Halloween Graveyard Cake

• 1 (18.25 ounce) package devil's food cake mix (such as Duncan Hines(R))
• 1 cup water
• 3 large eggs
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 24 fudge stick cookies
• 4 black licorice whips, or as needed
• 1 (16 ounce) container dark fudge frosting (such as Pillsbury(R))
• 1/4 cup chocolate-covered raisins
• 2 tablespoons toffee chips
• 2 tablespoons shredded coconut
• 4 drops green food coloring
• 12 candy pumpkins
• 3 oval butter sandwich cookies with chocolate filling (eg Pepperidge Farm Milano)
• 1 (.68 oz. tube) black decorating gel
• 1/4 cup chocolate cookie crumbs
• 1 marshmallow ghost (such as Peeps(R))

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a disposable foil pan with a domed plastic lid.
2. Beat cake mix with water, eggs, and oil in a large bowl using an electric mixer until no dry spots remain. Increase speed to medium; blend well. Pour batter into the prepared pan.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 32 to 36 minutes. Let cool completely, at least 30 minutes.
4. Frost the cooled cake with frosting.
5. Push fudge sticks upright about 1/2-inch apart into 3 outer edges of the cake to represent fence posts. Place additional fudge sticks about 1/2-inch apart in a diagonal line across the cake starting at the fourth corner to create a small area outside the graveyard. Weave licorice whips through the fence posts for crosspieces. Connect 2 parallel sticks with a third diagonal one and attach with frosting to make a gate.
6. Make a winding path from the gate to the far edge of the cake with 2 parallel lines of chocolate covered raisins as boulders. Fill the path with toffee chip for rocks. Assemble a licorice whip tree; insert in the middle of the path in the far corner of the graveyard.
7. Mix coconut with green food coloring in a small bowl until thoroughly dyed. Arrange outside the gate into a lawn. Pile a mound of candy pumpkins in 1 corner of the graveyard and a few on the grass.
8. Write spooky phrases on the upper thirds of the oval cookies with black decorator gel icing such as 'RIP" with a skull and crossbones, "Yul B. Next," or "Here Lies ---." Stick cookie gravestones carefully into the cake. Scatter cookie crumbs all over the graveyard to represent dirt; stack any extra crumbs into a dirt pile in front of a gravestone. Place a marshmallow ghost at the fence, peeking out from between two posts.

cake mix, water, eggs, vegetable oil, cookies, black licorice, frosting, chocolatecovered raisins, toffee chips, coconut, pumpkins, chocolate filling, black decorating gel, chocolate cookie crumbs, marshmallow

Taken from www.allrecipes.com/recipe/260285/halloween-graveyard-cake/ (may not work)