Trick or Sweet: Ghoulish Cupcakes Recipe from Bredenbeck's Bakery of Philadelphia

Dear Bredenbeck’s Bakery:

I've never met you, but I love you. Why? Because recently you sent me the adorable following recipe / Halloween craft idea: Ghoulish Cupcakes! I'm happy to report that it is as easy in practice as it is in theory, and all parties to which they are served are completely delighted--and satisfied by the taste, as well. It's no trick: these are a real treat!

Sweet regards,

CakeSpy

P.S. To all others--do you want to recreate this magic at home? It's easy. Just do this:

Ghostly Halloween Cupcakes

-recipe kindly donated by Bredenbeck’s Bakery in Philadelphia -

You'll need:

• A dozen of your favorite cupcakes (I used this recipe)
  
• 16 oz. vanilla icing (I used this recipe)
  
• 22 oz. (two packages) white chocolate chips or candy coating, plus a generous tablespoon of vegetable shortening (the shortening is my addition)
  
• Gel icing
  

Directions:

1. Start with your favorite cupcake recipe and bake according to instructions.
   
2. Flip your cooled cupcakes upside down, and spoon a dollop of icing on top (of the upturned bottom) to add height
   
3. Place the iced cupcakes in the freezer until icing is firm
   
4. Melt white chocolate and shortening in a double boiler
   
5. Place frozen iced cupcakes on a wire rack
   
6. Spoon melted white chocolate or candy coating over top of iced cupcakes, allowing excess to drizzle through wire rack
   
7. Create beady eyes and scary faces with black shoestring licorice or gel icing
   
8. Enjoy!
   

If you happen to be in Philadelphia, you can also try the original Bredenbeck’s version of these tasty treats. I hear a rumor that for the month of October, customers who say “Boo!” will receive a ghost cupcake for a discounted price.

Care to hear more about the bakery? OK! Here's the 411: A Philadelphia tradition since 1889, Bredenbeck’s Bakery bakes its delicious cookies, cakes, pies and pastries with the finest all-natural ingredients. Located in the heart of Chestnut Hill, Bredenbeck’s is famous for its delicious butter cookies, fancy miniatures and gourmet wedding cakes, all baked on premises. The historic shop is located at 8126 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, PA, 215-247-7374 or online at bredenbecks.com.

Sweet Art: Fast for Illustration Friday

This week's Illustration Friday theme is "Fast", which immediately made me wonder how quickly a cupcake might run a marathon. As evidenced by this illustration, all that buttercream certainly does make for a sugar "rush"!

Big Fun: Tricked Out Treats Using Fun Size Sweets

If I had a time machine, I would go back in time and punch whoever invented the Fun Size candy bar.

Because you know what? They aren't very fun at all. Eating just one is definitely not fun (too small!) and when you inevitably try to satisfy your candy appetite by eating 10-12 of the pint-sized treats, what you feel is basically the opposite of fun.

Can this sticky situation be salvaged in time for Halloween, when Fun Size reigns? In the name of science, I purchased an entire bag of Fun Size Snickers bars and tried in several different ways to put the fun back in Fun Size. I'm happy to report that it was indeed fun, decidedly delicious, and these ideas could easily be translated to other Fun size variations (perhaps not so much on the non-chocolate varieties such as Starburst or Skittles, though I encourage you to choose your own adventures). Ready for some fun? Let's do it:


Fun Size S'more: Guess what? Making a s'more with a Fun Size candy bar instead of bar chocolate works fantastically! The caramel oozed in a most satisfying way, and worked in a sort of campfire-meets-rocky road sort of way. (P.S. if you like this, you may also enjoy the S'moreo).




Fun Size Filled Cupcakes: Make a batch of cupcakes. Fill the cup slightly lower than you generally would with batter, and put a fun-size bar directly in the cup. Bake per the recipe's instructions, and then frost once cooled. It's like a sweet trick (and treat) in the middle of your already awesome cupcake. Score!


Fun Size Frosting Sandwich: Sandwich together two Fun Size bars with a generous smear of buttercream frosting. Ignore any objections or concerns that may arise as a result of friends, arteries, or better judgment, and let the party in your mouth begin.


Fun Size Kebab: Alternate slices of your Fun Size candy with another small-ish confection, say a Little Debbie Swiss Cake Roll. Because two small treats make one delicious experience.


Fun Size Shortbread: Kind of like a simplified Millionaire's shortbread. Simply make your favorite shortbread recipe and form as cookies or as bars (I used a mini scone pan, for no particular reason other than that it was clean and around), and before baking cut up an entire Fun Size candy bar on top of each serving. The candy will ooze into the shortbread as it bakes. It doesn't necessarily look pretty, but it tastes fantastic.




"Let's Be Honest With Ourselves" Fun Size Confection: Let's be honest. We've all eaten four Fun-Size candy bars (at least) in one sitting. So why not be honest with yourself by mashing them all together beforehand? Take four bars and align them together on a plate; microwave on high for about 20 seconds. Use a knife to smooth over the chocolate so that they stick together, and dig in while it's still warm. Use a knife and fork and your dignity will remain intact. Sort of.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Now wasn't all that fun?

Cake Byte: New Collaboration With All-Mighty!

Holy sweetness, Batman!

You can accessorize in the cutest way possible with a brand new suite of custom card and checkbook holders I designed for one of my favorite companies, All-Mighty! The designs incorporate all sorts of cupcakes and sweets hanging out with Boston Terriers in some of the world's most chic places!

Now if these aren't cute, I don't know what is!

To purchase these new items (as well as a bunch of other sweet products!), visit all-mighty.net.

High On Pie: Delicious Fall Offerings from High 5 Pie, Seattle

Like, OMG. As a huge fan of Seattle's High 5 Pie, Mr. Spy and myself were very excited to receive a preview pack of their new fall "flipside" hand pie offerings. Here's what we sampled:

First, the spiced plum walnut flipside, a sweet and spicy pie with a great texture and cozy, spicy flavor;

Then there's the sweet potato pie flipside (below), which is dense and aromatic, and lovely with a dollop of thick whipped cream;


and of course the S'mores flipside ( below); while initially we were surprised to slice it in half and discover that the chocolate had mostly sunk to the bottom leaving a hollow pie shell on top, this was quickly turned into an advantage when we heated the halves and stuffed them with vanilla ice cream;


Though I generally don't go savory, I would be remiss if I didn't give a quick mention to their hearty potato/cheese/dill/veggie flipside, a comforting and homey potpie type of snack...

As well as their rich as all get-out, savory mac n cheese flipside (below). Mac and Cheese in a thick pie shell? Carbohydrate heaven!


Though they weren't ready when we sampled them, there will also be caramel pecan and pumpkin pie options available.

Overall thoughts? Suffice it to say it's going to be a very good fall to become fat.

High 5 Pies are available at all Fuel Coffee locations; for more information, visit high5pie.com. Also, keep updated with them via Twitter and their blog, and you can also buy proprietress Dani Cone's awesome book on Northwest coffee culture, Tall Skinny Bitter: Notes from the Center of Coffee Culture.