You’ll have to forgive me this continuing theme this week. To those new to the site, I usually alternate a cooking story with a restaurant review but this week I’m taken by Hallowe’en. Utterly besotted by it in fact. Hallowe’en along with Christmas are my favourite holidays of the year. So I hope you’ll forgive the onslaught of Hallowe’en themed food. I promise you that as soon as the clock strikes midnight on Hallowe’en we’ll return back to “normal” (whatever that may have been for me).
The idea is from Claire Crespo’s Hey There Cupcake! book, the book for all mad and wonderful cupcake decorating ideas. To avoid having a complete breakdown, I made these ahead of time so I needed a dense and moist cake that would last a few days. I used a white chocolate mud cake and at my husband’s suggestion, some red food colouring to simulate the red veins in an eyeball or blood spatter (I blame my Dexter addiction).
The first lot I made wasn’t quite risen enough as I filled it 2/3 of the way full. I found that filling it 3/4 of the way up with only a few millimetres to spare at the top actually worked better. The recipe is from the Crabapple bakery’s White chocolate mud recipe although the recipe below makes 14 suitably domed cupcakes. The domed cupcakes are what you really need for the eyeball to take full effect. And let me wish you a very spooky Halloween coming up this Friday!
Eyeball cupcakes
Makes 14 domed cucpakes
- 2 cups plain flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 250g butter, chopped
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup castor sugar
- 150g white chocolate, chopped
- 2 eggs, whisked
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Red food colouring
To decorate:
- White fondant icing
- Red tube icing with a small plain tip
- Black tube icing with a small plain tip
- Lifesaver lollies in green (or whatever colours you’d like)
Swirly veiny cupcakes-a little too shallow
1. Preheat oven to 155′C.Butter, oil and flour the Cupcake pan to make it as easy as possible to remove it from the tin.
2. Place flour and baking powder together into a large bowl. Make a well in the centre. Set aside.
3. Put butter, milk, castor sugar and white chocolate into a saucepan on low heat. Stir continuously until the chocolate has melted and sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and cool.
4. Add the eggs and vanilla extract into the cooled chocolate mixture. Pour this mixture into the well in the flour and fold together until well combined in four or five lots to reduce the amount of lumps. You may find small lumps of flour with this amount of batter, try and get rid of these as much as you can.
Blood spatter cupcakes with the correct dome shape. Dexter would be proud!
5. Pour mix into a measuring jug with a spout and , pour into the cupcake pan to fill 3/4 full with only 3-4mm to spare at the top. Bake for 30 minutes or until a fine skewer inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool in tin for 5 minutes before turning out to cool
Recipe adapted from the Crabapple Cupcake book
To decorate:
1. Roll out fondant and cut using a cookie cutter to fit the top of the cupcake. Brush top of cupcake with jam and carefully place fondant on top.
2. With the red icing, pipe veins in a zig zag pattern starting from the centre radiating outwards.
3. Place lifesaver lolly in the centre and fill in centre with black icing.
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24 Comments | Add your own
What a fun idea! I think I need to get in the spirit!
I love the blood splatter! I didn’t know you were a fan of Dexter, too. I loved the first season, but I just couldn’t get into the second, despite really wanting to as it had Jamie Murray. Maybe I’ll like the third better…
Very creative, I love the eye!
I remember when I was in primary school we use to try and celebrate halloween with treats like this and a ‘haunted house’ in the school hall.
I really enjoyed Dexter season 1 & 2 but season 3 has kind of “Jumped the Shark” for me. I am hanging out for Lost to come back! The eyeball cupcakes remind me of these animistic sport ball toys with gruesome faces on them called “Mad Balls” that I used to have as a kid… Raspberries would give a good bloody effect too don’t you think?
heh i love dexter too! especially the intro- all that food porn =D
Lifesavers! Kind of ironic, lol. Haven’t had them for ages.
I loooove Dexter too. Addicted.
Your styling is gorgeous as always. x
hee hee how perfect for halloween
you are so creative!
I bet these taste delicious with the combination of white chocolate, vanilla and buttery goodness!
I’ve never understood Halloween since it’s not a huge thing in Australia… but they look really good! I suppose it would be a good excuse to have a themed party.
I love these cupcakes!!! I’d put them with a sign that said…Take one, no one is watching….ha ha!
Hi Barbara-Thanks! It’s not long now, how exciting for you to have it (or perhaps you might be a bit over it but for me, it’s still new so I get excited).
Hi Angela-I am a hopeless TV addict
I really liked the second season despite wanting to throttle Lila. I’ve never heard of Jaime Murray before this but she looks like Nigella Lawson!
Hi Howard-Thankyou! Oooh lucky, we didn’t get anything of the sort. I wonder why? Perhaps the school principal didn’t like the idea
Hi Shannon-I’m yet to watch Season 3 but I would be rather upset if it Jumps the Shark but most shows do I guess-except for Arrested Development
Raspberries may work but would perhaps be hard to keep keep afloat the the top? I don’t know, it might be ok! 
Hi chocolatesuze-I was telling my brother and sister in law about the opening credits, they’re my favourite show opening credits. I love how sinister yet innocuous the images are.
Hi Christie-I know, I had to search for them. I didn’t even know if they still made them
So many people sharing the Dexter love, isn’t it great! Thanks so much 
Hi Alexandra-Haha I had to save these for Halloween, when else can one serve an eyeball cupcake without appearing weird?
Hi Maria-They’re really lovely and moist which I really needed as they had to keep while I got on with the rest of the food!
Hi Bria-I know, it’s not huge here and despite that the stores still have lots of Halloween decorations. Perhaps it will get big? I hope so (and so do the lolly and chocolate manufacturers I suspect
)
Hi Blond Duck-Haha I love that line! I might put up that sign
creepy! not only do they sound delicious (i could never turn down white chocolate), but they look eerily exciting.
How cute! What a seriously fun (and easy) idea—I love it!
I used to own a skeleton decoration just like the one in your photos. I have no idea where he’s disappeared to over the years, but seeing him again brought back good memories of Halloweens gone past.
These cupcakes are fantastic – I think it is time for me to get over my fear of fondant!
Jamie Murray used to star in Hustle. A BBC drama about a stylish gang of grifters, stealing from the rich to give to… well, themselves. One of my favourite series!
How clever! I’ve made an eyeball cupcake before. We painted the veins on instead of piping. I like the green lifesaver idea
These are great – I like how even the cupcakes underneath the icing have veins.
Hi grace-that’s just the reaction I was hoping for
Hi Sandie-It is so easy but effective. I love using those icing tubes too, so much easier than making a paper cone.
Oooh cool, you never know, he might still be around somewhere. This one glows in the dark, but only if we keep it in the light for a few hours!
Hi Suzie-Thanks so much! Fondant is surprisingly easy, I love using it although I used to fear it
Hi Angela-Oh ok, I’ve never seen it, I don’t think it made it to these shores -yet! Will look out for it.
Hi Y-I’ve seen some where the veins are painted on and they look great but I didn’t have a red edible pen
Hi Cakelaw-Thanks! I have my husband to thank for that gruesome idea
These are so awesome! I think I’ll be trying this out on Halloween night
Hi NQN – our Hallowe’en party this year will be graced with Red Velvet cupcakes (blood red, of course!) iced to look like brains! Maybe an idea for next year?
Hi Lorraine-Great name!
Thankyou so much!
Hi Tash-Fantastic, red velvet is so apt! I was tossing up whether to do that (it’s also in the Claire Crespo book) but couldn’t find the time. Have fun at yours!
Geez you guys sure must have a great time at your house! I love all of your Halloween baking! What great fun! And besides, I’ll bet it all tastes great! Yum love that cupcake recipe! Happy Halloween!
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[...] and Tarantula Spider cupcakes (recipe for Eyeball cupcakes here, Tarantula cupcake recipe see [...]
[...] stay in theoven for. So I googled and found the recipe on one of my fave blogs Not QuiteNigella at http://m.notquitenigella.com/index.php/2008/10/28/eyeball-cupcakes/ Here the recipe stated 30mins in the oven, had noself-raising flour, AND 1 cup less sugar which is [...]
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