This Beetlejuice Cake Tutorial includes recipes, step-by-step videos, supply lists, helpful tips & tricks, and more. The perfect cake for birthdays, Halloween, or any spooky celebration!

I’ve always been slightly obsessed with the movie Beetlejuice. Even as a kid I realized the cast was amazing, the movie is hilarious, and the dance scene…ICONIC!
I was working on my Beetlejuice Cookie House, and one of my friends spotted the sandworm cookie, and asked if it was for a cake topper. So I obviously had to make a cake.
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Cake Supplies, Equipment, and Ingredients:
- cake recipe: I used my sugar cookie cake recipe, but feel free to use any recipe of your choice, or even box-mix. You will need enough batter for two 6″ round cake pans for each color. I doubled my sugar cookie cake recipe, which made 3 6″ round cakes (in each color), and I used the leftover cake for cakesicles.
- buttercream frosting: I’ve included my american buttercream recipe, but you can use whatever frosting you like. I made two batches total. One entire batch I colored black, and the other batch I left ⅔ white, and colored the remaining ⅓ purple.
- simple syrup: This is an optional step, but I always soak my cakes in simple syrup during assembly to add moisture to the cake. To make simple syrup, boil equal amounts of water and granulated sugar (I used ½ cup of each) until sugar is fully dissolved. Allow to cool before using.
- microwave safe bowls
- mixing bowls
- candy melts (grey and lime green)
- non-stick spray
- bamboo skewers
- bread/cake knife
- beater blade kitchenaid paddle
- ezy-hem frosting smoother
- stripe contour comb
- black and white paper straws
- 6″ round cake pans
- 6″ parchment rounds
- headstone silicone mold
Cookie Supplies, Equipment, and Ingredients:
- cookie dough: I used my lemon shortbread recipe, but I have 30 other cookie recipes to choose from.
- royal icing
- chefmaster liquagel
- black edible pen
- tipless piping bags
- x-acto knife
- cardstock
- brown petal dust
Beetlejuice Cookie Instructions:
- Print out the 2 cookie cutter downloads on cardstock, cut out templates, and use an x-acto knife and templates to cut out your cookies.
- My Lemon Shortbread Sugar Cookie and Royal Icing Recipes have lots of helpful tips and tricks for cookie decorating.
Step 1: Cake Batter
- I doubled my sugar cookie cake recipe for each color, and I ended up with 2 ½ 6″ round cakes in each color. I used the extra cake to make cakesicles.
- You can also use extra cake batter to bake matching cupcakes.
- Cake freezes well and will stay fresh for 3 months. Just wrap any extra cake in cling wrap and pop it in the freezer.
Step 2: Fill Pans & Bake Cake
- Spray your cake pans with non-stick spray, line the bottom with parchment rounds, and spray again.
- My favorite non-stick spray is Trader Joe’s Coconut Oil Spray.
- Fill cake pans ⅔ full with batter.
- Bake at 350°F for 30-40 minutes, rotating pans halfway through.
- Cake is done when it is golden on top and springs back to the touch.
- Always allow cakes to fully cool before torting/frosting.
Step 3: Make Frosting
- The trick to getting creamy, smooth American buttercream is to whip the butter first until it is fluffy and light in color. Then switch to a paddle attachment and only add 2 cups of powdered sugar at a time, allowing the sugar to fully incorporate before adding more. This prevents your frosting from being grainy.
- I made 2 batches of frosting for this cake. One entire batch I colored black. The other batch I left ⅔ white, and the remaining ⅓ I colored purple.
- The trick to making black icing that doesn’t stain your entire mouth black, is to only add enough black food coloring to get your frosting to a charcoal grey shade. The color will develop and get darker over time.
- These 21″ piping bags will hold an entire batch of icing.
Step 4: Torte & Crumb Coat
- You will need a cake turntable to torte and frost your cake.
- I love using these acrylic cake discs, instead of cake drums or boards, while torting and frosting my cakes. That way you can transfer your cake to a clean cake drum after it’s frosted.
- To remove cakes from pans, run an offset spatula around the perimeter, and then tap the pan on the counter.
- Using a sharp bread/cake knife, cut off the rounded tops of cakes, then cut cakes in half horizontally. Save cake scraps for cake pops or cakesicles.
- Drizzle each cake layer with simple syrup to add extra moisture to the cake. I find it’s much less messy to use a condiment bottle.
- Alternate green and purple layers.
- Crumb coat cake, and refrigerate until firm to the touch.
Step 5: Frost Cake
- Frost cake with white frosting and then refrigerate until buttercream is firm.
- The video only shows me adding one later of frosting, but I added a second layer. You want to make sure you can’t see any cake thru the frosting before moving on.
- I have found that adding a couple thinner layers of frosting, instead of one thick layer, prevents air bubbles in the frosting.
- The ezy-hem frosting smoother is great for frosting taller cakes. It’s also very lightweight and much easier to handle than heavier frosting smoothers.
Step 6: Contour Comb
- Using a stripe contour comb, remove stripes of frosting from your cake.
- Refrigerate until firm to the touch.
Step 7: Add Black Stripes
- Fill in stripes with black frosting.
- Smooth and remove enough frosting until you end up with clean stripes.
- Be careful not to remove too much frosting!
- Cleaning your frosting smoother between passes will prevent you from smearing the frosting stripes.
- The video cut off before I was finished, but smooth the top as well.
- Refrigerate cake until firm.
Step 8: Candy Melt Drips
- Did you know you can thin down candy melts with water and it won’t seize up on you? The ratio is 3 ounces of candy melts, to ¼ ounce of water.
- Measure out candy melt wafers and water and microwave for 30 seconds on full power, and then mix.
- If not fully melted, microwave for 15 second increments, stirring in between, until fully melted.
- Test to make sure it’s the right consistency. I just use an overturned cup and add some drips.
- If your mixture is too thin, you can add 1 or 2 candy melt wafers, mix it up, and test again. If mixture is too thick, add a tiny bit of water at a time, mix, and test.
- You want the mixture to slowly drip down the cup without clumping. If it drips too fast, thicken it up with 1-2 wafers.
- You can use a spoon to add the drips to your cake, but I like to transfer the mixture to a condiment bottle because it gives me more control.
- I did add a few drops of neon green gel food coloring to my mixture to make it a little more vibrant.
Step 9: Add Drips, Sprinkles, and Pipe Purple Frosting
- Transfer cake to a clean cake drum.
- Add drips to cake.
- While drips are still wet, add sprinkles.
- I used tweezers to add the sprinkles and it took about 10 minutes. A quicker, though messier, way to add sprinkles, is to kind of just…gently throw them at your cake. As long as you don’t mind sprinkles going everywhere.
- Pipe purple frosting around top and bottom of cake using a #1M piping tip.
Step 10: Finish Decorating
- “Glue” cookies to black and white paper straws and trimmed down bamboo skewers with melted candy melts.
- I made the headstones using this headstone silicone mold, and I mixed white and black candy melts to make grey.
- Add cookie toppers, headstones, and sprinkles to cake.
Sugar Cookie Cake
Equipment
- measuring cups and spoons
- mixing bowls
- whisk
- spatula
- stand mixer with whip attachment (hand-mixer can also be used)
- cake or cupcake pan
- parchment paper or cupcake liners
- non-stick spray
Ingredients
- 1 cup white granulated sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or seeds from 2 vanilla beans
- food coloring
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ¾ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ cup milk room temperature
Instructions
- Sift together dry ingredients and set aside.
- With whip attachment, cream butter and sugar, on medium-high speed, until fluffy and pale in color.
- Add eggs, vanilla extract, and food coloring. Mix on medium-low speed until fully incorporated.
- Add dry ingredients into wet and mix on low speed, drizzle in milk, then mix on medium-low speed until batter is smooth. Do not overmix.
- Spray cake pan with non-stick spray, line bottom with parchment paper, and spray again. Or line cupcake pan with liners and fill ⅔ way full with batter.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes (20-25 min for cupcakes), rotating pan halfway through. Cake is done when it is golden brown and springs back to the touch, or inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Allow cake or cupcakes to fully cool before frosting.
Video
Nutrition
American Buttercream
Ingredients
- 2 cups unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 7-8 cups powdered sugar (sifted)
- 1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- pinch salt (optional)
- food coloring (optional)
Instructions
- Cream butter with whisk attachment on medium-high speed for 5-8 minutes, until light in colour and fluffy.
- Switch to paddle attachment and add powdered sugar, 2 cups at a time, and vanilla extract. Let mix on low for 1-2 minutes between each addition to fully incorporate sugar.
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