Halloween Treats

by Jessie

TOMBSTONE CAKE

Need a nifty dessert for your person's Halloween party? How about a cake shaped like a tombstone? With a little imagination and some icing, you can make a tombstone cake that Betty Croak-er would be proud of!

Your Mom used to be able to find a tombstone shaped cake pan at most cake decorating stores but they seemed to be hard to find lately. If you can't find one or don't have one, use a 13x9 flat pan and round off the top of the cake or cut off the top corners, so it looks tombstone shaped.

Mix and bake your cake according to directions on the box. Let it cool on a rack, then remove from cake pan and lay on a flat cake board, but first cover the board with aluminum foil or parchment paper and it will be easier to remove the slices.

Decorate according to direction that came with the cake pan (if you are lucky enough to find one). If you are doing this from scratch you can still make a great looking cake.

Frost the cake using a gray frosting. The recipe below is a professional decorators icing, you can mix paste food color with it without thinning it out. Use black paste frosting coloring, adding a tiny bit at a time to make gray. After the cake is frosted, it's time to add the decoration to it.

You'll need cake decorating tips or pre-made decorating frosting. Add "cracks" to the tombstone using black icing, write an epitaph on it or R.I.P.. You can use a halloween cookie cutter to make shapes, for instance try making a bat, set the cookie cutter on the cake and spoon colored sugar into it, leaving a bat shape when the cookie cutter is removed.

TIPS
Using disposable pastry bags for frosting makes clean-up easier. Using a frosting spatula available at craft and cake decorating stores makes applying frosting easier, too. You can use canned frosting or make a simple frosting like this one:

1 cup of shortening
2 cups of powdered (confectioners) sugar
1 teaspoon meringue powder
1 tablespoon cold water

Using a hand mixer, blend the ingredients together until silky smooth. Separate into bowls and use paste food color to make the needed frosting colors.

WITCHES BREW TEA

After a hard night of handing out treats, my human likes to sit down with a nice, hot cup of my special tea! It's easy to make and very relaxing. Makes mom think of autumn, chilly nights and spicy smells! It really warms her up and fills her with good feelings of Autumns past!

INGREDIENTS FOR SPICE SYRUP
2 food grade cinnamon sticks
5 whole cloves
3 tablespoons finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup sugar

DIRECTIONS
In a small saucepan bring syrup ingredients to boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved, simmer in a covered pan about 5 minutes. Cool syrup and strain into a covered container for storage. Syrup may be made 1 week ahead and chilled. Mom keeps hers in a glass bottle, capped tightly in the refrigerator to keep naughty cats out.

Brew up your favorite tea and add a few drops to your cup to taste. You can also use a cinnamon stick for a nice garnish, make sure it's food grade cinnamon sticks and not decorative. Craft stores sell decorative cinnamon sticks for crafts and these have been treated with oil to keep the scent longer. They are not edible!!

ENJOY!!

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