzels into tablespoon size balls and place on a parchment or wax lined baking sheet. Take the remaining pretzels and toss them through the melted chocolate. Attach 3 pretzel legs on either side of the pretzel balls and then add 2 candy eyes to create eyes for the spiders. Place in the freezer to harden for 5-10 minutes.
- To create the chocolate trees, melt 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate and let cool 5 minutes. Transfer the chocolate to a ziplock bag and snip a small portion of the corner off the bag. On a parchment lined baking sheet, pipe out skinny leafless trees. Place in the freezer to harden for 5-10 minutes.
- Just before serving the cake, stick the trees around the top of the cake and decorate with chocolate spiders. Serve the cake at room temperature.
Notes
*Marshmallow spiderweb adapted from [The Cake Blog | http://thecakeblog.com/2012/10/diy-marshmallow-cobweb-cake.html]. *Spiders adapted from [Food Network | http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sandra-lee/spider-bites-recipe.html]
And then proceeding to eat ALL the cake…cause I mean, do you see that piece? NEED IT.
Going to attempt this cake today! Do the buttermilk and yogurt need to be room temperature as well?
Hey Carly, no they do not have to be. Let me know if you have any other questions. I hope the cake is a hit! 🙂
Does the spider web technique works with Fluff ?
Hey Berry, I am not sure, I have never tried that. Fluff might be a little too moist.
EEEE!! This is absolutely brilliant, thank you for making my Halloween extra special this year! I’ve been trying to avoid non-refined sugar but I might have to break it just for this xD
Haha! Well I hope you love this one!! Happy Halloween!!
Wow! This looks amazing, and I am making it next weekend for my friends kids, who are obsessed with Harry Potter (I am too, so it’s not totally selfless). I was wondering if you have a suggestion on the timing of the baking and the decorating. Originally I was planning to bake the cake and decorate it all in a day, then refrigerate it until about an hour before it’s ready to be eaten. But then I questioned whether I should bake the cake and frost it the day before, refrigerate it overnight, then add the marshmallow web and other decorations the next day. Would this allow the frosting to set before adding the other decorations? Is it necessary/beneficial, or should I just do everything at once? Thank you!
Hey John!! That is so nice of you and so fun! You can really do either or. The cake holds up well when assembled all at once, so if that is easiest for you, go for it! The only thing I will mention is the trees can be a little flimsy if they get too warm, so try and keep the cool. Let me know if you have ANY questions. Hope the cake is a it!
I made the cake and it turned out great! Putting the marshmallow web on was so much fun lol. It looked awesome, my friends and their kids loved it, and it was delicious! Definitely a new Halloween tradition. Thank you!
Ah yay! Sounds so fun!! So happy you liked it!
I’m dead. Making this for our Halloween party FOR SURE!
YAY! I hope you love it! Thanks Paige!
This is THE perfect Halloween cake!!
Awh thank you Lisa!
I was want to try and make this into cupcakes. How long would I bake them for? It looks absolutely glorious.
Hey! I would say 12-15 minutes. Let me know if you have questions.Thank you! 🙂
Oh my gosh! This cake looks and sounds amazing!
My husband’s workplace has a Halloween Baking Contest every year, last year I made your Salted Caramel Apple Snickers Cake and won the grand prize!
Just showed my husband this, we’re both drooling and thinking the Forbidden Forest Chocolate Butterbeer Cake is going to be this years entry.
Wish me luck!
Ah! No luck needed, I think you will make it perfectly? I hope you win, and everyone enjoys it! Thank you Michele!
So, I won! Thanks so much for your awesome recipe! I thought it was easy to follow and while time consuming, it was completely worth it! Even though my trees were kind of klunky, I’ll just have to make it again and practice my chocolate piping!
My husband is a retired Navy Chief and works at Navy Recruiting District Portland, it was a silent auction and the bid was $100! So that and my prize money were donated to the Morale, Welfare and Recreation fund for the active duty sailors and families here in Portland.
Oh my gosh, again?! Yes go you!! So happy you did, and I am sure your chocolate trees looked amazing! Even better is that the money is donated to a good cause! Thanks Michele. ?
This looks amazing! Around Halloween you sometimes see haunted gingerbread houses and the like, but I think this cake takes the win!!!
Awh thank you Brooke! SO happy you love it!
Amazing!!!!! You are so talented!!! Definitely going to try making it this Halloween!!! Enjoy you holidays:)
Perfect, I hope you love it! Thank you Dana, you as well!
I’m just going to echo all of the other comments and say…WOW
LOVE
AMAZING
GIMME
YOU RULE
thanks for sharing!
Haha thank you so so much! So happy you are loving this!
Genius love your photos and your recipes .Thank you so much??
Thank you so much!! (:
This was a fun to make with my grandchildren, although all of them opted for 8 eyes on the spiders. Can’t wait to see what else you have in store for Halloween Fun!!
Thank you so much Wendy! I am so happy they loved it!
Oh my gosh this cake looks amazing! I want to try it out for my birthday but eggs are a no go, do you have any suggestions for a good substitute? Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Hey Lauren! Thanks so much! Unfortunately, I am not comfortable giving you a sub fo eggs since I have not tested the recipe that way. That said, I do have a vegan chocolate cake you could use in this cakes place. Then just frost and decorate like this cake. Hope that helps!
Vegan cake: https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/vegan-chocolate-cake-creamy-chocolate-almond-butter-buttercream/
Awesome thanks so much!
DYYIIINNGGG. Love Harry Potter and want all of this cake.
Yay! So happy you are loving this! Thank you Marilyn!