Spooky Spider Halloween Cake

Ingredients

Baileys Chocolate Cake
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. espresso powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup Irish cream
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup hot coffee
Cookies and Cream Filling
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. coffee extract
• 2 Tbsp. Irish cream
• 12 Oreos, crushed
Irish Cream Buttercream
• 16 ounces (2 cups) unsalted butter, room temp.
• 5 cups powdered sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup Irish cream
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
Decorations
• Mini Oreos
• 1/2 cup chocolate, for attaching the candy eyes
• Candy eyes, found in craft stores such as Michael's
• Halloween sprinkles
• 3 piping bags
• Wilton Tip #32 for borders
• Wilton Tip #3 for spider legs

Instructions

Cake
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line bottoms of 3 (8") cake pans with parchment rounds and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl sift together cocoa powder, flour, espresso powder, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whip attachment, whip eggs and vegetable oil on medium speed for about 3 minutes until combined.
4. Slowly add in sugar, continuing to mix on medium speed for about 4-5 minutes until mixture gets pale in color.
5. Reduce speed to low and mix in milk, Irish cream and vanilla extract.
6. Add in dry ingredients and mix on low speed just until combined, scraping down the bowl as needed.
7. Pour in coffee and stir to combine.
8. Divide batter evenly into prepared pans. This is approximately 1# of batter in each pan.
9. Bake cakes for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and cakes start to pull away from the sides.
Cookies and Cream Filling
10. In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip heavy cream and powdered sugar until it gets some body.
11. Add vanilla, coffee extract and Baileys and continue to whip until stiff.
12. Gently fold in crushed Oreos and refrigerate until ready to use.
Irish Cream Buttercream
13. In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix butter on medium high speed for about 3-4 minutes.
14. Start adding powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time so you don't have a sugar shower.
15. Add salt.
16. Add Irish cream, 1 Tbsp. at a time.
17. Continue to mix buttercream on medium high speed until it is light and fluffy, scraping down the bowl as necessary.
Assembly
18. Level chocolate cakes if necessary.
19. Fill a piping bag, fitted with a round tip such as #805, with Baileys buttercream.
20. Place first cake layer on a cake stand or cake cardboard and pipe a ring of buttercream around the edge of the cake.
21. Spoon half the cookies and cream filling in the center of the cake and spread evenly.
22. Repeat this process again and top with third layer of chocolate cake.
23. Crumb coat cake and refrigerate for at least an hour so cake can set up.
24. Frost cake with a final coat of buttercream and smooth edges as much as possible. Don't worry about imperfections, the spiders and sprinkles cover buttercream flaws!
25. Color 1/2 the remaining buttercream purple and the other half orange (or the colors of your choice). Using a piping bag fitted with tip #32 pipe a border along the bottom and top of the cake alternating colors.
26. Split mini Oreos, as we're going to use the sides without the cream filling. Press the Oreos gently on to the sides of the cake so they adhere to the cake.
27. Using a piping bag fitted with tip #3, pipe 4 little legs on each side of the Oreo to create the spider in the colors of your choice.
28. Attach candy eyes to the Oreos using melted chocolate. I find the easiest way is to pipe the melted chocolate directly on the cookie and gently press the candy eyes on so they stick.
29. Finish the cake with as many festive sprinkles as you can handle!