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40+ Coolest Homemade Graveyard Cake Ideas

Take a look at these cool homemade Graveyard cake ideas shared with us by cake decorators from around the world. Along with the birthday cakes here, you’ll also find loads DIY birthday cake-making ideas and how-to tips to inspire your next birthday cake project. Enjoy!

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Latest Graveyard Cake Ideas



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Cake by Lisa M., Mishawaka, IN

Coolest Graveyard Cake Ideas, Photos and How-To Tips

I started this graveyard cake with a box cake mix. I mixed according to directions and baked in a metal mixing bowl. After removing from bowl I let it cool and made a batch of fondant icing. You can get the recipe off of the Wiltons cake decorating site.

I made the first batch of icing black to cover the cake and make the tombstones. I also made two black roses. Then I made a second batch of icing and made some of it red and some pink. I also left a portion of it white. I used the white to make the skull and crossbones as well as the letters that I put on front of each tombstone and the candle holders. I then used the pink to make the eyes and bow for the skull. The red I used to make two roses to put in front of the cake next to the black ones. This was kind of time consuming but well worth it.

My daughter loved this graveyard cake and had lots and lots of questions of where I bought the cake. Fondant icing is a great thing to work with and it opens up a whole variety of ideas to do with your cake. It hardens as it dries so you can make three dimensional objects to put on the cake. The only thing that was not edible on the cake was the legs for the spider and the little statue of the grim reaper.

Cake by Rachel B., Corke, Ireland

Graveyard Cake Photo

I made four rectangular chocolate sponge cakes. I used a cardboard cut out to get the shape of the coffin. Place three on top of each other with butter icing in between them. Wedge the last layer open with left over cake pieces. Cover in frosting and accessories as you like.

Cake by Brandi R., Eagles Mere, PA

Graveyard Cake Photo

I was getting ready for my second wedding and my husband and I both love Halloween- so we decided to have a fun wedding – using most of the props we put out every year. When it came time for the cake I couldn’t really explain what I was looking for so I decided to do it myself, a graveyard cake!

We bought the cemetery set from Dept. 56 and I spray painted the white pillar sets for the support. After putting the spider webs along the side I added a few plastic spiders and the skeleton cake topper and we had a cake that fit the wedding perfectly! We even had most of the guests dressed up for the occasion!

Graveyard Cake Photo

Cake by Kris W., Orem UT

Graveyard Cake Photo

I made this graveyard cake for my niece Meighan. She loves the movie Nightmare before Christmas. The moon is a homemade sucker with two dowels used to secure it to the cake. The “snow” was cotton candy. FYI: It doesn’t last long on the cake so put it on at the last minute.

Cake by Betty S., Seabrook, NH

Graveyard Cake Photo

This graveyard cake is a half sheet cake cut in half, stacked then frozen. I then carved it in to a coffin shape, frosted and decorated it to look like a coffin. Roses were made with buttercream frosting.

Cake by Susan D., Pittsfield, MA

Graveyard Cake Photo

I wanted a cake that said Easter without a bunny so my daughter and I chose the empty tomb. It was surprisingly easy. I baked two cakes one in a 9×13 pan and one in a stoneware mixing bowl. I iced the bowl cake on top of the square one and carved out the opening for the tomb. The scraps were piled on top of the dome to make it more irregular shaped. I gave it all a crumb coat and stuck it in the freezer.

Meanwhile I made the angels and stones from gum paste and used edible black spray for the stone effect. I also made some flat pieces of gum paste to look like rock to place on the dome and sprayed these also. When the cake was hard I frosted the tomb with chocolate frosting and stuck the rocks to it. The large stone was the bottom of a muffin I frosted and sprayed with food color. I colored some white butter cream green, pink and purple and frosted the “grass” and piped on the flowers with a writing tip.

The angels and large stone were all mounted on skewers so they’d stay put. Lastly I piped “He Is Risen” on the side. All in all I’d say it took four hours to decorate this graveyard cake and it was a big hit. Thanks.

Cake by Jolynn B., Indianapolis, IN

Graveyard Cake Photo

I made this graveyard cake from a box mix then used a marshmallow fondant for the blue background. I used home made buttercream & food colorings for the tree, grave, moon, pumpkin and grass. I used ghost “peeps” for the ghosts around the edges.

Cake by Crystal K., Cleveland, OH

Graveyard Cake Photo

This graveyard cake is a 1/4 sheet cake for a friend’s Halloween birthday. I frosted it with store bought icing because it is creamier and easy to work with. I spooned a small amount out for each grave to make it look like a fresh grave and then covered that with crushed chocolate cookies.

For the dirt I bought some skeletons and cut them up and stuck various body parts in the dirt. I bought the fence and other parts at the cake store. I made the crypt with graham crackers like a gingerbread house and iced it grey, added some spider webs and candy. The door and the walkway is graham crackers and chocolate cookies crushed up. Then I added some grass with my hair making tip. This graveyard cake was a big hit, everyone loved it.

Graveyard Cake Photo

Cake by Elizabeth H., Acworth, GA

Graveyard Cake Photo

For this Graveyard cake I used 2 box mixes and store-bought frosting. It worked fine. I did follow the directions for decorating. You have to bake the cakes in a 13-by-9-by-2-inch pan, an 8-inch ovenproof bowl and a 6-inch loaf pan.

Decorating the Graveyard cake:

I used orange frosting, green gumdrops, chocolate graham crackers, chocolate ice-cream cones, regular and chocolate peanut butter sandwich cookies, black licorice twists, chocolate kisses, mini chocolate chips, green hard candies, black shoestring licorice, mini marshmallows, chocolate-covered raisins.

Cover a large cutting board or piece of cardboard with aluminum foil. Place the 13-by-9-by-2-inch cake on the top of the foil to create the “graveyard.” On one end, place the bowl-shaped cake to create the “hill.” Generously frost the graveyard and hill. Next, cut a 2-by-3-inch rectangle, about 1 inch deep, on top of the hill to accommodate the house.

TIP: For crumb-free spreading, frost a very thin layer on the entire cake, then spread with a fluffy layer.

To create the roof on the Witch’s House, cut the corners off one end of the small loaf cake (a job for older kids). Place the house in the 2-by-3-inch slot, securing it with toothpicks or a bamboo skewer. Then “paint” the house with orange frosting.

TIP: To make the orange frosting for the Graveyard cake, tint 1 cup of store-bought or homemade white frosting with orange food coloring. For a vibrant color, use food coloring paste, available at kitchen and party supply stores. Tile the roof of the house with chocolate graham crackers and frosting.

Add a few scary details: windows made of broken chocolate cones with orange icing grids, and a peanut cookie door with a candy doorknob. Surround the house with shoestring-licorice barbed wire. Then add a flying witch.

Use a toothpick to attach the witch’s face (a gumdrop cut in half, lengthwise) to her hat (a chocolate kiss) and to her broomstick (licorice with three slits cut in the end).

To create the Graveyard cake gravestones, break peanut cookies in half and pipe on spooky sayings with orange frosting (R.I.P, Boo and so on). Secure in the muddy frosting. Next, make ghosts in the trees. Use scissors to cut three crooked branches in a piece of licorice. Tuck two mini marshmallows between the branches and place the tree on a piece of waxed paper. Microwave for 10 seconds to slightly melt the ghost. Give the ghost two mini chocolate chip eyes, then plant the trees in the mud.

Next, add the Graveyard cake spooky walkway leading up to the house. Draw a crooked path from the base of the cake up to the witch’s door with a toothpick (use this as your guideline). Outline the path with chocolate-covered raisins, then sprinkle with broken green hard candies. At the entrance to the pathway, add a chocolate graham cracker drawbridge.

TIP: Lay all the decorations out before you start. Show the kids our photo and allow room for their own creative additions. For a frightful finishing touch on this Graveyard cake, outline the graveyard with broken chocolate-cone fencing. Set the Witch’s House in a place for all to see and scream at. Serves 15 to 20.

Cake by Sheva L., Warminster, PA

Graveyard Cake Photo

Here are two cake ideas I came up with for my daughter’s annual Halloween party – a pumpkin cake and a graveyard cake.

The pumpkin cake is simply a yellow cake made in a bunt pan. I used white icing with yellow and red food coloring to make the orange. The stem is created with a Dixie cup and green icing, with the green lines for detail on the pumpkin.

The graveyard cake, was a huge hit too. It is a chocolate cake layered with crushed cookies, chocolate pudding and more cookies. It is decorated with cookies and candy corns, Cool Whipped ghosts and other candies.

It was sinful!

Cake by Becky Z., North Miami, FL

Graveyard Cake Photo

This is a two layer 8″ round spice Graveyard cake with cream cheese frosting which was airbrushed black/brown. The tombstones are Vienna Fingers cookies iced in gray, and the ghost is rice krispies treat covered with fondant. Edible rice paper leaves decorate the sides; and I added candy pumpkins all around. The ‘hand’ and Happy Halloween picks are plastic.

Cake by Donna E., Farmington, NM

Graveyard Cake Photo

This Graveyard cake was made using two 9×13 pans. I used chocolate cake mixes. It had a filling that was a can of cherry pie filling mixed with one softened cream cheese.

Once these ingredients are mixed, fold in a large container of Cool Whip and spread mixture between the two layers. The icing is whipped cream (not cool whip) with approximately 1/2 container of Chocolate Duncan Hines icing. The mound for the graveyard cake was made with marshmallow cream.

I needed something to hold up the skeleton and the cream does a great job. Once you make your mound, cover it with crushed Oreo cookies. The ghost was made from rolled fondant, which was draped over marshmallows that were held together with toothpicks. Before you drape the fondant, shape some fondant in a pointed cone shape and put on top of the marshmallows so that the ghost doesn’t have a flat head.

Once you have the ghost assembled, spread a little bit of black food color (paste) on wax paper, dip the eraser end of a new pencil (flat part only and coat well) into the food color. Lightly press the eraser against the fondant to make the eyes. The head stone and the mice for the graveyard cake were purchased.

I painted the eyes on the head stone with metallic hot pink fingernail polish. I cut out some cake behind the head stone the size of a Dixie cup and when I got to work (we had a Halloween party). I placed orange lights behind the cake and placed the Dixie cup in the hole I had made, filled it 1/2 full with water and added dry ice. This is a great eerie finishing touch for the Graveyard cake.

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