Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Creepcakes



We had such a good time making these cupcakes last Halloween and are excited to do it again this year. Comes from Kids Fall 2005. Although they give instructions on making spiders, mummies, brains and other wierd creatures, we focussed on the aliens for convenience sake. The kids liked being creative with the project and they didn't need much help from mom and dad. They used scissors to cut the marshmellows and gumdrops and stuck other candies to the exposed cut. They also used scissors to cut the airheads into tentacles and tongues. Everything else was basically frosting and placing. I also liked that the list of things needed was fairly simple and could all be found at our less-than-well-stocked grocery store: marshmellows (big and/or small), licorice (red and/or black), airheads or laffy taffy, gumdrops, chocolate chips, white tic tacs, M&Ms. Added bonus: the cupcake and buttercream recipes are fantastic. Tip: Instead of using the buttercream recipe suggested on the Kids website, I use an easier, but equally as yummy one that was published in the Kids issue:

Fluffy Vanilla Buttercream
makes about 8 cups
3 C. butter, unsalted
9 C. powdered sugar, sifted
1 t. vanilla extract
Beat butter until pale and creamy (about 2 minutes). Add powdered sugar 1/2 c. at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl with a spatula as needed, about 5 minutes total. After every 2 additions, raise speed to high, and beat 10 seconds to aerate the frosting. Add vanilla, and beat until buttercream is smooth. Buttercream can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 10 days. Bring to room temp. and beat on low speed until smooth, about 10 minutes, before using.

See DesignMom and Kids for more on creepy cupcakes.

5 comments:

Jenni said...

we were so delighted to be recipients of these creepy cupcakes

Anonymous said...

So cute!

We made spider web cupcakes for Zella's party last Friday. An easy, age-appropriate project for Zella (12) and Ruth (10).

Glad to see the site up and running again.

Tania said...

Thanks for the cupcakes - they were yummy and VERY cute. Happy you're blog is back!

Gabrielle of Design Mom said...

So yummy. Thanks for sharing with us.

Elizabeth said...

Erin - you inspired me and so I made my own creepy cupcakes. You can view them at my blog (which isnt cool like your blog but more of my journal or something I do when I am bored).