Halloween Cupcakes

Let's be real for a minute. A cupcake by itself is a perfectly good thing, but when you slap a witches hat, pumpkin or itty-bitty ghost on top you know you're in for a good time!

As most of the population would be aware another Halloween has just passed on by and this year I was requested to make some special cupcakes for when the neighbourhood kids came by. Being the obliging person that I am I said yes and so I thought I would share with you a few very basic ways you can decorate your cupcakes, be it for the next Halloween or simply because you have free will and can do what ever you very well please, official calendar dates be damned!  

1. Terrifying Tombstones

 

Super easy and quick! Just crush up some chocolate biscuits in a food processor and dip in an iced cupcake. Grab some grey fondant or gumpaste (or I used black and then painted it with grey lustre dust) and shape it into a flat tombstone then use a toothpick or something similar to carve out an 'RIP'. Stick it into the crumbed icing and you're done! 

If you're feeling fancy you could also go a step further and make a fondant hand coming out of the ground...  Just a thought for the gruesome minded...

2. Ghoulish Ghosts

 

As adorable as they are, these little ghosties are actually really simple! Simply take one iced cupcake, stick an Eskimo Snowball on top (if you don't know what they are check them out here - basically they are a chocolate and coconut covered marshmallow which give the ghosts their shape!). Roll out some plain white fondant/gumpaste and cut a circle out for each cupcake. Drape it over top of the snowball and paint on some little eyes and a mouth with some black food colouring. Bada-bing bada-boom! Boo!

3. Party Time Pumpkins 

 

 

 Got some fondant or gumpaste and food colouring? Then your set! 

Simply roll your fondant into small balls and use the back of a knife, a toothpick or whatever other tools you can find to press some grooves around the sides of the balls and press gently into the top of the ball to make them less spherical and more 'pumpkin-like'. Let them dry and harden a little (if you have the time, I didn't and they still worked out fine!) and then use some orange food colouring diluted with a drop of water (I didn't have orange so mixed some yellow and red) to paint them the perfect shade of Halloween spirit! Take a small amount of brown fondant, roll it into a short snake with your fingers and stick it in the top to make a stem. That's it! Now just pop them on top of your iced cupcakes!

 

 

 

 

4. Boo! and also a bit of Ahhh! 

 

Want to express your terror in painted message form? Simply grab some white fondant/gumpaste, roll it flat and cut out a small circle for each cupcake. Pinch a 'corner' of the circle (yes I am aware circles don't have corners, don't get sassy with me!) to make it into more of a speechbubble shape and let it dry out. Then go in with some plain black food colouring and a paintbrush and write whatever scary message your heart desires! No message is to generic!  

 

5. Jack Skull-etons

 

 

See what I did there? Yeah you do!

I love Tim Burton films and 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' is a classic! Thus we have the cupcake dedicated to Jack Skeleton, King of Halloween. 

Like a number of the others really, grab some white fondant or gumpaste, roll it flat and cut out circles bit enough to mostly cover the top of your iced cupcake. Let it dry out hard (otherwise it will sag when sitting on the moist icing! Be warned!) and then paint on a your Jack faces in a variety of expressions using black food colouring. Stick it on top of your iced cupcakes and there you have it, a hoard of adorable Jack Skull-etons! 

 

6. Wicked Witch's Hats 

Is there anything more 'Halloween-y' than a witch? Possibly, but this is neither the time nor place for such a debate. Instead just be satisfied adorning your cupcakes with their cliche head wear!

Take a small piece of black fondant and roll it into a short sausage, tapering one end so that it is much thinner than the other. Use your fingers to pinch the fat end to create a flat brim of the hat and then slightly bend the thin end to give the hat a little more shape. Roll a tiny piece of yellow (or other colour) fondant into a very thin snake and form it into a square buckle to stick on the front of your witch's hat. Stick that baby on top to perfectly accessorise your cupcake! 

And there you have it! 

Hopefully you find these tips useful the next time Halloween rolls around and have fun freaking out and/or delighting your friends, family or neighbourhood juveniles! 

 

So last weekend I managed to venture beyond the kitchen and get started on a little project I had been putting off for a while. The good old pin board! 

Being a visual person I work best when I can physically see things right before me and this is particularly the case when it comes to calendars and appointments. Sure the diaries on my phone, laptop etc. are great, but I really wanted a place when I could have all my upcoming appointments, invitations and other bits and bobs in one place and constantly staring me in the face (a must if you're fighting your natural urges to procrastinate like me!). 

Hence the pin board. It now takes pride of place in my room when I can see it every day... now I just need a pretty 2014 calendar to stick in its centre!

I think all up this project cost something like $15, and that's only because I wanted a pretty printed fabric! You could have used any old scrap material and finish it for even cheaper! It also only took one lazy afternoon to complete. Perfect! 

Here's How It's Done

  

All you need for this project is:

An old picture frame  (it's not shown in the above picture but you need both the frame and its backing board!) 

Some sandpaper 

Paint in whatever colour you want the frame to be! 

Staple gun (not essential) 

Craft glue

Wadding or sheet foam at least 1cm thick 

Roll of cork 

Pretty fabric

My bedroom  has what I like to think of as a "Modern Gothic sheik" vibe about it (lots of black, silver and damask!) so I chose the colour and fabric of my board to tie in with this look. That and the fabric I found had keys on it and I have a bit of a thing for keys... nothing weird here... 

Start off by lightly sanding back the old frame and giving it a coat or two of paint. I chose a glossy black!

While you're setting that aside to dry, grab the backing of the picture frame and place it facing down. Now grab your roll of cork and measure it to cover the backing board. Cut it to size and then stick it to the board with your craft glue.

Follow the cork with the wadding/foam. Measure and cut the foam to the dimensions on the board and use some more craft glue to stick it on top of the cork layer.

Next, give your fabric a quick iron to get rid of any wrinkles and then lay on a bench facing downwards (so the side you want to be showing on the finished board is facing away from you. Trim the fabric so that you have 3-4 cm overhang on all sides when you place the board on top 

UNLIKE IN THE ABOVE PICTURE, place the now padded backing board in the centre of the fabric with the foam side facing down onto the fabric. Grab your staple gun and, keeping the fabric pulled tight so you don't get wrinkles, fold over the overhang and staple to the back of the board.

That's about it! Now simply grab your painted frame and stick the backing in (it may be a bit snug due to the fabric but just put a little muscle into it!).

You can leave it as is but for mine I thought it just needed a little extra 'somethin somethin' so I grabbed some simple gold thumb tacks and spaced them all around the outside of the board to create a bit of a studded effect.

And you're done!

Stick your board wherever you need constant reminders, inspiration or simply have lots of notes in need of refuge!

It's a DIY Christmas!

 

There really is something special about fresh fruit in summertime.

Whether its bright red cherries a top a pavlova or the sweet flesh of a mango making faces and hands sticky - everything just looks, smells and tastes more alive!

As I've mentioned previously, I love to give my family homemade food gifts at Christmas time, and in Australia this means fresh summer fruits are in abundance! Heaven!

When scouring the Internet looking for inspiration I happened to come across this recipe from In Sonnet's Kitchen and as a lover of zesty citruses I simply couldn't pass it by.  

I made a couple of adjustments from the original recipes and now, making their Christmas debut, little jars of this delicious Citrus Sea Salt will be taking pride of place in my families' gift hampers, ready to season whatever meats or vegetables they desire in the new year.

 

 Citrus Sea Salt

3 cups Sea Salt 
2 lemons, zested
3 oranges, zested


Preheat oven to 110 degrees C

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix to combine. Spread the mixture evenly over a baking tray and bake for 2 hours to dry it out, stirring halfway through.

Allow the salt to cool completely and then pour into individual jars.   

Voila! The perfect gift done and dusted!