This might be the first time you bust out a Ouija board at a party and every single person rushes toward it, fearlessly, with their pitchforks (okay, just regular forks) at the ready. There's something freaky about the thought of communicating with the spirit world via a Hasbro game, even if every time you've mustered the courage to play you quickly realized your friend's not-so-subtly prodding the planchette around the board.
But, when your Ouija board is made entirely out of cake—devil's food cake, naturally—the fear is soon replaced with "OMG, give me a slice now, and make it either the 'good,' 'bye' or 'Ouija' logo, please."
Getting this look really came down to three hacks.
Hack No. 1: Awaken the Dead (Cocoa Beans, That Is).
Because we're suckers for puns on puns on puns, it wasn't enough to make a sheet cake using devil's food cake. We had to boost the cocoa flavor to the point that it'd border on death-by-chocolate territory. You could substitute the water in the cake mix for coffee, which creates a richer, more dark chocolate-esque taste, or do what we did: Use boiling hot water instead of room temperature, adding it before any other ingredients in the cake mix. We let it sit for about 20 to 30 seconds to give the cocoa powder in the cake mix time to bloom, which helps awaken the chocolatey flavor in those pulverized cocoa beans. Then, we added a few hearty scoops of mini chocolate chips, because there's no such thing as too much sugar on All Hallows Eve.
Hack No. 2: Get That Frosting Melting, Melting, Melllllting.
Pourable frosting makes icing a sheet cake easier than ever. Seriously. You just pour it all over the cake and use a butter knife—or offset spatula—to smooth it out, creating the perfect even layer for your ouija board topper. It's just like making a basic buttercream, only runnier, but it will set in a smooth, slightly glossy sheet of frosting.
Hack No. 3: Give Thee A Break.
The Ouija board itself is a bit of a cop-out—or a total blessing to amateur cake decorators and non-DIY types everywhere. Sure, you could stencil and hand-pipe out a Ouija board out of frosting (if you do, more power to you!), but you can save a ton of time—and spare your vocal chords the inevitable curse-ridden screams halfway through said project—if you send an image to your local bakery and have them print it on a sheet of edible frosting or an edible wafer. Many bakeries offer this service for about $10 to $20.
We stuck ours in the freezer for about 3 to 4 minutes before we were ready to frost, just so it'd be firm and easy to peel away from the paper backing. The frosting sheet is pretty delicate, so we've found that gently peeling it off and draping it across a rolling pin is the easiest way to keep the sheet from wrinkling as you transfer it onto the cake. Use your hands to stick it on the frosting while it's still tacky, then lightly smooth out any bubbles or wrinkles. Boom. Done.
Don't Forget This Finishing Touch.
A sugar cookie planchette—that little arrow-shaped thingy used to guide players from letter to letter—isn't necessary, per se, but it's a fun touch. Plus, it's as easy as buying refrigerated sugar cookie dough, mixing in a 1/4 cup of flour, then rolling it out and cutting out triangles with a hole in the center and baking them at 350 degrees F for 10 to 12 minutes.
And just like that, you win Halloween. Bow down, witches.
Get the recipe here.
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