To honor Halloween’s finest gross out goodies – I have decided to give you a list of my favs from around the internet.  These are in no particular order, they are all equally disturbing. 

1.) Brain Cupcakes 

Ooeey, Gooey Brain Cupcakes

Brain Cupcakes are taken from Xsomnis’ PhotoStream on Flickr.  Please view more of her cakes and cupcakes here.  Check out her Zombie Food Guide.  She gives you complete instructions on how to make the Brain Cupcakes as well as were to buy the molds. Nice, thanks Xsomnis! 

2.) Just a really GROSS cupcake 

Most of the time it is the way we decorate the cupcakes that makes them look unappealing – but the inside of the cupcake still looks delicious.  Well, this is a twist on making a gross cupcake…it really is just that, a gross looking cupcake inside and out.  Sugar Plum Pastries created this one, and yes, it is entirely made of sugar.  I really don’t think I could eat this one.  Could you? 

Ewwww...gross. This really is a gross cupcake.

3.) Human Heart Cupcakes 

Some of the most realstic, anatomically correct cakes and cupcakes are created in the Evil Cake Shop.  If you have a second, and a strong stomach, take a look through their website.  But beware, they have several NSFW body parts as well.  Sick. 

Eat your "heart" out

4.) Human Jaw Cupcakes 

Another winner by the Evil Cake Shop, take a bite out of these toothy cupcakes at your next Halloween party. 

Bite Me

5.) Monster Cupcakes 

Chef Lynn of Yummy Cakes by Lynn created these cool monster cupcakes by first crafting an eye out of fondant, then working around that.  I love the bright colors in these kooky creatures!  So fun. 

I've got my EYE on you

6.) Broken Glass Cupcakes

Oh Martha, you always have the best ideas!  Thanks to Martha Stewart for these Broken Glass Cupcakes which use shards of sugar “glass” and a red fruit sauce for blood.   These really are the perfect Halloween Cupcake.

Careful with these ones.

7.) Kitty Litter Cupcakes

You’ve probably seen it before – Heck, I made a Kitty Litter Cake a few years ago – but have you ever seen Kitty Litter Cupcakes?  Cupcakeables took the famously nasty Kitty Litter Cake and modified into a cupcake version.

Meow!

I will have many more creepy Halloween Cupcakes in the days to come…keep checking back.  Happy Halloween!

Farm Animal Baby Shower Cake for Miss Dawn

Let me start off by saying I love this goofy little cake!   It has been a while since I was truly excited about a cake.   Many of the cakes I have done recently have been repeats of ones prior…not much of a challenge.  This time I was given free rein in design and decorating…I love when that happens.  

Two things were for sure…the cake needed to be two tiers and needed to incorporate farm animals.  I got to work the same way I always do by heading to the internet!   Yes I have ideas of my own, but the internet is an invaluable tool when putting together my vision.   I can find new techniques and borrow bits and pieces from others to come up with my master plan. 

This time around I planned to stay away from decorating with fondant; instead I would try my hand at decorating with buttercream.  Don’t get me wrong, I love how smooth and flawless fondant makes a cake appear, but there is something whimsical and scrumptious about buttercream.   Buttercream makes you want to dive in and devour that cake. 

I needed some technique other than decorating with buttercream, something to make it a bit more fun.   Sweetopia not only is one of the cutest websites online, they make the most beautiful cookies.   Aside from showcasing their work, they offer informative tutorials on decorating with Royal Icing.   Did you know…aside from piping royal icing on cakes and cookies you can pipe designs onto parchment paper, let dry and then apply directly to a cake?  Here is the article on how to do it… Royal Icing Flood Work or Runouts.

My Royal Icing Sheep

I decided to break-up the tiers of this cake.  The bottom tier would be the ground…pastures with fence and cute farm animals.  The top tier would be sky with a few clouds and a couple of birds. 

Top Tier of Cake

I tried the royal icing technique on the farm animals.  Pigs and Sheep seemed an easy way to start. I drew out a few designs and placed parchment paper over the top of the design. I then piped royal icing over the lines.  Seems easy enough, doesn’t it?   After all the animals were complete, I placed them on cookie sheets to dry overnight.  I removed them by simply sliding an offset spatula underneath to release them.   They were attached directly to the cake with a couple dabs of royal icing…voila!  Those little sheep and piggies just made me smile…perfect!

Elmo Cake

I just had to share this adorable Elmo cake that my sister made.  She sent me the photos the other day…and I knew it had to go up on the site.  I am not entirely sure of the whole story behind this super cute Elmo cake, but I assume it was made for a birthday party.

How cute is Elmo?

So what better way to celebrate and honor the 2010 Winter Olympic Games then with a collection of the best Winter Olympic inspired goodies I could find.  Really, this search was prompted by one shining example, Marian’s Olympic Mascot Cookies from Sweetopia.net.  She is a true sugar master.  The time that goes into these cookies is incredible.

Sweetopia's Olympic Mascot Cookies - Miga and Mukmuk

Sweetopia's Olympic Mascot Cookies - Quatchi

The mascots this year are comical.  Quatchi is  a sasquatch – how funny is that?  A sasquatch that wears boots and earmuffs no less.  And Mukmuk…a marmot. “Hey, nice marmot!”

Another great example of an Olympic inspired sweet is this is Olympic mascot cake done by Anne Elizabeth Cakes.  I love the mascots – she did an excellent job.

Anna Elizabeth Cake's Olympic Mascot Cake

Of course we need a cupcake – so here it is…the Olympic Ring cupcake done by Clever Cupcakes in Montreal, Canada.

Clever Cupcake's Olympic Ring Cupcake

Since the Olympics are being held in Vancouver, British Columbia we should probably have a native dessert as well.  The Nanaimo bar is named for the city of Nanaimo in British Columbia and consists of wafer layer, a custard layer and then is covered in chocolate.    Here, The Kitchn shows us their version of this Olympic inspired treat.

Yum...Olympic Inspired Nanaimo Bars

I hope this inspires you to make your own Olympic themed treats  to eat while cheering on Team USA, of course.  Win Big Team USA – you make me proud to be an American!

My Version of Hummingbird Cake

Baking is a science. Unlike cooking which allows you to add a pinch of this and a tad of that to taste, baking recipes need to be followed to a tee.  Otherwise, the result can be disastrous.

I, like many great bakers, borrow recipes and ideas from the pros.  There are always certain things you can do to put your signature on a recipe and make it your own.  Let’s take Hummingbird Cake for example…there are so many variations of this cake out there for you to try.  My personal favorite is Paula Dean’s version of Hummingbird Cake. Her version is delicious as is, but I wanted to make this recipe my own and give it a personal twist.

As a guideline, I never mess with the amount or type of flour used in a recipe.  The leavening agents are also something I stay spot on with.  When it comes to sugar you can probably get away with adding a bit less, but I wouldn’t recommend changing the actual “type” of sugar. Brown sugar has more moisture than granulated sugar and some sweeteners such as Splenda or Equal don’t translate the same as granulated sugar.  I must not forget to mention that calorie-free sweeteners can leave an unpleasant aftertaste in your baked goods as well as cause them not to rise up. 

Changes should be subtle…adding a different kind of nut, chip or spice.  Making a recipe your own can even be as simple as adding slightly more of one ingredient.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a cuckoo for coconut – it is one of my favorite ingredients to work with.  Simply adding a ½ cup of sweetened flake coconut to this Hummingbird Cake created a whole new layer of flavor and a bit more texture.

The next twist I made on this Hummingbird Cake recipe was replacing the finely chopped pecans with more roughly chopped toasted pecans.

***Chefs Note on Toasting Pecans***

To toast pecans simply place them in a dry pan over medium heat.  Be sure to keep an eye on them and stir often.  Pecans have oil in them that left unattended can burn. And no one wants burnt nuts in their cake.  You will know when they are done when they smell aromatic and are slightly browned

The last change I made to this Hummingbird Cake recipe was to kick up the cinnamon.  To bump up the warmth cinnamon can add, I increased the amount of cinnamon to 1 ½ teaspoons. 

I finished the cake with cream cheese icing, toasted coconut and whole toasted pecans. 

I am still learning about the science behind cake baking.  For more information on this topic check out these sites:

About.com – Baking Ingredient Science

WilliePrejean’s Baking and Baking Science

Hummingbird Cake

Ingredients
Serves 12

FOR THE CAKE

• Nonstick vegetable spray
•  All-purpose flour, for pans
•  3 cups self-rising flour
• 2 cups granulated sugar
•  3/4 cup vegetable oil
•  1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
•  2 very ripe large bananas, mashed
• 1 (8-ounce) crushed pineapple, with juice
•  1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 4 large eggs, beaten

 FOR THE FROSTING

• 1 pound (1 box) confectioners’ sugar, (for the frosting)
• 1 (8-ounces) cream cheese, room temperature (for the frosting)
• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, softened (for the frosting)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, (for the frosting)
• 1 tablespoon milk, or more if needed (for the frosting)
• 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans, (for the frosting)

****(My changes to this recipe include…adding ½ cup sweetened flake coconut, larger toasted pecans and ½ teaspoon more cinnamon)

Directions

1.   Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray and flour three 8-by-2-inch round cake pans, tapping out excess flour; set aside.

2.   Prepare the cake; in a large bowl, stir to combine self-rising flour, sugar, oil, pecans, bananas, pineapple, vanilla, cinnamon, and eggs.

3.   Divide batter evenly between prepared pans, smoothing with an offset spatula. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until the tops spring back when gently pressed with your fingertips, 26 to 28 minutes.

4.   Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool 10 minutes. Invert cakes onto wire rack. Re-invert cakes and let them cool completely, top sides up.

5.   Prepare the frosting; in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine sugar, cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon milk on medium speed until frosting is smooth. If needed, add more milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, to achieve the proper spreading consistency.

6.   Using a serrated knife, trim tops of cakes to make level. Place four strips of parchment paper around perimeter of a serving plate or lazy Susan. Place the first layer on the cake plate. Spread the top of the first layer with 1/4 of the frosting. Place the second layer on top and repeat process with another 1/4 of the frosting. Place the remaining layer on top of the second layer bottom side up. Spread entire cake with remaining frosting. Sprinkle the top with pecans. Remove parchment paper strips; refrigerate until ready to serve.

Photo courtesy of Joshua Wood Photography

December is a month full of activities.  Holidays, shopping, cooking, cleaning, and if you have children, well they are home from school for half the month.  This past December I took on a new task, one that was not only stressful but also worthwhile as it would test both my organization and baking abilities…I signed on to do my first wedding.

Weddings are a whole other department in the baking world.  This isn’t just someone’s graduation cake or birthday cake…this was someone’s WEDDING!  Most brides want it to be the most perfect day of their entire life…that’s a lot to live up to. 

The bride and I met back in April for a cake tasting. She sampled the four flavors of cake I had so skillfully prepared…Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Swiss Meringue Butterceam, Spice Cake with Cinnamon Buttercream, Funfetti with Swiss Meringue Buttercream, and Strawberry Cake with Swiss Meringue Buttercream. 

Along with eating cake we discussed her vision for the wedding.  One thing that remained an unchanged constant was the wedding cake.  She brought me a photograph from Real Simple, the cake was elegant and understated…quilted white fondant with silver floral and pearl accents – perfect for a winter wedding. 

Fondant that has a quilted effect and pearl accents.

The wedding cake was going to be used simply for display and the cutting ceremony; whereas, the cupcakes were to be served as the actual dessert. The bride wanted each guest to receive three mini cupcakes, in three different flavors: chocolate, spice and funfetti.  Each cupcake would be decorated with a gum paste flower that would mimic the flowers on the wedding cake. 

The wedding cake consisted of three layers, each a different flavor.  The bottom layer was Funfetti Cake; Funfetti being the bride’s favorite cake flavor from her childhood.  The middle layer was Chocolate Cake…who doesn’t like chocolate?  The top of the wedding cake was Spice Cake; her fiancé’s personal favorite.

Once the month of December hit, my stomach went into knots.  I found myself thinking about it day and night.  Was I up to this challenge?  I found my mind racing at night while lying in bed.  “How much butter?”, “How many eggs?”, “How much gum paste is needed for 650 daisies?”. 

Gum Paste Daisies, 650 of them...

One thing I knew for certain is that I needed to organize myself by creating a timeline.  The timeline was crucial for staying on task. Baking is the easy part in my eyes.  The real time comes in the decorations and details. 

The gum paste flowers for 650 mini cupcakes were definitely the first order of business. The next step was figuring out how much butter, sugar, flour, etc. I would need.  I did this by breaking down recipes and with a couple of calculations…viola, the list was together. 

The week of the wedding came and I had briefed my family on the rules.  There was to be no whining, no hanging out in my work space, no friends over, and we would be doing a lot of carryout meals. 

The kitchen became more of an assembly line on certain nights with my good friend Bridget and my husband Tom working the line. They were incredibly helpful…love you guys!  Somehow it all came together just in time.  I officially have a wedding under my belt, and boy am I proud of myself and my work.

Photo courtesy of Joshua Wood Photography - www.JoshuaJWood.com

Special thanks to photographer, Joshua Wood, for the use of his gorgeous photos of the cake and wedding. www.JoshuaJWood.com

Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake

If you are seeking the perfect dessert to serve this Thanksgiving, look no further.  This is the perfect twist on your classic Pumpkin Pie.  The filling is very similar to pumpkin pie, perhaps a bit sweeter, but also a bit creamier.  The crust is soft and extremely buttery.  The combination of the two create an amazing mouthfeel and offer a satisfyingly sweet end to a rich Thanksgiving dinner.

The Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake sits amongst my favorite all time desserts.  After serving it to family and friends, I imagine it sits at the top for many people.  Since this is a classic Paula Deen recipe, you shouldn’t be too surprised at how rich it actually is.  And like the name implies, it is not lacking in butter.

But, it is Thanksgiving after all.  It is the one time of year you are expected to overindulge.  Oh Paula Deen and your butter rich recipes…you kill me.   

Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake
Ingredients:

Cake:

• 1 (18 1/4-ounce) package yellow cake mix
• 1 egg
• 8 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling:

• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 8 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 (16-ounce) box powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions:

1.)  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2.)  Combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well with an electric mixer. Pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13 by 9-inch baking pan.

3.)  To make the filling: In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter, and beat together. Next, add the powdered sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mix well. Spread pumpkin mixture over cake batter and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Make sure not to overbake as the center should be a little gooey.

4.)  Serve your Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake with fresh whipped cream.

Finished Yankees Cake

Growing up in the Cleveland area can be a nightmare for a sports fan.  “There’s always next year” is our regular end of season moto.  Cleveland has had the longest sports championship drought out of any other U.S. city.  1964 was the last time Cleveland, Ohio saw a championship team, when the Browns won the NFL Championship.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have some very exciting players and make it to the playoffs regularly, but can’t  seal the deal. In 1948 the Cleveland Indians last won the World Series…one can see the pattern of our sports teams. 

The New York Yankees are a team either loved or loathed by people.  This could have something to do with the Yankees leading Major League Baseball in both revenue and titles. 27 World Series titles, 40 American League penants and some of the most celebrated players (Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio, and Yogi Berra) is an impressive and intimidating resume. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised when I was asked to create a Yankees theme birthday cake for a long time fan.

Fondant Mitt and Royal Icing Baseballs

The Yankees cake was decorated using Marshmallow Fondant and Royal Icing.  Royal Icing is tempermental in its consistency, but when right it can make the most fabulous decorations.  I used royal icing on a few areas of this cake…the stitching on the baseballs and the actual baseballs along its sides. 

To create the baseballs, I piped royal icing onto a silpat and let it dry overnight.  Before lifting the baseballs with an offset spatula, I detailed them with a bit of red royal icing stitching.  Marshmallow Fondant was used to make the Yankees logo and baseball mitt.  The mitt was hand sculpted and painted.  This Yankees cake was perfect for any sports fan’s birthday and could be transformed to represent any team…even the Cleveland Indians.

My Halloween spread...

Although I have only thrown one Halloween party in my life, it has got to be one of my favorite holidays.  I love all of the creative things you can do to celebrate this gory, creepy time of year. 

In 2007, when Joe and I were living in the Isle of Man, we decided to invite everyone over for a real American Halloween celebration; full dress was of course required.  I was shocked at how “in to it” everyone got.   There were some creative costumes that year to say the least – a lot were handmade, as the Isle only has one costume shop.  But, the handmade costumes were some of the funniest.   We went as Bacon & Eggs…me being the Egg and Joe was of course Bacon.

I decorated by changing out all of the pictures around the house to gory images.  I simply printed images off the computer and cut them to fit the size of each frame.  I hung skeletons and cob webs everywhere.  I also printed off “Best Costume” forms for people to vote for their favorites.  The winner took home the coveted plastic “Best Costume” trophy – yep, it was plastic. 

Just some of the Halloween decorations...

The Halloween themed food had to be the best part. Here are a few of the items I created:

The Infamous Kitty Litter Cake ( I love this one)

Those really are just tootsie rolls, I swear...

Bleeding Heart

To make this more "bloody" sit it on top of strawberry jelly.

The Jello Bleeding Heart was made from a heart shaped mold I ordered online.  To get the jello to have an opaque color simply add sweetened condensed milk to the jello. 

Important Note:  Probably wasn’t the best idea to a red jello heart sitting out with a bunch of intoxicated people – it actually ended up inside my friends Fendi bag, then on my living room floor.  Lovely.

Brittle Bones

Crispy, crunchy, brittle bones

These Brittle Bones were made out of meringue.  Once the meringue was just about at “stiff peak”, I placed it in a piping bag and piped it into a bone shape on top of parchment paper.  Not the most flavorful treat, but certainly cute.

Monster Toes

Who wants some toes?

These Halloween inspired Monster Toes are easy to make, and taste pretty good.  They are made out of mini hotdogs or sausages that are wrapped with a thinly sliced tortilla strip. I cut a small notch out of the top of each sausage to form the nail bed, which I then filled with ketchup.  

Cheese Brain Dip

The original brain food...

Another one of the molds I purchased online was this brain shaped mold, perfect for Halloween dips and desserts.  I used a recipe for southwestern cheese dip, the main ingredient of this Cheesy Brain Dip was cream cheese.  The cream cheese helped the brain hold its shape.

Deviled Eyeballs

Deliciously deviled eyeballs...

Deviled eyeballs are really just deviled eggs, but dressed up for Halloween.   I used a sliced green olive for the eyeball, which I filled it with a tiny piece of pimento.  I put ketchup into a small piping bag to make the eyes appear bloodshot.

Road Kill Kabobs, Breaded Eyeballs & Rat Brains Wrapped in Philo Dough

A gross assortment...

My need for something easy took over here.  This gross assortment of Road Kill Kabobs, Breaded Eyeballs & Rat Brains Wrapped in Philo Dough are your typical freezer section appetizers.   I dressed them up with Halloween inspired names.  

Most ideas were found online.  With the internet, you will be amazed at the plethora of Halloween party ideas you can find for your next Halloween party. 

Here are some of my favorite sources for Halloween food ideas:

Britta’s Halloween Recipes - Britta goes the extra mile with her attention to detail.

Disney’s Family Fun – Full of Creepy Cuisine ideas for your next party.

Allrecipes.com – A good selection of Halloween cakes and cupcakes.

Skip to my Lou – She has some cute ideas in her latest post.

More Cool Pictures – These are some realistic edible “body parts”.

Happy Halloween everyone!

It's delivery...no, it's a Pizza Cake!

A hot trend in cake decorating right now is creating a cake that mimics something from everyday life.  Food shaped cakes are some of the most popular. 

My brother-in-law, Joe, just celebrated a birthday… and what better excuse to bake a cake than for a birthday!  Joe, like everyone else in my family, has a love for great food.  He and my sister have traveled and ate their way around the globe.  However when it comes down to the basics, pizza is his go to food.  With that information in hand, I decided a pizza cake was the best bet for him.  This was a fun cake to make simply because…who doesn’t like pizza? 

I started with size and shape.  I knew the cake would be round, but how just how big of a round?  I opted for a 12” round not because there were going to be a ton of guests, but because I thought it would be the most realistic size for a pizza shaped cake. 

Cake baked, cooled, and sliced; I needed to get busy with my plan for decorating the cake to look like a pizza. It had to look realistic. So I started with the obvious…crust first.  In order to give the cake a great crust, I piped a very thick wavy line of buttercream all around the edge of the cake.  After the buttercream was piped, I placed it into the fridge to set up while I worked on the fondant.

A thick, wavy piping of buttercream helped form the "crust"

I have been making my own marshmallow fondant for some time now and find that it works well for me. Plus, the cost of making your own fondant compared to purchasing fondant is like night and day.  Not to mention, marshmallow fondant tastes much better than “regular” fondant – which is normally inedible. 

Once the fondant was rolled, I brought the cake out and went to work covering it.  The crust of a pizza is a multitude of colors and shades. To give my pizza cake this illusion, I watered down some brown gel food coloring and started sponging it on with a crumpled paper towel.  The crust ended up turning out great; it looked just like a Papa John’s pizza crust.

Sauce was my next task.  I chose strawberry preserves to which I added a dash of red food coloring.  I spread the “pizza sauce” edge to edge. 

The pizza "sauce" is strawberry preserves.

On to the cheese – most people’s favorite part!  I have seen cheese done several different ways, my way was to melt white chocolate and drizzle it in a caddywampous pattern over the top. Then, it was back to the fridge to set up.

Now on to the toppings!  So many to choose from, where do I start?  Of course I chose pepperoni, the classic pizza accompaniment.  Since Joe is a meat lover, chunks of sausage made sense.  I added black olives for their round shape and unique color.  And finally, green pepper, to add a hint of green which rounded out the overall look. 

Anyone order a pepperoni, sausage, black olive and green pepper?

All toppings where made out of marshmallow fondant and then hand painted with gel food coloring. A more random arrangement worked best when it came to the toppings.  The end result was a super realistic pizza cake which everyone adored.