Candy Corn Chocolate Layer Cake

Fudge and so fabulous, our from-scratch delight tastes as magical as it looks.

Ingredients

• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup + ⅔ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. salt
• 2¼ cups butter, at room temp.
• ¾ cup dark brown sugar
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 4 eggs
• 3 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup milk
• 3 cups marshmallow fluff
• 3 cups confectioners’ sugar
• Yellow and orange concentrated food colorings
• 2½ (4 oz.) bars dark chocolate, melted

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Coat 3 (8”) round cake pans with baking spray with flour. Mix flour, ¾ cup cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. On medium-high speed, beat ¾ cup butter, brown and granulated sugars until fluffy. On low, beat in eggs, one at a time, then 2 tsp. vanilla. Alternately beat in flour mixture and milk. Divide among pans. Bake until pick inserted in centers comes out clean, 20 min. Cool 10 min. Transfer from pans to rack; cool.
2. On medium, beat remaining butter until fluffy. On low, beat in fluff, confectioners’ sugar and remaining vanilla; on medium-high, beat 2-3 min. Transfer ¾ cup frosting to each of 2 bowls; tint one yellow and one orange. Transfer yellow, orange and ⅓cup white frostings to separate pastry bags fitted with ⅓” plain tips; reserve. On low, beat chocolate and remaining cocoa and frosting until smooth.
3. Place 1 cake layer on serving plate; spread with ¾ cup chocolate frosting. Repeat. Top with remaining cake layer. Spread with remaining chocolate frosting. Chill 1 hr. Decorate top with reserved frostings: Starting with yellow frosting on the outside cake edge, gently pipe frosting as you pull up, then release pressure and pull away to form teardrop shape. Using back of small spoon, press into dot, pulling towards the center to create a petal shape. Repeat to create 3 yellow rows, 3 orange rows and fill in center with white frosting.