Ghost Cake with Marshmallow Webs

Ingredients:

Cakes

• Cooking spray with flour to spray the pans
• 6.5 tbsp. cake flour, sifted
• 3 tbsp baking powder
• 0.5 tsp fine sea salt
• 1.5 cups + 4 tablespoons (385 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2.5 cups granulated sugar
• 2 and 1/4 cups whole milk
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• Whites of 10 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons neon green food coloring
• 2 tablespoons neon purple food coloring
• 1 tbsp neon orange food coloring
• 3 tbsp. dark cocoa without sugar
• 2 tablespoons of hot water
• 2 tsp black food coloring

Cream

• 1.8 kg powdered sugar
• 0.9 kg unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• Milk or heavy cream to thin (optional)
• 1 tbsp. black food coloring

Sweet web

• 8 large marshmallows

Assembly

• Black sugar pearls
• Black confetti sprinkles
• Special equipment: 4 x 8-inch cake pans; 2 x 5-inch cake pans; piping bag with a 1/2-inch plain tip; kitchen tweezers; angled spatula

Preparation:

1. Cakes:

   
   Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Spray four 8-inch round cake pans and two 5-inch cake pans with baking spray.
   
   
2. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth. With the mixer running, gradually add the sugar and beat until the mixture is pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the milk. Begin and end with the flour mixture. Add the vanilla extract. Beat just until combined. Do not overbeat the batter.
3. In a clean mixer bowl, beat the egg whites on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter in three additions with a spatula.
4. Place 2 cups of batter into 4 separate bowls. Tint the batter in the first bowl with green food coloring, the second with 1 tablespoon of purple food coloring, and the third with orange food coloring. Mix the cocoa powder and water in a small bowl to form a paste and add it to the fourth bowl containing the batter. Stir the black food coloring into the chocolate batter and mix well until it is completely dark with no light streaks. Pour one batter into each of the prepared 8-inch (20 cm) cake pans.
5. Tint the remaining batter with the remaining 1 tablespoon purple food coloring and spoon 1 cup of batter into each of the prepared 5-inch (12.5 cm) pans.
   
   
6. Bake until the cakes spring back when lightly pressed in the center, about 25 minutes for 5-inch cakes and 30-35 minutes for larger cakes. Run a knife around the edges of the cakes and remove them from the pans onto wire racks to cool completely.

7. Cream:

   
   In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the powdered sugar and butter. Start beating on low speed, then increase to high speed and beat for 3 minutes until smooth and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and beat for another minute. If the buttercream is too thick, you can add milk or heavy cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, until smooth. Transfer about 2 cups of the buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip; set aside until ready to use. Tint the remaining buttercream with black gel food coloring.
   
8. Using a serrated knife, trim the domed tops of the cakes to make them level. Cover each cake with a small amount of black buttercream. Start with the dark chocolate layer, then place the purple layer on top, then the green layer, and finally the orange layer on top. Using an offset spatula, cover the entire cake with black buttercream. Cover the 5-inch purple cake with black buttercream and place the second cake on top. Using an offset spatula, cover the entire smaller cake with black buttercream. Refrigerate both cakes until the buttercream hardens, about 30 minutes.
9. Place the small cake on top of the large one.

10. Sweet web:

    
    Melt the marshmallows in the microwave for about 30 seconds, or until softened. Stir well. Let the marshmallows cool slightly. Dip your fingers (wear gloves to avoid staining) into the marshmallow mixture and pull out a long string. Wrap the marshmallow string around the cake. Repeat until both tiers of the cake are covered in a sweet web. Let the marshmallows set, about 10 minutes.
    

11. Assembly:

    
    Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Take the reserved bag of white frosting and pipe a 5-7 cm high mound of frosting. This will be the ghost's body. Pipe a second 2.5 cm high mound on top for the ghost's head. Repeat this process, varying the ghost sizes slightly, until you have 20 ghosts in total. Using tweezers, attach two black sugar pearls to each head for eyes. Then, attach black confetti to some of the ghosts for mouths. Place the baking sheet with the ghosts in the freezer for about 1 hour.
    
12. Using an offset spatula, pipe ghosts around the edges of the cake.
13. Bring the cake to room temperature before serving. Before slicing, use scissors to trim off any hardened marshmallow web.