Crash Landing Witch Cake Recipes

Steps:

• For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with black cupcake liners.
• Mix the flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl; set aside. Put the milk in a large microwave-safe bowl and microwave until bubbling, about 1 minute. Whisk in the cocoa powder until dissolved. Whisk in the granulated sugar, oil, vanilla and egg until smooth. Fold in the flour mixture until combined.
• Divide the batter among the cupcake liners (about 1/4 cup per liner). Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 15 to 18 minutes. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely, about 1 hour.
• For the frosting. Beat the butter in an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium-high speed until light, fluffy and almost double in size, 4 to 5 minutes. Turn the mixer to low, add the confectioners' sugar, milk and vanilla and beat until just combined, about 1 minute.
• Divide the frosting into 4 separate bowls. Color one bowl with purple gel food coloring, one bowl with orange gel food coloring, one bowl with neon green gel food coloring and one bowl with blue gel food coloring. Spoon into 4 separate piping bags fitted with a large round tip (we used an 808 tip).
• For the decorations: To make the witches' legs and boots, cut 2 purple and white striped paper straws, 2 green and white striped paper straws and 2 red and white striped paper straws into 4 pieces each (24 pieces total); these will be the legs. Form the chocolate chewy candies into boot shapes (microwave them for 10 seconds if they are too hard to form) and mold them over the straws.
• To make the witches' hats: Twist open the chocolate sandwich cookies so you have 12 circles. Scrape away the white frosting and save for another use. Spread a small amount of colored frosting into the center of each cookie and top with a milk chocolate candy.
• To decorate the cupcakes: Pipe purple frosting onto 3 cupcakes, orange frosting onto 3 cupcakes, green frosting onto 3 cupcakes and blue frosting onto the remaining 3 cupcakes. Place a hat offset on top of the frosting of each cupcake. Arrange some shredded wheat underneath each hat to mimic hair. Stick 2 legs into each cupcake opposite the hat so they are slightly slanted upward.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325°F. Grease 2 (8-inch) round cake pans with shortening; coat with flour (do not use cooking spray). Lightly grease 2 muffin cups in mini muffin pan.
• Make cake batter as directed on box. Pour into 2 mini muffin cups, filling two-thirds full. Pour remaining batter into round pans. Bake cupcakes 11 to 14 minutes, rounds 29 to 34 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Remove cakes from muffin cups and pans; place rounded sides up on cooling racks. Cool completely, about 1 hour. If necessary, cut off rounded tops of cakes.
• Meanwhile, reserve 2 tablespoons of the frosting in small bowl. In medium bowl, stir orange gel food color into remaining frosting until smooth.
• Place 1 cake layer, rounded side down, on serving plate. Spread 1/2 cup of the frosting over cake layer to within 1/4 inch of edge. Top with second layer, rounded side up. Frost with remaining frosting.
• Cut 1 mini cupcake in half at an angle; press into cake to make the witch's behind. Frost with reserved 2 tablespoons frosting, sprinkle with black coarse sugar.
• Microwave chewy chocolate candies on High 3 to 8 seconds, just until moldable. Press 1 candy on uncut end of each hard candy stick. Mold chocolate candies to make witch's shoes. Mold the remaining 2 chocolate candies together to make hat.
• Insert cut end of hard candy sticks into cake near witch's behind. Sprinkle cookie crumbs around witch's behind.
• Using paring knife, cut the orange strip out of the rainbow-berry flavor sweet-sour chewy licorice. Wrap the orange candy strip around the witch's hat, and gently tie it onto the hat.
• To make pumpkins, wrap remaining mini cupcake and both marshmallows with punch berry fruit snack, pinching to seal fruit snack. Firmly press green licorice candies into top of wrapped pumpkins to make stem. Press miniature chocolate chips in cupcake face for eyes and brown candies for mouth. Place on cake.
• Fold remaining fruit snack in half lengthwise with paring knife; cut small slits into fruit snack without cutting all the way through. Wrap fruit snack around one end of chocolate licorice stick to make broom; place on cake. Decorate with candy pumpkins. Store loosely covered.

Steps:

• Prepare cake batter and bake in 13x9-inch baking pan as directed on package. Cool completely.
• Transfer cake to cutting board; cut into pieces using diagram 1. Arrange cake pieces on cake board or large platter to form the witch's head, nose, hair and hat as shown in diagram 2.
• Frost and decorate with Evil Embellishments as listed below. Store in refrigerator.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Grease bottom only of 13x9-inch pan with shortening or cooking spray. Make and bake cake mix as directed on box for 13x9-inch pan, using water, oil and eggs. Cool 10 minutes; remove cake from pan to cooling rack. Cool 15 minutes.
• Line cookie sheet with waxed paper. In large bowl, crumble cake. Add chocolate frosting; mix well with back of spoon. Use ice cream scoop to scoop cake mixture into 2 1/2-inch balls onto cookie sheet. Freeze about 15 minutes or until firm. Refrigerate to keep chilled.
• In medium microwavable bowl, microwave dark cocoa candy melts uncovered on Medium (50%) 1 minute, then in 15-second increments, until melted; stir until smooth. Using small food-safe brush, brush melted chocolate coating over each ice cream cone to coat completely; decorate as desired with sprinkles before coating hardens. Dip open end of each ice cream cone into remaining melted chocolate coating; place dipped end of each cone onto a chocolate wafer cookie, pressing lightly, to form hat and brim. Let stand until set.
• In medium microwavable bowl, microwave green candy melts uncovered on Medium (50%) 1 minute, then in 15-second increments, until melted; stir until smooth. Place 1 cake ball on a fork; dip cake ball into melted green coating to cover. Gently tap off any excess coating. Place coated ball on cookie sheet; top with 1 chocolate-coated cone hat, pressing gently. Repeat with remaining cake balls and cone hats. Let stand until set.
• Squeeze icing from tube onto bottom edge of each chocolate wafer cookie; attach licorice pieces with icing to form hair (about 12 pieces licorice per cake ball). Use icing to attach 2 chocolate candies in front of each ball for eyes and 1 piece candy corn for nose.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Spray bottom only of 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray. Make cake batter as directed on box. With rubber spatula, fold in candy sprinkles. Pour batter into pan.
• Bake as directed on box for 13x9-inch pan. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
• In small bowl, mix frosting and 1/8 teaspoon green food color until well blended. Spread frosting over cake. To form witch's hat, insert waffle cone at an angle into top center of cake until rounded edge is level with surface of cake. Tip of cone should be raised about 2 inches directly above top edge of cake pan.
• With toothpick make 5 inch long oval outline of witch's face directly below "hat". Immediately drop 8 drops green food color randomly over surface of frosting, avoiding "witch's face"; swirl with knife.
• Using ribbon tip, frost "witch's hat" with black icing; add a "brim" around the base of the "hat" and frost small areas below her face to look like a cape.
• Cut and shape gumdrops as desired to look like eyebrows, eyes, nose, mouth, hat buckle and cape button. Cut candy corn into smaller pieces and add to look like teeth. Use drawing tip in black icing to draw witch's hair. Store loosely covered.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Line bottoms of 3 greased 8-in. round baking pans with parchment; grease parchment. In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in melted chocolate and vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in water., Pour into prepared pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 40-45 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before carefully removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely., For frosting, in a large bowl, beat butter until smooth. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar, vanilla, salt and enough milk to reach desired consistency; remove 1-1/2 cups frosting and set aside. Tint remaining frosting with green gel food coloring until desired color is reached. Tint reserved frosting with black food coloring., If cake layers have rounded tops, trim with a serrated knife to make level. Place 1 cake layer on a serving plate; spread with 2/3 cup frosting. Repeat layers. Top with remaining cake layer. Frost top and sides of cake., For decoration, place melted candy coating in piping bag fitted with a small round tip; pipe witch hat shapes onto waxed paper. Let stand until set. Top cake with assorted sprinkles. Place black frosting in piping bag fitted with large star tip; pipe onto top of cake. Just before serving, gently stand 1 witch hat on top of cake. Adhere remaining witch hats and black pearls to sides of cake by gently pressing into frosting.