31 Days of Halloween!(+1!) Nov 1 - Day of the Dead

Make: Skulls!
Recipe: Krispy Treat Skulls!
Made:Skulls!



Make: Day of the Dead Skulls

Recipe: Rice Krispy Treat Skulls and Skull Cake

Made: Leather Day of the Dead Masks

~> The first recipe I'm posting for Day of the Dead is crispy rice treat skulls! Information about the skull cake will be posted second.



~~> Recipe: Rice Krispy Treat Skulls

Most of this recipe follows a regular rice krispy treat recipe!
Basically, the differences are that you smash up the rice krispies before you start and you mash them in to skull molds instead of a pan! (you can do this with any firm mold and they are great used as cake toppers or individual treats)
ONE batch would fit a 13x9x2 inch pan.


Ingredients:
Rice Crispy Treat 
3 Tsp butter OR margarine
1 package (10 oz., ~40) regular marshmallows OR 4 cups miniature marshmallows
5 1/2 cups crispy rice cereal (a bit less makes for a denser cast of the skull, can decrease to 5 cups)
Decoration (optional)
fondant/sugar paste or marzipan
melting chocolate
sanding sugar
sprinkles


Crush the rice cereal a bit in a heavy food bag (a freezer bag works fine); you can use a rolling pin or the back of a wooden spoon). Smaller pieces make for more detail in your castings of your food molds! (and make the treat much more dense!)
Use a light baking spray on your mold pan (I used the Wilton  3-D mini skull baking pan as a press mold).
Use a large saucepan (a paella pan or wok also works great ; ) to melt butter on low heat, add the marshmallows, and stir until melted in.
Add your crispy rice cereal and stir until evenly mixed and well coated.
Use wax paper or a buttered spoon/spatula to press mixture into molds (or you could lay it out on aluminum foil and cut it with cookie cutters).
Allow to cool.
These are best if served the same or the next day. If you need to hold them you can freeze them between layers of wax paper for up to 6 weeks.


~~> Recipe: Skull Cake

There are (at least) two good 3-D baking molds for "full sized" skulls available: Wilton and NordicWare. The Nordic Ware pan has a more complete skull shape, with the back of the skull being more rounded, but may be harder to find. Wilton also has a 3-D mini skull baking pan with molds for 4 complete smaller skulls which are great for baking or using as a press mold.
Prep baking mold (grease / lightly flour).
Fill with any standard cake recipe or mix (The recipes and mixes we have used are given here).
Allow to cool and remove from mold pan, breaking the edge of the cake/pan border with a butter knife.
After the cake has cooled, cut the un-molded edges flat and spread some frosting thinly across both facing edges to "glue" together.
Gently frost the cake. Using the Wilton mold I tend to frost the base differently than the skull.
Then pipe decoration. You can use a small plastic food bag with a tiny corner snipped off for piping.


~~~> Made:

  

           

  

Enjoy! 
 
DeWyk

31Days ofHalloween! Day30- Recipe: Skull Cakes, Glazes, Frostings & Molds

Want to make a special dessert for Halloween or Day of the Dead? All sorts of new seasonal molds have come out lately, especially for Halloween: cake molds, cookie molds, chocolate molds, ice cube molds, and some molds that can be used for multiple purposes. One of the "new" molds that I picked up a couple years ago is a skull mold for cakes. In this post I'm focusing on the cakes we make with that mold.

Red velvet cakes with cream cheese or whipped cream cheese frosting are our favorites for the skulls, they taste great and the colors are wonderful ; )  . Cake from preferred mixes, then hybrid recipes, are listed first; scratch recipes are last (frostings can vary, but i tend to use cream cheese or whipped cream frostings).

There are (at least) two good 3-D baking molds for "full sized" skulls available: Wilton and NordicWare. The Nordic Ware pan has a more complete skull shape, with the back of the skull being more rounded, but may be harder to find. Wilton also has a 3-D mini skull baking pan with molds for 4 complete smaller skulls which are great for baking or using as a press mold.
Prep baking mold (grease / lightly flour).
Fill with any standard cake recipe or mix.
Allow to cool and remove from mold pan, breaking the edge of the cake/pan border with a butter knife.
After the cake has cooled, cut the un-molded edges flat and spread some frosting thinly across both facing edges to "glue" together.
Gently frost the cake. Using the Wilton mold I tend to frost the base differently than the skull.
Then pipe decoration. You can use a small plastic food bag with a tiny corner snipped off for piping.

This is the cake we made this year. We had fun decorating it together ; )


Cake Box Mixes
Betty Crocker Super Moist Yellow Cake
Duncan Hines Classic Yellow

Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Dark Chocolate Fudge
Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Red Velvet Cake 

Store Frosting
Betty Crocker cream cheese frosting


Hybrids ~> Scratch/Box Mix Cake Recipe 
1 ~18 oz red velvet OR devil's food cake mix
1 ~3.5 oz instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
4 eggs, beaten lightly
1 cup vegetable oil
CHOICE -> choose one of the following: 1/2 cup warm water, 1tsp instant espresso dissolved in 1/2 cup hot water (allow to cool), OR 1/2 cup warm coffee

Preheat oven to 350°F. Prep baking pan (grease pan, this is a dense batter and is great for suspending extras in the batter).
Beat together cake mix, pudding mix, sour cream, eggs, oil, and espresso mixture (about 2 minutes on medium with a mixer).
Baking
9 inch pan (this recipe is appropriate for 2  9" pans) - bake at 350°F ~30 minutes.
Cupcakes (this recipe is for ~24 cupcakes) - bake at 350°F for ~20 minutes

Hybrid ~> Scratch/Store Frosting
a couple options here...
-Cream Cheese Frosting - soften 1 8 oz package of cream cheese and blend with a 16 oz can of vanilla (or cream cheese ; ) frosting.
-Fluffy! - 8 oz of whipped cream (home or store bought) mixed with your choice of any 16 oz can of frosting.
-Flavor Enhancer - add ~1/2 tsp of extract of desired flavor to 16 oz can of frosting. Almond extract added to chocolate is wonderful! OR add 1/4 cup of Nutella or peanut butter (and 1 tsp of milk) to a cream cheese, vanilla, or chocolate frosting!

I use paste based colorants to color my frosting, so I don't make the frosting runny.

Scratch Cake Recipe - Red Velvet

2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda

1 cup vegetable oil / butter / or coconut oil
1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
2 Tbsp (1 oz) red food coloring
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp distilled white vinegar

Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare (grease and flour) 3 - 8" round cake pans.
Sift together into a medium bowl~> flour, sugar, cocoa, and salt.
Beat together in a large bowl oil/butter, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vanilla, and vinegar until thoroughly mixed. Add the dry flour  mixture and beat until smooth (~ 2 minutes with a mixer).
Pour batter equally into the 3 cake pans.
Bake ~30 minutes (check with toothpick test). Allow cakes to cool 5-10 minutes, turn out of pan onto plate and then onto cooling rack. Allow to cool completely.


Smooth Glaze Coatings
Chocolate Glaze                                         White Glaze

8 Tbs unsweetened cocoa                         8 Tbs hot water
2 Tbs melted butter                                   4 cups powdered sugar
8 Tbs hot water                                         3 Tbs meringue powder
2 tsp vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar

1 Tbs meringue powder

~> To make the chocolate glaze, combine the melted butter, cocoa and hot water; thoroughly blend in the powdered sugar and vanilla. 
~> To make the white glaze, combine powdered sugar, meringue powder, and hot water; blend smooth.

The rest of the directions apply to both glazes.
Add just a little more hot water to get a thin, pourable glaze; the glaze will harden as it cools.
Put the cake on a wire rack over a tray or plate. If you have a 2 part cake mold, make sure you have already put the 2 halves together (toothpicks with frosting or a small amount of glaze will work), you won't have time to do this at this point or your glaze will cool! Pour the warm glaze gently over the skull, using the back of a spoon to smooth the glaze into the details (mouth, nose, eyes, etc.).
Let the glaze harden and gently place the cake onto the plate/ stand, using some glaze to secure the cake to the plate /stand.
This is a great smooth base, you can either stop here or add additional decorations over this glaze coating.


Scratch Frosting Recipes
Cream Cheese
2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar

In a bowl, thoroughly blend cream cheese and butter. Add the vanilla and mix. Gradually add the powdered sugar while mixing. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Stable Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting (stable at room temp and stiff)
8 oz package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 cups heavy cream

In a large bowl, mix the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla extract, and almond extract (if using mixer, mix on medium until smooth). While mixing slowly add the heavy cream, scraping the bowl occasionally while continuing to whip until cream holds a stiff peak.

Again, I use paste based colorants to color my frosting, so the frosting isn't runny. Make sure to set aside some frosting from your base color if you want to add any designs over the top.
If you have a 2 part cake mold, make sure you put the 2 halves securely together (toothpicks with frosting will work great) before you start frosting the cake!
To decorate smooth your base color over the entire skull, you can make the surface as smooth or textured as you like.

To add additional designs, first separate the remaining frosting into bowls and add desired colorants. Pipe the designs on to the base frosting.
If you aren't sure how you want to decorate your cake, I recommend a web search based on the type of design styles you like (don't restrict yourself to looking at cakes!). You can practice on wax or parchment paper first if you want more experience.


Enjoy! 

DeWyk

31 days of Halloween! Day14- Recipe: Meringue Bones!

I'm always amazed just how easy these are!

Ingredients:
3 large egg whites
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
1/8 tsp. salt
2/3 cup white sugar
1/2+ tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 200°F. Line cookie sheet with parchment or a (very) clean paper bag. Beat egg whites, cream of tartar and salt ‘til fluffy in medium bowl at high speed. Slowly beat in sugar. Add vanilla (or other flavoring). Place mix in pastry bag fitted with a medium plain piping tip to create 3" bone shapes on parchment or brown paper bag (I’ve also used a heavy Ziploc bag as a piping bag by cutting a small piece off of a lower corner). Bake 1 hour until set. Turn off oven, allow to dry in the oven 1 hour more. Be sure to store in airtight containers or they will absorb moisture and get sticky / soggy. 

Makes ~50 small finger-sized bones

I frequently make a variety of flavors of these by adding other flavors in place of the vanilla: almond, rum, chocolate, chocolate and a touch of cayenne, coffee, and citrus. 

Coffee or dark chocolate powder gives them a nice “antique” look.

large meringue skeleton

Enjoy! 

DeWyk

31 Days of Halloween! Day13- Make: Jack O'Lanterns ~ Basic Ideas, Carving Tips & Preserving

Carving pumpkins is a tradition originating from the carving of jack o'lanterns from turnips and beets in the British Isles that dates back to at least the early 1800's.
Pumpkins are an American plant and were much more convenient for carving than the turnip. Irish immigrants are believed to be the first to actually carve the pumpkin in the U.S.. The term "jack o'lantern" itself dates back to the 1600's; another name for will o'the wisps, those odd atmospheric lights seen flickering at a distance over boggy areas.

Today we're just going to share some carving tips, design ideas, and how to make your pumpkin last longer...

There are a lot of squash-y (and non-suqash-y) things that you can carve for Halloween, from the original turnip to one of many squash type plants, like pumpkins!

The first step in pumpkin carving is, of course, choosing the right pumpkin. It can be an arduous search, I recommend diving right in!

There are a lot of choices in getting your pumpkins: you can grow your own, you can go to a farm that lets you pick your own from the field, a farm / farm market, your local grocery store, and even many hardware stores.

< Sometimes odd-shaped pumpkins can really bring out your creativity or enhance your design! >











Now that you have your pumpkin it is time to get out your tools!

Tools for carving pumpkins can be very simple, a paring knife from your kitchen, to complex, such as a Dremel tool (including carving templates). You probably have many tools around the house that would be good for carving and give very cool effects: paring knives, vegetable peeler, melon ball cutter, drill, screwdriver, thin hacksaw blade, clay artist tools, wood carving tools, stamp carvers, exact-o knife, etc.

Pumpkin cutters!

A few scrapers for cleaning the pumpkins

 Several companies make specialty pumpkin cutting kits, like Dremel,  Pumpkin Masters, FunWorld, and you can even get carving tools off of Amazon.com ...  (most of the companies also have design ideas and templates on their web sites).


I do have a bit of a problem with some of the smallest blades from these kits, they are so narrow, and not reinforced, that the repeated stress from carving pumpkins will cause them to snap off just above the handle.
So, be careful!

My primary advice on carving pumpkins is : JUMP RIGHT IN! and try out whatever tool you think might work.
There are a lot of sites that discuss details of carving pumpkins and give design templates (Dremel and Pumpkin Masters both do) that you can stipple or trace on, so I'm not going to do that, but I am going to post some tips on pumpkin carving & care and some images that might give you some ideas!
CARE & CARVING TIPS:
> Wash the pumpkins with antibacterial soap before carving to reduce mold.
> To lengthen your pumpkins life keep it well hydrated by soaking it in cold water with just a touch of bleach (~1 Tablespoon of bleach per quart of water) if it starts to look wilted for about an hour, or spritz it with bleach solution in a sprayer.
> Cutting the bottom (out of) instead of the top (off of) the pumpkin will help to keep the pumpkin hydrated.
> After your pumpkin is cut rubbing a bit of Vaseline on the cut edges will also help to retain moisture.
> After cleaning out the pumpkin scrape the meat thin where you want mostly pumpkin skin and cut the pumpkin skin off with a short sturdy blade where you want the glow through the pumpkin meat. 
> I almost always hold the pumpkin in my lap while I work.
> Cut the central /small detailed bits first and the outer /large chunks last where ever you can, this helps to keep the pumpkin from weakening too much while you work.

> Remember to use the tool you have in your hand appropriately (e.g. if it has a saw type blade it is a saw, so you should use a gentle sawing motion with it!)
> Toothpicks work great for fixing that bit that snapped off. Just remember to keep the toothpick straight as you push it in!

Unfortunately, due to a computer disaster about a year ago I do not have all of my pumpkin pics, and some of our old ones will have to be re-scanned. So, I will share here what images I currently have at hand and will post more as we carve new pumpkins and/or find old pics!



         

The bat's wing effect is just the skin of the pumpkin with all of the meat of the pumpkin scraped off of the back, giving it a shear look.





















     

 

  

































"The process" for two of this year's pumpkins...

 

These were both scraped very thin. The smaller one is a pie pumpkin; the meat will be used to make pumpkin butter and the seeds will be roasted .

 

I like making double sided pumpkins, with the back side able to throw a silhouette against a wall. The back side I carved into pumpkin above, a simple bat, is an easy silhouette. 

...and some carved by local high-schooler's  at the gazebo downtown...

 

 Enjoy! 

DeWyk