If you’re looking for easy, no-recipe-needed Halloween treats, these creeped-out cupcakes are an eerily good choice.
In one, a traditional frosted cupcake falls victim to a bat attack. In the other, they take a slimy, almost radioactive, turn.
Both ideas are from Matthew Mead’s Monster Book of Halloween, which is jammed with numerous ghastly treats and decorations.
Vampire Cupcakes
Bake up a batch of your favourite cupcake recipe or prepare a boxed mix according to package directions.
Alternatively, most bakeries (even those in grocers) will sell unfrosted cupcakes if asked in case you want to do only the fun part — the decorating.
Once the cupcakes have cooled, frost them with white cake frosting.
Use black gel icing (sold in tubes in the baking aisle) to draw a bat on top of each cupcake.
If you need help with this, a template can be downloaded from Mead’s website at http://tinyurl.com/yeboobr. Cut out the template and use it as a stencil.
Use a toothpick to make 2 holes (bite marks) near each bat, then drizzle red gel icing into each.
Get Slimed Cupcakes
Prepare two packages of flavoured gelatin (any variety, though green and yellow are good) according to the package’s directions for jigglers (2 packages plus 500 ml/2 cups boiling water).
Divide the liquid among 6 flexible silicone baking cups.
Divide remaining liquid among 6 round-bottomed teacups (this creates a domed top for each cupcake), filling each about 1 cm (1/2 inch). Refrigerate everything for 4 hours or until set.
To remove gelatin from cups, set base of each in a bowl of warm water for about 10 seconds. Overturn cups and gently pry out cupcakes and dome tops. Invert a dome onto each cupcake, then decorate with gummy worms.
Source: Ideas adapted from Matthew Mead’s Monster Book of Halloween by Matthew Mead (Time Inc.)