Graveyard Cake

This was a Graveyard cake that I assisted an 11 year-old with for her school's Halloween cake competition.

• 1 layer of cake
• Chocolate frosting
• Thin pretzels
• Candy molds (we used Wilton's tombstones, coffin and large skull)
• Candy melts (you can get these online, at Michael's Crafts or in cake shops)
• Chocolate cookies (ex. Oreos or chocolate wafers) 
• Fondant (optional)
• Strawberry jam (aka blood)

Bake 1 layer of cake larger enough to fit all of your chocolate pieces.  We used a 14 inch round cake pan.  Once the cake is cooled level the top, flip it upside down onto the cake board and frost with chocolate frosting.

Melt the candy melts in the microwave or in a ziplock back that you submerge in hot water.  When finished the chocolate should be smooth.  Paint any details into your molds and let harden before filling the rest in with chocolate.  Refrigerate molds until the chocolate is solid and releases from the mold easily.  

Crush cookies (we used a blender) and sprinkle them onto the cake to resemble dirt.  Arrange the chocolate pieces on top of the cake.  Stick pretzels around the edges of the cake create a spooky fence.  Add strawberry jam for a oozy blood effect.