I Ain't Afraid of No Ghosts- Halloween Cake

Now that the long awaited, often feared 2012 "first day of school" has seamlessly come and gone, it's inevitable that the holidays are not far behind. For many of the big name stores the holidays have already arrived. I couldn't help but think twice about picking up  a great big package of neon green and black swirled gummy worms. 

I am always impressed with the new candy ideas that are introduced every year. So far I've seen candy corn in cool Halloween colors like green, black, purple and white, jack o' lantern shaped Snickers and even Cadbury eggs filled with slimy, green goo.  I have to be honest though, I do love the colors, decorations and of course the candy that comes with Halloween, but with my enthusiasm comes a few drops of apprehension.

I think it goes back to my younger days, when children were warned of being kidnapped by creepy men in unmarked white vans, lurking in the shadows waiting to snatch up unsuspecting little boys and girls on freezing cold and dark Halloween nights.


If you were lucky enough to make it home without being abducted, your mother would be peeking through the blinds awaiting your footsteps through the front door.  Before you could even utter a "hello" she would be snatching your trick or treat bag from your cold hands, telling you that "she had to go through every single piece" presumably with a fine tooth comb.



Because according to recent news reports, there were evil  child hating people who were putting razor blades into sweet chocolaty candy bars meant to harm sweet faced little boys and girls like me and my friends. Ahh the children of the 80's what stories we have to tell!





Okay so fast forward to modern day 2012, I've obviously made it through at least 20 Halloween's or maybe....just a few more (ahem) without being kidnapped or having had my throat cut to shreds by a Milky Way. But now I am the mom, and although I don't riddle my chicas with scary stories that make them feel like they are part of a blood curdling episode of  RL. Stines" The Haunting Hour" ( which is a great series by the way),

I do feel that walking in the chilly fall air, in lightweight costumes dodging speeding cars and receiving the occasional sandwich bag filled with homemade chocolate chip cookies from the  creepy single guy in the barely lit house on the corner ( seriously, obviously it's often times meant to be a sweet gesture,  but who would ever eat something unwrapped and unmarked made by a complete stranger?! It's so much easier to pick up a bag of smarties or whatever!) doesn't really seem like my brand of fun.




Honestly, most of the time about 30 minutes into walking the neighborhood my chicas are ready to call it quits, and 3 weeks later I am pulling their candy bags from underneath their beds still 3/4 of the way full!  Obviously they don't take after me, because when I was little by week 3 I would be down to the Mary Janes and I usually was still feening candy and I was desperate enough that even they would get a few nibbles! My candy obsession really borders along the lines of addiction ( at least for chocolate).

So instead of traveling the cold mean streets on Halloween nights, I've decided to keep the day of "candy love" a little more centralized and cozy with a fiesta for them and their friends at home.  This ghost cake is the perfect mix between spooky and sweet, exactly what kids want on Halloween night!

Ingredients

Vanilla Cake & Cupcakes
1 box of Wilton fondant
Butter Cream
1 package of gummy worms
1 bag of candy corn
Oreo cookies or chocolate cake crumbs
assorted chocolates and Halloween candies

Recipe


♥To make this cake you will need a Wilton doll pan, which may be available at  your local Micheal's or I also found one here.   You will also need a sturdy base for the cake, I like to use the Wilton silver circle cake board which is pretty sturdy and also leaves space for the cupcakes to go around the edges. 


♥For the cake you can use your favorite yellow or chocolate cake recipe, Here is one. that sounds pretty yummy!  For a quicker option you can use a box mix, either one I suggest you make 2 batches. Because you will need enough batter for the cake and the cupcakes. ( You may want to bake an extra 8' round cake to go below the top portion, depending on how many guests you will have)

♥Once you've chosen and prepared your batter, fill the doll mold only 3/4 full with batter, the batter will rise during baking if you fill it too high you will have overflow. After the cake is baked, move on to making thecupcakes ( however many you need, at least enough to go around the ghost).

♥Before icing the cake make sure it's completely cooled, I like to stick my cake in the freezer for about an hour so that it is nice and stiff before I ice it and put on fondant.

♥When  the cake is cooled, ice the cake in your favorite butter cream or frosting recipe.  I like a whipped butter cream, like this one because I don't like a sickening sweet, heavy butter cream. Make sure the cake is completely covered in butter cream, so that the fondant attaches completely.

♥Break 4 kabob sticks in half and you can either place large campfire marshmallows or balls of fondant on the ends. I like to put 2 kabob sticks together on either side of the ghost, to give more security and stability to the ghosts arms.

♥After the cake is iced it's time to roll out enough fondant to cover the entire cake and hang down the sides like a ghosts sheet. The fondant doesn't have to be perfectly smooth at the bottom, it can be gathered or gently folded along the bottom to resemble a ghosts sheet.

♥Next, dye a ball of fondant black enough so that you can make the ghosts' eyes, mouth and eyebrows, pull off pieces of fondant and hand mold them into the eyes, mouth and eyebrows. Put just a dab of water on the back and apply to the ghosts face wherever you like.

♥You can either swirl or simply ice the frosting onto the surrounding cupcakes, then sprinkle them with either crushed Oreo's or chocolate cake crumbs. Place gummy worms on each cupcake, place them around your ghost than sprinkle the base with candy corn, Snicker bars, Skittles, Three Musketeers etc, etc

Finally, make or print up mini signs and glue them onto toothpicks with whatever ghoulish message that your heart desires ♥