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Trick or Treat! How to Make a Ghost Topper

September 26, 2011 By Melissa Diamond 68 Comments

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Today I’m going to show you how to make the CUTEST Halloween Cake featuring a sweet ghost cake topper and easy pumpkin patch border! This cake is perfect for kids’ Halloween parties!

 

Learn how to make this cute and easy Ghost Cake Topper in our free tutorial!

 

 

This cake design is perfect for any skill level of cake decorating! Even if you’ve never created a cake topper before, this is a great place to start. This is one of our favorite festive Halloween cakes, and was one of the first Halloween cakes that we added to our site. So much fun!

How to Make a Halloween Ghost Cake Topper

For the ghost’s head, I compressed/molded a (22g.) Rice Krispie Treat into a ball approximately 1 1/4 inches wide.  Then, I dipped the end of a lollipop stick into a little melted candy melts and drove the stick into my rice cereal ball.

Doing this just helps to keep everything where it belongs. (If you would rather, you could do the same thing with a ball of gum paste or fondant and allow to dry firm. I just love how quickly rice cereal treats can be molded to create a firm shape. Plus, it’s an excuse to keep rice cereal treats around the house!).

Learn how to make an adorable ghost cake topper in this free Halloween Cake Tutorial by MyCakeSchool.com!

Next, I snipped a piece of 20 gauge floral wire in half and wrapped it around the lollipop stick  until secure.  I hooked the ends so that my ghosty could hold onto her candy bucket.

You do not have to use 20 gauge wire….just choose something that will be stiff enough to hold it’s shape.  The wire serves as “ghost arms”…and also will help to give a little movement to our ghost costume.

Learn to make a CUTE Ghost Cake Topper in this free step by step cake decorating tutorial by MyCakeSchool.com! PERFECT for Halloween!

I smoothed a little fondant over the rice cereal treat ball.  This is optional, but helps if you feel that your cereal ball is a bit lumpy.

 

Learn how to make a ghost cake topper in this free Halloween Cake Tutorial by MyCakeSchool.com!

Next, I took fondant with some tylose mixed in (gum paste would be great too, as well as a 50/50 mix of fondant and gum paste) and I rolled it nice and thin….I then draped it over the “lollipop body” we’ve made.

This Ghost Cake Topper Tutorial by MyCakeSchool.com is SO cute and simple! Free Cake Tutorial!

Do a little trimming until your fondant drapes just how you like.This Ghost Cake Topper Tutorial by MyCakeSchool.com is SO cute and simple! Free Cake Tutorial!

Now, for the candy bucket!  I had some candy pumpkins that we’ll talk about a little later.  I just lopped off the top, brushed with a little piping gel so that my sprinkle “candy” would stick, and then pushed a “u” shaped wire (ends dipped in candy melts) into it.

Free Halloween Cake Tutorial for this easy and ADORABLE Ghost Cake Topper!! MyCakeSchool.com

The handle of the bucket easily hangs from the hooked hands that we made earlier.  Then, for a little something extra, I added fondant shoes and a bow.  The shoes make our ghost look more like a little girl dressed up in a costume rather than an actual ghost that’s hungry for candy!

The eyes are drawn on with a food coloring pen….and I decided to draw a face on our pumpkin bucket too!

I used my ghost within a few hours of making her, but for best results…allow to dry for a couple of days.  She’ll be less fragile.

 

Learn to make an adorable Ghost Cake Topper in this FREE Cake Tutorial by MyCakeSchool.com! Perfect for Halloween parties!

Now our sweet ghost topper topper is finished!

One of the most important things about the topper is the anchor.  I like an extra long anchor, and so I snipped a drinking straw to the approximate height of the cake or so, and slid the lollipop stick anchor right into it.  Easy!  Now our little trick or treater can stand up straight.  ;0)

 

Free Ghost Cake Topper Tutorial by MyCakeSchool.com! PERFECT for Halloween parties!

 

How to Make an Easy Pumpkin Patch Cake Design

Now that our ghost is ready, let’s add some personality to the sides!  Today, I did this with a bag of Mellocreme Pumpkins.  They remind me a little of Candy Corns as far as texture, in case you haven’t seen them.  Anyway, these made for a super quick pumpkin patch scene.

I simply sliced the candy pumpkin in half..

Learn to make an adorable Ghost Cake Topper in this free tutorial by MyCakeSchool.com!

 

Then, I pressed the pumpkins into the sides of my buttercream-frosted cake.  (Use a little buttercream as glue if your frosting has crusted over.)  *Use any buttercream that you’d like. We used our delicious Classic Vanilla Buttercream Recipe. 

After frosting the cake, we allowed it to crust for a few minutes and then smoothed over it with a simple Viva brand paper towel. (We use Viva brand because it has no quilting or impressions.) You can smooth however you’d like!

Kids will love this sweet Ghost Cake Topper! Free and easy tutorial by MyCakeSchool.com!

For the buttercream leaves we used a Wilton 352 leaf tip, and then for the vines we used a small round Wilton 2. (Any small round tip will do!)

Our pumpkin stems are simple brown jimmies.

Learn to make an adorable Ghost Cake Topper and Pumpkin Patch Design in this easy and FREE cake tutorial by MyCakeSchool.com!

This  pumpkin border was so much fun… it only took a few minutes!  That’s my kind of decoration.

CUTE Ghost Themed Cake with Pumpkin Patch Border! Free Tutorial by MyCakeSchool.com!

Now let’s take a look at the big picture!!!

Adorable Ghost Topper and Pumpkin Patch Border! Free Cake Tutorial by MyCakeSchool.com

 

 

More Halloween Cake Decorating and Recipe Ideas to Share!

Update 10/20: We have SO many more Halloween Cake tutorials and videos to share! Don’t miss our roundup of the BEST Halloween Cakes HERE!: Best Halloween Cake Designs and Ideas

We would also love for you to check out our collection of favorite FALL RECIPES! We have everything from pumpkin and spice cakes to caramel cakes, gingerbread cake, and more! You can find them all here: Sharing the BEST Cake Recipes for Fall!

 

Favorite Halloween Cake Tutorials and Design Ideas by MyCakeSchool.com!

 

I hope that you enjoyed this tutorial– be sure to whip up a ghost trick or treater topper or pumpkin patch sometime soon!! (Or at least, go buy a bag of Halloween candy to celebrate the fact that you have something new to put in your Halloween file!)

 

 

My Cake School- Favorite Online Cake Decorating Tutorials, Recipes, and More!

Thanks so much for stopping by! We’d love for you to also check out our Recipes Section for a full listing of our favorite cake and frosting recipes! Recipes Section  

We also have lots more fun free cake tutorials in our Free Tutorials Section!

And finally, if you’d like to lean even more about cake decorating, we’d love to have you as a member of My Cake School! Members of our site have full access to every cake decorating video we’ve made over the last several years. That’s hundreds of cake videos! You can find all of the details here!: My Cake School Membership

 

Related posts:

  1. Happy Halloweenie! Free Cake Video~ Featuring Topper & Tri-Colored Buttercream
  2. Witchy Woman
  3. Fall into Cupcakes!
  4. How to Make a Turkey Topper~Blog Tutorial!
  5. Apple Spiced Goodness….Blog Tutorial

Filed Under: Fall, Custom Toppers & Figure Modeling, Blog Tutorials, Seasonal & Holiday Tagged With: Halloween, Ghost, Ghost Cake Topper, Ghost Cake, Pumpkin Patch Cake

« Halloween Cupcake Tutorial!
Buttercream Ruffles in Shades of Teal-Video »

Comments

  1. Chrys September 26, 2011 at 1:26 am

    This is too cute! Love the bucket and bow!

    Reply
  2. Maureen Chapman September 26, 2011 at 1:56 am

    Omgoodness….she is so cute. Great ideas!!!

    Reply
  3. Jminton September 26, 2011 at 1:59 am

    I absolutely love this…can’t wait to do (try to do :) myself. Thanks so much for sharing! :)

    Reply
  4. Dawnuelle September 26, 2011 at 2:26 am

    Greetings Melissa!

    This cake is FANTASTIC!!! I love it. Please tell me what the stems are made from. They look like chocolate sprinkles but I wanted to be sure.

    Thanks!

    ~ Dawnuelle

    Reply
  5. Estíbaliz September 26, 2011 at 2:27 am

    Looovely!!!

    Reply
  6. Michelle September 26, 2011 at 3:53 am

    FANTASTIC!!!! Thank you soooo much for sharing your idea’s with us I’ll be making this for my granddaughter She’ll love it xx

    Reply
  7. BeBe September 26, 2011 at 6:47 am

    Thanks for the nice comments. Yes, the pumpkin stems are chocolate sprinkles.

    Reply
  8. seabass123 September 26, 2011 at 7:22 am

    Sooooooo cute. What was used to make the orange top of the cake that the cake topper is standing on?

    Reply
  9. BeBe September 26, 2011 at 8:23 am

    Orange sanding sugar is on top of the cake.

    Reply
  10. Kara@butterheartssugar September 26, 2011 at 9:59 am

    The ghost topper looks amazing, its so cute! and the pumpkin patch detail.. wow.

    Reply
  11. Kathy Pry September 26, 2011 at 1:06 pm

    So cute! I really love the pumpkin patch border, such a great idea!

    Reply
  12. Trisha September 26, 2011 at 1:21 pm

    oooooh geepers that ghost topper is SO DARN CUTE!! She doesn’t scare me at all…what does scare me is the fact that I would and can eat this whole cake up lickety split and not feel bad at all! GREAT topper tutorial!!!!!

    Reply
  13. funkreativekakes September 26, 2011 at 2:49 pm

    Super Cute….I love it. :)

    Reply
  14. Erica Kovacs September 26, 2011 at 5:16 pm

    Absolutely darling!

    Reply
  15. Lori September 26, 2011 at 8:20 pm

    Love it!!!

    Reply
  16. Brenda September 27, 2011 at 12:10 am

    I’m not big into the scarey side of halloween, but I have to say THIS IS WAY CUTE!

    Reply
  17. Cat September 27, 2011 at 1:33 pm

    Did you use your Fluffy Buttercream on this cake?

    Reply
  18. BeBe September 27, 2011 at 3:36 pm

    Hi, yes we did.

    Reply
  19. JENNIFER September 28, 2011 at 11:19 am

    I love it! This is soooo cute. I’m gonna make this for Halloween.

    Reply
  20. carolyn chapparo September 28, 2011 at 5:24 pm

    Super cute.. I can’t wait to try this cake.. The ghost is just adorable. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  21. erica September 28, 2011 at 11:43 pm

    i was wondering… how many layers is that? 3 or 4??? and is it an 8 or 9 inch circle? it’s so cute, i’m gonna try it this weekend! :)

    Reply
  22. Melissa Diamond September 28, 2011 at 11:47 pm

    Thanks!!

    Erica–this is a 6″ round—two fat layers (so, the cake was right around 4″ in height) – Thanks for the question, I should have included that info–

    Reply
  23. Cakes On The Lane September 29, 2011 at 2:21 am

    This is adorable!

    Reply
  24. Kristen Sheets September 29, 2011 at 7:27 am

    Holy cow, Is this just that cutest cake!!!
    I was actually browsing looking for a birthday cake idea for a friend, but when I came across this, I knew I’d found the cake I’ll be making for the bake auction at my kids’ school’s fall festival! Thank you for sharing scuba wonderful idea!!! This makes me want to skip work and go shopping for pumpkin candy!!

    Reply
  25. Kristen September 29, 2011 at 7:28 am

    *such, not scuba, lol. Auto correct strikes again! :)

    Reply
  26. Melissa Diamond September 29, 2011 at 8:32 am

    Thanks Kristen–love the random auto-correct words ;0) — I hope you have scuba a good time making this!

    Reply
  27. lucyinaz September 29, 2011 at 1:33 pm

    Super super cute!!!! Love it!!

    Reply
  28. jr06478 September 30, 2011 at 5:14 pm

    That is so adorable.

    Reply
  29. Cake mommy September 30, 2011 at 8:43 pm

    So cute! I was looking for an idea for the school fall festival cake walk. I think I found my cake. Thanks.

    Reply
  30. Pandora September 30, 2011 at 9:07 pm

    I love it! So creative and cute! I just need the ingredients. What a great idea for a bake sale or cake walk. Thank you for the steps and photos in making this adorable cake and topper.

    Reply
  31. Margie September 30, 2011 at 9:29 pm

    That is ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE!!!!! Melissa, you are just the best!
    Thanks for sharing this one. I can’t wait to try it!!!!!! :O

    Reply
  32. 4sweetssake October 1, 2011 at 11:24 am

    I just love this! Definitely going to give it a try…

    Reply
  33. Jules October 1, 2011 at 2:48 pm

    This is absolutely adorable & I will definitely make it. Thank you for your wonderful tutorials!!

    Reply
  34. svklovescake October 1, 2011 at 6:25 pm

    Just made this with my 8 year old as a mother daughter project. We had a blast! Such a cute idea. Thanks for sharing this wonderful tutorial!!

    Reply
  35. Rachael October 2, 2011 at 8:03 pm

    I’m feeling an “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!” pumpkin patch cake inspired by this one–love it!

    Reply
  36. Bela October 3, 2011 at 7:23 am

    This is sooooo cute and simple to do thanks for all your wonderful ideas!

    Reply
  37. K October 4, 2011 at 3:41 pm

    OH SO CUTE!!! Now I am going to have to have a Halloween party!!!

    Reply
  38. Rocio R October 5, 2011 at 7:59 am

    soo cute love it!!!!

    Reply
  39. Brenda October 5, 2011 at 11:15 am

    I’m not really into the scarey halloween, but this is so cute. I think my Mom would enjoy it at the nursing center. So, I just might have to try this one :)

    Reply
  40. Maureen Zaccaria October 7, 2011 at 12:12 pm

    This is so cute!!!

    Reply
  41. Lucina McNally October 7, 2011 at 10:46 pm

    I just love this one. It’s soooo cute. will definitely give this one a try.

    Reply
  42. Alison Dockree October 8, 2011 at 5:45 am

    Thankyou so much, I read your tutorial and managed to do a version of your lovely ghostie! Many thanks!

    Reply
  43. Brenda October 10, 2011 at 8:05 pm

    Well, I tried it. I’m the same Brenda as up above…just divided my cookie-ing and my cake-ing into two not very frequently updated blogs. Some months are better than others. Anyway, I finished a cake sorta, kinda like yours. I made the layers white (vanilla flav), orange (orange flav) and yellow (lemon flav). I think my Mom will totally get a kick out of this cute idea…and she loves me so maybe she won’t notice that I almost dropped the cake and think I got it a weeee bit outta kelter. Thank you SO much for the idea!!!! Now, one more to thank a school principal for my “boo-ti-ful” little office at her school (I travel) and she was VERY kind. Want to put a little desk behind Missy Ghost Girl, but think I better leave well enough alone:)

    Reply
  44. Brenda October 12, 2011 at 10:13 pm

    Just thought you might like to see my Mom with her cake that I posted. Thank you for such a wonderful idea…one that I could attempt and one that would bring joy to an aging parent.

    Reply
  45. Melissa Diamond October 12, 2011 at 10:46 pm

    Brenda–I you did such a GREAT job!! The ghost is just as sweet as can be. I loved reading your blog and seeing the picture of you with your mom. (Just want to make sure that everyone knows that they can click on your name to be carried to your website) :0) — Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  46. hellokitty October 17, 2011 at 4:18 pm

    My husband wants me to make him a couple of cakes for his Halloween Bake sell at work. I have to make this one. It’s so stinkin cute! Thank you for the awesome tutorial.

    Reply
  47. Sheron Smith October 18, 2011 at 5:20 pm

    That is the cutest thing…you have awesome ideas

    Reply
  48. Lisa in nJ October 19, 2011 at 6:11 pm

    I’m going to try to make this on Saturday for my work peeps. They are going through cake withdrawl. LOL

    Reply
  49. xmstazx October 23, 2011 at 6:07 pm

    Ok I tired it…while it’s not as good looking as your’s it’s pretty cool. If you click on my name you can see it.

    Reply
  50. Catherine Lambert October 23, 2011 at 11:44 pm

    I have my ghost made. It looks pretty good so far. Can’t wait to do the rest.:-))

    Reply
  51. Phyllis Minga October 28, 2011 at 3:14 am

    This is so cute. I was watching KHQA.com today on internet. They had reporter in a bakery doing Halloween Cake Decorating. I have made three Fall cakes so far this week for our cake walk at the fall festival and i have made 48 cupcakes that I will decorate on Saturday. This ghost cake is adorable. I made the pumpkin cake they had on KHQA today and it turned out so cute. Cake decorating is in my blood. I cannot wait to try to make the little ghost.

    Reply
  52. Dr. Janet McComb November 16, 2011 at 5:28 pm

    I made two of these wonderful little ghost cakes. One went to my husband’s work. The people in the office were reluctant to cut it, because it was too cute! The other went to our family hayride, bonfire, cookout. It was a hit with everyone, but my thirty year old son was this cake’s greatest admirer!

    Reply
  53. Melissa Diamond November 16, 2011 at 5:36 pm

    Janet, so glad to hear that you made two ghost cakes and that they were a hit! Thanks to everyone else whose comments I am just now seeing! It’s so nice to hear feedback from tutorials!! ;0)

    Reply
  54. Sherrie Jones November 6, 2012 at 11:38 am

    Such a cute cake!

    Reply
  55. Karen @ Sugartown Sweets September 14, 2013 at 5:26 pm

    Beyond adorable!! Love, love, love this!

    Reply
  56. jen September 25, 2013 at 7:55 pm

    Hi Melissa,

    As usual, this is super cute and I love it. I have a couple of questions:

    1. Do you think a cake pop would work or would the fondant be too heavy?

    2. Can you think of an alternative to the wire? I’d like to make these as cupcake toppers and I’d like the kids to be able to eat them too and am concerned about the kids trying to eat the wire. (maybe I’m paranoid??)

    Thanks!

    Reply
  57. Maureen September 26, 2013 at 8:54 pm

    Melissa, you are so awesome! Thank you

    Reply
  58. Kathy October 2, 2013 at 10:41 pm

    Love this cake.. I am a newbie to your site, am making this for this Saturday. I don’t understand the straw anchor reference. Could you explain that?

    Reply
  59. Melissa Diamond October 2, 2013 at 11:05 pm

    Hello Kathy– I’m glad that you are making this! The lollipop stick in this design not only acts to support the arms and head, but it also is longer than the figure itself. This is good because it acts as an anchor and holds the topper in position, so that our ghost won’t tilt to the right or left. Sometimes, my anchor just isn’t as long as I’d like. When this happens, I slide a thin cocktail/stir straw over the lollipop stick to elongate it. If you cut the straw to the height of the cake, it will not only keep the ghost anchored, but it will keep it from sinking. In this case though, the ghost isn’t very heavy and so that probably wouldn’t be much of a concern. (For heavier cake toppers, I always cut a straw…usually a wide bubble tea straw, to the same height as the cake a place directly beneath the figure to prevent it from sinking.)

    Hope this answers your question!

    Reply
  60. Melissa Diamond October 2, 2013 at 11:11 pm

    @Jen–I’m sorry that I missed your question! I think that the cake pop idea could work. If the fondant seems a little too heavy and you are worried about the cake balls sliding down the stick, you could slide a marshmallow or gum drop up the stick so that it is just beneath the cake ball. This will help to keep the cake ball in place (I’ve done this before with mini cupcakes on sticks) –

    As for the wires– I think that this could work. Since you will be using small pieces of white fondant, I think they are more likely to hold their shape. If you form them around a lollipop for instance to get the shape of the head, and then remove the lollipop, and stand them up to dry, they may stay. If not, you may have to fill the ghosts with bits of paper towel or place back onto the lollipops until they firm up some more.

    Reply
  61. jen October 10, 2013 at 6:02 pm

    Melissa,

    Thanks! I hadn’t thought of propping up the fondant with paper towels to see if it would dry that way. Great idea.

    I’ve decided to try to make your chocolate spider invasion cake for a halloween party.

    I made a variation on your birdcage cake for mother’s day and it was a huge hit. We took it to a restaurant for our brunch and our waiter loved it and kept going on about it. I posted it in your gallery in case you’re interested in seeing it. https://www.mycakeschool.com/gallery/gum-paste-fondant/custom-toppers-figure-modeling-gallery/animals/jens-mothers-day-birdcage-cake/

    Love the blog!

    Reply
  62. Melissa Diamond October 10, 2013 at 11:19 pm

    Hi Jen–I’m so glad that you are making the spider invasion cake–it’s a fun one! ;0) — Just checked out your birdcage cake and LOVE it!! Just precious–no wonder the waiter went on and on. The birds are the cutest!

    Reply
  63. Paula M. October 27, 2014 at 12:59 am

    Melissa; wondering what color green you used for the vines/leaves. Thank you.

    Reply
  64. Paula May 2, 2015 at 10:03 pm

    I was wondering if orange frosting was buttercream frosting?

    Reply
  65. BeBe May 2, 2015 at 10:11 pm

    Hi Paula, The orange on the top of the cake is orange sprinkles.

    Reply
  66. Jeanie Goff October 12, 2017 at 8:34 pm

    Love the little ghost with the trick or treat pumpkin bucket.

    Reply
  67. Brenda Holland June 24, 2022 at 4:07 pm

    Before my Mom passed away I saw this and made one for my Momma….my boo-ti-ful girl. She absolutely loved it and giggled when she saw it. It is one of my favorite memories! Thank you for sharing this tutorial!

    Reply
    • Melissa Diamond June 24, 2022 at 4:13 pm

      That is so nice, love this sweet picture and am so glad that you made this cake for her! What a special memory.

      Reply

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