Ghostly Pirate Cake Food

PIRATE SHIP AND TREASURE ISLAND CAKE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Grease and line a 30x20cm cake tin with baking parchment.
• Put the butter and 200g of the chocolate into a saucepan and heat gently until melted. Remove from the heat. Sieve the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl. Mix in the sugar. Beat together the eggs, soured cream and vanilla extract. Pour the chocolate and egg mixtures into the flour and sugar and beat well until smooth. Pour into the prepared tin and bake in the oven for about 40 minutes. Leave until completely cold before cutting and shaping.
• Cut the cake in half lengthways. Place one complete half on the 30cm cake board. Cut the remaining half into 3 rectangles, 13x10cm, 7x10cm and 10x10cm. Attach the 10x10cm piece to one end of the base cake using a little warm jam. Cut a 'V' shape to represent the prow of the ship. Place the 13x10 piece at the other end of the base cake, attaching with jam. Using jam again attach the 7x10 piece on top of the 13x10 piece to make the upper deck. Slice the back of the ship at a very slight angle.
• Brush the whole cake with jam. Roll out about 550g of the ready-to-roll icing and cover the cake. Trim the edges at the base and keep any trimmings.
• Melt the remaining 100g chocolate in the microwave or in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Use melted chocolate to stick the mini Toblerones to the edges of the two decks and to the 'V' shape of the prow. Trim any to fit exactly. Use the chocolate to stick on the chocolate balls for canon balls, finger biscuits stacked up as canons and chocolate caramels for port holes. Using a little of the marzipan, roll out and cut four windows. Make window frames from brown icing trimmings, rolling out to thin sausages to form a cross and sticking with chocolate. Attach to the sides of the ship with chocolate. Poke the chocolate stick out of the front of the prow, if using.
• Arrange the chocolate coins in a little pile on the cake board, reserving 3 or 4 coins for the top. Roll out the remaining brown icing and cover the coins completely. Brush with melted chocolate and sprinkle with muscovado sugar. Push 3 or 4 coins into the sand along with the chocolate skull if using.
• Put a little of the royal icing in a bowl. Colour the remainder blue. Spread the icing on the cake board around the ship and the island. Use the white icing to make 'surf' around the edge of the island.
• Using the remaining marzipan and brown icing, make three barrels. Place one on the deck of the ship and the others in the sea. Cut out sails from the paper and make holes in them so you can push the straws through. Attach the sails to the ship and poke sandwich flags out of the top to finish.

PIRATE CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Grease or spray bottoms and sides of one 8-inch and one 9-inch round cake pan. Make cake batter as directed on box. Pour into pans.
• Bake as directed on box. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 30 minutes. For easier handling, refrigerate or freeze cake 30 to 60 minutes or until firm.
• Use serrated knife to cut 9-inch cake in half and cut hat as shown in diagram (template can be found under the Tips below). Remaining half of 9-inch cake will form body of pirate. Cut 8-inch cake as directed in diagram. On tray, place cake pieces. Cut ears and nose from small pieces of cake; attach to cake with small amount of frosting.
• In small bowl, stir 2 teaspoons chocolate frosting into 1 1/3 cups of the vanilla frosting. Frost cake with thin layer of frosting to seal in crumbs; use the tinted frosting on the head, ears and nose, the chocolate frosting on the hat, and the white frosting on the shirt of the pirate. Refrigerate or freeze 30 to 60 minutes to set frosting.
• Frost entire cake, using the same frostings. Add mint patty for eye patch, marshmallow slice and gum ball for eye, and ring-shaped candy for earring. Cut fruit snack into shapes for shirt stripes, mouth and strap for eye patch; place on cake. Cut licorice to fit hat. Add gum for teeth and chocolate decors for whiskers. Store loosely covered.

HALLOWEEN GHOSTS

Steps:

• Butter, then line a 30 x 20cm Swiss roll tin with baking parchment. Melt the butter in a large non-stick saucepan. Tip in the marshmallows, then melt very gently for about 10 mins, stirring regularly to make sure they don't stick.
• Once smooth, stir in the cereal until all of the grains are coated. Spoon the mix into the tin, then press down to make it flat and smooth. Chill until cool and set. Can be made up to 2 days ahead.
• Make the ghost shapes two ways. Cut the cake into rectangles, then use a sharp knife to round off the tops and zig-zag the bottoms. Or, to make flying ghosts, stamp out circles about 9cm across and use a sharp knife to divide into teardrop-shaped ghosts. Cut pieces of leftover cake to make arms, if you like.
• Carefully push a lolly stick into the bottom of each ghost. Put onto a cooling rack. If you've made arms, stick them on using a little white chocolate, then spoon over more chocolate and paint it over and down the sides of the ghosts with a pastry brush. Leave to set. Pipe on eyes with the plain chocolate or icing.

GHOST CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Oil and line the base of two 16cm (or smaller) sandwich tins and a 1.2L pudding basin. Mix the self-raising flour, cocoa powder, bicarbonate of soda and sugar in a bowl. Make a well in the centre and beat in the golden syrup, eggs, oil and milk with an electric whisk, until smooth.
• Pour the mixture into the pudding basin until it is ¾ full, then divide the rest between the two sandwich tins and bake for 25-30 mins until the cakes are risen and firm to the touch. The sponge in the pudding basin may need longer depending on whether the basin is metal or ceramic. Cool for 10 mins before turning out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.
• Meanwhile, to make the icing beat the butter until it is creamy, beat in the icing sugar a little at a time, beat in the cocoa powder and 2 tbsp water.
• Cut the pudding basin cake in half horizontally and sandwich it back together with a little icing. Put a round sponge on a cake board or plate, sandwich the next one on top with a little icing. Sandwich the pudding basin cake onto the top of the round cake. If the bottom cake sticks out beyond the bottom of the pudding basin cake then trim the top edge of the lower cake at an angle to make the sides flatter. Ice the outside of the cake with a thin layer of chocolate icing, using it all up.
• Roll the fondant out on a surface dusted with icing sugar to make a sheet shape that is big enough to cover the whole cake. Drape it carefully over the iced cake and press it on around the top to make your ghost, with ruffles around the edges, cutting off the excess round the base. Colour some of the excess icing black by kneading in the food colouring, or use the black fondant icing. Roll it out to a few mm thick. Cut out eyes and a mouth and stick them on.

HALLOWEEN GHOST PANCAKES

Steps:

• In small bowl, mix yogurt and maple syrup until well blended. Set aside.
• In medium bowl, mix baking mix, milk and egg until well blended. In small bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of the batter, the cocoa and sugar until well blended.
• Heat large nonstick electric griddle or 12-inch nonstick skillet to 375°F. Oil hot griddle.
• For each pancake, drop three 1/4 to 1/2-inch drops of dark batter about 1 to 1 1/2 inches apart forming eyes and mouth of ghost. Cook about 30 seconds. Immediately pour 1/4 cup regular batter; start the pour to cover the "eyes and mouth" and continue the pour downward to form an irregular ghostly shape. Cook 1 to 2 minutes or until pancake is puffed and dry around edges. Turn pancake; cook about 1 minute longer or until other side is golden brown. Serve with syrup mixture.