Happy Halloween! Here's what accompanied my little Harry Potter to school this morning for his class party. They're made with a sweet potato cake base, iced with chocolate frosting and topped with candy to resemble some of the spooky faces I hope we might see over the next few days.
I debated for quite a long time over how to decorate these ghoulish goodies and when it was 9pm and down to the wire I opted to use what I had on hand (after a quick trip to the 7-11). I think it worked well, and based on the kid's reactions I would say they agreed.
(so serious for the camera)
If you aren't already in a sugar induced coma this weekend, and you're looking to bake something scary, this sweet potato cupcake recipe is quite a winner. I used my favourite carrot cake recipe (from the Silver Palate cookbook), omitted the coconut, walnuts and pineapple and subbed sweet potato for the carrot puree (the secret to the cake's success in my opinion). A few sprinkles of nutmeg rounded out the flavour, and an incredibly moist confection was made.
Wishing you a very spook-tacular weekend!
Creepy Cupcakes, adapted from The Silver Palate Cookbook
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 cups canola oil
- 4 large eggs, beaten
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups sweet potato puree (instructions here)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl. Add the oil, eggs and vanilla. Beat well. Fold in the sweet potatoes and combine.
Pour the batter into prepared muffin cups. Set on the centre rack of the oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until the centre of the cupcake has set.
Cool on a rack and ice with your favourite chocolate frosting. Decorate with assorted candies to create your most menacing faces.
