Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Halloween Cupcakes Part Deux

I must have offended the blogger spirits over the weekend, but all is well now as I finally succeeded in uploading all these pictures today. As you may already know, I made some pumpkin cupcakes over the weekend, and the recipe I used made 36 cupcakes which was perfect for a group of mom's get-together. As I wasn't very creative at 4 am that particular morning, I simply stuck with a few simple frosting designs for the cupcakes, and here's the results. The kids enjoyed them too.
The wiggly ghosts were fun to make with a round tip filled with white frosting.
When the kids woke up, they helped put the eyes on the ghosts and the spiders.
The eyeballs were simply gummy candy I have in the pantry with chocolate chip in the center. Then lots of squiggly red frosting for the red-eye. The bats and cat below were last minute addition from the kids.
It's not my best work, but I had fun decorating them. Which one do you like best?

Here's some more halloween cupcakes from last year at this link.

I used Wilton's frosting/icing recipe:
1 cup solid white vegetable (no trans-fat) shortening
1 lb pure can confectioner's sugar (approx 4 cups)
1 tbs wilton Meringue Powder
a pinch of salt
1 tsp Flavoring (used vanilla)
1-2 tbs water
Cream shortening, flavoring and water. Sift confectioner's sugar and add it with the rest of the dry ingredients. Mix over medium speed til blended and creamy.

This makes a stiff consistency.
For medium consistency: add 1 additional tsp of water to a cup of stiff consistency frosting/icing to achieve that.
For thin consistency: add 2 tsp of water to a cup of stiff consistency frosting/icing.

21 comments:

BuddingCook said...

very cute and creative. :D

daphne said...

oo.. they look good..and yummy! I like the ones with the black webs!

Anonymous said...

Hi,

I liked all of them if you were to ask me! Been visiting your blog on and off and am fascinated.

Thanks for sharing. REally envied you to have all this time and doing something meaningful with your young kids. Back in Singapore, we working mums dont have a choice or privilege to do such stuff with kids, at least not with us(excluding the tais tais of course!)

Muffinholics

Retno Prihadana said...

Your cupcakes are so cute! I imagine how fun to decorate them.

Beau Lotus 涟 said...

I like the eyeball best! And to think you said that they were simple...

Big Boys Oven said...

Oh such lovely cupcakes... we love them so much!

East Meets West Kitchen said...

Hi Budding Cook,
Thanks!

Hi Daphne,
Haha! The kids liked that one too!

Hi Muffinholics,
Thanks for visiting by humble blog. I admire working moms all over the world juggling both work and home. For me, I made the choice to stay home and be with my kids for now. :)

Hi Retno Prihadana,
LOL! Thanks! The kids had a ball helping too. :)

Hi Beau Lotus,
Oh! The eyeballs are really quite easy. I used gummy round candy and mini chocolate chips for the eyes. :)

Hi Big Boys Oven,
My little cupcakes are kid's play compared to your lovely creations. :)

Little Corner of Mine said...

Wow, that's some spooky cupcakes perfect for the Halloween! Well done, very creative even at the wee hours of 4 AM!! I like all the designs. :)

East Meets West Kitchen said...

Hey C,
Thanks! It was fun!

Padma said...

Loved those spooky creations. I am sure ur kids must be so proud of having you make such treats!

East Meets West Kitchen said...

Hi Padma,
LOL! Thanks. My kids were so into playing with the other kids they forgot about the cupcakes! :)

Dwiana P said...

your so ready for halloween. I don't bake anything yet to celebrate it. Also those cupcakes look beautiful - very interesting design.

SIG said...

Wow, I'll be doing mine this weekend and hope they turn out as good as yours. Some of the designs in yours are similar to those I have in my book so hehe really hope they come out nice for me. You did a great job!

East Meets West Kitchen said...

Hi Diwana,
LOL! I had no choice as it was my turn to bring snacks, but I do enjoy it. :)

Hi Singairishgirl,
Thanks! What was the name of your book? I am looking for some more halloween ideas.

TBC said...

Those cupcakes are adorable!
Your kids muct have loved 'em.

SIG said...

Actually it's not a Halloween book as such. It's a Kids' Birthday Cakes book by Australian Women's Weekly. But the eye and bat etc look very similar.

SIG said...

Can I omit the meringue powder? I don't want to get a whole bottle and just use a tsp.

East Meets West Kitchen said...

Hi TBC,
Thanks! Yes, my kids did enjoy them. :)

Hi Singairishgirl,
Oh! Thanks for the info. I don't get Austrialian weekly here, but just just found a similar eye ball in Bon Appetit. These must be popular designs. hehe!

With regards to meringue powder,
it's used to reduce frosting shininess and improve crusting, OR
use 1 teaspoon at a time of Corn Starch for every 1 cup of shortening in the recipe until proper consistency is achieved.

To lessen the stiffness of the frosting, try the techniques below in the order listed:

Omit Meringue powder from the recipe.
If the icing is still too stiff, add 1 Tablespoon of water at a time until frosting is the desired consistency.

Above information gathered from Crisco shortening site, and hope that helps you...

SIG said...

Oh ya, I believe these must be standard designs for halloween cuppies which are easy to assemble.

Thanks so much for your detailed guidance with regards the frosting. ;)

Cris said...

They are so cute! I love cooking with my kids, all the excitement and joy, it pays off any hard work.

East Meets West Kitchen said...

Hi Singairishgirl,
No problem. It's my pleasure, and I'm looking forward to your lovely creations! :)

Hi Cris,
LOL! Yes, it's fun with little fingers helping indeed! :)