Chocolate Marshmallow Ghost Cake And Mini Cupcakes Recipes

CHOCOLATE MARSHMALLOW-GHOST CAKE AND MINI CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter three 6-inch round cake pans. Dust with cocoa powder, and tap out excess; set aside. Alternatively, line six mini muffin tins with paper liners.
• Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Put butter and sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing until combined after each addition. Mix in vanilla.
• Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with the milk. Mix until just combined. Divide batter evenly among pans (about 2 cups batter per pan) or lined muffin cups (about 1 tablespoon batter per cup).
• Bake until a cake tester inserted into centers comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes for cake layers and 14 to 16 minutes for mini cupcakes. Let cool in pans or muffin tins on a wire rack.
• To frost the ghost cake, cover each of two layers with 2/3 cup Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting, and stack the layers; spread remaining frosting over top and sides of assembled cake. To frost the mini cupcakes, use the Chocolate Cream-Cheese Frosting.
• To make the ghosts, you will need a miniature marshmallow, 2 regular marshmallows, and 2 chocolate sprinkles. Twist top of miniature marshmallow into a point by rolling it between your thumb and index finger. Trim all 3 marshmallows, and stick together. Twist top 2 slightly to shape. With a toothpick, poke holes, and insert sprinkle eyes.

CHOCOLATE MARSHMALLOW MADNESS CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with foil baking cups and/or spray with nonstick spray.
• For the cupcakes:
• In a tall glass, combine cocoa mix with 2 ounces hot water. Stir until cocoa dissolves. Add 6 ounces cold water and stir well.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine cake mix, egg substitute, sweetener, and salt. Add cocoa mixture and whisk until smooth.
• Evenly distribute cake mixture among the prepared muffin cups.
• Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool.
• To make the glaze:
• Put the marshmallow creme in a small dish. Add soymilk and mix well.
• Once the cupcakes have cooled completely, drizzle marshmallow glaze over them. Top each cupcake with 1/4 teaspoon chocolate chips and one mini marshmallow.
• Refrigerate until ready to serve. Garnish the cupcakes with additional chocolate chips and marshmallows, if using.

MARSHMALLOW WEB GHOST CAKE

Steps:

• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease four 8-inch round cake pans and two 5-inch round cake pans with flour-based baking spray
• Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Beat the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. With the mixer running, gradually add the granulated sugar and beat until the mixture turns pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the milk. Begin and end with the flour mixture. Stir in the vanilla. Beat until just combined. Do not over-mix.
• Beat the egg whites in a clean mixer bowl on medium speed until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter in 3 additions.
• Place 2 cups of cake batter in 4 separate bowls. Tint the first bowl with the green food color, the second bowl with 1 tablespoon of the purple food color and the third bowl with the orange food color. Combine the cocoa and water in a small bowl, stirring well to create a paste, then add it to the fourth bowl of batter. Fold in the black food color and stir together well until the batter is dark and no streaks of white batter remain. Pour one color of batter into each of the prepared 8-inch pans.
• Tint the leftover batter with the remaining 1 tablespoon purple food color and place 1 cup of batter in each of the prepared 5-inch pans.
• Bake until the cakes spring back when pressed in the center, about 25 minutes for the 5-inch cake layers and 30 to 35 minutes for the 8-inch cake layers. Run a knife around the edges of the cakes and the pans and turn them out on wire racks to cool.
• For the frosting: In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, mix together the confectioners' sugar and butter. Begin on low speed until crumbly, then increase to high and beat for 3 minutes until smooth and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and beat again for another minute. If you find the buttercream is too stiff, you may add milk or heavy cream 1 tablespoon at a time until the mixture is spreading consistency. Place about 2 cups of buttercream in a piping bag fitted with a plain 1/2-inch piping tip; set aside for later use. Tint the remaining frosting with the black gel food color.
• Level the tops of the cakes with a serrated knife or a cake leveler. Cover each cake layer with a small amount of black frosting. Begin with the black chocolate cake layer on the bottom, followed by the purple, then the green and ending with the orange on top. Cover the entire cake with black frosting using an offset spatula. Cover a purple 5-inch cake layer with frosting and stack the second on top. Cover with frosting using an offset spatula. Refrigerate both cakes until the frosting is firm, about 30 minutes.
• Stack the 5-inch cake tier on top of the 8-inch cake.
• For the marshmallow web: Melt the marshmallows in the microwave for about 30 seconds or until they puff and lose their shape. Stir well until deflated. Let the marshmallow cool slightly. Dip fingers (or gloved hands for easy cleanup) into the marshmallow mixture and stretch until thin and web-like. Wrap the marshmallow around the cake. Repeat the process until the marshmallow web effect covers both tiers of the cake. Let stand until firm, about 10 minutes.
• For the assembly: Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. Use the reserved bag of frosting to pipe a 2- to 3-inch mound of frosting. This will be a ghost body. Top with a second 1-inch mound of frosting for the ghost head. Repeat the piping process, varying the sizes of ghosts for visual interest, until you have about 20 ghosts. Add 2 black sugar pearls to each ghost face using a pair of kitchen-dedicated tweezers. Use a single black confetti sprinkle to create mouths on some of the ghosts. Transfer the pan to the freezer and chill until firm, about 1 hour.
• Use an offset spatula to transfer the ghosts to the edges of the cake.
• Bring the cake to room temperature before serving. Use kitchen-dedicated scissors to snip the firm marshmallow webbing before cutting into slices.

HALLOWEEN GHOST CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Place paper baking cup in each of 24 regular-size muffin cups. In medium bowl, beat cake mix, buttermilk, oil and eggs with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes. Stir in 1 cup chocolate chips. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.
• Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove cupcakes from pans to cooling racks. Cool completely.
• In large microwavable bowl, microwave candy melts as directed on package. Place 1 marshmallow on top of each cupcake. Spoon melted candy over marshmallow to cover, letting excess drip down onto cupcake. Cool slightly. Press in 2 chocolate chips near top of each ghost for eyes. Let stand until set, about 15 minutes.

HOST OF GHOSTS

Steps:

• 1. Place the cake on the cake plate. Reserve 1 cup of frosting to make additional ghost figures. Using an offset spatula, fill the hole in the center of the cake with frosting and then spread frosting over the top and sides in a wavy pattern.
• 2. Add the reserved frosting to the decorating bag; snip off the tip of the bag to create a 1/8- to 1/4-inch opening.
• 3. Referring to the photo, pipe as many ghosts as you like onto and around the cake and into the eggcups. For each, apply pressure to squeeze out some frosting for a base, then lift the bag slowly, decreasing the pressure until the ghost is the desired size; stop the pressure and lift off the bag. Add 2 candy eyes to each ghost.