The combination of vanilla white-on white is classic (and a favorite of mine!), but you could change up the sponge flavor with your favorite extracts or simple syrups. I made a video that shows the technique so be sure to check that out at the end of this post.

I made some rusty chocolate bolts using a technique from the sculpture section of the Sprinkle Bakes book! For those practiced artsy types, the technique is akin to sand casting except here we use brown sugar. I decided to keep the outside of the cake mostly colorless, which kind of reminds me of a black and white movie and also makes the green interior more of a surprise. I suggest doweling the cake right through the top center so the layers won’t shift with movement. With the buttercream filling between each layer, this cake ends up a towering confection. The three cake layers get torted so you’ll end up with six slim cakes. These have remained intact after years of my abuse! I am extremely hard on cake pans and almost all of my other pans have dings, dents and scratches. Speaking of cake pans – I simply adore and recommend Parrish’s Magic Line cake pans. I baked the cakes in three 6-inch round cake pans. I found that a mix of Wilton’s Moss Green gel and a bit of Chefmaster Neon Green gave me a hue that felt just right for Frankie.

It takes on gel food color well which was important for the vibrant green interior. The cake layers were made from my favorite white vanilla layer cake. I’m happy to add this green monster cake to the roster and perhaps someday a proper Nosferatu! You may remember my Portrait of Poe red velvet cake from years ago, or last year’s Scary-Good Skeleton Cake for the Etsy Journal. I love black silhouette technique on white-frosted cakes. Lately I’ve been drawn to monsters from classic literature, so a Frankenstein’s Monster cake seemed like a good place to start! We are on the cusp of October, so I figure it’s okay to start rolling out all the spooky, haunted, pumpkin-spiced, orange and black treats in any order or combination thereof.

Magic line butter vanilla