Halloween Decorations 2012

This year I added some specimen jars to my decor. I bought several shapes and styles of glass containers at Axe Man and filled them with various odd things- eye balls, plastic spiders, fake bones, rubber mice... whatever. I bought the labels at Target from their Halloween section.

Pumpkin Cake

I made a pumpkin cake and decorated it to look like a pumpkin. Just another use for my bunt pan!  And I finally discovered how to make fondant more tasty and less like flavorless chewing gum. Mixed 1/2 store bought fondant ( way easier than making my own) with 1/2 marzipan.

Valentines 2012

I made some fun Valentine photo cards with my kids this year. We used our little chalk board easel at home to create a backdrop for their photos. For my son we wrote the words " I Think I Love You!" in a thought bubble that he could stand next to.

For my little love bug I drew heart shaped antennae that I had her stand in front of so that they look like they are coming out of her head. She had so many fun expressions that I made it into a story board of images because I couldn't choose just one.

 And we made Oreo pops again this year to hand out with each card as a treat. My son had so much fun doing it last year he wanted to do it again. It's so easy, who am I to argue with him?

Salted Chocolate Caramels

Ordinary caramels at Halloween just won't do anymore. You won't be able to go back either after eating these dreamy treats. The beauty of it all is the flaky sea salt which perfectly balances the creamy sweetness of the chocolate caramels. I found the recipe here.  I've made these a few times and prefer a much softer version to the original recipe so I bring the temperature to 245 degrees instead of 255.

Apple Bundt Cake with Caramel Sauce

Happy Rosh Hashanah!
At our family celebration last year I was asked to bring an apple cake to the meal. I couldn't decide what to make so I made 2 different cakes. This recipe was voted the winner. So I made it again this year and probably will next year too...

See the chunky apple goodness inside? My house smelled AMAZING while baking this!

 Apple Bundt Cake with Caramel Sauce
Ingredients:

• Nonstick vegetable oil spray
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 pound Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, cut into 1/3-inch cubes
• 1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 4 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 1/2 cup parve unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup coffee creamer
• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
• 1 cup brown sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 12-cup Bundt pan with nonstick spray. Sift flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt into medium bowl. Transfer 3 tablespoons flour mixture to Bundt pan and tilt to coat. Set pan aside. Place apples and 2 tablespoons flour mixture in another medium bowl; toss to coat apples. Combine 1 cup brown sugar, vegetable oil, 1 cup sugar, eggs, and 3 teaspoons vanilla in large bowl. Using electric mixer, beat until mixture is thick, about 4 minutes. Gradually beat in remaining flour mixture. Fold apple mixture into batter; transfer to prepared Bundt pan.

Bake cake until tester inserted near center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Transfer cake in pan to rack. Let stand while making caramel.

Melt butter in heavy small skillet over medium heat. Whisk in remaining 1 cup brown sugar, then creamer. Continue to whisk until topping is smooth and blended and comes to boil, about 5 minutes. Whisk in remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla. Turn cake out onto platter. Pour warm topping over cake. Let stand until cool, at least 1 hour. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome. Let stand at room temperature.)

Haunting the House

I'm not sure why but I really love decorating for Halloween. I did a few new crafty projects this year that I just have to share. First I painted silhouette profiles of my family on ceramic plates and hung them as some eerie art on the wall. Then I took a bunch of fake bones and made some " Bone Bouquets". I was so pleased to find a way to use all my glassware! I also bought a small cage and put a big fake crow in it. My son really loves this pet, he has named it Hogart and likes to feed it crumbs... Then I added a giant mama spider to our wall with all her little baby spiders. Lastly I added a family of mice to accompany our family pictures. And I haven't even shown you the treats I made today!!!! Skeleton sugar cookies,tombstone ganache tarts,brain sugar cookies and peanut butter eyeballs. As you can see the food is the real reason I love Halloween.