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Home » Videos » Cake Video tutorials

Black Cat Cake Video Tutorial – with Pumpkin and Chocolate Cake recipes

Published: October 29, 2018 | Updated: August 26, 2019 | By Ashlee

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This black buttercream Cat Cake is super simple to make.  With layers of pumpkin and chocolate cake inside it’s perfect for the fall and Halloween.  With a full video tutorial including recipes and instructions on how to get black frosting!

black cat cake video tutorial - black buttercream

How I created this black cat cake.

honestly I was looking to do a twist on the popular unicorn cakes for various holidays.  I’d been trying to think of something that hadn’t already been overly done when my daughter asked if we could make a special treat together for National Cat day.  Yes it’s a thing… Anyway we have 3 cats, 2 are pure black and my daughter LOVES them.  So basing a cake off your pet isn’t too weird is it? So the two ideas came together beautifully.  And because it’s fall we decided to fill the cake with alternating pumpkin and chocolate layers.  But of course you could do just chocolate, or any other flavor as well.

After leveling the cake layers I sliced them in two to get even thinner layers so that the slice of cake would have fun thin lines.  BUT for stability, esp with tall narrow cakes, I’d probably leave them full thickness next time.  My daughter loves fondant and wanted to cover the whole cake in black fondant but I wanted to share how I achieve black frosting instead.  It’s easier than you think BUT it’s a huge mess! Even now I’m still finding blobs of black frosting everywhere!

Just take me to the Recipes and video already!

If you’d rather skip my written tips and tricks for making this cake and links to other great cake recipes and tutorials and get straight to this delicious recipe – simply scroll to the bottom of the page where you can find the printable recipe card with the full video tutorial.

black cat cake video tutorial

How to make Black Frosting

  • Make the frosting the day before to achieve the best black frosting ever – food dye strengthens over time so anytime you want to achieve like black, navy bright red make it the day before – BUT keep it out of the light – keep it someplace dark – cause light will cause the reds in dyes to fade.
  • Use black gel dye or even better black POWDER dye (or a mixture of both) – both of these are much stronger than liquid dyes and you’ll be able to achieve a much better black.
  • Make a dark chocolate frosting as a base before starting to add the black.  You can get black frosting from a vanilla cake, BUT it will be much harder, more expensive and have a weird after taste with that much dye.
  • STAY CLEAN – I recommend constantly cleaning while you work on cakes (to keep crumbs out of frosting) but ESPECIALLY anytime your using dyes it’s amazing how much it spreads so you’ll def want to stay on top of keeping it under control (I’m still finding black smears as I clean my kitchen to day)
  • Don’t be afraid to add a touch of red – I feel the black tends to have a kind of greenish hue at the beginning.

Black Buttercream Cat Cake Video Tutorial

If you enjoyed this black cat cake tutorial as much as we enjoyed making it we’d love to receive 5 star review and be sure to share on Facebook and Pinterest! If you want to stay updated on new recipes sign up for my newsletter and join my Facebook Group! 

black cat cake tutorial - how to make black buttercream video

Tips for baking face cakes – like this cat or unicorn cakes

  • Make it TALL… the end result of these face cakes looks so much better when the cake is tall vs short and squatty.
  • Use smaller pans – if you start with 8 inch cakes you’ll want it to be about 10 inches tall to get that tall look THAT is a lot of cake.  That’s why I use 7 inch layers, I’m only trying to get about 8-9 inches tall and it’s amazing how just a few inches taken off all the sides uses much less batter! Personally I think 6 inches is a little TOO small, and can get a little unstable that narrow but I’ve made it work before.
  • Prepare your baking pans with non stick spray (I like bakers joy) and parchment circles underneath and use
  • make the ears and other decorations that you want to hold their shape (like a horn or if your making the whiskers out of fondant) early and lay on something that will hold their shape (like a rolling pin for the ears) – the day before is best, but even just a few hours will help.
  • For fondant decorations that will sit against the cake – the eyes in this case –  you have 2 options – make it at the end when you can put the fresh shape right onto the cake so they wrap around the form or make them early and let them dry.  IF you make them early don’t let them dry flat – they wont look right when you go to add them to the cake.  Instead let them dry around the outside of the cooled cake pan.
  • use a bench scraper to smooth the buttercream OR use fondant – you want a smooth surface with nice corners the face.
  • here is the  cat eyes, ears and nose pdf I created if you want to use them!

how to make black buttercream

If you love Cake you’ll love these other decadent recipes and tutorials too!

triple peanut butter overload cake
ultimate rich chocolate cake
cinnamon chocolate chip frosting brown sugar frosting

Ultimate Peanut Butter Cake | Rich Dense Chocolate cake with Ganache Buttercream | Cinnamon chocolate chip cake

lego head cake tutorial
fondant santa head cake

Mickey Mouse Jack O Lantern Cake | Lego Head Cake | Santa Head Cake

To watch me make this cake with my daughter play the video in the recipe card

black cat cake tutorial - video black buttercream

Pumpkin and Chocolate Black Buttercream Cat Cake

An easy to make simple and fun cat cake! With Pumpkin and Chocolate layers and covered in a chocolate buttercream with fondant details its a perfect treat for halloween or for any cat lovers. This batter makes two 7 inch layers of each flavor 
4 from 11 votes
Print Pin Rate
Prep Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
frosting rest/darkening time: 8 hours
Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Servings: 16 servings
Calories: 989kcal
Author: Ashlee Marie
Prevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

Pumpkin cake

  • 1 1/2 C granulated sugar
  • 1 7/8 C all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/8 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 2 lrg eggs
  • 8 oz pumpkin puree
  • 1/2 C Mayonnaise
  • 1/2 C water

Perfect Chocolate Cake

  • 4 oz unsweetened chocolate
  • 2 C granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 C all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 C HOT water
  • 5 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/2 C sour cream OR greek yogurt
  • 1/2 C oil
  • 2 lrg eggs slightly beaten

Chocolate Ganache buttercream

  • 20 oz chocolate chopped
  • 1 C heavy whipping cream
  • 2 tbsp light corn syrup
  • 2 C butter slightly softened
  • 3-4 C powdered sugar
  • Black gel food dye
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Pumpkin Cake

  • Preheat oven to 350
  • Prepare 2 seven inch round cake pans, I use parchment paper circles on the bottom and a non stick spray on the sides
  • Mix the dry ingredients together
  • mix the wet ingredients together
  • pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until smooth and combined
  • pour into two 7 inch round pans
  • bake 35-40 mins, until tester comes out clean
  • Let Cool

Perfect Chocolate Cake

  • Preheat the oven to 350
  • Prepare 2 seven inch round cake pans, I use parchment paper circles on the bottom and a non stick spray on the sides
  • Melt the baking chocolate in double broiler (or in a bowl over a simmering pot of water) then let it cool.
  • In a large bowl, or bowl of a mixer add the sugar, flour, soda and salt and whisk together.
  • In a separate bowl (or a large glass measuring cup) mix the hot water and cocoa
  • Then add the sour cream and oil and whisk.
  • Add the wet mixture in a stream to the dry ingredients and mix until blended.
  • Add the lightly beaten eggs slowly while beating on low.
  • Add the cooled melted chocolate and mix until uniform in color.
  • Bake at 350 35-40 mins

Chocolate Ganache Buttercream

  • Place the chocolate into a large bowl
  • in a saucepan heat the cream - until just about to simmer
  • Pour it over the chocolate and let it sit for 5 mins - then stir
  • Let the ganache cool to room temp
  • Beat butter and add 2 C powdered sugar
  • beat in the corn syrup
  • add more if needed to achieve a thick buttercream
  • pour the ganache into the buttercream and beat.
  • Add the black dye until you get a dark brown
  • Let the frosting chill In the fridge overnight to achieve a better black
  • Bring the frosting out about 30-45 mins before using – beat smooth and frost cakes

Video

Notes

here is the cat eyes, ears and nose pdf

Nutrition

Calories: 989kcal | Carbohydrates: 111g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 59g | Saturated Fat: 30g | Cholesterol: 127mg | Sodium: 564mg | Potassium: 411mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 81g | Vitamin A: 3215IU | Vitamin C: 0.7mg | Calcium: 87mg | Iron: 5.2mg
Did you make this recipe?Mention @ashleemariecakes or tag #makesomeawesome and I'll share your image in my Instagram stories!

black buttercream cat cake video tutorial

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About Ashlee

With the right tips and tricks, I believe YOU can make, bake, or create anything. This is what I love to do - make some awesome, teach you how, and give you that boost of culinary confidence you need to rock your own kitchen! Read more...

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    Recipe Rating




  1. Anthony Allen

    November 20, 2018 at 6:28 pm

    5 stars
    This recipe was relatively easy and caused rave reviews when served at my pumpkin carving party; it is rich and chocolatey with just the right amount of pumpkin pie flavor for the holiday. My son even requested it for his birthday cake!!…Thanks for your sharing and wait a new your post!

    Reply
    • Ashlee Marie

      January 4, 2020 at 3:06 am

      I am so glad you enjoyed the cake as much as my family did!

  2. Kori

    April 6, 2019 at 5:59 am

    What did you use for the whiskers?

    Reply
    • Ashlee Marie

      January 4, 2020 at 3:05 am

      black pasta!

  3. Scarlet

    April 22, 2019 at 7:59 pm

    How cute! I am pinning this to make for my daughter’s next birthday party!

    Reply
    • Ashlee Marie

      January 4, 2020 at 3:05 am

      I hope your daughter enjoys it as much as mine did!

  4. Rose Martine

    January 8, 2020 at 9:09 pm

    Wow! That looks super delicious! Great recipe! My hubby is a huge sucker for shrimp dishes!

    Reply
  5. Rose Martine

    January 8, 2020 at 9:09 pm

    Looks beautiful and delicious! I do some prep ahead meals but not that many. I think this is very worthwhile and nice to know you always have a meal on hand!
    Regards
    rose martine

    Reply

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