Cake Series: Ghost Cupcakes

Last weekend, we went to a Halloween party and were asked to take some cupcakes for the kids.  So, I went about searching the web for fun cupcake ideas and I came across this one.  I knew I had to make them!  However, these directions call for each one to be made of one regular cupcake and two mini cupcakes.  I figured the other parents wouldn't be very thrilled with me if I gave their kids that much sugar, so I continued to scour the internet until I came across this.  I kind of merged the two methods and came up with my own ghost cupcakes.  They were a hit and the kids loved them (particularly the lollipop)!

Ghost Cupcakes
Cupcakes (any flavor)
Frosting (optional)
Lollipops (such as Tootsie Pops)
Fondant
Black food dye
Fine Paintbrush (or mini chocolate chips)

Make sure your cupcakes are cool before you start assembling your ghosts.  You can either leave your cupcakes plain (no frosting) or frost them.  However, if you frost them, you're going to want to also cover them with fondant so your white ghosts don't get frosting on them when you're assembling them. If you're going to frost them, cut out circles of fondant that will cover the top of your cupcakes. Spread a little frosting over the top then cover with your fondant circles.

To make the ghosts, you'll need to find something you can use to cut out fondant circles big enough to drape over the top of your lollipop and hang down.  I used a plastic bowl that is 5 inches in diameter.  It still wasn't quite big enough, so I just cut a little bit off the end of each lollipop stick and it worked perfectly!

What I used to cut out the fondant circles for the ghosts.

Once you determine how long you need your lollipop sticks to be, stick them straight down in the center of the cupcake.  Drape the fondant circle over the top of the lollipop.  With a fine paintbrush, use black food dye to paint the faces on your ghosts.  You can make friendly ghosts (like mine) or scary ghosts.  You can also make it easier on yourself and dab a little frosting on and stick mini chocolate chips on for eyes.

**Note: You probably won't want to use filled cupcakes for this recipe, as there might not be enough structure to hold up the lollipop.**

What Happened to Near to Nothing?

Ok, we realize it's been a little while since we've blogged.  It's not that we've given up; it's just that we've gotten quite busy.  Sumiko has started teaching part-time 5 days a week (on top of maintaining her roles at home as a wife and mother) and Kimiko's not teaching (except for my own little one at home), but is just busy!  So blogging hasn't been at the top of our priority list recently, but we do hope to continue in some capacity in the future.  In the meantime, though, you'll see posts here and there when we discover or create a new recipe.  Thank you to our loyal readers who have been patiently waiting and wondering if we're still alive.  We are!!