Pumpkin Carving Night

Yeah! It was pumpkin carving night and what a blast we all had with some good wine, great company and some Tim Burton inspiration.

My little niece Lola was such a good helper removing slimy seeds and drawing faces on her tiny pumpkins. I can't wait to do this again next year!

A Wicked Halloween Light Show

Hey, it's Monday but it doesn't mean it has to stink! I hope this video brings you some fun during your lunch break or while the kiddies are napping (my little niece Lola is getting her beauty nap on). I found this video from one of my friend's news feeds on Facebook. Hope you like it as much as Lola and I did. Have a great rest of the day!

Halloween Cupcake Idea: Boiling Cauldron

I have an obsession with cotton candy and no matter how far in a diet I may be, I can't resist a little taste. So while I was shopping for some cupcake decorations, I came across a package of cotton candy specifically for Halloween in the flavor of Sour Apple. Nice. Now the question was what to do with this candy and how could I incorporate that into one of my cupcake ideas?

The only thing I could think of right off the bat was to make boiling cauldrons. So for today's idea, I would recommend you give yourself plenty of time to make these cauldrons. I'm sure there's an easier and more efficient way out there but who wants to make things easy? Right? Right. (I'll regret this later)

Let's make some magic:

• Pre-made gum paste
• Black food coloring gel
• Paintbrush
• Toothpicks
• Betty Crocker Icing in a can, Green and Chocolate 
• Gum paste decorating tool
• Pre-frosted cupcakes
• Bag of cotton candy 
• Non-stick spray, just a little to keep gum paste from sticking

Start by mixing a 1 1/2 inch ball of gum paste with some black food coloring gel. Use a toothpick to dip color. Mix gel and gum paste until it's charcoal grey (that's as dark as it got for me). Roll gum paste into ball. Have decorating tool ready. 

Place ball in the palm of your hand and gently push tool into gum paste. Roll tool in circular motion to create a hallow. Use the palm of your hand to maintain the shape of the sphere.

Place gum paste ball on work surface and continue to widen circular motion until you get your desired cauldron depth and width. Shape gum paste into a cauldron with the tops slightly curved out.

Paint cauldron with Black food coloring gel and let dry overnight. It might not even get completely dry overnight but as long as it's slightly dry you can proceed with the next steps. Next, fill cauldrons with green and chocolate icing. Mix colors with toothpick to create a swirl of both colors.

Now you're ready for the easy part. Cotton candy is quite finicky with temperature and you will lose the fluff and pizzazz over time. So I recommend you add the cotton candy when you're ready to serve and display. Take a piece of cotton candy and shape into a small flame. Gently place cotton candy on cauldron brew. Have fun and have a Happy Friday!

Halloween Cupcake Idea: Eyeball Cupcakes

Oooooooooh! Happy Thursday fellow cupcake lovers. Today's cupcake is yet again, easy and fun to create. It's one of the most perfect crowd-pleasing decor for any Halloween party. Who can ignore a giant eyeball staring you down? You simply must eat it or put it in the corner somewhere.

Let us begin:

• Frosted cupcakes, white frosting for eyes unless you want go reptilian with yellow
• Bag of Lifesaver Gummies
• Red Betty Crocker Cookie Icing (Squeeze bag)
• Black icing (Squeeze can) or Black flat, round candy

They see hungry people...

Halloween Cupcake Idea: Fun with Sixlets

I just recently tried a Sixlet. A little late in the game, I know. For those of you that don't know what a Sixlet is, you can find out via internet search or just know that they are made of chocolate on the inside with a light and crunchy candy coating on the outside. Colors will vary.

I'm so glad I never knew about this candy when I was in fourth grade (my chubby grade) because I would be double fisting Sixlets in one hand and Reese's Pieces in another while trying to beat Super Mario Bros 3 Level 8! Ahhhh fond memories of childhood...*drift drift*

Anyway, you can do a lot with these spheres, Sixlets or generic, and I just wanted to share a couple cupcake ideas that came to mind. Buy them at your local mall candy store and hopefully they have their Halloween/Fall section for you to have fun picking from. Happy Hump Day!

Fall/Thanksgiving Cupcake Idea: Pumpkin Patch Cupcakes

This post was inspired by one of my top versatile veggies...the pumpkin. My dad was raised on pumpkin and since I was a child I've had all kinds of pumpkin dishes. But let's not talk savory, let's talk sweet and sour.

Put 'em together and have you got? Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo:

• Frosted cupcakes, White frosting is what I used.
• Pumpkin shaped candy
• Green Betty Crocker Easy Flow Decorating Icing
• Granulated white sugar
• Piping skills (In my dreams I'm a world champion cake decorator)

You can purchase the pumpkin candy at a local candy store. I purchased mine at the mall. They had all their seasonal candy on display and ready for the picking. These taste like orange gummies, initially sour and finishes sweet and chewy. 

It takes some practice if you don't usually find yourself piping cakes. I know I had to conduct a couple test runs before I tackled the cupcakes. I used the two tips pictured below, one for the vines and another for the leaves. 

Place pumpkin candy in the middle of frosted cupcake. Pipe leaves and vines around pumpkin. Finally sprinkle sugar over the entire cupcake. Hold cupcake and gently shake off excess sugar. Ta-da!! You have your miniature pumpkin patch ready for the holidays. 

I just have to post this song...I can't resist...

Fall/Thanksgiving Cupcake Idea: Chrysanthemum Flower Cupcakes

Who said flowers couldn't be a part of a Thanksgiving or Harvest party? Instead of falls leaf decorations, try marshmallow chrysanthemums on cupcake. I've posted this instructional video of how to make chrysanthemum cupcakes previously but I'll post it again because she, yoyomax12, explains it so well.

It does take time. So this would be a great treat to make with friends or on a day where other matters are not pressing. I know you can purchase pre-colored sugars or just mix the colors you want by using food coloring. If you decide to mix sugar and food coloring, do not lose hope, keep mixing and mashing because eventually the color will begin to blend into the sugar. I almost thought it was a bad idea but I kept at it and got the colors I wanted: pumpkin orange, brown and teal grey.

Have fun and have a rejuvenating Monday evening!

Another pic for good measure. It's so purrrdy.