Spooktacular (doughnut) Bats

Super simple Halloween treats!
They're fast and easy--perfect for that treat/snack you forgot to make for a school/sports/dance party.
Run to the store-get the stuff and whip these up!

Ingredients:
Chocolate covered doughnuts (I used Entemanns mini chocolate frosted doughnuts)
Broken Nabisco Chocolate Wafers (broken in half)
Chocolate frosting (for glue)
Candy eyes

Fang options:
Slivered almonds, sprinkles, chocolate covered sunflower seeds, cut mini marshmallows and flattened vanilla Tootsie rolls. 

Break the wafer in half and stick a wing on either side of the doughnut.
 
Your choice for fangs:
If using almond slivers or chocolate covered sunflower seeds- just shove them in the doughnut.
OR
If using sprinkles-poke 2 holes with a toothpick and add a sprinkles in each hole.
OR
If using mini marshmallows-cut fang triangles from a mini marshmallow and attach with dabs of frosting.
OR
If using a vanilla Tootsie roll-warm a roll in the microwave for 10 seconds then flatten it with your fingers.
Cut lots of fangs from the candy using (clean) scissors.
Attach with dabs of frosting.
 
Add the candy eyes with dabs of frosting (I just dip the back in the frosting and stick them on).
 
Break 2 triangles from a wafer and add to the top of the doughnut to make the ears.

Ta-da!
You're done!

Halloween Eyeball Cupcakes (with doughnuts inside!)

I'm a little fascinated with things you can bake inside other things- like pies in a cake or Oreos in the bottom of a cupcake. Last Halloween we experimented with baking doughnut holes in a cake so it seemed only fitting to take it one more step this year and give cupcakes a try.

What we really wanted though, was a "bloody" eyeball inside using jelly filled munchkins and to our delight-it worked!

But making the eyeballs took some intense experimentation. Lots of frosting failed attempts (like trying to freeze frosting balls). I really didn't want to use a store bought solution (chocolate eyes or gumballs) or even fondant (which in retrospect would have worked well.)

Finally, with the simply addition of confectioners sugar, I had a nice malleable "clay" that easily formed into a ball and kept its shape.

Ingredients:
24 Jelly filled "munchkins" (filled doughnut holes)
Cake mix and ingredients (I favor Duncan Hines)
Cupcake wrappers
Chocolate frosting (Pillsbury)
Vanilla frosting (Pillsbury vanilla is really white)
Confectioners' sugar
M & M plain candies
Black food marker
Wax paper
Spray oil
Q-tip

Special optional equipment:
#40 & #100 Scoop
Standing mixer
 
Note:
I had left over cake mix at the end of making the eyeball cupcakes and made about 10 mini cupcakes; you can take that into consideration and have the mini cupcake wrappers and a mini muffin pan handy.

Preheat the oven to 350° (or whatever your package of cake mix says).
 
Mix half the container of the white frosting with 1.5 cups of confectioners' sugar.

Roll 24 to 26 balls about an inch in diameter between your hands and set them on a piece of wax paper on a flat pan to chill in the refrigerator.
Put the cupcake wrappers into the muffin tins.
Mix the cake mix.
Add about ½ tablespoon (#100 scoop) of cake mix to the bottom of each cupcake wrapper and then add a jelly doughnut hole.

Put 1.5 Tbs (#40 scoop)  cake mix over the top each doughnut (I also experimented with pumpkin munchkins -in the top row of the pictures).
 
You're basically filling each wrapper .25" from the top edge - it's not much cake mix and there will be some left over in the bowl at the end (hence the mini cup cakes).

Bake the cupcakes for 15 min. and test for doneness with a toothpick on the side of one of the cupcakes (obviously in the center you would hit the jelly).

While the cupcakes are cooling, add a M & M (with the branding face down) to each frosting ball -put a little spray oil in your (CLEAN! and dry) palms and gently roll the ball around until it's round and smooth.
Use a clean Q-tip to wipe any excess frosting or oil off the candy then add a pupil in the center with the food marker.
I put the eyes back into the refrigerator just to keep them firm.

At this point, you can frost the cupcakes and add the eyes.
When I first started this project, I made the whole cupcake into an eyeball by rolling the tops in warm white frosting and while that idea went by the wayside I really like the smooth look so I kept it for the final project.

First, stir the chocolate frosting in its container to remove all the air that's been whipped into it during the manufacturing process.

Warm the frosting in a microwavable bowl for about 30 seconds at 50%.
Stir the frosting---you want it to just be stir-able but not runny! (warm it a little more if you need to).
 
Dip the top of each cupcake into the frosting and set it on the wax paper.

I like a little frosting drip on the side but you can avoid it by rolling the cupcake around until the frosting doesn't drip off.
Add the eyeballs and you're done!

I also tried pumpkin munchkins which were a delicious combination with the chocolate cake and frosting.

Surprise Halloween Cake

The first time I made this style of surprise cake, I used a special pan to make the cake balls and colored the batter and baked the cake from scratch and it was a looooong and arduous process.

This time I went for speed: using a cake mix, cans of frosting and candy eyes but most importantly- donut holes or munchkins as we call them in New England. I’m also going to spell them "donuts" here too to be consistent (though usually I spell them doughnuts) because that's how the folks as DD do it and that's where I picked up my donut holes. Let's get started.

 

Materials:

24 donut holes- I bought the pumpkin munchkins from Dunkin Donuts- you could use chocolate or both kinds!

White cake mix (or try chocolate?) and the ingredients the cake direction call for on the box (eggs, oil etc.)

White frosting and chocolate frosting (not shown)

Wilton Candy Eyes (they make several sizes)

Mix and cover

If you make a lot of cakes you probably have a system- I use parchment paper on the bottom of 8” round pans then spray the pans with Canola oil (thank you Traders Joes).

Make the batter according to the box directions (I’m a fan of Duncan Hines).

While the cake is mixing (2 minutes or so), line each pan with 12 donut holes.

Divide the batter in half (I eyeball it- you could measure it).

Add each half of the batter, in spoonfuls over the donuts in each pan-try to not let the donuts touch. 

Bake and cool

Bake according to the box directions or until a skewer comes out clean or/and the cake pulls away from the sides.

Allow the cakes to cool completely then remove them from the pans.

At this point, you can wrap them up and freeze them for a few hours – it makes it easier to handle them and frost them.

When you’re ready --assemble the cake.

I use a cake board trimmed to fit under the cake (mostly because I wanted to use a wire cake stand).

 

Middle Layer Frosting

Add a dab of frosting and set the first cake on the board or cake plate with the bottom side down.

Add the middle layer of (white) frosting – spread it around generously then add the second cake, bottom facing up and give it a firm pat into place (the bumpy tops will sink together in the bed of frosting).

 

 

 

Outer frosting

Continue to frost the outside of the cake with the chocolate frosting –again I make a lot of cakes and invested in this “revolving“ cake stand; you don’t need it but it’s fun to use so-- with or without a stand- frost away.

I usually start at the top and then do the sides.

 

  

      

When the cake is frosted, add the candy eyes- be random and have fun putting them on!

Surprise! It has eyes outside and dots inside.

Enjoy this is cake- it’s fun to cut into and while the textures are slightly different – it really works.

You’re going to ask-- hey- aren’t the donuts dry after being baked? Nope!

Amazing and delicious and great for a special occasion.

Think of the possibilities the next time you’re in the donut hole section of the bakery.