Your Halloween Table Is Not Complete Without This Brain Cake

Are you looking for a Halloween cake recipe that will make people hesitate before they taste it? If that is what you want, then there is nothing better than making a brain cake for your table. There are some good brain cake ideas which will enable you to create this spooky effect.

You can bake a red velvet cake inside or simply fill the layers with some raspberry jam so that when cut, it will look really messy. It may seem complicated to make a Halloween brain cake, but the basic brain structure is actually pretty easy to make.

You can also try making your cake creepier by using the raspberry fake blood cake concept. This creates a Halloween cake that is both scary on the outside, but still tastes just like any other cake.

Choose Your Cake Base

We know that the cake you select will determine the flavor, texture, and appearance of your memorable Halloween brain cake, so choose wisely!

• Red velvet provides you with bright red crumbs that will result in the spooky effect once you slice the cake. A red velvet brain cake will be the best option if you opt for classic Halloween colours.
• If you’d like something more delicate, vanilla raspberry could work for you. This cake is easier to carve and pairs well with raspberry jam. The jam could be used to represent fake blood as well as to hide any small marks on your cake.
• Chocolate will provide you with dark and rich crumbs. You should cover it with light-coloured fondant to create a contrast once the cake is sliced.

If you’re short on time, then stack the ready-made Madeira loaf blocks on top of each other and cut them into the shape of a dome; this will allow you to cut down on the time you spend baking and at the same time get the form that you need for your brain cake.

Building the Brain Shape

As soon as you have created your layers of sponge, your cake must now be shaped like a brain. To do this, stack two or three layers with a layer of buttercream between each of them, making sure that the layers are kept in the centre. Cut the top using a serrated knife so that it becomes a smooth dome. Apply a crumb coat and then place the cake in the fridge until the coating has hardened.

In order to give your cake its brain shapes, you may choose from any of these three methods. The Creepy Eye Cookie Cutter will also allow you to cut eye shapes out of fondant or cookie dough to add even more Halloween touches.                                                                   

• Fondant ropes: Take some pink or flesh-coloured fondant and roll it into long sausages. Then wind them across the dome in looping patterns, gently pressing them as you do so to get them to adhere to the cake.
• For piped buttercream: attach a piping bag to a round nozzle and draw continuous wavy lines across the cake in rows, making sure that the lines are close together so as to create the brain-like pattern.
• Silicone brain mould: With the Large Single Brain Mould you get the full brain shape when you press it once and therefore there is no need to roll individual fondant ropes or pipe each fold.

A cake turntable makes it very easy to crumb coat your cake; while using the scraper you can rotate the cake so that you have an even surface before adding the brain details.

The Fake Blood Finish

The brain cake is given its shape and decoration, after which the fake blood provides the complete brain cake Halloween look. The strawberry jam brain cake and the raspberry fake blood cake are based on the same simple idea.

Make the jam warm until it can be poured, then drizzle it on to the cake so that it flows into the grooves and collects in little pools. To achieve a more intense red colour, bring the raspberries and sugar to the boil and simmer them until the mixture has thickened to form a reduction. Spoon this over the cake and allow it to settle into the crevices. This produces the blood effect at the same time as concealing the small marks beneath the surface.

To obtain a more intense red colour, add a small amount of deep red paste food colouring to the jam or raspberry reduction; the Blood Red Spectral Paste Gel Food Colouring will give the mixture a bright red tint and at the same time maintain the texture appropriate for drizzling.

The Fondant Brain Cake

Fondant brain cake gives you a base to design your folds and brain shape. Roll your flesh-coloured or light pink fondant to uniform thickness and cover your domed cake by draping fondant on its surface. Smooth it out on top and on all sides, and make a central fold between two halves of the brain with the help of a ball tool.

This is an easy method of cake decoration that will help you achieve your brain-shaped design easily without using any sophisticated equipment.  The Ear Silicone Cake Decorating Mould may be used for adding some more spooky decorations to the fondant of your Halloween display.

Then, roll fondant ropes and apply them to both halves randomly in the form of irregular lines to give the brain its texture. Make your folds irregular rather than uniform as irregularity will give your halloween brain cake a natural look.

It is advisable not to use water-based colouring on fondant since this can cause the surface to become sticky and hard to work with. As the Pink Sugarpaste Fondant Icing has a pink shade that is close to flesh, you can use it immediately without having to mix in any colour.

Decorate the Table Around It

The cake can take centre stage, but some small details around it can make the entire brain cake Halloween setup seem like a single scene. There is no need to cover the whole table with decorations.

With the Zombie Snacks Cake Decorating Silicone Mould you can create fondant zombie hands, skulls and bones which you then place around the base of the cake; to add more colour and texture scatter a Halloween sprinkle mix over the cake board.

In order to decorate your cake quickly you apply Halloween Royal Icing Decorations like skulls and pumpkins on the board.  These small touches make the brain cake look complete, and don’t require much additional decorating effort.

Make Ahead Tips

It becomes much easier to decorate a brain cake if one breaks down the process of decorating it into several stages, instead of trying to do everything on the same day.

• You can bake the sponge layers up to two days in advance, wrap them well and store them at room temperature.
• Buttercream can be kept in the fridge for up to three weeks. It needs to be brought to the right consistency before use.
• Put together the cake and apply the crumb coat the night before, then cool it in the refrigerator all night.
• When you are ready to serve it, attach the fondant covering or pipe in the brain folds.
• Raspberry fake blood cake should be prepared close to serving time, as the fresh glaze will be shiny and will naturally flow into the folds of the cake.

A good cake smoothers and scrapers set will make it easier for you to smooth out the crumb coat, so your base for the next stage would be perfectly even.

Make the Brain Cake They Remember

The brain cake ties the entire Halloween table together through its twisted design, white folds, and blood red details; the red velvet centre with the jam dripping from it and the fondant which has the texture of a brain each contribute to the final appearance without making the cake hard to serve.

Select a sponge, form the dome, make the folds, and then add the fake blood just before serving. You can also add Halloween Edible Cupcake Sugar Decorations & Toppers for extra Halloween detail around your cake or on cupcakes. You end up with a Halloween brain cake which looks scary from the outside and provides everyone with a topic of conversation when you cut into it.