Coffin cake

The cutest tiny coffin cake to serve at a Halloween party. This delicious red velvet cake is soft, light and fluffy. It's filled with a tangy jam-like strawberry filling. Covered in chocolate ganache and buttercream frosting. These flavours come alive to create a thrilling experience for your palette. The concept of this cake is not to scare but to invite your guests for a bite. The tiny skeleton man lays on his death bed, dancing in joy! Try today, so you won't regret tomorrow.

Serves: 4

Ingredients

Cake

1 ½ cup Flour

1 ½ tsp baking Powder

¼ tsp baking Soda

2 tbsp Cocoa powder

150g unsalted Butter

1 cup Granulated sugar

1 tbsp Vanilla extract

1 tsp White vinegar

¼ cup Half n Half

4 Eggs

4 drops Red food colouring

Strawberry Filling

250g chopped Strawberries

⅓ cup Granulated sugar

¼ cup Water

2 tbsp Lemon juice

Chocolate Ganache

1 cup Milk Choco-chips

1 cup Heavy cream

Buttercream Frosting

150g unsalted Butter

4 tbsp Heavy cream

2 ½ cup Icing sugar

4 drops Red food colouring

Sugar Candy Eyes

Method

Step 1-Cake base

Preheat the oven to 180℃. Grease a 9x5 loaf tin with butter and line it with parchment paper. Add butter to a mixing bowl and with a hand beater on medium cream the butter till it doubles in size.

Step 2

Then add sugar and beat together till pale and fluffy. Scrape the bowl from time to time. Add vanilla extract and vinegar and beat in the batter. Then sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder in a separate bowl.

Step 3

Add ⅓ of the dry ingredients to the cake batter alternating with ⅓ of half n half. Repeat till all the ingredients are just combined. Add red food colouring and beat on medium till the colour spreads uniformly.

Step 4

Add the cake batter to the tin, spread it evenly and bang the tin against the slab a couple of times. Then place the cake in the oven and bake for 45-50 minutes or till the cake edges are slightly brown.

Step 5

Then take the cake out of the oven and let it rest in the tin for 20 minutes. Then transfer the cake to a cooling rack. Once the cake cools down to room temperature, cling wrap the cake and place it in the refrigerator for 2 hours or overnight.

Step 6- Strawberry Filling

Add strawberries, sugar, water and lemon juice to a saucepan. Place the saucepan on medium-low heat and cook till the strawberries turn soft. Then with a rubber spatula, stir occasionally till the strawberries dissolve and turn into a jam-like consistency. Then take off the heat and transfer to a bowl.

Step 7- Chocolate Ganache

Add heavy cream to a saucepan and place on medium-low heat; bring to a light simmer. Add choco-chip to heatproof bowl. Then add the heavy cream to the bowl. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes. Then start whisking, mixing the chocolate and heavy cream. Whisk for 5-7 minutes in the same direction or till entirely smooth. Then let the ganache cool down for 30-40 minutes. Whisking occasionally.

Step 8- Buttercream Frosting

Add butter to a mixing bowl, then with a hand beater on medium cream the butter till it doubles in size. Then add in heavy cream and beat till just combined. Then add ⅓ cup of sugar and beat it in, scraping the bowl down occasionally. Then divide the buttercream into two parts. Add red food colouring to one and mix well.

Step 9- Craving

Take the cake out of the refrigerator. With a sharp knife, level the cake from the top and cut the cake horizontally, obtaining two equal layers. Draw a shape of a coffin on a parchment. Place the cut-out on the cake and cut the cake into the body of the coffin.

Step 10- Assembly

On a cake board/plate, add a little frosting in the middle, then add the first layer of the cake. Make a dam with the buttercream frosting and add in the strawberry filling. Place the second layer on top and cover the whole cake with a thin layer of buttercream and even it out. Place in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.

Step 11

Once the crumb coat is stable, cover the cake in chocolate ganache and, with a scraper, even out the layers. Place the again in the refrigerator and let the ganache solidify. Once the ganache is stable, frost the cake with pink buttercream, leaving a little space on the top of the coffin. Make a cloud-like head in the left room with white buttercream and add two sugar candy eyes. Make a tiny skeleton with bone sugar candy under the head.

Step 12

Add bat, pumpkin sugar candies to the cake and place in the refrigerator for a minimum of two hours or overnight. Take out the cake an hour before serving.

Tips

1. Creaming butter and sugar till fluffy and pale ensures a moist cake.

2. While beating egg whites, make sure not to overbeat them. Keep checking for sturdy soft peaks.

3. Don’t use dutch processed cocoa powder.

4. When levelling the cakes, use a sharp knife.

5. Keep a close eye on the strawberries once they turn soft; occasionally, stir to prevent burning.

6. If you accidentally boil your heavy cream, let it cool before adding it to the choco chips.

7. When making the frosting, keep checking for stability to avoid overbeating.

8. When assembling the cake, make sure to keep refrigerating the cake after each step to avoid runny frosting.

9. Rest the cake overnight before serving for the best results.