Bloody Pomegranate & Devil's Food Skull Cake
This scary good entremet hides a dark chocolate secret, a gelatinous pomegranate surprise, and mousse as white as bone.
Okay, who’s still here after those terrifying photos? You are? Good, because you, my friend, are in for a hell of a treat. I’m going to be honest with you, this cake might just traumatize everyone at your Halloween party. But it’s going to be enjoyable. Like watching a jump scare in a horror movie and then laughing about it afterwards. Delicious, edible horror.
Servings: 12 to 16 | Prep Time: 3h 10m to 3h 40m | Cook Time: 22 to 25 minutes | Chilling Time: 20 hours
Large stainless-steel pan
Silicone spatula
8” diameter round cake pans
Food processor / Blender
Wire cooling racks
Cake leveler / Knife
Saucepans
Double boiler / Heat-safe bowl
Hand-mixer / Stand-mixer
Large piping bag
Large silicone skull mold (link)
Straight spatula / Bench scraper
Candy thermometer
Small pastry brush / Offset spatula
Pomegranate Molasses:
4 cups pomegranate juice
1 tbsp lemon juice
½ cup sugar
Pomegranate Devil’s Food Cake:
⅔ cup sugar
4 tsp pomegranate molasses
⅔ cup cake flour, sifted
4 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp Dutch-process black cocoa powder
1 ½ tsp ground sumac
¾ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
1 large egg, room temp
⅓ cup buttermilk, room temp
⅓ cup pomegranate juice, room temp
3 tbsp canola oil
1 tbsp pomegranate syrup (I used Torani)
1 tsp vanilla
Pomegranate Jelly:
5 tsp (14 g) gelatin powder
2 cups pomegranate juice, divided
½ cup pomegranate sugar
Red food coloring
White Chocolate Mousse:
1 ½ tsp (4.5 g) gelatin powder
¾ cup water, cold
¾ cup milk
10.5 oz white chocolate (I used Guittard Choc-au-lait Baking Chips)
1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream
Pomegranate Sauce:
½ cup sugar
¼ cup water
¼ cup pomegranate molasses
Red food coloring
Pomegranate Molasses (1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours)
In a large stainless-steel pan, combine the pomegranate juice, lemon juice, and sugar with a silicone spatula (the juice stains, so avoid using anything that will stain).
Cook over medium heat until sugar has fully dissolved.
Reduce heat to medium-low, keeping the mixture at a bare simmer.
Stirring occasionally, cook until mixture is reduced to 1 cup and coats the back of a spoon, between 1 hour and 1 hour 30 minutes.
Remove from the heat and let cool in the pan for about 30 minutes.
Transfer the molasses to an airtight container and refrigerate until needed.
Pomegranate Devil’s Food Cake (30 minutes + 22 to 25 minutes baking + 1 hour chilling)
Preheat the oven to 350° F.
Grease and flour an 8” round cake pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper and set aside.
Place the sugar and pomegranate molasses in a food processor.
Pulse the mixture until the molasses is evenly distributed throughout and the sugar turns pinkish brown.
In a large bowl, whisk together the pomegranate sugar, cake flour, cocoa powder, black cocoa powder, sumac, baking soda, and salt.
Add in the egg, buttermilk, pomegranate juice, oil, pomegranate syrup, and vanilla, whisking until just combined.
Pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake for 22 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Let cool in the pan at least 15 minutes, before flipping onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
Using a cake leveler or a knife, trim the cake so it’s about 1” tall.
With a small knife, cut the cake into an oval, no larger than 7.5” x 3.5” so it fits in the mold.
Wrap the cake in plastic wrap and return to the fridge until needed.
Pomegranate Jelly (30 minutes + 8 hours chilling)
In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin powder over ½ cup pomegranate juice and set aside to let bloom, about 5 minutes.
In a small saucepan, combine the remaining juice and pomegranate sugar.
Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring frequently.
Remove from heat and whisk in the gelatin mixture and a drop of red food coloring until fully dissolved.
Pour the mixture into an 8” round pan and skim any bubbles off the top with a spoon.
Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge until set, about 4 hours.
Once the jelly has fully set, run a knife along the outside edge.
Fill a bowl or large pan with hot water.
Submerge the bottom of the jelly pan, for a few seconds at a time, until the jelly starts to come loose.
Place a cutting board upside down on the jelly pan and flip over. Remove the pan.
With a small knife, cut the jelly into an oval, no larger than 7.5” x 3.5” so it fits in the mold.
Carefully transfer the jelly back to the cake pan and cover with plastic wrap.
Chill in the freezer until firm, about 4 hours.
White Chocolate Mousse (15 minutes)
In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin powder over the water, and set aside to bloom.
Place the milk and white chocolate in the top of a double boiler, or a heat-safe bowl, over a small saucepan with simmering water.
Stir together until fully melted and smooth.
Remove from heat and whisk in the bloomed gelatin, stirring together until smooth.
Set aside to cool completely.
In a large bowl, with a hand-mixer or stand-mixer, whip the heavy whipping cream until soft peaks form.
Make sure the chocolate mixture and whipped cream are the same temperature. Gently fold the chocolate, a little at a time, into the whipped cream until evenly distributed.
Transfer the mousse to a large piping bag and set aside.
Assembly (10 minutes + 8 hours chilling)
Place the skull mold onto a baking sheet.
Pipe the mousse into the skull mold until about ½ full.
Tap the baking sheet gently on the counter several times to remove any air bubbles. If the skull mold becomes flimsy while filling, you may need to prop it up with something, so it doesn’t tip over and deform the face.
Place the frozen pomegranate jelly into the mold on top of the mousse.
Cover the jelly in a thin layer of mousse and tap the baking sheet gently to level everything.
Place the devil’s food cake into the mold.
Pipe more mousse into the mold, covering the sides and top of the cake and filling the mold all the way to the top.
Use a straight spatula or bench scraper to scrape off any excess mousse and smooth out the top.
Cover the mold with plastic wrap touching the mousse and freeze for at least 8 hours or overnight.
Reserve and cover any leftover mousse and store in the fridge.
Pomegranate Sauce (10 minutes)
In a small heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk together the sugar, water, and pomegranate molasses over medium heat.
Place a candy thermometer in the saucepan.
Whisking frequently, bring the mixture to 223° F, about 5 minutes.
Remove from heat and whisk in a drop of red food coloring.
Transfer to a heat-safe container to cool completely.
Assembly Cont’d (5 minutes + 3 hours thawing)
Once the cake is completely firm, place your serving dish upside down on the bottom of the mold and carefully flip.
Gently remove the mold from the cake.
If the pomegranate jelly is peeking through any part of the skull, you can easily cover it with a small amount of the reserved mousse.
Dab it on with a small pastry brush or offset spatula and let cool a few seconds. Then smooth it out with the pad of your finger (make sure your hands are very clean!)
Transfer the cake to the fridge to thaw, a few hours, or until ready to serve.
Just before serving, drizzle the pomegranate sauce onto the cake.
Leftovers may be kept covered in the fridge up to 3 days.
Enjoy!
Fitting that this recipe features some brand new graphics better suited for dark theme users. So turn out the lights and check them out! If you dare.
And as always, be sure to check out my Best Practices page for tips on how to make this recipe yourself. Let me know in the comments if you have any questions and feel free to tag me on Instagram @made.by.shade if you make it!
-Shade