October 7, 2019

Halloween hidden bat loaf cake

Vanilla loaf cake topped with frosting and bat sprinkles.

A vanilla loaf cake topped with homemade vanilla frosting and fun sprinkles is filled with a hidden surprise -- chocolate cake bats! A super fun treat for Halloween!

This post and recipe were created for #HalloweenTreatsWeek! I was sent samples by some of the sponsor companies to help in recipe development, but as always all opinions are 100% my own.

I'm so excited to be participating in #HalloweenTreatsWeek for the first time! Halloween is one of my favorite holidays and my favorite time of the year. I was so glad to step out of my comfort zone this week to bring you some fun, festive, spooky, and delicious creations to help you celebrate the Halloween season!

First up is this Halloween Hidden Bat Loaf Cake. This cake is fun to make albeit a bit time-consuming. There are several steps, but all of them are relatively simple. First you bake a chocolate cake and let it cool. Then you cut out bats using a bat cookie cutter.
 
Then you make a vanilla cake batter. You pour some into the loaf pan. Then comes the hardest part - keeping the bats standing up and trying not to break their delicate wings as you put the vanilla cake batter around them. It's tricky, but take your time and hopefully all of the bats, or at least most, will stay in tact.

It's a little messy, and probably won't be absolutely perfect, but it's still a fun process and worth it for the fun hidden bats your guests will find inside their slices of cake. This cake is sure to impress your family and friends and to bring a smile to the faces of those who get to eat it!

For this cake I used Dixie Crystals granulated sugar, Adams Extract Vanilla Extract, Wilton's bat cookie cutter (and their cute bat gummies), and Sweets & Treats bat and orange sprinkles. All of these items helped to create this adorable cake!

Loaf cake sliced open to reveal a chocolate cake bat inside.

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Yield: 10 servings

Halloween Hidden Bat Loaf Cake

A vanilla loaf cake topped with homemade vanilla frosting and fun sprinkles is filled with a hidden surprise -- chocolate cake bats! A super fun treat for Halloween!

ingredients:

For the chocolate bat cake
  • 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing
  • 1/4 cup, plus 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup milk
For the white cake
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 cup milk
For the frosting
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 2 cups powdered (icing) sugar
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons half and half (or milk)
  • sprinkles, for decorating

instructions:

How to cook Halloween Hidden Bat Loaf Cake

For the chocolate bat cake
  1. Lightly grease and 8"x8" baking pan and line the bottom and overhang two sides with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt.
  3. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, vanilla, and milk.
  4. Slowly mix in the dry ingredients until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
  5. Spread the mixture evenly into the baking dish. Bake for 14-16 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Place on a cooling rack for about 10 minutes.
  6. Pick up the cake by the parchment overhangs and transfer (still on the parchment) to a baking sheet. Place in the freezer for 15 minutes (while chilling, make the white cake batter).
  7. Use your bat cookie cutter to cut as many bats as possible from the cake.
For the white cake
  1. Lightly grease and 8"x4" loaf pan and line the bottom with parchment.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
  3. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, vanilla, and milk.
  4. Slowly mix in the dry ingredients until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
  5. Spread enough batter into the loaf pan to just cover the bottom of the pan by about 1/2". Then line up all of your bats, placing them as close together as possible, in a row down the center of the pan, sticking into the white cake batter on the bottom. Slowly, and carefully, spoon the remaining white cake batter around and on top of the bats.
  6. Bake for about 45 minutes, until the top and sides are golden and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
  7. Let cook on a baking rack for about 15 minutes. Then remove the cake from the pan and let it cool fully.
For the frosting
  1. Beat the butter until lightened. Beat in the powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time. Beat in the vanilla and then beat in the half and half.
  2. Spread the frosting on the cooled cake and decorate with sprinkles.
Created using The Recipes Generator

I hope you give this Halloween hidden bat cake a try! Let me know in the comments below. 
 
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Inside of the Halloween hidden bat loaf cake.

Check out the amazing #HalloweenTreatsWeek recipes from our bloggers today!

14 comments:

  1. This is so darn cute and delicious! I need to get a set of Halloween cookie cutters...so fun!

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  2. You did an awesome job with the bats inside! I have the worst time with these types of cake but yours looks amazing!

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  3. I have always wanted to attempt these hidden cakes. You're directions are clear and easy to follow. I can't wait to start baking!

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  4. I can't wait to make these! This just looks awesome!

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  5. What a fun cake! I love the surprise inside cakes. They always look amazing.

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  6. This cake is fantastic and sooooo creative!

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  7. I am so impressed that you were able to get such a perfect bat! Way to go!

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  8. THAT's how it's done!! I've been so looking forward to your post! Adorable.

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  9. I've always loved dressing up im different cartoon characters.

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  10. I love this cake! The bat is just too cute!

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  11. I just love that hidden bat! This is so clever and so much fun!

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  12. That is one AWESOME looking loaf cake. Hats off to you! I wouldn't be able to pull it off. LOL

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