Halloween Bat Cake

Directions

1. Set your oven to 350°F. Grease and dust three 6-inch cake pans with butter and flour (using cake strips is optional but helpful).
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, vegetable oil, coconut oil, sour cream, vanilla extract, and pumpkin purée until well combined.
3. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, both salts, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves. Gradually add the dry mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined.
4. Divide the batter among the prepared pans. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the centers bounce back when lightly pressed and the edges start to pull away from the sides.
5. In a clean mixing bowl, beat the egg whites with a pinch of kosher salt and cream of tartar until frothy. Gradually add 1/3 cup of sugar while beating continuously until soft peaks form.
6. In a medium saucepan, combine 1 cup sugar and 1/3 cup water. Heat over medium-high, stirring until the sugar dissolves and the mixture turns clear.
7. Continue heating without stirring until the syrup reaches 240°F on a candy thermometer.
8. With the mixer running on low, slowly drizzle the hot syrup into the egg white mixture. Increase speed and beat until the meringue cools to room temperature.
9. Replace the whisk with the paddle attachment. While mixing on medium speed, add the softened butter one tablespoon at a time, then incorporate the vanilla extract.
10. Continue beating until the butter is fully incorporated and the buttercream is smooth and silky.
11. Divide the buttercream into several bowls. Tint each with varying amounts of orange and brown gel food coloring to create a gradient effect.
12. In the stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the unsalted butter, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pumpkin purée until smooth.
13. Sift the confectioners' sugar, cinnamon, espresso powder, nutmeg, allspice, and ginger into the bowl. Beat until creamy and smooth, adjusting with extra sugar if the frosting is too thin.
14. Print three copies of a bat silhouette template. Lay them side by side and cover with a sheet of parchment paper.
15. Melt the black candy melts according to package directions, then spoon into a piping bag and cut a small opening at the tip.
16. Pipe the bat shapes onto the parchment following the templates. Let them dry completely.
17. Use the pumpkin buttercream to fill between each cake layer. Apply a thin crumb coat, then smooth with a bench scraper and offset spatula. Refrigerate until firm.
18. Briefly whip each colored Italian meringue buttercream to restore its texture. Transfer to piping bags and snip the tips.
19. Using the darkest orange first, pipe rows of buttercream around the cake in a gradient. Smooth the surface with a bench scraper, then chill again.
20. Gently peel the hardened bat shapes off the parchment paper; they are delicate.
21. Press the bats lightly onto the chilled buttercream to adhere them.