This Halloween buttercream cake is a total showstopper—covered in neon swirls of icing, cheeky monster eyes, and sprinkle-sized gravestones. It’s the kind of cake that doubles as a party centerpiece and a Halloween birthday cake idea. The best part? It’s super beginner-friendly. You can learn this exact design at our Halloween cake decorating class in Chicago, or DIY it at home with just a few tools. 

Fright Night: The Ultimate Beginner Halloween Buttercream Cake

This cake looks dramatic, but the truth is it only takes three piping tips and three basic techniques. With layers of orange, purple, green, and black buttercream, Fright Night packs in Halloween energy without being scarily complicated—making it perfect for a Halloween baking class in Chicago or your next kitchen project.

The secret? Maximalism. Eyeball candies, gravestone sprinkles, and Beetlejuice-inspired squiggles make this cake feel full of personality, while also forgiving little smudges. (Perfection is overrated anyway.)

Halloween Cake Ideas That Hide Imperfections

One of the reasons we teach this design in our beginner Halloween cake classes is because it’s practically foolproof. A swoosh that went sideways? A rosette that looks more like a blob? Just tuck it into the chaos. With maximalist cakes, “mistakes” blend right in—which makes them perfect for practicing.

And if your sweet tooth leans cookie-side, we’ve got Halloween Cookie Decorating Classes in Chicago that lean into the same playful, beginner-friendly approach.

How To Get Vibrant Halloween Buttercream Colors

Everyone wants to know: how do you get buttercream that bold? The answer is simple—high quality gel food coloring. We love Americolor and Chefmaster for bright pumpkin orange, witchy purple, and swampy lime green. Don’t skip the black and white, though. Pops of contrast make the colors sing. Our favorite color palettes always have a few hues that are a little unexpected- the next time you're making a Halloween party cake, try mixing these buttercream colors:

• Pumpkin Orange (use orange or mix yellow + pink)
• Royal Purple (use royal purple or mix electric pink + a drop of blue)
• Swampy Green (mix yellow + 1 drop of blue)
• Hot Pink (use hot pink)
• Light Pink (use 1 drop hot pink)
• Peach (use 2 drops yellow + 1 drop pink)

Must-Have Halloween Cake Decorating Tools

You don’t need a drawer full of specialty tips for this cake. Just three types:

• Star tips (a few sizes)
• Round tips (also a couple sizes)
• One trusty petal tip

That’s it. Chances are, you’ve already got most of these in your toolkit. If you're missing some tools, make sure you consult Bon Vivant's Favorite Cake Tool List before you buy them!

How Much Buttercream Do You Really Need for a Halloween Party Cake?

Nothing kills the vibe like running out of frosting halfway through. For a 2-layer, 6-inch cake, here’s how much buttercream you’ll need to decorate this cake at home:

Best Halloween Cake Flavors

We've chocolate lovers at Bon Vivant, so we make a fudgy chocolate cake and fill it with a candy bar crunch buttercream for the ultimate festive treat! To make candy bar crunch buttercream, simply chop up some of your favorite candy bars and fold them into your buttercream recipe to fill your cake. You could also make this cake extra spooky but using a red velvet cake recipe and filling your cake with buttercream and strawberry puree- bloody delicious!

Step-by-Step Buttercream Piping Techniques For Beginners

Think of these as choreography for your cake. Practice each on parchment first, then scoop it back up and reuse it once you’re ready to decorate:

• Squeeze, release, remove (stars + rounds): Hover the tip, squeeze, stop, lift.
• Zig Zag (stars, rounds, petal): Hold at 45°, squeeze while moving side to side. Bigger motion = bolder zigzag.
• Rosette (1M star): Start in the center, spiral out, release.

Prefer hands-on? Our Halloween cake decorating workshops in Chicago walk you through each move step by step.

Don't Skip The Sprinkles and Edible Glitter!

It's not a Bon Vivant cake unless it's decked out with sprinkles and lots of edible glitter, so make sure you've got a stash of both on hand if you're DIYing this at home! Here are a few of our favorite Halloween sprinkle shapes and tips on how to use them:

• Spooky Eyes Sprinkles: We like planting the jumbo spooky eyes in the center of the rosettes for a monster eyeball effect, and the smaller spooky eyes look great placed in the star centers or on the ghost zigzags
• Spider Sprinkles: You can find spider sprinkles in black, green- even purple! We think they look best positioned near each other in a curving line formation so that it looks like an army of spiders is invading your cake (terrifying!)
  
• Big Tombstone Sprinkles: The big tombstones are our favorite sprinkles on this cake because they make such a statement! Use them in a cluster to create a graveyard effect, or stick them solo for a spooky spotlight moment- you really can't go wrong!

Check out our list of Bon Vivant's Favorite Sprinkle Shapes and Bon Vivant's Essential Cake Decorating Tools so that you're always prepared if a sprinkle emergency arises!

Private Halloween Cake Decorating Classes in Chicago

Planning a Halloween birthday party, bachelorette party, or spooky corporate team outing in Chicago? Our private classes let your group decorate cakes (or cookies) in a playful, hands-on environment. Everyone leaves with their own decorated cake, new skills, and plenty of bragging rights. You can book your own Private Event today!