DIY Halloween Monster Cake

Last Updated on March 11, 2022 by Michele Tripple

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This Monster Cake is the cutest way to decorate a cake for this Halloween! This DIY monster cake recipe is so easy you won’t believe how great it turns out. 

How to Make a Monster Cake

Halloween is approaching and I’ve been planning out what I’m going to make for all the parties coming my way. This monster cake is absolutely at the top of my list!

green monster cake with buttercream and fondant decorations

Don’t get me wrong, I’ll be making plenty of monster rice krispie treats and other simple treats, but this showstopper monster cake recipe is too fun to pass up.

It’s got green and black layers of cake, and it’s decorated with a huge monster face and some buttercream fur. 

And this cake doesn’t have to be limited to just Halloween! If you have a monster lover in your house, how cute would this be as a birthday cake? 

green monster cake with piped fur and fondant features

More Halloween recipes you’ll love 

Monster Cake Recipe

Show off your skills with this simple DIY monster cake! I love a cake like this that you can make easily and customize with your favorite colors and faces!

Ingredients

process shot of monster cake

For Green Layers

For Black Layers

  • 1 box chocolate cake mix
  • 3 eggs
  • ¼ cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 tsp clear vanilla 
  • 3-4 drops Black Gel Americolor 
  • Halloween Sprinkle mix

For Frosting

  • 2 sticks unsalted butter
  • 1 lb powdered sugar
  • ¼ cup heavy cream or flavored coffee creamer
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 oz black fondant
  • 1 oz white fondant

The Following Tools Will Be Helpful When Making These!

How to Make a Monster Cake

monster cake with diy fondant decorations on a brown and white cake board

Don’t forget to download the full printable recipe below so you can print it out and use it whenever you feel like making this delicious recipe!

  • To make your monster cake, you’ll start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees. 
  • Spray your cake pans with nonstick cooking spray and set them aside.
  • Next, you can make your cake batter. Make your green batter by adding the white cake mix, oil, water, and eggs to a mixing bowl.
  • Beat the cake batter on medium speed until smooth.
  • Add in the clear vanilla and beat for a minute to combine. 
  • Drop in 2-3 drops of electric green food coloring and beat the batter again until incorporated. 
  • Pour the batter into half of the pans and set them aside.
  • Repeat the batter process with the black batter, using the chocolate cake mix and black food coloring, and pour it into the remaining pans.
  • Bake the pans in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when poked in the center of the pan.
  • When they are baked, allow the cakes to cool in the pan for one hour.
  • When the cakes are cooled, level the top of them with a knife and cut each layer in half if desired. 
  • Wrap each layer in plastic wrap and place them in the freezer for 2-3 hours. 
  • While the cakes freeze you should make your frosting by creaming the butter in a mixing bowl.
  • Add in the powdered sugar and mix at low speed until it’s incorporated. 
  • Slowly pour in the heavy cream and vanilla or coffee creamer until you have a thick and creamy frosting.
  • Mix the frosting at high speed for 10 minutes until it’s fluffy.
  • Add in your desired color of gel food coloring and mix until combined.
  • When the cake is chilled, start layering each layer with buttercream in between.
  • Spread a thin layer of buttercream around the stacked cake and spread it evenly around. 
  • Using your circle cutters and a paring knife, cut out a large monster eye and mouth and press them onto the cake.
  • Fill a piping bag with the remaining frosting and fit it with a piping tip.
  • To pipe the fur, place the tip of the piping bag at the cake, squeeze, and while pulling away stop squeezing the bag.
  • Make sure the whole cake is covered in fur except the facial features and your monster cake is ready to go!
monster cake with green fur on a brown and white patterned plate

Tips Tricks and FAQs 

  • If you decide to use flavored coffee creamer, you’ll want to omit the vanilla extract from the frosting when you are making it. The coffee creamer has plenty of flavor in it already and you don’t want to overpower your frosting!
  • You can use 8-inch cake pans instead of 6-inch pans, but you will want to use 2 pans instead of 4 so that the batter is evenly distributed and can bake well. You can either split each layer in half to have 4 layers or you can keep each layer whole. 
  • Having circle cutters around is so handy, but if you don’t have any you can still cut out your fondant with cups you have in your kitchen. Just try to find some cups with comparably sized openings and use the opening to press into the fondant. 
  • Make sure that you are adding the food dye to the right batter. If you add black food coloring to a white cake it’ll only turn out grey. Similarly, the green will not turn out vibrant enough if it’s in anything but a white cake.

Storage

Store your cake in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. If you don’t have a cake stand with a lid this is the time to get one!

What should I do if my frosting is too loose?

If you find that your frosting is too thin, you can add more powdered sugar about ¼ cup at a time. 

It should be thick enough that it should hold its shape when you are piping the fur onto the cake. 

More Easy Halloween Recipes

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Monster Cake

monster cake with diy fondant decorations on a brown and white cake board

This Monster Cake is the cutest way to decorate a cake for this Halloween! This DIY monster cake recipe is so easy you won’t believe how great it turns out. 

Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Additional Time 2 hours
Total Time 3 hours

Ingredients

  • 1 box white cake mix
  • 3 eggs
  • ¼ cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 tsp clear vanilla
  • 2-3 drops Electric Green Gel Americolor
  • 1 box chocolate cake mix
  • 3 eggs
  • ¼ cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 tsp clear vanilla
  • 3-4 drops Black Gel Americolor
  • Halloween Sprinkle mix
  • 2 sticks unsalted butter
  • 1 lb powdered sugar
  • ¼ cup heavy cream or flavored coffee creamer
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 oz black fondant
  • 1 oz white fondant

Instructions

  1. To make your monster cake, you’ll start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees. 
  2. Spray your cake pans with nonstick cooking spray and set them aside.
  3. Next, you can make your cake batter. Make your green batter by adding the white cake mix, oil, water, and eggs to a mixing bowl.
  4. Beat the cake batter on medium speed until smooth.
  5. Add in the clear vanilla and beat for a minute to combine. 
  6. Drop in 2-3 drops of electric green food coloring and beat the batter again until incorporated. 
  7. Pour the batter into half of the pans and set them aside.
  8. Repeat the batter process with the black batter, using the chocolate cake mix and black food coloring, and pour it into the remaining pans.
  9. Bake the pans in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when poked in the center of the pan.
  10. When they are baked, allow the cakes to cool in the pan for one hour.
  11. When the cakes are cooled, level the top of them with a knife and cut each layer in half if desired. 
  12. Wrap each layer in plastic wrap and place them in the freezer for 2-3 hours. 
  13. While the cakes freeze you should make your frosting by creaming the butter in a mixing bowl.
  14. Add in the powdered sugar and mix at low speed until it’s incorporated. 
  15. Slowly pour in the heavy cream and vanilla or coffee creamer until you have a thick and creamy frosting.
  16. Mix the frosting at high speed for 10 minutes until it’s fluffy.
  17. Add in your desired color of gel food coloring and mix until combined.
  18. When the cake is chilled, start layering each layer with buttercream in between.
  19. Spread a thin layer of buttercream around the stacked cake and spread it evenly around. 
  20. Using your circle cutters and a paring knife, cut out a large monster eye and mouth and press them onto the cake.
  21. Fill a piping bag with the remaining frosting and fit it with a piping tip.
  22. To pipe the fur, place the tip of the piping bag at the cake, squeeze, and while pulling away stop squeezing the bag.
  23. Make sure the whole cake is covered in fur except the facial features and your monster cake is ready to go!

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