Halloween Special- Part 2!

Graveyard Brownies

Once again I had so much fun making these!! The recipe for the brownies is my own triple chocolate brownie recipe and I covered them with Betty Crocker chocolate buttercream icing. 

I then used biscuits painted with gel food colouring and decorated with writing icing for the tombstones. I used Asda own brand rich tea fingers and malted milks as I liked the sizes and shapes but feel free to use your own favourites. 

I used Halloween sprinkles from Asda for the path but you can use any Halloween sprinkles. You could also use chocolate buttons or any orange / black sweet. 

The dirt is made from blitzing oreos in a food processor, 

The white mice can be found in any supermarket and I just painted on their red eyes and black ears and tails with writing icing. 

I got the skeleton sweets in M&S and the fence is made from Quality street Match Makers but you can also use chocolate fingers.

I made the brownies in a tin foil tray I got in Lakeland. They are great because you can just leave them in there to decorate and serve. They're also very handy to transport. 

So what will you need?

Foil Tray 

Brownies (recipe here)

Chocolate Buttercream Icing 

 Biscuits for Tombstones

Gel Food Colouring in Grey / Black

Tubes of Writing Icing in Black / White / Red (I used Asda Own)

White Mice (I used Asda Own)

Skeleton Sweets (optional)

Oreos for Dirt (crushed)

Match Makers or Chocolate Fingers for Fence

Whatever you do just have fun with this.. be as creative and adventurous as you like but keep it spooky...!! If you don't have gel food colouring why not just use chocolate covered biscuits? Head down to your local supermarket and you'll see a huge range of Halloween sweets and pick your favorites for your graveyard. 

As always please share your bakes with me if you try them yourself. I hope you all have a spooky and fun Halloween!! 

Happy Baking, 

O x

Oreo Cupcake (by Cupcake Jemma)

I made these cupcakes last week for a friend in work. He had asked me to bake some cakes for him to bring in for his birthday (I still think that tradition is weird!). After sampling some of the previous bakes I had brought into work he requested my Jam and Cream Swiss Roll and Passion Fruit Cheesecake. He then asked me to bring in something else and left it up to me to decide. I had recently seen a video on YouTube belonging to Cupcake Jemma. Jemma Wilson is the founder and owner of Crumbs and Doilies Cupcakes and shares the most delicious recipes on her YouTube channel. Head over to her website and have a look at some of the amazing cupcakes and cakes she bakes.. delicious!! 

So I decided to make these cupcakes and even though I hadn't made them before after watching Jemma's video a few times I decided to crack on and just do it! They turned out perfectly and they were so delicious! They are by far the nicest cupcake I have ever had.. but don't take my word for it.. try them yourself!! Just a quick apology.. I didn't take any pictures of these cupcakes myself as i was absolutely shattered after an evening of baking. My flatmate took one that I stole from Snapchat (below) that those of you who follow me on facebook, instagram or twitter will have already seen! 

Ingredients:

Cupcakes

85g Self Raising Flour

25g Malt Powder (Horlicks or Ovaltine Malt Drink)

15g Cocoa Powder

1/4 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

Pinch of Salt

125g Caster Sugar

135g Unsalted Butter (at room temperature)

2 Large Free Range Eggs

1 & 1/2 tbsp of Whole Milk

1/4 tsp Vanilla Extract

2 Packets of Oreo Cookies

Frosting

200g Unsalted Butter (at room temperature)

450g Icing Sugar

3 tbsp Whole Milk

1/4 tsp Vanilla Extract

1/2 Packet of Oreo Cookies (crumbed)

Prepare:

Line a cupcake / muffin tin with cupcake liners (recipe makes 12 cupcakes) and preheat the oven to 170C.

Method:

Sieve together your flour, horlicks, cocoa powder, bicarb, salt and sugar in your mixing bowl. Add your butter and eggs and mix on a medium speed. Once well combined add your milk and vanilla extract and mix for a further minute. 

Place one whole Oreo cookie in the bottom of each cupcake case then fill the cupcake case 3/4 way full with your mixture (about a heaped tablespoon). Place in the oven to bake for about 22mins or until a cocktail stick stuck in the middle comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack while you make your frosting. 

Start by placing your butter in your mixer and beat for about 5 mins on a medium speed until the butter is pale and fluffy. Add in half of your icing sugar and mix until combined. Repeat with the second half of the icing sugar and mix for a couple of minutes. Turn down the mixer to a slow speed and add the milk and vanilla extract and mix until combined. Turn off your mixer and Fold in your Oreo Crumbs. I crumbed my Oreo cookies in a food processor until I got a fine crumb but you can also put them into a Ziploc bag and bash with a rolling pin! 

Put your icing into a piping bag and pipe onto your cupcakes or simply spread the delicious frosting all over the top of the cupcake. I then decorated the cupcakes with half an Oreo cookie  (or use a whole cookie) stuck into the frosting. You can never have too many Oreos in one cupcake!! 

(image from Google image search)

I hope you do try these cupcakes.. believe me they are to die for!! Have a look at Jemma's YouTube video too for a better look at these yummy cupcakes! 

Happy Baking! 

O x