Halloween Layer Cake

To prepare the Halloween layer cake, start with making the creams and ganache, which will need to rest in the refrigerator. Begin with the chocolate pastry cream (find more instructions here, chocolate pastry cream): heat the milk and cream in a saucepan 1 and meanwhile beat the egg yolks with the sugar 2, flour, and cornstarch. Mix and pour the mixture into the saucepan with the milk. Cook on low heat, stirring continuously with a whisk to thicken 3.

Once the cream is ready, remove it from the heat and add the dark chocolate 4, stirring to blend it into the cream 5. Transfer the chocolate pastry cream to a bowl and store it in the refrigerator covered with a sheet of cling film 6.

Next, make the orange pastry cream: cut a vanilla pod in half and scrape out the seeds with the tip of a knife 7; add the seeds and pod to a saucepan with the milk 8 and heat over low heat. Meanwhile, beat the yolks with the sugar and add the sifted flour 9.

Mix well with a whisk 10 and add the egg and sugar mixture to the milk along with the grated zest of a well-washed, untreated orange 11. Stir constantly over low heat with a whisk to thicken 12. Store the orange pastry cream in the refrigerator with a sheet of cling film.

Now prepare the chocolate ganache to cover the cake. In a saucepan, heat 500 ml (2 cups) of cream, and as soon as it reaches boiling point, turn off the heat and add 500 g (18 oz) of dark chocolate 13. Stir well with a whisk: the chocolate should melt completely and blend with the cream 14. Cool the mixture in the refrigerator, stirring occasionally (every 20 minutes) until it reaches a mousse-like consistency 15. If you want to cool it quickly, simply immerse the pot in an ice water bath.

Now let's make the orange dacquoise for the orange layers. Sift the hazelnut flour with the flour (16-17) and whip the egg whites in a stand mixer or with an electric beater, adding the sugar one tablespoon at a time 18.

When the egg whites are well whipped, add enough orange coloring 19 to give it an orange hue and give it another beat with the mixer. Add the grated orange zest 20 and gradually the previously mixed powders 21. Mix everything with a spatula from bottom to top to avoid deflating the mixture,

which should be frothy and well combined 22. On a sheet of parchment paper, draw a 22 cm (8.5-inch) circle with a pencil (you can use a cake pan of that size as a model) 23 and repeat the operation on four other sheets. Transfer the obtained mixture to a piping bag with a smooth 7 mm (0.3-inch) diameter nozzle and draw a spiral starting from the center of the circle to the outline 24.

You need to make five spirals this way because there are five orange layers, each on a different sheet of parchment paper 25. Before baking the dacquoise, sprinkle it with powdered sugar so it stays moist during baking 26. Bake one layer at a time in a preheated static oven at 428°F (220°C) for about 8 minutes. Once baked, cover the dacquoise with cling film to retain moisture and prevent it from drying out 27 and place it on a tray, keeping the parchment paper underneath and the cling film on top. Proceed to bake all the layers, one at a time, and as you bake them, stack them on top of each other, always keeping the parchment paper underneath and the cling film on top.

Now prepare the chocolate dacquoise. Mix the almond flour and unsweetened cocoa 28 and whip the egg whites 29 with the sugar. Once whipped, add the powders to the egg whites and mix 30 with a spatula from bottom to top,

to obtain a well-mixed and frothy mixture 31. Transfer the mixture to a piping bag and this time make 4 spirals with a 22 cm (8.5-inch) diameter, using a circle drawn directly on the sheet as a model 32. Bake these as well, after sprinkling them with powdered sugar in a static oven one at a time at 428°F (220°C) for 8 minutes. Proceed exactly as above for storing the layers 33.

Now we are ready to assemble the cake: start with an orange dacquoise layer and cover it with orange cream 34; place a chocolate dacquoise layer on top and cover it with chocolate pastry cream 35. Continue this way until all the layers are used up: the last one should be orange 36. Remember to set aside a few tablespoons of cream to fill the cream puffs for decoration.

Now cover the cake with the ganache cream, using a spatula 37: you can leave it smooth or create ripples as in the photo 38. For the decoration, fill the cream puffs with the remaining cream 39 and

make a water glaze by dissolving the powdered sugar in a little boiling water (see here for more details, water glaze). Add a pinch of orange coloring 40, cover the cream puffs entirely, letting them drain on a rack 41 and place them in the center of the cake 42. Color the marzipan green and

make small leaves, which will be inserted between the pumpkins 43. To make the cream puff pumpkins even more realistic, model some tendrils 44 and decorate the cake! Here is the Halloween layer cake 45: are you ready to slice it?