Apologies in advance for this extremely long post. There's an awesome video at the end, I promise!
If you've been following along on this wacky ride, you already know that this particular bit of inspired silliness has been a HUGE success and Stacey Jay and I couldn't be prouder...hence, my utter horror of going last because Holy Heck have you SEEN these entries?!? To say I've been utterly gobsmacked is an understatement and I thought, "Good golly, I better come up with something awesome pretty darned quick!" (Full disclosure: I do not actually use words like "Holy Heck," "Darned" or "Good golly" in my head.)
But alas, I am the Queen of Indecision.
This means, among other things, that I have a habit of being unwilling to choose between many crazy projects, often attempting to do several at the same time with the clear subconscious intention of seeing just how close I can push myself to the brink of insanity, which, in my mind, must reside on the very edge of awesome. (This has been the case during such memorable moments as the "Co-Directing a 70-hour Improv Weekend Two Weeks Before My Own Wedding" escapade or the "Running A Mock M*A*S*H 4077 Team-Building Event Whilst 8 Months Pregnant" hilarity. Good thing my husband loves me!) Thus armed with indecisiveness and a helluva challenge, I started with
Creepy Cake N Bake Idea #1: Undeath by Chocolate!
The name "Death By Chocolate" was simply *screaming* to be messed with, hence the obvious (to me) addition of screaming faces, extra arms, and legs wriggling and struggling to free themselves from the dessert.
Screaming fondant face + glass bowl filled with layers of innocent-looking goodies =
The result: meh. But I had the bonus effect of presenting it to the neighbors who had graciously looked after our kitties while we were away at Disney; the look on their faces prompted me to assure them that I had made a "themed dessert", that the fondant was edible, and that they could easily remove the zombie pieces to return it to a perfectly normal Death By Chocolate. Back away slowly. Exit, stage left. Thereby necessitating a new
Creepy Cake N Bake Idea #2: The Angel/Angelus Cake!
So sinfully pretty...couldn't you just EAT it?
By now, everyone should know my deep admiration rabid fangirling of Joss Whedon, hence a perfect place to find inspiration for my next endeavor into creepy cake baking! The Angel/Angelus Cake is actually called a "Poke Cake" which I can't type, let alone say, without grinning like the sick-minded, twisted fool that I am. Therefore, I dubbed it the "Angel/Angelus Cake" due to it's deceptively enticing dual-nature and highly addictive qualities; for beneath its lovely, pure white and fluffy exterior lies a cold, blood-stained soul of true evil!
Cue echoing, maniacal laughter: BWAHAHAHAHA!
The effect is made by taking regular white cake and poking holes in it while cooling, then spooning your favorite red-colored Jell-O of choice over its surface, being careful to dribble the end of the spoon into the holes for maximum effect. Chill for 3 hours in the fridge before coating with whipped topping. It is light and sweet and surprising. Best eaten with fangs.
Black cloak optional. Who needs a fork? *nomnomnomnom*
And yet...pretty as it is, I couldn't submit it. Why? Because I've *done* this dessert before (for my beloved Buffy Party) so it kinda felt like cheating. These ladies deserved more. They deserved my very best, organic efforts and so I dug deep. I liked having cake because, duh, it's cake, and I love working with fondant because it has so many fun possibilities! I looked over through all of our delectable entries and tried to think of what was missing from our menu of horrors, and it hit me...
There was clearly a lack of tentacles.
Therefore, may I proudly present my Creepy Cake N Bake entry: Kracken & Cthulhu Cupcakes!
Green with yellow suckered Kracken attempt to escape its watery doom!
Purple with pink suckered Cthulhu tears through the inky black of space!
This is probably my favorite one. *Help meeeeeeeeee!*
Easy fondant recipe here plus the liberal use of food coloring and a push pin to seven teeny tiny little circles on a flexible cone and voilĂ : a tentacle! Of course, I wanted 3-5 tentacles per cupcake so they had to be between 0.5-1" long; my eyes began tearing after the first half-hour, my refrigerator shelf looked like something from Ghostbusters, and my children were alternately taste-testing tentacles or backing away slowly. (No worries; the lure of sugar always brought them back.)
Don't forget to make enough to share them with a friend!
Now remember: the Creepy Cake N Bake-a-Thon is *still* ON! Vote for your favorite entry by commenting on any of the Creepy Cake N Bake posts. You can comment on EVERY Cake N Bake post, one entry per post, for a chance to win a $20 gift certificate from Barnes and Noble or an official Creepy Cake N Bake doll! Please include your email in order to be entered to win.
Trophies will be awarded on Halloween for the top creeptastic creations. Winners will be chosen by our special Celebrity Judge, Adam Rex, author of such deliciously creepy creations such as FAT VAMPIRE, FRANKENSTEIN TAKES THE CAKE, FRANKENSTEIN MAKES A SANDWICH, and PSSST!
Did you miss any of the fab creations? Well, there's still time to go check back on the entries and comment on your faves:
Mon Oct. 3 - Saundra Mitchell
Wed Oct 5 - Stacey Jay
Friday Oct 7 - Erin Dionne
Saturday Oct 8 - Sydney Salter
Mon Oct 10 - Brenna Yovanoff
Wed Oct 12 - Tara Hudson
Friday Oct 14 - Karen Healey
Saturday Oct 15 - Robin Bridges
Mon Oct 17 - Michelle Zink
Friday Oct 21 - Victoria Schwab
Saturday Oct 22 - C.Lee McKenzie
Sunday Oct 23 - E. Kristin Anderson
Mon Oct 24 - Natalie Zaman
Friday Oct 28 - Dawn Metcalf (ME! HERE! NOW! Comment below to vote!)
And I can't sign off without giving credit to my inspiration, the holiday earworm gifted to me by Better-Than-Boyfriend because let's face it, the only thing better than Jonathan Coulton (from They Might Be Giants) is having his brilliance performed in ZSL (Zombie Sign Language) by the adorable and talented Stephen (aka Captain Valor)! Watch and Replay! TOTALLY worth it!!!