Halloween Graveyard Cake

What is more thematic for Halloween than a graveyard cake? I started with a recipe Sharon found at Spooky Graveyard Cake and their recipe for chocolate buttercream frosting, though I used 1/2 tsp almond extract, 2 tsp vanilla extract, and two drops of orange essence.  For the actual cake, I used this one bowl chocolate cake recipe.

Melt chocolate and cool for 10 minutes. Place in pastry bag with a small tip. Place parchment paper over template and "trace" chocolate.

Keep tracing outside lines, then filling any interior.

The little rail across the bottom helps hold the fence together.

Now for the main gate.

The tops are a little tricky. If you are a perfectionist, you might want to try a few first.

Or, if you are more of the You Only Live Once perspective, just go for it and let the imperfections be part of the charm.

For the tree, I started with the outline of the whole tree.

Then filled in. The lines you follow will be part of the texture of the final product, so follow the line of the trunk and branches for some nice bark effects.

Leftover chocolate can be used to decorate cookies.

Or to make spider web decorations.
For the final cake, make your favorite chocolate cake recipe. Frost with chocolate buttercream frosting. Decorate. Then sprinkle with crushed Oreo cookies.