Recipe: Bleeding Cake

Hey nerds, we’re getting to my favorite time of year, Halloween, and I’m kicking it off with a bang with this gory bleeding cake.

I came up with the idea for this cake when I had a double feature with my friend Casie for our podcast, Movie Matchup. This was our “Better to be a Bridesmaid” double feature, where we watched Kill Bill and Ready or Not, and I thought it would be fun to make a wedding cake that would bleed when you cut into it. Like a pinata cake, but instead of being filled with candy, it’s filled with blood!

Bleeding Cake

Raspberry Coulis

• 12 oz. frozen raspberries

• scant 1/2 cup sugar

Lemon White Cake

• 3.5 cups cake flour

• 1 Tablespoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 5 egg whites

• 1.5 cups milk

• Juice of 1 lemon

• Zest of 3 lemons

• 1 3/4 cups sugar

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

• 1/4 cup softened butter

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Vanilla Buttercream

• 3 cups butter, at room temperature

• 12 cups sifted powdered sugar

• 2 tablespoons vanilla

• 4-5 tablespoons heavy cream

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Make the Raspberry Coulis (at least 1 day ahead)

Thaw frozen raspberries. Add raspberries to a mesh strainer set over a bowl, and use a spatula to push the raspberry pulp through the strainer. Once the raspberry mash has given up most of its juice and pulp, set the seeds aside and add sugar to the raspberry puree. Transfer puree to a small saucepan and heat over medium-high for about 5 minutes, until sauce has reduced and darkened in color.

Allow to cool, then pour the raspberry coulis into 2 plastic-wrap-lined receptacles smaller than 6 inches in diameter. Transfer to the freezer and freeze overnight.

Make the Cake

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line three 8” cake pans with parchment paper and spray with Baker’s Joy. In a small bowl, combine the cake flour, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, combine milk and lemon juice. Milk will appear to curdle - this is normal. In a large bowl, combine the lemon zest and sugar. Add the oil and butter to the sugar and use a hand mixer to combine. Add vanilla and mix well. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture, mix on low to combine, then add 1/3 of the milk mixture, mix, and continue alternating until all the flour and milk has been added to the batter.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks with a stand or hand mixer. Add egg whites to the batter and fold until there are no more streaks left. Evenly split the batter into the lined cake pans and bake for 25-28 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting onto a cooling rack

Make the Buttercream

Mix the room temperature butter with the powdered sugar and salt at low speed until it’s a frosting-like consistency. Add vanilla and cream 1 tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is achieved.

Assemble the Cake

Spread a thin layer of buttercream frosting on two of the cake layers and chill in the fridge for about 10 minutes, or until the frosting is no longer sticky to the touch. Remove one of the frozen raspberry coulis disks from the freezer and place it on the bottom layer of your cake. Use the buttercream to fill around the frozen coulis, creating a frosting dam to hold it in. Add the second cake layer, buttercream-side-down, and fill in any spaces between the layers with more buttercream. Add another thin layer of buttercream to the top of your second cake layer and the bottom of your third cake layer. After another chill in the fridge, repeat all these steps with your 2nd frozen raspberry disk. Frost & decorate the outside of the cake as desired, then transfer to the fridge for at least a few hours to be sure the raspberry coulis has thawed back into a liquid state.

Gather your guests around, and be ready for a bloody good time!