Eye-Popping Cupcakes

We've already carved pumpkins, picked out our costumes, and set up our outdoor decorations.  But, the Halloween season isn't complete until you bake something disgusting.  Enter the Eye-Popping halloween cupcakes.

 Like so many things in life, baking disgusting cupcakes are fun for kids (who don't really have to do any of the work), but a hassle for parents.  Regardless, this is a tasty treat that your kids are going to either enjoy or turn their nose up at.  Let's do this.

Ingredients:

2 large eggs                           1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp almond extract               1/4 tsp vanilla extract
pink paste food coloring         1 2/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder            1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt                              1/4 cup finely ground almonds
3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar       3/4 cup butter




The cupcakes are the easy part and pretty much the only part where your children (depending on their age) can actually help you.

1.  Preheat oven to 350.  Line a muffin pan (twelve-hole) with cupcake liners.  Mix the eggs, vanilla and almond extracts, and only 3 tablespoons worth of the 1/2 cup of sour cream.  If your daughter is sitting at the kitchen peninsula yelling "I do it", now would be a good time to let her help.  Let your kids pour ingredients into the mixing bowls; it's all my 3-year old will be able to do anyway.   If you have pink food coloring, add a small amount.  I just used one drop of red food coloring and it turned out alright.  You just want to get a nice fleshy color.

2.  Mix the flour, baking powder and soda, and salt into a separate bowl.  Add the almonds and sugar.  Finally, mix in the rest of the sour cream using an electric mixer.  Gradually beat in the egg mixture until combined.  Fill your cupcake liners and bake for ten minutes, turn the pan, and bake for ten more.

3.  Once the cupcakes are cool, press an "Eye Socket" shape into the tops.

Now school begins.

First off, let me say that before this little Halloween craft began, I had no idea what fondant was.  Now I know it's delicious.

Here's what you need to decorate your Halloween cupcakes.

cornstarch
approximately 1 1/2 lbs. of  plain white fondant
3 oz. clear piping gel
red edible marker pen
paste food coloring (brown, black, sky blue)
vegetable shortening

1.  Spread out some cornstarch on your work surface and roll out the fondant to about 1/8 of an inch in thickness.  You want to cut out circles to cover the cupcakes.  I used a glass from the cupboard.  They were a little bigger than necessary, but as mentioned before, fondant is delicious so more is better.  Once they're cut out, place them on your cupcakes.

2.  Eyes:  To make the eyes, pull off an eye-ball chunk size of fondant and roll it around into a ball.  Squeeze one end of it out into a "stem".  Make 12 of 'em.

 They'll look less erotic later. I promise.

3.  Eyebrows:  Make some eyebrows by rolling fondant into little sausage shapes.  First, you'll need to dye your fondant brown.  You only need a small amount of the paste food coloring to do this.  Work the brown paste through the fondant until it's a nice brown.  When it gets sticky, use some vegetable shortening.  Roll your brown fondant into a sausage shape.  Flatten out one end of it and curve the other end around like an eyebrow.  Use a knife to cut "hair" into the eyebrow.  This is the one part of the project that I feel turned out like crap.

LITERALLY! They turned out like little pieces of crap.

4.  Irises:  Take a small amount of fondant and one or two drops of sky blue paste coloring and work it together.  Roll out the blue fondant and punch out 12 tiny circles for the irises.  If you have a small piping tip, great, if not, you'll have to improvise.  I used the end of our pumpkin carving tools to cut them out.  Dip the end of your finger into water and attach the irises to the eyeballs.

It carves, it cuts holes, it makes Julienne fries.

5. Pupils:  You need a very small amount of fondant for the pupils.  Use your black paste coloring (a miniscule amount) to turn the fondant black.  Pinch of a tiny piece and rub it into a ball between your fingers.  Attach to the iris using a small amount of water.  Once the eyes are complete, use an edible marker (red) to draw arteries on the eyeballs.

6.  Bloody Goo:  I imagine that if an eye came out of its socket, there would be a considerable amount of bloody goo.  So let's make some.  Dish out your piping gel and turn it blood red with some food coloring.  Remember those holes you pushed into the tops of the cupcakes?  Pour some of your blood into those sink holes.  Sink the stem of your eyes into the hole and attach it with water.  Place your
eyebrows above the eye socket.

Enjoy grossing people out with your Halloween Cupcakes.  If the eyes don't freak them out, the
cat poop eyebrows will.  For more disgusting treats, check out Zombie Cupcakes by Zilly Rosen.