This is a rich red velvet cake, smothered in a sweet white chocolate layer, stabbed with a knife, littered with severed fingers and oozing with bloody scratches and drips. It’s easy to make and uses simple ingredients that you can find in your kitchen.

If your a beginner, like me, you know how hard it can be to make a cake from scratch, much less a Halloween one! I found the best recipes and tried them all out and came up with this.

Step 1: Ingredients

The Cake
-Any red velvet cake mix and the added ingredients
-Two 8 inch or 9 inch circular cake pans
-Non-stick spray

Pourable Fondant Frosting
-1 cup white confectionery coating or white chocolate chips
-4 cups confectioners' sugar or glazing sugar
-1/4 cup light corn syrup
-1/4 cup hot water
-1 teaspoon almond extract

Fingers And Knife
-Black fondant
-White fondant
-Silver fondant (or blue)

Edible Blood
-Corn syrup
-Red gel food coloring
-Blue gel food coloring
-Cornstarch

Step 2: Making the Cake

1) Follow all instructions on the box to make two 8 inch or 9 inch red velvet cakes. I used Betty Crocker’s brand. 2) If you don’t have nonstick spray, use Crisco and sifted flour on the pans to make the cake not stick.
3) Let the cakes cool for 10 minutes
4) Place the cakes on top of each other and use the crumbs to fill in the gap between the cakes.
5) Set aside for later.

Step 3: The Fingers and the Knife

This is the fun part. You will need to knead the fondant before shaping or coloring it so that it’s more moldable.
1) Add 4 parts yellow and 1 part red gel food coloring to a piece of white fondant, (you don’t need a lot) and fold it in until the color is evenly spread. Then, shape the pieces into 6 little fingers.
2) Use the back of a knife to make the lines of the knuckles on the fingers and any small circular object to press into fingers. I used the back of a dropper. A pencils eraser works well too.
3) Now, for the knife. Take a hunk of black fondant and shape it into the handle of the knife. If the fondant becomes sticky, use cornstarch on your hands.
4) Press the same tool you used for the fingers into the knife 3 times, about a millimeter in. These will be where the little silver circles will go.
5) Now to make the silver. It’s hard to find silver fondant, so if you couldn’t find it, here’s how to make it:
1) Mix 3 parts white with one part black
2) Grab a hunk of white and mix blue gel food coloring until a very light blue
3) Mix the two together. If your mixture is too purple, keep adding light blue pieces
4 ) The color will still be slightly purple, but once it dries, it will ease into a silver color.
6) Take 3 tiny pieces of the silver fondant and roll them into spheres, then press them flat
7) Push them into the three holes you made in the knife handle, like a real knife
8) Shape the rest of the silver fondant into the blade. You will only need 1/4 of the actual blade because we will be sticking it into the cake, so nobody will notice if it’s only 2 inches long.
9) Attach the two together. This may be hard, but using water or shortening can help them stick together

Step 4: The Pourable Fondant Frosting

This will be the hardest part. Be ready to use your muscles for this one, it can get a bit stiff.
1) In a saucepan set over very low heat, melt the white coating or chocolate, stirring until smooth.
2) Sift the confectioners' or glazing sugar into a large bowl, and add the corn syrup and hot water, stirring until smooth. It will be a bit hard to stir, but don’t get upset.
3) If it’s so stiff, it’s too hard to work with, add warm water, a little at a time, until it’s easier.
4) Add the melted coating to the sugar mixture, then add the coconut. If the mixture is too thick to pour, reheat it briefly over low heat, and stir in 1 to 3 tablespoons additional hot water.
5) When the mixture is ready, it should be smooth and pour over your spoon.

Step 5: Putting the Frosting on the Cake

1) Pour the frosting directly onto the cake, and use a spatula or spoon to smooth it over the edges. It will fold at the bottom, which is ok.
2) Let sit for 1 hour, and then put in the fridge for 10 minutes.

Step 6: Making the Edible Blood

1) Mix in red food gel to a little bit of corn syrup until it’s a vibrant red color.
2) Add a tiny amount of blue, to darken. Don’t add too much, or it will turn a purple color.
3) If your blood looks a bit pink, add more red until it’s a deep blood color.

Step 7: Putting It All Together!

1) Take your cake out of the fridge, and get out a sharp knife. It’s time to cut out the scratches.
2) Cut the scratches for they are going over the side of the cake, and cut deep enough to see the red cake beneath.
3) Apply the blood dripping out of the scratches.
4) Dip the fingers into the blood and lay them on the cake
5) Slide the knife into the cake. If it won’t stay upright, use toothpicks to stab into the fondant and then into the cake. You can also do this if the handle keeps falling off the blade.
6) Add more blood, dripping from the sides and near the blade of the knife
7) Cut and enjoy! The rich flavor of the cake with the sweet, almond flavor of the icing and the delicious blood is great with a scoop of ice cream, and it’s perfect for a Halloween party! Enjoy.