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Pretty Halloween Sheet Cake

Pretty Halloween Sheet Cake recipe made from scratch with classic vanilla cake and buttercream frosting! Easy instructions for piping a pretty cake with Halloween colors.
Prep Time2 hours
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time2 hours 30 minutes
Course: Cake, Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Halloween Sheet Cake
Servings: 16

Equipment

  • 6 Frosting Bags
  • Ateco Tip #869 (dark purple)
  • Ateco Tip #861 (dark purple)
  • Ateco Tip #863 (light purple)
  • Ateco Tip #849 (dark orange)
  • Ateco Tip #860 (white)
  • Ateco Tip #862 (light orange)
  • Rubber Spatulas (I used 5, one for each frosting color)

Ingredients

For Cake:

  • 3 Cups All Purpose Flour
  • 1 ⅓ Cups Granulated Sugar
  • ¾ Cup Milk
  • Cup Oil
  • 2 Sticks Butter room temp (1 Cup)
  • 4 Eggs
  • 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
  • 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
  • 2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
  • 2 Teaspoons Salt

For Frosting:

  • 5 Cups Powdered Sugar
  • 6 Stick Unsalted Butter room temp (3 Cups)
  • 3 Tablespoons Vanilla Extract
  • 2 Teaspoons Salt
  • 1 Teaspoon + ¼ Teaspoon Orange Gel Food Coloring
  • 1 Teaspoon + ¼ Teaspoon Purple Gel Food Coloring
  • ½ Teaspoon White Gel Food Dye

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray the 9x13 cake pan with nonstick spray.

Make the Cake Batter

  • Cream together the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl.
  • Add the vanilla, eggs, oil, lemon juice, and milk to the bowl with the butter mixture. Use a hand mixer and beat on medium speed until fully combined.
  • In a separate mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking powder. Mix well.
  • Combine the butter and flour mixture and beat on medium until no lumps remain and all ingredients are fully combined.

Bake the Cake

  • Pour into the prepared cake pan, spread evenly, and bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick placed in the center comes out clean.
  • Remove from the oven and let fully cool. This can take about an hour.
  • While the cake is cooling, place half the butter for the frosting in a large mixing bowl and use the hand mixture to beat it until smooth.

Make the Buttercream Frosting

  • Add the rest of the butter, vanilla, and salt. Mix again until smooth and combined.
  • One cup at a time, add the powdered sugar to the butter mixture and beat until fully incorporated.
  • Once finished, place the frosting in the fridge while your cake cools.

Color the Frosting

  • Once the cake is ready, separate the frosting into four equal parts, each in their own bowl.
  • Place 5 equal portions of the frosting in 5 different bowls. Place 1 teaspoon of the orange dye in one bowl and ¼ teaspoon of the orange dye in a second bowl. Do the same exact thing with the purple dye. Place the white dye in the last bowl. Mix until no streaks of white or color appear.

Pipe the Frosting onto Cake

  • Place all of the dark orange frosting in a frosting bag with tip #849 and make around 6-7 medium rosettes randomly across the surface of the cake. I do this by starting from the outside and working my way in with a circular motion.
  • Place half of the dark purple in a frosting bag with tip #869, however, don’t do rosettes like the purple, do dollops. Do this in around 6-7 spots randomly across the cake. Make the dollops by holding the tip straight up and down, squeezing the frosting into a small pile, lightly pressing down, and then squeezing out more frosting into a small pile on top of the first, ending with a light press down and release of the pressure on the frosting.
  • Place the light orange frosting in a frosting bag with tip #862 and place small dollops randomly across the cake. A lot of them. Have fun with it. Do this by releasing a bit of frosting and ending with a light press down and release of pressure (stop squeezing the frosting out).
  • Repeat the same exact process as the light orange, with the white frosting, except use its own frosting bag and tip #860. Do even more of the white than the light orange.
  • Revisit the dark orange and start doing dollops with the same tip instead of rosettes.  Do this all over, where you see fit. This will make stars.
  • Add the light purple frosting to a frosting bag and use tip #863 and fill in small holes with small dollops all over.
  • Add the rest of the dark purple frosting to a frosting bag and use tip #861 and fill in smaller holes with tiny dollops. Slice, serve, and enjoy!