Halloween Creepy Crawly Cake

This Halloween creepy crawly cake started off it's life as Chocolate and Zucchini cake as it was part of the monthly column I was writing for Webchild. I found these fabulous creepy crawlies at Aldi (a place I find some surprisingly good stuff) and there were centipedes, rats and snakes in the mix. I could have done a regular chocolate cake but I knew that it would be even more gruesome with the green bits of zucchini in it. It called for the addition of chocolate to be sprinkled on top but I knew that the green Wilton Candy Chocolate Melts that Barbara sent me would be even better and make it look even mould like! Barbara is my American mum and an absolutely lovely blogger who sent me an awesome package of goodies including these melts. She tells me that I'm just like her daughter (my twin sister ;) ) who loves Wicked, Halloween and Harry Potter!

Creepy Crawly Cake

An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 40 minutes

Serves: 12

• 1/2 cup/125g/4ozs butter, softened

• 1 1/2 cups/330g/11.6ozs brown sugar

• 2 eggs

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 1 cup/250ml/8.8flozsbutter milk (or milk with a squeeze of lemon juice)

• 2 1/2 cups/375g/13.2ozs flour

• 1/2 cup/50g/1.7ozs cocoa, sifted to get rid of any lumps

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon Bicarbonate of soda

• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon

• 1/2 cup/80g/3ozs chocolate chips (green for this cake)

• 2 cups grated zucchini (about 2x 140g/5oz zucchinis)

• 1 quantity of sour cream frosting below

• creepy crawly lollies e.g. snakes, centipedes, rats

• 5 chocolate biscuits, pulverised in a food processor

Step 1 - Preheat the oven to 160c/325F and line a square tin with baking paper. Sift the flours, cocoa, cinnamon, bi carb and baking powder into a large bowl and set aside.

Step 2 - In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time until combined.

Step 3 - Alternately add the sifted dry ingredients and then the milk in 2-3 lots until combined. Do not overmix. Add in grated zucchini.

Step 4 - Pour into the lined cake tin and sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Bake for 40 minutes and check for doneness by inserting a skewer in the centre.

Sour Cream Frosting from Nigella Lawson

• 75g/2.6ozs unsalted butter

• 175g/6ozs best quality dark chocolate, broken into small pieces

• 300g/10.6ozs icing sugar

• 1 tablespoon golden syrup

• 125ml/4flozs sour cream

Step 1 - Melt the chocolate and butter. While the chocolate and butter are cooling a little, sieve the icing sugar into another bowl. Or, easier still, put the icing sugar into the food processor and blitz.

Step 2 - Add the golden syrup to the cooled chocolate mixture, followed by the sour cream and vanilla and then when all this is combined whisk in the sieved icing sugar. Or just pour this mixture down the funnel of the food processor on to the icing sugar, with the motor running.

Step 3 - You may need to add a little boiling water say a teaspoon or so or indeed some more icing sugar: it depends on whether you need the icing to be runnier or thicker; or indeed it may be right as it is. It should be liquid enough to coat easily, but thick enough not to drip off.

To decorate

Step 1 - Spread sour cream frosting on top of cold cake. Make it nice and thick. Then top with "dirt" chocolate biscuit crumbs. Arrange creepy crawlies so that they look like they're burying out of the dirt.