Thursday, October 9, 1997 at 9 PM ET in the Kitchen Conference Room -- Cake Decorating with Dolores777 "Spooky Cake Ideas" 

HELLO KITCHEN THIS IS THE CAKE DECORATING CHAT HOUR WELCOME TO ALL NEWCOMERS TO OUR LIVE CHATS! WE ARE CHATTING ABOUT CAKE DECORATING..9-10PM EST...

...HOPE YOU ALL ENJOY. FEEL FREE TO JOIN THE FUN... DON'T FORGET TO TURN ON YOUR LOG TO RECORD OUR CHAT TONIGHT: TO DO: AT THE TOP OF YOUR AOL MENU, CLICK ON <<FILE>>, SCROLL DOWN TO <<LOG MANAGER>> CLICK ON OPEN LOG...... AND SAVE-AS ---ANY NAME ...CAKECHAT.LOG (ETC) IN A FOLDER (DIRECTORY) TITLED CHATLOG... AFTER YOU EXIT AOL YOU CAN USE ANY WORD PROCESSOR TO OPEN AND READ IT.

DIANE SHAVKIN (Shavkin) IS HELPING ME TONIGHT IN EARLENE'S PLACE (Pwd sugar). Pwd sugar will be back next week. TOPIC: "Spooky Cake Ideas"... 

DIANE'S PART:

IT'S SPOOKY HALLOWEEN TIME, SO LET'S BAKE A "SPOOKY PUMPKIN CAKE" First, the recipe:

SPICY PUMPKIN CAKE

2 cups pumpkin
3 cups flour
2 tsp. Baking powder
2 tsp. Baking soda
1/4 tsp. Ginger
1/4 tsp. Cinnamon
1/8 tsp. Nutmeg
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 cup oil
4 eggs
Put pumpkin in bowl, add sifted ingredients and blend well. Then add oil. Blend well. Add the eggs, one at a time and blend well between each addition. Pour into a greased and floured 9 x 13" pan.
Bake at 350 deg f for 1 hour or until done. (check after 45 minutes).
When the cake is ready for decorating, crumb coat the entire sheet cake.
Use a toothpick and draw the outline of the cake which will be a pumpkin at the bottom section of the cake and a ghost coming out of the "pumpkin" part of the cake. Put sure to touch the sides of the cake while drawing the design as much as possible to avoid extra cutting in order to create the design.
Place cake into the freezer to chill. Remove from freezer.
Cut the desired shape of the cake using the outline that was drawn as the guide. Set the cake pieces aside.
Crumb coat the entire cake, again.
Fill in the pumpkin section with #22 stars or frost this section with orange buttercream frosting.
Frost the ghost with white butter cream frosting or fill in with white buttercream using the #22 tip.
Put features on the ghost using a #4 tip and black frosting.
The pumpkin can be made into a jack-o-lantern by taking a tip # 8 and some bright yellow frosting and piping the eyes, nose and mouth.
Now, fill in the eyes, nose and mouth sections with more of the yellow frosting.
Smooth the yellow frosting with a moistened, square-edged, artist's brush.
Use a # 5 tip and outline the features (eyes, nose and mouth) with dark brown frosting.
Let's be devilish and make a pumpkin with spiders.
First, bake the cake using, what else?

A DEVILISH, DEVIL'S FOOD CAKE

The cake should be a bit devilish, soooo let's doctor up a cake mix!
Prepare a devil's food cake mix according to package instructions.
Add 1 cup chopped walnuts, 1 cup raisins and 1 cup coconut.
Fill two, 9" pans that have been greased and floured with the batter.
Bake according to package instructions.
Cover a board with foil.
Secure two, waxed paper circles the size of the cakes in place on the board with frosting.
Add a dab of frosting to the top of the circles and place the layers onto each of the waxed paper circles.
Frosting the cakes with orange frosting.
Use the edge of the blade of the knife to make the long, indentations into the pumpkins to give the pumpkins shape and character.
At the top of one of the pumpkins (pumpkin #1), pipe a pumpkin stem in brown frosting.
At the top of pumpkin #2, about 1/4 of the way down from the top of the pumpkin make a circular, vertical indentation with an appropriate tool to create the "lid" of the pumpkin that will become a jack-o-lantern.
Create the features on the pumpkin using the procedure described, above.
Pipe spiders onto the pumpkin #1 and on the foil so they appear to be approaching the jack-o-lantern.
Use a cupcake for the face of a cat.
Cut off the bottom of the cupcake about 1/2 inch up from the bottom.
Cut this cake into ears for a cat.
Frost the cupcake with black buttercream.
Attach the ears and frost them with black buttercream.
Pipe the white's of the eyes with buttercream and a #6 tip.
Make a pink nose.
Pipe the green of the eye with a #5 tip.
And flatten the green part of the eye with the finger dipped into confectioners sugar.
Pipe the mouth and whiskers. Let the frosting dry.
Then, place the cat's head near the jack-o-lantern so that it is appearing to peek out from the pumpkin.
Fill in the body that would be touching the jack-o-lantern with black buttercream.

GOULASH CUPCAKES:

First prepare the ghosts by slipping a spatula (metal) between the layers in order to separate the layers from each other.
Dip a sucker stick into some melted chocolate compound and place on the bottom layer of the cookie.
Replace the top of the cookie. Let solidify.
Now, dip the entire nutterbutter into melted, white chocolate compound. Shake off the extra chocolate and stand upright into a styrofoam base to dry.
Paint dark brown (milk chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate) eyes on the nutterbutter ghost.
Bake devil's food cupcakes.
Cut a cone into each cupcake and remove the cone. (the point of the cone would be inside the cupcake.)
Fill the cavities of the cupcakes with cooled-down chocolate pudding (not instant pudding).
Replace the cone with the flat part of the cone facing upward.
Using a #22 or #32 tip pipe a filled in circle with chocolate frosting.
Insert the stick of the ghost nutterbutter pop into the top of the cupcake.
(break off part of the stick if needed in order to secure the pop into the cupcake in the event the stick is too long.

For a sweet-treat, try skeleton bones fudge:

1 lb. White chocolate compound
1 can sweetened, condensed milk
flavoring (optional)
1/4- 1/2 bag miniature marshmallows
1/3 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup shredded coconut
Melt coating. Stir in condensed milk (warm and make it the same temperature as the melted coating). Quickly, stir in the marshmallows, almonds and coconut. Spread in an 8" square, buttered pan. Score and cut into rectangular pieces. (more like long, rectangular strips - about 1-2" long and 1/4-1/2" wide.)

MtnMama103: shav - do you have a picture of these cakes somewhere on line?

DOLORES' PART

This time of year can be real fun with all the 'spooky' cakes we can create. Along with other wonderful decorations.

Have you downloaded and read my newsletter yet? It has some good Fall and Halloween ideas for you.

What do you want to do?
A cake - how large?
For children or for adults? (Lots of difference.)
Or maybe a gingerbread haunted house (great centerpiece in 3-D!).

Next are some ideas to help you plan your cake:

1. Red Piping gel for 'blood' - Piping gel comes in tubes, tinted and ready to use. Just snip off the end of the tube. Or from Wilton - theirs is clear and in a tub. Tint and spread or pipe from a bag.
TIP: Piping Gel comes out thicker than icing, so use a tip one number smaller than you would if it was icing.
2. A 'haunted house made of graham crackers to go with the theme
3. Color - dark and haunting maybe. A dark blue/black sky - its easy to do with an airbrush...just ice white, then airbrush the backgrounds.
4. Writing - don't forget to write 'jiggly' for 'Happy Halloween'
5. A spider web is always a nice accent for a cake corner.
6. IDEAS - Ideas usually must be guided by your customer's wishes. But for your family, the sky's the limit!
Halloween greeting cards for ideas.
Figure-Pipe the ghosts and goblins.
Pumpkins: I use tip 199. I like to pipe these for borders too. Then add tip one dark green squiggly vines all around.
An old dead tree on one side is good. Don't forget a big harvest moon
For 'hurry-up cakes, there are icing and sugar items available now: Bats, cats, ghosts, pumpkins, witches, 'Boo' and even skeletons, etc. Some large, some small.
Add orange food coloring and orange Lorann oil to a white cake mix

PETITE DOLL PAN makes good 'pumpkins' for setting on sheet cakes....OR- make it a witch by adding a marshmallow head and Necco wafer (painted with black food coloring), black hat brim with icing cone build-up pointed black hat

CAKE 1: One cake my daughter Joyce offers: She uses the petite doll pan for a witch. Paints the witches face dark green with royal icing. We have a witch's caldron that's plastic, but you could bake 2 mini ball cakes, ice together and stand up. Don't forget piping gel for eerie affects.

MaraTLee: Dee, greeen is good for slime!! Dolores777: green piping gel!

CAKE 2: Jack-O-Lantern cake...Bake a 1-mix cake in a Pyrex bowl - ice orange and decorate like a Jack-O-Lantern. Add a cupcake dark green stem. TIP: For realism, ice orange, then smooth with a (smooth) paper towel....this way you can mold it to a more realistic pumpkin shape. (Don't forget to use yellow piping gel for the eyes so they glow.

CAKE 3: The Santa-with-List shaped pan makes a great Grim Reaper with black hood & white skeleton face

CAKE 4: Sceneries: 1. Ice cake bluish purple (or airbrush is easier), with 3 skeletons dancing (stencil). 2. Smallish Haunted House stencil, pipe a big dead tree in front (have a 'knot' in the tree with 'eyes' peeking out) and pipe a skeleton...maybe add some pumpkins.

CAKE 5: Ice the cake orange or some Halloween dark scenery color. Pipe a BIG spider's web piped with black icing and tip 5 from a top corner and covering most of the cake. Add a big black spider made from marshmallows covered in black icing.

NO-COOK PUMPKIN PIE FUDGE This fudge is a real surprise. It is so delicious and SO easy! 12 oz Orange unflavored dipping chocolate* 4 oz. Butterscotch dipping chocolate* 1/2 stick margarine 3/4 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie spice 1/8 teaspoon Nutmeg 1/8 teaspoon Cinnamon oil* 1 can Eagle Brand milk (any food is good with THIS in it!)

Prepare an 8x8" buttered square pan. Melt chocolate & butter over double boiler filled in the bottom with boiling hot water. Stir in spices and oil. Add milk. Pour into pan and score. Add any decorations now. (We carry many miniature Halloween edibles). Cool & cut apart.

HOMEMADE PUMPKIN PIE SPICE (enough for 1 pie) 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg Double or triple this recipe as desired.

Now its 'OPEN MIKE time...do YOU have some good Halloween cake ideas?

ChefMatt22: I am trying to fond some info on stencils so I can carve a basket or a design on the watermelon
(From Dolores' - check out my file you can download on making stencils. Its really easy - complete directions.)
MtnMama103: Great! I've been trying to find out if Co has an ICES DOS - do you know? ----ICES: http://www.ices.org
Dolores777: I put DOS on my web site if people tell me. All ICES state reps have a list of their state’s members. Good idea to ask any one of them.
MRS T 123: Babe - what's going on with our NY get together?
Babe418: at the Onmi Hotel to give us good rates. I though Nov early
Bakerbear1: October 26, 9-5 Forrest meadow, Tallahassee
Dolores777: DOS:::can you all please send info and I'll post it for you
MaraTLee: Found some nice candle sticks at Pier 1 to use as pillars for cakes today!
GREENANS1: why candlesticks for pillars?
MaraTLee: something different Bakerbear1: really cool!!!! are they sturdy enough though....usually mine don;t seem to be
GREENANS1: i've never heard of it MaraTLee: Green, you can use to customize the cake
GREENANS1: push in pillars? MaraTLee: No green, you have to support them, if you use as pillars, or just use to elevate cake

PLKidder: Like the fall wedding cake in newsletter, Dolores 

IDEAS FROM OUR AUDIENCE:

Vicake: How about a spooky spider with dark chocolate, chowmein noodles and candy eyes

MaraTLee: How about writing with "bony" letters? Happy Holloween?

CreAteCak: and a graveyard!

PLKidder: made spider cupcakes for school used licorice for legs kids loved them

CHaney8796: Don't forget the goblins

Cakestmper: Use Christmas tree pan for a BIG ‘cake-shaped’ candy corn

Bakerbear1: cookies work great...can be made way in advanced and stored for a month

CHaney8796: Petite doll pans also make cute goblins

GREENANS1: i make spiders at work using an upside down cupcake, large grass tip, and licorice legs

Cakestmper: Cut off trunk, sample for quality, ice orange, yellow, white

MtnMama103: I was shown how to do some great "eyeballs" for Halloween with either candy or cupcakes. Roll it into a ball, dip in white melted candy, then pipe red lines with red piping gel, and make pupils of eye with other candy.
Vicake: what did you make the eyeball out of?
MtnMama103: With cupcakes, you just ice with white icing and complete it like the candy ones.
MtnMama103: Thought I'd get some gummy worms and maybe stick them in too!
Vicake: She said she dipped the eyeball in white chocolate. How could you use black icing?
Gigimama: There are eyeballs in the '98 yearbook; candies I think

MaraTLee: I was just going to use poured fondant icing and red piping gel

Cake Wmn: Saw idea of dipping grapes in white chocolate and making eyes on them. They are a conversation piece here, I am the only one around here that has them yellow. I have given mine away for a long time everyone loves them
SLong8803: Peeled grapes make a wonderful bowl of eyeballs for kids to stick there hands into in the dark
CreAteCak: hey cake wmn, they would be gooshy too when you bite into them!

Bakerbear1: i'd use a tootsie roll as a base, they are easy to manipulate...made footballs out of them..

MaraTLee: There is a Holloween site on AOL--great stuff for parties, zombie hands, zombie meatloaf--LO

MaraTLee: "skeleton hair"--corn silks

MaraTLee: Fresh vomit--(UGH)--chunky salsa and canned corn--mixed----

MaraTLee: Vampires earwax---fudge----get the idea

Shavkin: for my daughter birthday on the 20th of Oct. Used a Halloween theme. Make sugar- molded pumpkins. For each guest's favor. Made candy cups of sugar and filled with candy of Halloween - corn

MtnMama103: dolores - have you ever used the standup pumpkin mold? (Not I, but would make a wonderfull centerpiece cake for the little spooks).

Gigimama: I;m doing a sheet cake with a graham cracker haunted house on a hill on one side; graveyard with molded candy headstones, skeletons rising from graves on the other figure piped ghosts pumpkins, candy cats & bats

Bakerbear1: a Martha Stewart idea...make spice cakes in mini bundt pan. Mold marzipan (orange) in cups to mimic grooves, place over cake. Roll a string of green marzipan and secure into the center depression and curl around to form vine-like stem, elegant

Dolores777: zombie???
MaraTLee: Dolores, you carve a sheet cake into the shape--use piping gel for blood and slime---LOL kids will love it----- use the back of a spoon to make sunken eye sockets----place gummy worms artistically

CreAteCak: for headstones for graves, I use a piece of cardboard cut out in the shape of head- stone and then ice with buttercream and then place standing up on cake..

Gigimama: Easy 3-D pumpkin- stack to bundt cakes, one inverted, with ice cream cone stem

Cake Wmn: Not a halloween idea but last week Dee you said you had had message about florist foil not being safe for cakes. If you use a cake board between cake and foil no problem, right
Dolores777: Cake...its on my message board already. Foil colors bleed into the icing: - you shouldn't use any but FDA approved...foils.
CHaney8796: Dolores 777 Do you have the pumpkin sugar mold???
Dolores777: CH:::they no longer make sugar molds, but have it in a candy mold, many styles/sizes

Shavkin: Here's an "old" recipe that my sister got when she was in school. She's 20 years older Butterscotch candied applies (anne's school cookbook)

1 c sugar
2 t. Water
1 t. Butter
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup karo syrup
1 t. Vinegar
A few grains salt

Mix sugar, salt, butter, syrup and water in saucepan. Stir over low flame until mixture begins to boil. Then cook without stirring until it reaches "band snap" stage. I used that recipe a great deal - lots and lots when I was a kid and then a teenager. Good recipe.

MaraTLee: Dolores, just made my first mold, for a FD badge, came out great--so proud !!!
Dolores777: oh great Mara...that chocolate is so easy isn't it?
MaraTLee: no, I made with sculpy for a sugarpaste badge Bakerbear1: has anyone ever tried those FIMO molds for marzipan and fondant work...
Gigimama: What's sculpy?
Dolores777: ...oh...I’ve used sculpy...does anything!
Bakerbear1: for the little veggies and flowers....the face would be good too
Cakestmper: Yes to Fimo molds, work great
MaraTLee: Gi, its a soft clay medium you bake in oven to harden---
Dolores777: FIMO, not I...are they for candy or crafts? FixesIt: I didn't know FIMO made molds. I always make everything by hand
MtnMama103: thanks shav - need all the help I can get. We have a "trick or treat" street here where all the kids go instead of hitting the streets. We set up booths with things for the kids. I try to help out by making things for the booths.
Bakerbear1: crafts...but i imagine you could use them for candy....
Dolores777: SCULPY is not edible...you form shapes and bake then paint it
MaraTLee: Fimo is good to practice with. Sculpy hardens so you can use as a mold--
Bakerbear1: FIMO is a type of craft plastic
Cakestmper: Fimo molds are for crafts, but can do candy, fondant, gum paste, cold porcelain, etc.
MaraTLee: Dolores, have you heard of a French buttercream?
Dolores777: French buttercream...its cooked and needs refrigerated...on my web site
MaraTLee: I looked, its not same---you use 6 eggs, you cook, use 6# butter, sieve out eggs, ....
Dolores777: Mara...that was on Martha & Julia Childs show Sunday. I saw it
Bakerbear1: i won;t decorate with cooked butter cream...it may taste great but doesn’t hold up
Cakestmper: So why bother with this buttercream if troublesome? I understand the cooked part, seems like a lot of work if wont hold up decorating, and needs cooked buttercream has o stamina...but i did manage a decent cake with it...never again!!!
Cakestmper: "special handling", ie refrigeration
MaraTLee: Dee, with the meringue butter cream if you add butter to =2x the sugar--it holds up a bit better--
BagelsNLox: Now, personally, I prefer a Genoise with my buttercream
Bakerbear1: a Genoise would get a cooked buttercream, but it would NOT be decorated (at least not in the way we speak of in here)....that calls for more elegant appointments...dragees for example
MaraTLee: No, hate Genoise----would rather eat sponges—LOL I tell clients that icing needs cool room, also I will trow in freezer for 1 hour before delivering so that it gets there in one piece
I want to take time to give a special great big THANK YOU to all the people here tonight that gave Halloween ideas. This is what makes out chat so great…thanks so much for sharing!….Dolores

NEXT WEEK: Thursday, October 16, 1997 at 9 PM ET in the Kitchen Conference Room -- Cake Decorating with Dolores777 - "Non-Cake Decorating equipment that makes our jobs easier " 

Back to our Chat List
Back to my Home Page