Cauldron Cake

I'm wrapping up my Halloween series today with a fun cauldron cake.  This cauldron is made out of chocolate, filled with cake and whipped cream, and topped off with loads of candy and sparkles. It's great for any skill level, and it's sure to be a hit at any party!
I started out making my cauldron by dipping a balloon in chocolate.  I used the dark cocoa candy melts you can get at Michael's.  Once it set up I peeled the balloon out of the shell and started filling it up with the goods.  I layered cubes of vanilla cake with snickers whipped cream.  At this point you can make it as simple or gourmet as you want just by changing up the filling.  Once the cauldron was full I decorated it with lots of candy.  Luckily I found some gummy worms that were partially pink!  When I'm doing a project like this I find it's the details that really take it to fabulous so I decided to pipe some flames coming up from the base.  Filling my piping bag with half orange buttercream and half red gave my the effect I was going for.  I used tip # 79 for this which I explain further in the video.  To give the cauldron more detail, I sprinkled some gold disco dust on top and brushed it along the edges.  Brushing a little bit around the cauldron here and there gives it a bit of a worn look that really adds some character to the cake.  So in my world a worn look is sparkly, but at this point that shouldn't surprise you!  There are endless possibilities when it comes to decorating this cake so have fun with it.  This is also a really great project for kids, and you can even make them their own mini cauldron to fill and decorate any way they want.  I hope you all enjoy the video!

What you'll need

• 2 bags dark cocoa candy melts
• Balloons
• Vanilla cake (I used a 6" round) cubed
• Assorted candy - I used 10 mini snickers chopped up for the filling & gummy worms, candy corn, & gumballs for decoration.
• Buttercream
• Red and orange food coloring
• Approx. 3 cups whipped cream
• Gold disco dust
• Pastry bag
• Tip # 79

Assembly

1. Blow up and wash balloon. Let dry completely.
2. Microwave candy melts in 30 second increments till melted.  You don't want it piping hot, but it needs to be warm.
3. Dip balloon in chocolate and set it on a parchment lined plate. The little bit of excess on the bottom will help form a nice base.
4. Refrigerate 30-60 minutes till set.
5. Make a small batch of buttercream. Color half orange & half red.
6. Make whipped cream.  I used about 3 cups of heavy cream, sweetened it with a bit of powdered sugar, and added a teaspoon of vanilla extract.  At this point spoon about 1/3 of the whipped cream into a small bowl (this will remain plain for the topping).  Fold chopped up snickers into the larger amount of whipped cream.
7. Pop the balloon & peel out of the chocolate shell.
8. Start filling the cauldron by layering cubed vanilla cake topped with snickers whipped cream.  Repeat  this step, then top with vanilla cake.
9. Dollop plain whipped cream on top.
10. Decorate with gummy worms, candy corn, & gumballs.
11. Fill one side of the piping bag with orange buttercream & the other side with red.  Pipe a ring of buttercream around the base of the cauldron.
12. Using tip # 79 (u shaped tip) pipe flames all around the cauldron coming up from the base.
13. Finish it off by dusting gold disco dust around the edges.