Ingredients:
- Cooking spray
- 1 box Devil's food cake mix (plus ingredients called for on box)
- 1 box vanilla cake mix (plus ingredients called for on box)
- Frosting
- 2 cups butter (softened)
- 7 cups powdered sugar (divided)
- ½ cup whole milk
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin spice
- Orange food coloring
- Ganache and Assembly
- 1½ cups semisweet chocolate chips
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- Ghost Peeps©
- Milano cookies
- Chocolate sandwich cookies (crushed)
- Candy corn
- Candy pumpkins
- Sprinkles
- Candy eyeballs
Directions
Preheat oven to 350° F and spray four 9 inch cake pans with cooking spray.
In two large bowls using a hand mixer, prepare both chocolate and vanilla cake batter.
Divide batter among prepared pans, two chocolate and two vanilla, and bake until a toothpick comes out clean, 30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
In another large bowl using a hand mixer, beat together butter and half of the powdered sugar until smooth.
Beat in the milk, vanilla, and the rest of the powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in food coloring until frosting is a bright, jack-o-lantern orange.
In a small saucepan over low heat, heat heavy cream just until it bubbles. Place chocolate chips in a medium, heatproof bowl and pour over hot heavy cream. Let sit 2 minutes, then whisk until smooth.
Level cake layers with a large serrated knife. Place a dab of frosting on a cake plate or serving platter and top with the first vanilla cake layer.
Top cake with 1 cup frosting and smooth into an even layer. Add the first chocolate cake on top of that, frost with another cup of frosting, then repeat with remaining vanilla and chocolate layers. Frost outside of cake with remaining frosting.
Drip ganache down the sides of the cake, then pour the rest on top of cake and smooth out with an offset spatula.
Create a graveyard scene by placing ghost Peeps© on skewers to stick out of cake, break Milanos in half and place on cake like graves, surrounded by sandwich cookie “dirt”, sprinkles, candy corn and pumpkins, and candy eyeballs.