Tuesday, October 27, 2015

••••REESE'S FRANKENSTEIN CUPCAKES••••

(Source: yourcupofcake.com & country living.com & photos also)

Reese’s Frankenstein Cupcakes

Ingredients

Chocolate Cake:

1 devil's food cake mix

3 eggs

1/2 C. oil

2/3 C. sour cream

1/2 C. buttermilk or milk

2 tsp. vanilla extract

Frosting:

1/2 C. butter, softened

8 oz. cream cheese, (or an extra 1/2 C. butter, softened)

3-4 C. powdered sugar

2-3 Tbsp. milk

Green Food Coloring

For Decorations:

Reese's Cups (20)

white chocolate melts (1/3 Cup)

chocolate M&M's (40) or you can use any of the colors or Junior Mints!

Chocolate Chips (40)

Chocolate Jimmy Sprinkles

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line pans with cupcake liners.

2. Sift cake mix into a large bowl and add eggs, oil, sour creme, buttermilk and vanilla extract and stir until smooth.

3. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake for 14-17 minutes or until an inserted knife comes out clean.

4. Let cool.

5. Beat butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add 2 cups powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon milk. The continue to add in more powdered sugar until you reach your desired consistency. Add more milk if it becomes too thick and add food coloring.

6. To Make Eyes: (see photos) Melt white chocolate melts, pour into a small bag to make a mini piping bag, pipe dime-sized circles onto wax paper then immediately place a brown M&M on top and let set for a few minutes.

7. Pipe green frosting onto cupcakes (see photos) and shape the frosting into Frank's head. You can make it as square-shaped as you like! Place a Reese's Cup on top, put eyes on and then chocolate chips as"bolts" and use the Jimmies to give eyebrows and a mouth!

••••TOMBSTONE CUPCAKES••••

(Source: yourcupofcake.com & country living.com & photos)

••••SCARY GOOD!!!!

Ingredients

Chocolate Cakes:

1 box Devil's Food cake mix

3 eggs

1/2 C. oil

1 C. milk

1/2 C. sour cream

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 C. chocolate chips, optional

Chocolate Frosting:

1 C. butter

1/2 C. unsweetened cocoa

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 Tbsp. milk

2-3 C. powdered sugar

24 Milano Cookies

2 C. chocolate melts, melted

2 Tbsp. white chocolate melts or white chocolate chips, melted

Crushed Oreos, about 1 C.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line pans with cupcake liners.

2. Sift cake mix into a small bowl and set aside.

3. Combine eggs, oil, milk, sour cream and vanilla extract until smooth.

4. Stir in cake mix.

5. Stiri in chocolate chips.

6. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake for 15-22 minutes or until an inserted knife comes out clean.

7. Chocolate Frosting: Beat butter and cocoa for 2 minutes. Add vanilla extract and milk and slowly add in powdered sugar until you reach your desired consistency.

8. To make Tombstones, dip Milano cookies in melted chocolate and set or parchment paper or foil to cool. (You don't have to dip the entire cookie since part of it will be inside the cupcake.) Once cool, use the melted white chocolate to pipe "RIP" onto each cookie. I put my meted white chocolate into a small plastic bag and snipped off the corner and used it as a mini piping bag. Let cool. Cut slits into the tops of your cupcakes so that it easy to stick in the cookies, then pipe a ring of frosting around the cookie. (See photos.) Cover frosting with crushed Oreos!

••••DEVILISH DEVIL'S FOOD CUPCAKES••••

(Source: ambroisabaking.com & country living.com & photos also)

Devilish Devil's Food Cupcakes
cupcakes from Epicurious, frosting from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook

Ingredients

For the Cupcakes

1 cup boiling water
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature

For the Frosting

4 cups confectioner's sugar
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 tablespoons whole milk
1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract (to taste)
red food coloring (I used Wilton gel colors)

fondant, tinted black (for decoration)

Directions

To make the cupcakes, begin by preheating the oven to 350 degrees F, and position a rack in the middle of the oven. Line cupcake tins with paper liners.

In a bowl, whisk together the boiling water and cocoa powder until smooth. Whisk in the milk and vanilla extract. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt.

In the bowl of a standard electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Begin to add in the flour mixture and the cocoa mixture to the creamed butter, alternating between the dry and wet ingredients, and making sure to begin and end with the flour mixture. The batter may look slightly curdled, but don't worry, this is what you want! Mix together only until just combined.

Divide the cake batter evenly among the cupcake tins. Bake the cupcakes in the oven until a tooth pick inserted into the center of the cupcakes comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes. Set the cupcake tins on wire racks, and allow the cupcakes to cool in the tins for about five minutes, before removing them and allowing them to cool completely on the racks.

While the cupcakes are cooling, prepare the frosting. In the bowl of a standard electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the confectioner's sugar and butter until the mixture begins to come together. Lower the mixer speed, and add in the milk and vanilla extract. Increase the mixer speed to high, and beat the frosting until it is light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add enough food coloring to turn the frosting a bright shade of red. Once the cupcakes have cooled completely, frost the cupcakes with a large round tip (I used an Ateco 807 plain tip). Take the black fondant, and begin to shape small bits of it into curved devil horns, and then place the horns on top of the cupcakes. Enjoy!

Makes 24 cupcakes.

••••FOOD TIP••••

(Source: google+)

••••HALLOWEEN BROWNIE GRAVEYARD••••

(Source: culinary ginger.com & yummily.com & photos also)

Halloween brownie graveyard

Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

1 hour

Total time

1 hour 20 mins

Recipe type: Dessert

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

For the brownie:
16 ounces Chocoley V125 indulgence bittersweet dark chocolate
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For the tombstones:
1 cup confectioners sugar
4 teaspoons milk
Black food coloring
3 oval shape cookies
Chocoley drizzle and design chocolate, dark
For the skeletons:
Chocoley drizzle and design chocolate, white
Skeleton bones candy mold
To assemble:
1-16 ounce tub store-bought vanilla frosting
Green food coloring

Instructions

For the brownie:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish and line with parchment paper.
Using a double boiler, or heatproof bowl over saucepan of water, heat butter and 6 ounces of the chocolate over low heat until melted, stirring gently. Turn of heat when melted, but keep bowl over saucepan to keep mixture warm.
Mix the sugar into the butter and chocolate.
In a separate mixing bowl, lightly beat the eggs and vanilla together.
Add the eggs to the chocolate mixture and stir until fully mixed.
Add the flour and baking powder to the chocolate mixture and mix until completely uniform.
Chop the remaining 2 ounces of dark chocolate and mix into the batter.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly with a spatula.
Bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted.
Allow to cool completely in the pan, then remove using parchment paper to lift out.
For the tombstones:
In a bowl, mix the confectioners sugar with the milk until smooth.
Add black food coloring (I used a toothpick to add a very small amount), in small amounts until the grey color is achieved.
Smooth over the cookies and allow to dry on a cooling rack.
For the skeletons:
Melt the chocolate drizzle per package instructions and drizzle into the mold.
Refrigerate until hardened then remove from mold.
To assemble:
Place brownie on a cutting board.
Cut 3, 2¼ inch x 5 inch graves' in the brownie evenly spaced.
Using a fork, rake out the brownie so it crumbles like soil, put into a bowl.
Mound the 'soil' back into the 'graves'.
Arrange skeleton parts in and around the 'graves'.
Using a sharp knife, cut a small area of brownie out at the head of the graves and insert cookies into the brownie.
In a mixing bowl, add the frosting and a few drops of green food coloring to achieve the desired color.
Add to a piping bag using piping tip 233 and pipe 'grass' around the graves.