As much as I love The Walking Dead, I don’t do the scary, gory side of Halloween. But the cute, silly and fun aspect – I can totally get into that. And how cute and silly is this Monster Eyes Cake? Oreos and M&Ms make the monster eyes, and the cake couldn’t be easier to bake and decorate.
Looking for more Halloween ideas? Don’t miss my pumpkin cake with chocolate leaves, Halloween cupcakes, and haunted house cake.
Cookies and Cream Cake
Since I was sticking Oreo monster eyes all over this cake, I decided to make it a Cookies and Cream cake. That said, you can use absolutely any flavor cake you like, and go crazy with the color of the buttercream. How about orange or green with those silly eyes all over?
This Cookies and Cream cake is a high altitude vanilla cake with cookies mixed right into the cake and the buttercream. It’s so delicious, quick and easy to make, and such a kid-friendly flavor.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common questions with cake making, so that you can be successful in your own baking! I also suggest reading these comprehensive posts on making Perfect American Buttercream, How to Stack, Fill, Crumb Coat and Frost Layer Cakes and How to Use Piping Bags.
Making the Monster Eyes
Making the monster eyes is simple. All you need are Oreos and M&Ms. Just carefully twist apart the Oreos so they don’t break, and if necessary, scrape the frosting clean with a knife if there are crumbs sticking to it. Then press on an M&M in any color you like. That’s it!
After assembling and frosting your cake, you or your kids can stick the monster eyes all over the buttercream. And it doesn’t matter if they’re wonky or lopsided. That just makes it all the more fun. Between the cookies, cake and candy, this cake is as yummy as it is fun to look at. And this cake is looking at you, too.
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Halloween Monster Eyes Cake
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Stand Mixer
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 ¾ cups cake flour or all-purpose flour
- 1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
- 1 ¼ tsp baking soda
- 1 ¼ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp coarse Kosher salt
- 3 large eggs
- 1 ¾ cups whole buttermilk
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ pkg Oreos, each cookie cut in 4ths
Buttercream & Monster Eyes
- 2 cups unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp meringue powder (optional)
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2-4 tbsp milk or cream, if needed
- ½ pkg Oreos
- 1 pkg M&Ms
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 and grease three 8-inch pans with non-stick spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
- Add the wet ingredients and whisk until well combined, then fold in the Oreos.
- Divide the batter between the pans and bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Set the pans on wire racks, cover loosely with clean kitchen towel and cool completely.
Buttercream
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the butter for one minute until smooth.
- With the mixer on low, gradually add the powdered sugar, meringue powder and salt and mix to combine. Add the vanilla and milk/cream and whip on medium high for 4-5 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Fill the cake layers and frost all over with a thin crumb coat of buttercream (I also sprinkled the extra M&Ms between each layer for crunch). Refrigerate for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, carefully twist apart the Oreos and set aside the frosted side for the eyes.
- Roughly chop the unfrosted sides of the Oreos and fold into the remaining buttercream (don’t over-mix, or the crumbs will turn the frosting gray). Frost the cake with the Oreo buttercream.
- Press M&Ms to the frosted cookies and stick onto the cake for the monster eyes.
Notes
- The reason I wait to add the Oreos to the buttercream until after doing the crumb coat is that they would make it very difficult to get a smooth crumb coat on the cake with all the cookies mixed throughout.
- Leftover cake should be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Booteous Heather! Now that's a cute cake and I bet it's delicious.
Haha, I like the new word "booteous". 🙂
white cake with eyes that is so fun, the idea is amazing to use oreo black and white cream for makking cake's eyes
It's a fun little trick, isn't it?
Such a cute cake! I love this monster eyes idea–and I wouldn't pass up the opportunity to eat the other side of the oreos without the frosting 🙂
I agree, although not without milk!
I love the way you write and share your niche! Very interesting and different! Keep it coming! lasik Michigan
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