If you are looking for a super easy Halloween cake, this is the one for you. I’ve made this cake twice over the years and one of the first tips I have to offer is: Make sure you make your edible objects a few days before (or purchase them) and give yourself enough time to put it together. I had to rush to make this cake before our Halloween Bash, and I can see ever flaw – but my guests loved it. I had to put this together in about an hour’s time. I seriously would have liked another half hour to perfect the cauldron walls, smoothing them out. But it worked.

What You’ll Need:

• 2 Cake Mixes (any flavor that works with chocolate)
• Items needed to follow cake directions
• One or two bundt-style cake pans (you’ll need 2 cakes baked for large cauldron)
• Chocolate Frosting  3-4 cans
• A Large Instant Pudding (any light-colored flavor that is choc. compatible and that can be turned green)
• Food Coloring: Green, Black
• Black Fondant (needed for cauldron opening edge/handles)
• Edible items to make it look awesome (see below)

The following are optional ideas to add to your cauldron:

• Pretzel Rods (added with wrapped red, yellow, and orange rollups or gummies for “fire”)
• Cookie hands, fingers, body parts, etc
• Chocolate molded skulls, fingers, etc
• Cotton Candy (This simulates the steam coming out of the cauldron)
• Candy Eye Balls – recipe here

Directions:

Make each cake according to the box directions. Coat your pans with baking spray and flour. If you only have one bundt-type pan, bake one cake, wait til it’s cool, pop it out, rewash pan (if you don’t, it might not release well), and respray and flour before adding the next batter. Bake at the temp. and length recommended on box.

While waiting for cakes to cool, make the instant pudding according to box. (The flavor I’ve used before was Cheesecake or Vanilla) add a few drops of green food coloring.

Once cakes are cool, place one upside down on a platter(flat side facing up). Spoon about HALF of pudding over flat side, making sure not to have it drip on outside edges. Place other cake – right side up – on top of it.

Take a knife and cut out the middle and top to make the cake look more like a cauldron.(Keep cake pieces cut out for filler and cake pops) If you have time to put the shaped cake into a freezer to chill for a few hours – do so. This will make it easier – but not impossible – to frost without crumbs getting everywhere.

Depending upon the depth of the middle you cut, add the extra cake pieces back into some of the middle – filling it back up.  (But remember later you’ll add green pudding in the top of the cake center, and maybe cotton candy too).

Put the cans of frosting into a bowl and add LOTS of black food coloring. Although the image looks brown, I can assure you, I used black fondant and a generous portion of black food coloring. Mix really good to incorporate all the color.

Frost the entire cauldron, as smooth as possible. In the past, I’ve used a heat and pour technique with canned frosting that makes a smooth surface- but of course, forgot this the last time I made it. But on a side note, you’ll have to move faster with the heat and pour method since some frostings harden quicker than others.

Once cake is completely frosted, roll out fondant – several inches long- into a thin snake-like shape. This will be the rim of your cauldron. Place it on top of the frosting rim. Make two shorter pieces the same – these will be your handles. The fondant should stick easily to frosting that has not hardened quickly from the heat and pour technique.

Now it’s time to add the rest of the pudding to the center, and maybe some cotton candy to look like steam. Add other edible body parts, animal parts, etc. that you’ve made ahead or purchased. Make sure some stick out instead of just laying on top. Let it overflow, if you like.

If you are adding the fire logs and are time limited – wrap pretzel rods with red, yellow, and orange fruit rollups. As you can see, I grabbed the wrong color roll ups and ended up with just red and white. I’ve snipped pieces in the past into “flame” pieces, but here desperate for time, just wrapped them around the sticks and said that will have to do. Once wrapped, stick them into the bottom of the cauldron in a criss-cross manner.

I’d love to see your version of a cauldron cake. So please send me your pics and I’ll add them to my site for all to see. Thanks!