Sweet and Spooky Halloween Recipes

With just three weeks left before Halloween, it’s time to kick it in gear and find the very best spooky treats around. Whether you’re a baking pro or a cake decorating hobbyist, these spooky Halloween recipes are sure to inspire your creativity in the kitchen.

Spice Pumpkin Cake

Duncan Hines Original – This wonderfully moist cake has pumpkin, crunchy nuts and a creamy vanilla icing. Enjoy the warm and spicy aroma as you apply your own decorative touches.

Ingredients

• 1 pkg Duncan Hines® Moist Deluxe® Spice Cake Mix
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 cup chopped nuts
• 2 tubs Duncan Hines® Creamy Home-Style Classic Vanilla Frosting
• green, red and yellow food coloring
• 1 flat bottom ice cream cone

Baking Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour 10-inch Bundt pan.
2. Combine cake mix, eggs, water and pumpkin in large bowl. Beat at medium speed with electric mixer for 2 minutes. Stir in nuts. Pour into pan.
3. Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 25 minutes. Invert onto serving plate. Cool completely.
4. Measure 1/4 cup frosting into small bowl. Tint with green food coloring. Place ice cream cone upside down on waxed paper. Frost with green frosting. Refrigerate.
5. Tint remaining frosting with red and yellow food coloring until frosting is desired orange color. Measure 3 tablespoons orange frosting in small bowl; add green food coloring to brown frosting
6. Frost cake with orange frosting. Make eyes, mouth and nose with brown frosting as desired on pumpkin. Place green frosted ice cream cone in center hole of cake for stem.

Makes 12 to 16 servings
Hands On Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes

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Werewolf Cupcakes

Karen Tack and Alan Richardson Original – Howlingly delicious! – If you have a monster appetite for baking adventures, then this is the project for you! Scare up some friends to join in the werewolf cupcake fun! Use Duncan Hines Devil’s Food cake mix to get started.

Ingredients

• 12 Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Devil’s Food cupcakes baked in brown paper liners
• ½ cup Duncan Hines Creamy Home-Style Classic Vanilla frosting
• 1 cup Duncan Hines Creamy Home-Style Dark Chocolate Fudge frosting
• Black food coloring
• 1 can Duncan Hines Creamy Home-Style Milk Chocolate frosting
• 24 marshmallows
• Red leather fruit
• 24 orange, yellow and green candy coated chocolates (M&M)
• 12 black jelly beans

Baking instructions

1. Spoon the vanilla frosting into a ziplock bag. Tint the dark chocolate frosting black with the food coloring. Spoon half of the black frosting (about 1/2 cup), up one side of a ziplock bag. Spoon half of the Classic Chocolate frosting (about 3/4 cup) up the other half of the bag. Repeat process with another ziplock bag.
2. Cut 1 inch corners from each side of the 12 marshmallows to make the ears. Cut a 1/2 to a 1 inch V shape notch from the remaining 12 marshmallows to make the muzzles (see step photo). The size of the notch will determine the size of the howling mouth.
3. Snip a small corner (1/8 inch) from the bag with the chocolate frostings. Pipe a small dot of chocolate frosting to attach the marshmallow ears and muzzle on top of the cupcakes. Cut 2 inch ovals from the red fruit leather and press onto cut notch of marshmallow muzzles to stick. Trim any excess fruit leather.
4. Pipe several vertical lines of chocolate frosting to cover the marshmallow ears. Starting along the outer edge of cupcakes, pipe the fur, about 1/2 inch in from edge to go completely around cupcake. Pipe another row of fur in from first row, slightly overlapping. Continue piping rows of fur with the chocolate frosting to cover the cupcake and marshmallow just up to the red fruit leather. Continue with remaining cupcakes and chocolate frosting.
5. Add 2 like colored M&M’s, pressing them lengthwise, into the frosting at an angle to make the glowing eyes. Snip a very small corner (1/16 inch) from the bag with the vanilla frosting and pipe fangs all around the mouth at the edge of fruit leather using a squeeze and pull motion. Add the black jellybean to make the nose.

Makes 12 werewolf cupcakes
Hands-On Time: 1 hour and 30 min

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Spooky Surprise Cupcakes

Duncan Hines Original – So deliciously simple, it’s scary! That’s the secret behind this recipe for moist chocolate cupcakes with a sweet cream cheese surprise filling. Scare up some smiles from your little monsters with these frightfully fun treats.

Ingredients

• 1 (8ox.) block of cream cheese
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 8 drops yellow food coloring
• 4 drops red food coloring
• 1 pkg Duncan Hines® Moist Deluxe® Devil’s Food Cake Mix
• 1 1/3 cups water
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 1 tub Duncan Hines® Creamy Home-Style Classic Chocolate Frosting
• 1 tub Duncan Hines® Creamy Home-Style Classic Vanilla Frosting
• Chocolate decorating decors

Baking Instructions

1. Blend together cream cheese, 1 egg, sugar, 2 drops of red food coloring and 4 drops of yellow food coloring until smooth and creamy; set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 350° F. Place paper baking cups in muffin cups.
3. Prepare cake mix according to package directions. Fill each muffin cup ½ full of batter. Place a dollop of cream cheese mixture in center of each cupcake.
4. Bake for 23-26 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan 5 minutes then remove to cooling rack to cool completely before frosting and decorating.
5. To decorate cupcakes — frost top of each cupcake with chocolate frosting. Tint ½ cup of vanilla frosting with 2 drops of red food coloring and 4 drops of yellow food coloring: set aside. Place remaining vanilla frosting into plastic resealable bag. Cut a pinpoint hole in one corner of the bag. Starting in the center, pipe frosting in circles on top of cupcakes, making each circle larger than the previous. Drag a toothpick through the circles in an outward, spoke like motion to create a spider web.
6. Place orange frosting into plastic resealable bag. For the head of the spider, pipe a small dollop of frosting onto frosting spider web. Pipe a slightly larger dollop beside the small dollop, for the body of the spider. Use chocolate decorating decors for the legs of the spider.

Makes 24 cupcakes
Hands on Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 2 hours

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Disclosure – The recipes and photos were provided by the Duncan Hines representing PR agency.

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