Mini Nightmare Before Christmas Sponge Cakes
These Mini Nightmare Before Christmas Sponge Cakes are so adorable and a blast to make! I promise that if you make these for a Halloween party this year, you will instantly be the most popular one there . Not only are these cakes so much fun and so festive, but they’re totally customizable to make whatever spooky characters you want :) I hope that you all enjoy this recipe as much as I do!
How To Make Mini Nightmare Before Christmas Sponge Cakes
- Start by tracing 4-inch parchment paper circles to fit your molds—these silicone cake molds work perfectly.
- Draw Nightmare Before Christmas character faces on half of the parchment rounds using an edible marker. Think Jack Skellington, Sally, Zero, or Oogie Boogie!
- Next, prepare the sponge batter and separate it into small batches for each color you’ll need. Use gel food coloring—never liquid—as it keeps the batter thick enough for precise piping. Then carefully pipe your designs onto the parchment circles placed inside the molds.
- After a short chill in the fridge (just 3–5 minutes), top with plain sponge batter and bake. Once cooled, fill each cake with fresh whipped cream and any extras like fruit or sprinkles, then sandwich a designed top on each.
Recipe Tips
- Use gel food coloring only – Liquid food dye will water down your batter and make it hard to pipe clean lines.
- Don’t overmix the egg whites into the yolk batter—fold gently until just combined to keep the batter fluffy.
- Chill the piped designs briefly (3–5 minutes) before adding the rest of the batter. This helps keep your details crisp during baking.
- Use tipless piping bags for easy, mess-free piping of intricate shapes.
Can I Use Boxed Cake Mix?
No, boxed cake mix is not recommended for this recipe. And here’s why:
It’s too runny – Boxed cake mixes are thinner and don’t hold shape when piped, making it nearly impossible to create clean, detailed character faces.
Longer bake times – These sponge cakes are small and delicate. Boxed mixes require more time in the oven, which can lead to over-baked or dried-out cakes.
Most importantly, every flavor and brand for boxed cake mix is different so I cannot guarantee the same results for just any cake mix. For best results, stick with the homemade sponge cake recipe. It’s light, fluffy, and just firm enough to showcase your Nightmare Before Christmas designs.
How to Store Mini Nightmare Before Christmas Sponge Cakes
To keep your cakes sooo fresh and beautiful:
- Store the filled and assembled cakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- If you’re not serving them right away, add a layer of plastic wrap over the container to prevent the whipped cream from absorbing any fridge odors.
- These mini cakes are best eaten within 2–3 days :)
How to Keep These Cakes from Drying Out
The secret? Proper storage. Because sponge cake has very little fat and is not coated in frosting, it can dry out quickly if exposed to air. Once your cakes are fully cooled and filled:
- Store them immediately in an airtight container.
- Avoid leaving them out uncovered at room temperature.
- If possible, keep them chilled—this helps retain moisture while keeping the whipped cream stable.
Check Out My Complete Guide For Designed Sponge Cakes!
For more in depth information on these designed sponge cakes, check out my Complete Guide where I take you through every step of the recipe, link every single product I use to make these cakes, and answer all of the most frequently asked questions.
Complete Guide – Designed Sponge Cakes
Mini Nightmare Before Christmas Sponge Cakes
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12
servings20
minutes10
minutesKeep the screen of your device on.
Ingredients
12 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar (for yolk batter)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup whole milk
4 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tsp. white vinegar
12 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar (for egg whites)
gel food dye (not liquid)
- Whipped Cream Filling
2 cups heavy whipping cream
5 Tbsp. confectioners sugar
dash salt
2 tsp. vanilla
fresh fruit or festive sprinkles, optional
Directions
- Find my in-depth course for these Designed Sponge Cakes & join my baking community, here!
- Begin by tracing your 4″ cake molds onto parchment paper and cutting out 24 circles to fit inside each mold. You can find the exact molds I used on Amazon, here! On half of the circles, draw or trace as many Nightmare Before Christmas characters faces as you want using an edible marker. You can find the edible markers I use on Amazon, here! Set the silicone molds and parchment circles aside. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- To make the sponge cake batter, separate the egg whites from the egg yolks. We are using every part of the egg in this recipe, so hang onto both. Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer, and the egg yolks into a large bowl. Set the egg whites aside; we will need them later.
- Whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, vegetable oil, milk, and vanilla until smooth.
- Sift the flour and cornstarch into the colored egg yolk mixture. Whisk until the batter is nice and smooth. The batter will be thick. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites from earlier until frothy. Slowly add the sugar and vinegar to the egg whites.
- Whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form. This is very important. Stiff peaks should be able to stand up straight when the whisk is lifted.
- Add the egg whites to the egg yolk mixture. Gently fold in the egg whites. Be careful not to over-mix the batter. Over-mixing will deflate the egg whites and make the batter thin and runny. Mix until the egg whites are just evenly distributed and the batter has few streaks.
- Scoop a few tablespoons of sponge cake batter at a time to dye each color you’ll need for each character. To make each color, gently scoop and fold the food gel into the batter to prevent the batter from deflating and thinning out. Place each color into a piping bag. You can find the exact tipless piping bags I use on Amazon, here!
- Now that our batter is prepared and colored, lightly grease your silicone molds and place them on a cookie sheet (this will help the transferring process so it’s easy to pick up and your molds don’t smudge). Place the Nightmare Before Christmas character designed parchment circles facing up or down (does not matter) into the greased molds.
- Cut a very small tip off of your piping bag (you can always cut off a bit more if needed) and carefully trace the design you made on your parchment paper. Repeat this step until all of your designs are colored in and traced with batter. You do not need to refrigerate the molds between each color. Place these molds on the cookie sheet in the fridge to firm up for 3-5 minutes, this is the only time you need to refrigerate the designs – just before adding the batter on top.
- In the meantime, place the remaining uncolored batter in a piping bag. After the designs have sat in the fridge for a few minutes, pipe an even layer of batter on top of your design.
- Bake these for 8-10 minutes or until the cake has a slight bounce back once tapped on top. The sides of the cake will turn a very light golden color as well.
- As soon as the cakes are finished baking, take them out of the oven and run a butterknife along the edges of the mold to help release the cake. Then flip the molds onto a piece of parchment paper so that your designs are now facing up. Right away, peel the parchment paper circles off of each cake to reveal your design.
- Once all of your designed cakes are made, pipe the remaining batter into the molds without any designs, as these will be the bottom layers of our cakes.
- Allow all of your cakes to cool before decorating. In the meantime, you can prepare the whipped cream.
- To make the Whipped Cream, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the cream, sugar, and vanilla until stiff peaks have formed and you have reached a whipped cream consistency.
- Once your cakes have cooled and your whipped cream has been prepped, it’s time to decorate! Place one undesigned layer of cake down on your serving dish and pipe nice fluffy layers of whipped cream on top. Place a designed cake on top. Repeat this step for each cake.
- Feel free to fill your cakes with jam, fresh fruit, festive sprinkles, etc. Enjoy!
Equipment
Tipless Piping BagsFind On Amazon!- Americolor Food GelFind On Amazon!
- Edible MarkersFind On Amazon!
Did you make this recipe?
I love seeing what you bake on socials! Just tag @thesqueakymixer
Can you store in the freezer until ready to assemble?
I have everything to try this recipe but I’m having trouble finding the images. Do you offer those or are you able to point me in the right direction??
What is the color’s name of the “light blue” doll’s face?
Obrigado pela receita irei fazer
Hello, these are so cute! Can you share where you got the Nightmare Before Christmas images? I’d be happy to send you coffee money so I can stop searching!!!