Category: Halloween

I promised you to do something new each day, and I have, although it may not be obvious. Longtime readers will remember that I’ve made a schichttorte before. So at first glance this doesn’t exactly appear to fit the Halloween bill.

In fact, I’ve actually made a Halloween schichttorte before, although I unfortunately seem to have misplaced the pictures to prove it. That had a similar frosting design, but, if I remember correctly, the layers were purple and green.

What’s new about this cake is an ingredient I’ve never used before, but will keep on hand from now on: activated charcoal powder. I have NEVER been able to get a bake to look this black. The liquid food coloring I used turned the off white batter into a mild grey. This stuff turned it BLACK. And as stygian as it was in the bowl, it was even more deeply black after it was baked. Before I frosted this cake, the top looked exactly like it had been scorched in a red hot skillet. This stuff gets food impressively dark.

The activated charcoal added no flavor whatsoever, and is so fine and lightweight that your tongue cannot detect its presence. And don’t believe the picture above. Activated charcoal powder looks nothing like that. I’m only using that image because my camera literally could not focus on the real stuff. It is such a fine powder, and so deeply black, that there is no surface texture nor different shades for a digital camera to focus on. It was like scooping weightless spoonsful of pure darkness into the mixing bowl. This stuff is awesome! It is hands down the most Halloween ingredient I have ever used. And from what I’ve read, it even helps to clean your digestive system and whiten your teeth! I’m so glad I bought it.

If you’re going to do any Halloween baking, I cannot recommend strongly enough that you incorporate activated charcoal powder into your recipes. From now on, when October rolls around, this stuff will be a staple in my kitchen. I’ve found nothing else that can do it’s job remotely as well.