Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Cupcake Hero - The Pumpkin Graveyard Cupcakes

Have you all heard about Cupcake Hero? Well I had heard of it and was only just getting on this crazy baking band wagon when it all came to an end. Luckily Clara from I Heart Cuppycakes has taken the Cupcake Captain position and Cupcake Hero is back (that is a tongue twister if ever I saw one), and this time I am going to participate.

This month's challenge is a pumpkin cupcake with Halloween themed decorations - yay! I love pumpkin and I have a new found love for decorating so this challenge excited me a lot. Supposedly there is a pumpkin shortage in America - but luckily there is no such thing here, I actually had a lot of leftover pumpkin waiting for me in the fridge - it was begging to be baked, really it was.

So without further ado, here are my little pumpkin graveyard cupcakes...


Pumpkin Graveyard Cupcakes

Moist pumpkin spice cupcakes topped with sweet cinnamon butter cream, then finely crushed Oreo biscuits and spooky fondant skulls, bones and fingers

Creepy no? I thought so.

So the first thing that you need to do to make these creepy looking cupcakes is to make the fondant decorations - of course you can always use some store bought candy/lollies if you don't have the time or patience for this step.

Skull/Bone/Finger Fondant Cupcake Toppers

250g modeling fondant (knead in 1/2 tsp of Tylopur or CMC to normal fondant to make modeling fondant)
yellow paste colour
brown paste colour
red paste colour
vodka
  1. Colour the fondant a very light yellow.
  2. Next shape the decorations - have fun with this bit, I made bones, skulls and fingers, but you can make whatever you desire :)
  3. Colour the decorations with the paste colours - I diluted mine with a bit of vodka and then painted directly on the decorations. I used the brown colour to make the bones and fingers look aged, and then the red for the end of the finger and the fingernail.
  4. Leave to dry over night - I left mine for 3 days (do not store in a plastic container, just leave them in a safe and dry place).
Here is one of the many bones...


A tiny little skull - awww so cute...


And one of the gruesome fingers (and if you are wondering why it looks all bent and strange - that is because I modeled it on my finger, which is also all bent and strange)...


Now that you have your creepy decorations, it is time to make the cupcakes...

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes (from Cupcake Heaven by Susannah Blake)
Makes 12 cupcakes

115g brown sugar
120ml sunflower oil
2 eggs
115g pumpkin, grated (finely grated)
grated zest of 1 lemon
115g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon (I would reduce this to 1/2 tsp)
  1. Preheat the oven to 180C and line a 12-hole muffin tray with cupcake cases.
  2. Put the sugar in a bowl and break it up with a fork, then beat in the oil and eggs.
  3. Fold in the grated pumpkin and lemon zest.
  4. Combine the flour, baking powder and cinnamon in a bowl, and then sift into the sugar mixture and fold in.
  5. Spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases and bake for 18 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Next step is the...

Cinnamon Buttercream

125g unsalted butter, softened
500g icing sugar, sifted
1/4 cup milk
pinch of cinnamon
  1. Beat the butter until light and fluffy.
  2. Add 1 cup of the icing sugar and beat until combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl.
  3. Add the milk and beat until combined. Add the remaining ingredients and beat until combined and fluffy.
  4. Add more cinnamon if desired, add more milk if too stiff or add more icing sugar if it is not firm enough.
Now that the cupcakes have cooled put a dollop of buttercream on each cupcake and then using an offset spatula (or knife) level out the frosting.


Next crush up a packet of Oreos - using either a food processor, a rolling pin or like me you could use your bare hands - I know I am an animal! Then coat each cupcake with the crushed up Oreos...


At this point you might want to do a little taste test...


Yep these taste pretty darn good! The only thing that I would change would be to decrease the amount of cinnamon in the cupcakes (as I noted in the recipe).

To finish off the cupcakes top them with your creepy fondant decorations and then sit back and marvel at your creations (or just eat them, whatever you want to do).


One last thing...

Are you more of a creepy detached finger kinda person...


Or a skull and bones kinda person?

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

Eww! Those fingers are gross!!

Rose said...

The pumpkin cupcakes sound SO delicious. The finger looks too real, i dont think i could eat such a thing haha. Great Idea for halloween though! I like the bone the best I think :)

Rose

Anonymous said...

Look very scary!!!!

Cathie said...

they are funny in a good kind of way. mutated finger & all. pumpkin sounds like a great thing to use, don't they use canned pumpkin in the U.S?

Gala said...

OOOhhh spooky indeed!
Looking for a Halloween recipe myself, maybe iced cookies...

boots said...

those are great! you NEED o start a cupcake shop, yum yum, is there a way to vote? i wish you luck lady!

Xiaolu @ 6 Bittersweets said...

These (and you) are amazing! I was too scared to take on fondant but I'm soooo glad you did. Definitely a winner in my book.

Shelby said...

ooh these are scary good!

Paris Pastry said...

OMG! I was planning on making graveyard cupcakes, but yours put mine to shame already! Very original, I love the bones. One of the best Halloween-cupcakes I've ever seen.

Miss Dot said...

Oh I'm just in love with your bones. That's it -- this weekend I'm buckling down and making all sorts of nasty graveyard things. Prepare for the disaster post on Monday ;)

Gabbi said...

Gruesomely yummy!! I love the way you decorated... this is dangerous to read just before lunch though :) I'm starving and now I only want to eat cupcakes. But what's this I hear about a pumpkin shortage?? I hadn't heard of that? I'm glad I already got my pumpkins this last weekend...!!

Elissa said...

Wow! I cannot believe you made the decorations. When I first saw the pic I just assumed you bought them as they look so good! Congrats on a fantastic job! And I think I am more a creepy finger person

Kat said...

They look very cool. I actually quite like the detached fingers. I might have to give this cupcake hero thing a try.

dEsoRdeN said...

Ja ja!! They're really cool!! Look like a Tim Burton movie cakes!!

drollgirl said...

GODDAMN! you are a wonder! i mean COME ON! these are so fan-farking-tastic! i love them! bring on the creepy, particularly if it is DELICIOUS!

when are you going to be featured in a magazine or something?!?!? sheezus!

Chantel said...

Alicia! Omg, this looks so amazing! You did such an awesome job!

What did you rate this with the taste? I mean, I love pumpkin, but in a cupcake? I would give it a try though.

You are so talented, can you give me lessons please!? LOL x

Rhianne said...

Alicia these are incredible, I loveee the fingers! I really fancy making pumpkin cakes now :) x

the shoppe owner said...

Those are so awesome, but I am definitely NOT a "creepy detached finger person". Eeeewww... ha ha ha.

Ingrid_3Bs said...

Yikes! That finger is mighty scary!

You did a fantastic job on the the decorations! Good luck!
~ingrid

Deeba PAB said...

I Love them...they are brilliant!! WOW!!

JulieTew said...

omg these are so cool!!!

Ash said...

These are totally AWESOME!!! like really!!

Koko said...

These are absolutely AMAZING. They look so disgusting- and I mean that in the BEST possible way. I have to make these......stunning!

Helen said...

Love the skulls and bones. Very talented.

Amanda said...

These are awesome!!! I need to play with fondant more often.

Paulina said...

I am sooooo trying this (although I somehow know going into it that they won't look as good as yours!!)

I can't wait to play around and make these awesome cupcakes!!!!

I am a fan of the fingers!!!

Monica H said...

That finger is too gross, but that's so the point! Great job on the cupcakes and toppers.

I don't think I'd be eating that finger though :-)

bridget {bake at 350} said...

These are SO, SO cool! I love your toppers...they are amazing!