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The only coffin shaped cake pan we could find is one made by Pantastic. These are special plastic pans that you can use in a regular oven as long as you don't exceed 375 degrees. This coffin shaped pan measures 7" x 13" x 1-3/4" and makes a nice sized cake. For the cake mix we used Dunkin Hines brand "Red Velvet" cake mix because of its deep red color. Below are the instructions for using this cake mix in the coffin pan. Preheat the oven to 325°.

Grease the pan's sides and bottom with cooking spray. Combine the ingredients in a large mixing bowl: Red Velvet Cake Mix, 1-1/4 Cups Water, 1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil and 3 Large Eggs. Blend on low speed for 30 seconds, then at medium speed for another 2 minutes. Pour the batter into the pan until it is half full (you will not use all of the cake mix). Important - Place the plastic coffin pan on a shiny aluminum cookie sheet for baking. Bake for approximately 30-35 minutes.

While the cake is baking you can mix-up the black frosting. We used Dunkin Hines brand "Creamy Home-Style Classic Chocolate" frosting. Its already a dark colored frosting, so requires very little icing color. First, spoon out the frosting from its original container into a small mixing bowl. Add about a 1/4 teaspoon of Wilton brand black "Icing Color" to the frosting and stir thoroughly until it is well blended and black as a Halloween night.

Check the cake after 30 minutes using the tooth pick test. The cake is done when you can stick a tooth pick in its center and it comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool for fifteen minutes. Use a cake top trimmer or bread knife to trim the top of the cake off flat. Carefully run a thin bladed knife around the inside of the cake pan to separate the cake from the sides of the pan. Release the cake by inverting it onto the serving dish you wish to use.

Using a cake frosting spatula, carefully spread the black frosting over the top and sides of the cake as evenly as possible. Once you've frosted the cake you can use cotton swabs to remove any frosting that smeared on the serving plate. You can serve the coffin cake as is or decorate it as we've done. To make a bat decoration on the cake like we did, let the frosting set for about an hour or two so that it won't stick to the cookie cutter as much.

Place a large bat shaped cookie cutter on top of the cake over the spot where you want the figure of the bat to be and press it into the frosting slightly. Now, using a cotton swab, paint the frosting inside of the cookie cutter with a thin coating of vegetable oil for the sprinkles to stick to. Carefully spoon in just enough colored sugar sprinkles to cover the area inside, we used red sprinkles. When you remove the cookie cutter the figure of the bat is left behind.