I love being scared. I have so much fun watching horror movies and going through cheesy haunted houses/mazes, even though I dread the thought of the heart palpitations that will surely ensue! Also, I love getting dressed up in costume and I have a wicked sweet tooth.
In the spirit of Halloween, I'm deviating from the usual healthy theme of my blog and taking a walk on the sugary side. I could post healthier dessert alternatives for Halloween, but truth be told, I'd be lying if I said I eat healthy 100% of the time. On special occasions, I do indulge in cakes, cookies and cupcakes.
Right after cooking school, I took a job as the cold line chef and lead baker at an amazing (but now defunct) small cafe called Cafe Flourish, that many LA folks may remember. It was there that I further developed my baking skills and confirmed my love of making cupcakes.
Although the majority of the food I make is on the whole foods side, I do get requests from time to time for sugar laden, indulgent cakes and cupcakes. When these requests come in, I try to have as much fun with them as possible. Recently for the boyfriend's birthday, my friend Adriana (aka my cake making partner in crime) helped me to create creepy decorations for a layer cake I baked for him.
The cake was chocolate with cherry filling, decorated with cookie fingers and eyeballs; gory enough to be referred to as the "Bloody Horror" cake. We had so much fun putting it together and it was ridiculously delicious to boot!
The cake was so well received that I wanted to share it with all of you in honor of Halloween.
To make the cake, simply use your favorite cake and frosting recipe and spread each layer with a light coat of frosting, then spread evenly with cherry filling, reserving some for a pool of "blood" on the top of the cake.
(For my cakes, I often turn to recipes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, pouring the batter into a 9" round cake pan and increasing the baking time to 30 minutes, checking after 25 min and baking until a toothpick comes out clean.)
Cherry FillingIngredients
1 (10-ounce) bag frozen cherries, thawed
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon arrowroot
1/4 Cup water
Directions
1. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine cherries and their juice, and sugar. Stir until mixture starts to simmer, about 4 to 5 minutes. Using a potato masher or the back of a fork, crush cherries until they break up and start to get more jam like.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together water and arrowroot until smooth, then pour into cherries, stirring constantly. Continue stirring until mixture thickens, which will happen quickly. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
Makes enough filling for a triple layer 9" inch round cake.
For the fingers, Adriana was inspired by this recipe. To veganize it, sub butter for Earth Balance, decreasing salt by half, and replace egg with 1/4 cup non-dairy milk mixed with 1 Tablespoon lemon juice, allowing it to sit and curdle for 5 minutes before using.
The eyeballs were made of rolled fondant. Tiffany at LiveLearnLoveEat has a fun, easy recipe for making vegan fondant with Dandies marshmallows.
And for those that would like some recipes for healthier sweet alternatives that are great Halloween desserts for a party, or any day, here are some links to a few of my previous dessert posts:
Caramel Sauce for Apples
Chocolate Avocado Mousse
Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Coconut Cookies
No Bake Sweet Potato Pie
Pumpkin Pie Dip
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| Me as a beat up Derby girl for Halloween 2010 |
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