Now, I am a scratch baker, but if that intimidates you then hit the baking aisle and buy some cake mix, canned frosting, and the rest of what you'll need to get started!!!! Let's have some fun!!
I whipped up some Red Velvet cupcakes using the recipe out of this cookbook (scooped it off of Amazon), which I modified slightly:
I prefer using cake flour (recipe in the book calls for All Purpose Soft Wheat Flour) in my baking because it produces a lighter texture cake. I also always sift my flour and other required dry ingredients to ensure there are no clumps!!! Why, do that you ask....because dumps of flour create pockets and can cause your cupcakes to sink or explode! We don't want that! So sift, sift, sift!!! Even the recipe doesn't call for it, do it for good measure!!!!
To decorate these cute little ghost cupcakes all you need is buttercream, mini semi-sweet chocolate chips for the eyes and you have a few options to use for a mouth (I used black fondant that I shaped into a flat oval) but you could use a dark chocolate espresso bean or an M&M. Just have fun with it!!!!
Tag a pastry bag fitted with a 1A tip and make a swirl of frosting, which will be the ghost's body. If you don't have a pastry bag you can always use a ziplock baggy and cut a small tip off one of the corners and pipe your ghosts that way. Then take 2 mini chocolate chips and place them point side in to the frosting, so the flat side is what is showing. Then add your mouth and VIOLA!!! Instant, simple ghost!!!!
***click here for the video tutorial***
Now if you want to be fancy you can roll out some white fondant, use a 3" circle cutter and drape it over a skinny & long cookie ( I used a fudge graham stick ) that you placed in the center of your frosted cupcakes, then use an edible marker in black to make the details for the eyes & mouth, if you don't have an edible marker just dip the tip of a decorator art brush (or even a toothpick, eyeliner, lip liner, just something with a small point!!!) into black food coloring and make your eyes & mouth out of that! Here's a few pics of the Halloween cupcakes I did for 2012!
Keep scrolling for the recipes on the buttercream, sugar glass and edible blood!!! Thought I'd make this post extra looooooooonnnnngggg for ya!!! :o)
AMERICAN BUTTERCREAM
(This will frost approx 12 cupcakes)
1 stick unsalted butter, room temp
1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream (+ 2 tbsp in case you need a more spreadable consistency)
1/4 tsp salt
3 cups powdered sugar (confectioners sugar)
DIRECTIONS
Combine the first 4 ingredients in a mixer and cream them together. Next, keeping the mixer on a low speed, add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time making sure to mix thoroughly before adding more, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. After all the powdered sugar has been incorporated turn the mixer up to medium-high speed and whip the frosting for a couple minutes until it is fluffy and light.
SUGAR GLASS
I followed the directions from All Recipes website: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Bloody-Broken-Glass-Cupcakes/Detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Thumb&e11=broken%20glass%20cupcakes&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Home%20Page
2 cups water
1 cup light corn syrup
3 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
Directions:
*have a metal cookie sheet right next to the burner, on stand by.
mix water, corn syrup, sugar & cream of tartar in a large sauce pan. Bring the mixture to a boil. Clip a candy thermometer to the saucepan and bring the mixture to 300 degrees (the hard ball stage), keep stirring the entire time to keep the sugar from burning. When the mixture reaches 300 degrees, pour quickly into the metal cookie sheet, let it cool completely.
After it has cooled the fun part begins!!! Crack out a meat mallet and bang away (don't go overboard or you'll have sugar shards everywhere!!!)
*********Here is a link to my quick vid tutorial*********
EDIBLE BLOOD
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
red food coloring
Basically you are just making a simple syrup and adding red food coloring to get the blood red color you're looking for. So, in a small saucepan bring the mixture to a boil until the sugar has dissolved (approx. 2-3 min) remove from heat & add the food coloring until the blood red color is achieved.
If you don't like to use a lot of food coloring in your cooking, you can substituted this r3ecipe with raspberry jam. Just heat it up to get a runny consistency and drizzle it over the shards of sugar glass and the cupcake.
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