Elise Strachan from My Cupcake Addiction and author of Sweet! Celebrations shows her top tips for dressing up your pumpkins and throwing a Halloween party that’s spooky yet stylish and sophisticated.
I LOVE Halloween – it’s the one time of year I can bake “bad” and get really creative with things that aren’t so pretty, dainty and delicate. Over the years, I’ve made so many weird and wonderful Halloween creations from Blood & Bone Dessert Cups to Jack o Lantern Smash Pinatas that I decided to dedicate an entire chapter in my new book Sweet! Celebrations JUST TO HALLOWEEN!
Because sometimes it’s good to bake bad… right?
For Halloween, I like to make a few elements that I can throw together into a fun, sophisticated and suitable spooky party – this dessert table is the perfect in fuss-free, make ahead sweets and treats that will have everyone thinking you’re the next Martha Stewart!
DIY Chalkboard Pumpkins
INGREDIENTS
1 Pumpkin
Chalk paint
Brush
Chalk
METHOD
Paint your pumpkin with the chalk paint. Once it’s dry, you can draw spooky figures. This will be the centrepiece, lifting it up nice and high off the table will really makes it stand out.
Spooky 3D Mirror
INGREDIENTS
Mirror or old picture frame
White paint
Doll hands – visit a second hand store for an old, inexpensive doll
Glue
METHOD
Take a little bit of white paint & brush it roughly all over the mirror.
Grab your baby doll hands and use glue to attach them to the mirror.
Let it dry thoroughly before sticking the mirror on the wall – Creepy.. Right?
Cauldron Cupcakes
INGREDIENTS
Little plastic cauldrons
Candy
Mini cupcakes
Green buttercream frosting
Round candy
METHOD
First pour a small amount of candy in each cauldron.
Place one mini cupcake on top of each pile of candy. The cupcake should be slightly popping up over the top edge of the cauldron.
Frost with green buttercream frosting and add little round candies to give it that bubbling effect.
INGREDIENTS
Green apples
Melted milk or dark chocolate
Twigs (lean and dry!)
Chocolate sprinkles
METHOD
Melt your chocolate in a bowl.
Wash and place the twigs in the apple’s core.
Dip your green apple in the chocolate, about half way.
Finish it by adding a touch of chocolate sprinkles.
Crawling Rose Bouquet
Your favourite flowers!
Holiday spiderwebs
Plastic bugs, flies and spiders
METHOD
Using fresh flowers adds a nice scent but fake works well here too and you can make them in advance!
Drape spider webs all over your bouquet.
Add spiders, bugs and anything else creepy you can find!
Candy Jars
METHOD
I layered a variation of green, white and black candy in my jars. I also added some broken up skeleton bones to make them look like graveyards full of bodies!
Science Beakers
INGREDIENTS
Science beakers (tip – these are often sold in sets of shot-glasses!)
Green pudding mix (or you can use jelly with a tablespoon of added condensed milk)
Round green candies
METHOD
Mix up instant pudding mix according to manufacturer’s directions – (add green food colouring if using vanilla pudding mix) Alternatively, you can make green Jelly and add a tablespoon of condensed milk or whipping cream to give an opaque effect.
Add to your mini beakers
Top with green round candies – Easy!
Happy Halloween!
The Carousel thanks Elise Strachan host of My Cupcake Addiction and author of Sweet! Celebrations for these amazing Halloween recipes!
