Cupcake Graveyard Food

PULL-APART GRAVEYARD CUPCAKES

Steps:

• For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two 12-cup standard muffin tins with paper cupcake liners.
• Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Warm the grape jelly in the microwave until loosened, 20 to 30 seconds, and whisk until smooth. Set aside.
• Beat together the sugar and eggs in another medium bowl with an electric mixer until light and foamy, about 2 minutes. While beating, gradually pour in the butter and then the vanilla.
• While mixing slowly, add half the dry ingredients and then all of the milk. Follow with the rest of the dry ingredients, taking care not to over mix the batter.
• Remove 2 cups of the batter and stir in the grape jelly. Evenly fill the liners about two-thirds full, alternating with yellow and grape batter.
• Bake until a tester inserted in the center of the cupcakes comes out clean and the tops spring back lightly to the touch, 20 to 22 minutes. Place the pan on a rack to cool for 10 minutes, and then remove the cupcakes to the rack to cool completely, about 1 hour.
• For the frosting: Beat the butter and salt in a large bowl until fluffy and combined. Gradually beat in the confectioners' sugar until smooth and fluffy. Beat in the milk one tablespoon at a time until the frosting has a nice spreadable consistency. Add the crushed cookies and continue to beat until any large chunks are crushed to smaller bits and the frosting has a speckled, greyish look.
• For the decorations: Arrange the cupcakes in 4 rows on a large serving plate or cutting board. Fit a marshmallow between each cupcake, 5 marshmallows per row, to fill in the gaps between the cupcakes. Spread the frosting over the whole rectangle so it looks like one cake. Sprinkle with the cookie crumbs and black decorating sugar.
• To make the tombstones: Use the black decorating icing and a small round tip to write "RIP" or other one-word epitaphs on the top half of the oval sandwich cookies and stick into the cupcakes randomly around the graveyard.
• To make the ghosts: Remove two-thirds of the tube of marzipan and place between 2 sheets of wax paper or parchment. Roll about 1/8-inch thick and cut into 3 rounds using a 4-inch biscuit cutter. You may need to gather and re-roll the scraps for all 3 rounds. Drape over the wrapped lollipops and stick into the cupcakes around the tombstone. Using the black decorating icing and the same round tip, dot eyes and a mouth on the ghosts.
• To make the pumpkins and leaves: Divide the remaining marzipan into 4 small pieces and roll each into a ball. Roll in the orange sugar until coated and place around the graveyard. Use the black icing to pipe a small stem. Fit the tube of green decorating icing with a leaf or ribbon tip to dot bits of green grass poking through the dirt around the graveyard and pumpkins.
• To make a border: Use 6 pieces of the licorice, trimming to fit, to make a border around the cake, leaving the middle of the front side open. Bend the seventh piece into an upside down "U" and stick into 2 cupcakes in the front to make an arched gateway.

CUPCAKE GRAVEYARD

Steps:

• Prepare and bake cake mix according to package directions for cupcakes.
• In a medium bowl stir 1 package of frosting with the cookie crumbs. Frost cooled cupcakes.
• Fill a pastry bag, fitted with a plain tip, with remaining white frosting. Write R.I.P. on each chocolate covered graham cracker cookie. Stand a decorated cookie on top of each cupcake so that it looks like a tombstone. Place the cupcakes on a large cookie sheet that has been covered with green paper. Place paper ghosts and bats randomly through the graveyard. Serve!

PUMPKIN CAKE GRAVEYARD

Steps:

• For the pumpkin cake: Spray a 12-cup Bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a large bowl, combine 2 boxes of the pound cake mix, 1 stick of the butter, 4 of the eggs, 1 can of the pumpkin puree and 2 teaspoons of the pumpkin pie spice. Mix with a handheld electric mixer on high speed until blended, about 1 minute. Pour into the prepared Bundt pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes.
• Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then unmold onto a wire cooling rack. Repeat the process to make a second Bundt cake.
• Once the cakes are cooled, level off the bottoms with a serrated knife so the cakes will sit flat. Place one of the cakes cut-side up and spread the vanilla frosting over it. Place the second cake, cut-side down, on top to form a pumpkin.
• For the glaze: In a medium bowl whisk together the confectioners' sugar, cream cheese, milk and food coloring. (The glaze should be a bright orange color; add a few more drops of food coloring if needed.) The mixture will be very thick but still pourable. Place the pumpkin cake on a baking sheet fitted with a wire rack. Slowly pour the glaze over the top, moving in a circular motion around the top of the cake and letting the glaze drip down the sides. Set aside until set, about 1 hour.
• Wrap some fruit leather around the green ice cream cone and press it into place upside down on the cake to form a stem. Dust a work surface with confectioners' sugar, place some fruit leather on top, and cut out a leaf with a leaf-shaped cookie cutter. Press the leaf into place on the cake near the stem.
• For the graveyard: Spray an 18-by-13-inch baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray and line with parchment; spray the parchment.
• Prepare both boxes of brownie mix according to the package instructions and pour into the prepared baking sheet. Bake according to the package instructions. Let cool completely, then remove from the pan and place on a large cutting board.
• Frost the top of the brownie sheet with the chocolate frosting. Slice about 60 of the chocolate ladyfingers in half crosswise. Press the halved cookies, cut-side down, side-by-side around the top edge of the frosted brownie sheet to form a fence. On one of the long sides of the brownie sheet, leave a 3-inch opening in the fence to create an entrance. Place 2 whole ladyfingers on either side of the opening to form the gate entrance. Place another whole ladyfinger on top of the two ladyfingers to make the top of the gate, using a little bit of frosting to adhere it.
• Cover the top of the frosted brownie with the crumbled chocolate cream-filled cookies to make dirt. Place the pumpkin cake in the center of the graveyard.
• To make the gravestones, place the rectangular cookies and vanilla wafer sandwich cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spray both sides of the cookies with the silver spray food coloring.
• Use a knife to cut slits into the brownie to hold the gravestones. Carefully place the gravestones into the slits.
• Place the small candy pumpkins and marshmallow ghosts in the graveyard around the pumpkin. Serve immediately.

CUPCAKE GRAVEYARD

Steps:

• Prepare and bake cake mix according to package directions for cupcakes.
• In a medium bowl stir 1 package of frosting with the cookie crumbs.
• Frost cooled cupcakes.
• Fill a pastry bag, fitted with a plain tip, with remaining white frosting.
• Write R.I.P. on each chocolate covered graham cracker cookie.
• Stand a decorated cookie on top of each cupcake so that it looks like a tombstone.
• Place the cupcakes on a large cookie sheet that has been covered with green paper.
• Place paper ghosts and bats randomly through the graveyard.
• Serve!

SPOOKTACULAR HALLOWEEN GRAVEYARD CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Mix together cake mix, water, oil, and eggs according to package directions.
• If your package requires different ingredients to make cake, follow those instructions instead.
• Grease and flour a glass 13x9-inch cake pan.
• If you use a dark or coated pan, do your baking at 325°F.
• Pour batter into prepared pan and bake in a preheated oven for approx 35 minutes (38-40 minutes for dark or coated pans) or until cake is done.
• Allow cake to cool in the pan.
• Spread frosting evenly on cooled cake.
• Sprinkle frosting with crumbled cookies (oreos or whatever you are using).
• Using gel frostings, write sayings on 1/2 of the milano cookies (some sayings might be"Justin Tyme","Yul B Next","RIP","M T Tomb","Will B Back","Barry M Deep", etc).
• Press 1/2 of cookie down into cake and icing to resemble a standing tombstone.
• Arrange ghost marshmallows in a standing position on top of cake.
• Scatter candies and/or sprinkles or sugars on cake to garnish.

HAUNTED GRAVEYARD CAKE

Steps:

• To make the ghosts, heat oven to 110C/90C fan/gas ¼. Whip the egg white in a clean bowl until stiff peaks form. Whisk in the sugar a tbsp at a time and keep whisking for a couple of mins until the mixture is thick and resembles shaving foam. Gently spoon the mixture into a large freezer bag, then cut a 1.5cm hole in one of the corners. Cover a baking sheet with some baking parchment. Carefully squeeze a small circle of whipped egg white out of the bag, pulling upwards as you do to make a ghost shape. Repeat until the mixture is used up - you should get about 15 ghosts. Bake for 1½ hrs until crisp. Can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
• Now make the cake. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Tip the cocoa powder, self-raising flour and sugar into a large bowl, breaking up any clumps of sugar. Mix together the eggs, milk and oil in a measuring cup or bowl, then pour over the dry ingredients and stir everything together until smooth. Grease and line a deep baking dish (20 x 30 x 5cm) with baking parchment. Pour in the cake mixture and bake for 30 mins. Leave to cool, then turn out onto a serving plate. Alternatively, wrap well and store for up to 2 days.
• Finish decorating the cake: heat cream in a saucepan until just boiling. Place the dark chocolate in a large bowl and pour over the hot cream. Stir until the chocolate melts. Use a clean brush to paint a layer of chocolate over 7 rich tea finger biscuits, then set aside to cool. Pour the rest of the chocolate mixture over the cake and smooth over with a knife. Whizz the chocolate cookies, or bash in a freezer bag with a rolling pin, until small crumbs form. Sprinkle over the top of the cake.
• Place the white chocolate in a small bowl, set over a pan of simmering water. Leave for 5 mins or until melted, then spoon into a small freezer bag. Wait for 10 mins so the mixture is not too runny, then cut a tiny hole in one corner of the bag. Pipe out 2 small blobs onto each ghost, place a silver ball on each to make eyes, then pipe out suitable words and shapes on the gravestones. Leave for 30 mins to set, then push the biscuit gravestones into the cake and arrange the ghosts around. To get the ghosts to 'fly', push a thin wire (you can get these from a florist shop - remember to remove before eating) into the bottom of the ghost, then place in the cake, hiding the wire behind a gravestone.