Description
This Brain Cake is a spooky and delicious red velvet cake shaped and decorated to resemble a realistic brain. Featuring moist red velvet layers, creamy tangy cream cheese buttercream frosting tinted pink, and a luscious edible fake blood made from raspberry jam for a dramatic finish, this cake is perfect for Halloween, themed parties, or anyone who loves fun and creative desserts. The recipe includes detailed instructions for baking, shaping, frosting, and decorating the cake to achieve the brain-like appearance.
Ingredients
Scale
Red Velvet Cake
- 2 1/2 cups cake flour (300g)
- 2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted (10g)
- 1 tsp baking soda (6g)
- 1/2 tsp fine salt (3g)
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature (113g)
- 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar (350g)
- 2 large eggs, room temperature (112g)
- 1 1/4 cups buttermilk, room temperature (300g)
- 1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil (120g)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste (8g)
- 1 tsp white vinegar (4g)
- 1 tsp red gel food coloring or 1 Tbsp liquid food coloring
Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting
- 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature (339g)
- 1 cup (8 oz) full-fat cream cheese, room temperature (226g)
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste (12g)
- 1 tsp fine salt (6g)
- 7 cups powdered sugar (904g) or a 2 lb. bag
- 3 Tbsp heavy whipping cream, room temperature (45g)
- small squirt of red gel food coloring or 1 tsp liquid food coloring
Edible Fake Blood
- 1/2 cup seedless raspberry or strawberry jam
- 3 Tbsp water (45g)
- 1/4 tsp red gel food coloring or 1 tsp liquid food coloring (optional)
Instructions
- Prepare the cake pans: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease three 8-inch or three 7-inch cake pans with non-stick baking spray and line the bottoms with parchment paper to prevent sticking.
- Sift dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, sift together the cake flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside for later incorporation.
- Cream butter and sugar: Using a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment or a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed for 1–2 minutes until the mixture becomes lighter in color and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl as needed.
- Add eggs: Mix in the eggs, one at a time, on medium speed until fully combined.
- Add wet ingredients and food coloring: On low speed, add the buttermilk, oil, vanilla extract, white vinegar, and red food coloring. The batter may look separated or broken; this is normal at this stage.
- Combine dry and wet mixtures: Gradually add the sifted dry ingredients in two portions to the wet ingredients, mixing on low speed just until combined. Avoid overmixing to keep the cake tender.
- Divide and bake: Evenly divide the batter between the prepared cake pans (approximately 415g per pan). Bake for 24–28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs.
- Cool cake layers: Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then run an offset spatula around the edges and invert onto wire racks to cool completely. The layers bake flat so leveling is optional.
- Shape the brain: Stack the cooled layers and cut about 1 inch off two sides to create an oval brain shape. Round the top edges with a sharp knife. If the cakes crumble or tear, chill them in the freezer for 20 minutes before cutting.
- Make the cream cheese buttercream: Beat the butter and cream cheese on medium speed for 30 seconds until smooth. Add in vanilla and salt, mixing on low to combine.
- Add powdered sugar and cream: Slowly add powdered sugar and heavy cream on low speed. Adjust consistency with extra cream or powdered sugar as needed. Add a small amount of red food coloring to tint the frosting light pink. Cover with plastic wrap to prevent crusting.
- Prepare edible fake blood: Whisk together seedless raspberry or strawberry jam, water, and optional red food coloring until smooth and thin. Cover and set aside.
- Assemble and frost the cake: Place the bottom cake layer on a greaseproof cake board using a dab of frosting to secure it. Spread an even layer of frosting between each layer and stack. Trim the whole cake to perfect the rounded brain shape.
- Crumb coat and chill: Spread a thin coating of frosting around the entire cake and smooth with an offset spatula or acetate sheet. Chill in the fridge for 20 minutes or freezer for 5 minutes until firm.
- Pipe brain lines: Using a piping bag fitted with a large round tip, create a line down the center of the cake to separate hemispheres. Pipe squiggly, irregular lines on each side to mimic brain folds.
- Firm the frosting: Chill the cake again for 30 minutes in the fridge or 10 minutes in the freezer until the frosting is firm to touch.
- Apply fake blood: Use a pastry brush to generously spread the edible fake blood mixture over the piped frosting, filling all crevices and covering the surface. Add some blood around the base for extra effect.
- Final chilling and serving: Chill briefly if desired to set the blood layer. Remove cake from fridge about 1–2 hours before serving to allow it to come to room temperature for best flavor and texture.
Notes
- This recipe yields about 20 servings due to trimming and shaping the cake. For different sizes or tiers, use a cake batter calculator to adjust the amounts.
- Make cake layers in advance and freeze to simplify the process. The frosting can also be made ahead and stored in the fridge (up to 1 month) or freezer (up to 3 months).
- For best results, measure flour properly using the spoon and level method or weigh with a kitchen scale.
- Use room temperature ingredients to ensure smooth mixing and a tender crumb.
- Chilling cake layers before assembly makes cutting and shaping easier and reduces breakage.
- Gel food coloring is recommended to avoid affecting the frosting and batter consistency or flavor.
- To make this cake vegan or dairy-free, replace buttermilk and heavy cream with dairy-free alternatives, substitute vegan butter sticks, and use an egg replacer for eggs.
- Use any leftover cake crumbs to make cake pops or sprinkle over ice cream for an extra treat.
- Store frosted cake in the fridge up to one week or freeze up to one month, wrapped tightly to maintain moisture.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice (1/20th of cake)
- Calories: 480
- Sugar: 45g
- Sodium: 320mg
- Fat: 28g
- Saturated Fat: 14g
- Unsaturated Fat: 12g
- Trans Fat: 0.3g
- Carbohydrates: 56g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 4g
- Cholesterol: 75mg
