Vanilla Bean Skull Cake for Halloween

Here’s the full dinner table for the party in all of its spooky glory. There are a number of decoration ideas and recipes. You might die (muhahah! pun shamelessly intended) with all the delicious gorgeousness.

Photography by Alpha Smoot
Floral styling by Sarah Winward
Props from Mary Lee
Cake by ME Hammond
Art directed by Brittany Jepsen

See the recipe and instructions below.

Vanilla bean skull cake

Materials:

• We used a skull mold from Wilton (you can find a similar option here)
• 3 3/4 c. all purpose flour
• 1 3/4 t. baking powder
• 1 t. salt
• 1/2 c. butter
• 1 3/4 c. sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 t. vanilla
• 2 vanilla beans
• 1 1/2 c. whole milk

For glaze:

• 3 1/2 c. powdered sugar
• 1/2 c. milk
• 1 t. vanilla

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Prepare the skull cake pan by thoroughly spraying the pan with non-stick spray and lightly flouring
3. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy
4. Slowly add eggs, vanilla extract, and vanilla beans
5. Combine dry ingredients in a small mixing bowl
6. Add dry ingredients and milk, alternating approximately 1/3 at a time beginning and ending with dry ingredients
7. Once the batter is mixed, place it in the prepared skull cake pan
8. Bake for about 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean
9. Allow cakes to cool for about 30 minutes until the cake is only slightly warm
10. Unmold the cakes from the skull pan
11. Allow cake to completely cool. Cut the tops of the cakes to be even and place the cakes back to back to create the 3D skull
12. Glaze cake and allow glaze to harden before serving
13. Voila! You have a scary skull cake!