Sure, cookies and cakes make or break the dessert, but the spook factor, especially for Halloween sweet treats, heavily depends on the decorations. We've got you civered with these easy-peasy decorations that can turn any dessert into a yummy Spooktoberfest!
Halloween is just around the corner, and what better than to familiarize yourself with some evergreen decorations that can spook up any dessert? For these spooky Halloween decorations as your dessert topper or sidekick, frosting and food coloring are your BFFs.
Give cookies, cakes, tarts, pies, and even popsicles a makeover for Halloween, which might just look too hauntingly cute to eat. With just a few ingredients, you can create ghoulish decorations in no time. Your guests will love them and get them in the mood to celebrate the eerie day that Halloween is.
Make spooky ghosts out of meringue. Beat 2 egg whites until stiff peaks form, then gradually beat in 1/2 cup sugar—pipe or spoon onto a baking sheet into the “poop emoji” shape. Bake at 110°C for 1-2 hours until dry and crisp. Decorate with faces made of chocolate chips or shavings.
Melt 1/2 cup chocolate chips and a tbsp of hydrogenated vegetable fat (dalda). Dip a fork into chocolate and flick onto wax paper to create webs. Let it harden. Melt more chocolate and dip marshmallow halves into it, attaching it to a mini marshmallow for the body. Add chocolate chips for the eyes. Stick a webbed fork into a marshmallow spider for a creepy crawly for your cake decoration or pies.
No graveyard is complete with a skull popping out from the ground and tombstones threatening a walking-dead aura. Miniature fake skulls can be easily bought from stores, but if you want a full skeleton as your dessert topper, cut the bones out of thick paper, and glue them onto black skeleton templates. For tombstones, write names on small chocolate bars or cookies (ideally) using icing, and stick them on your cake to resemble cracked stones. Stick skeletons and tombstones into a foam block for a bone-chilling graveyard display.
On a flat surface, roll out blue or green cookie dough (food coloring) and cut out monster shapes using cookie cutters. Use white icing to pipe on faces with Cadbury Gems or Shots for the eyes. If you are making a snowman, roll white icing "snowballs" and stick them onto the cookie body.
Cut orange fondant or modeling chocolate into pumpkin shapes. Use a small cookie cutter or just freehand the shape. Add stripes by pressing a toothpick into the fondant. Stick mini chocolate chips or candies onto the "pumpkin" for a stem and eyes. Place on cakes, cupcakes, or cookies for the Halloween touch.
Cut cat and witch shapes from sturdy black paper. For the cat, glue on googly eyes and pipe on whiskers with white icing. Dress the witch in a striped paper hat and add braided yarn "hair." Stick googly eye buttons and a paper broom for a villainous duo. Adding a bubbling cauldron with a gelatin green center will only enhance the spooky aura and complete the theme.
Cut a man’s shape from green paper, and glue on bolts on both sides of the neck. Assemble a mismatched body out of cotton balls, with joints and limbs cut from paper or foam. Top it with a messy hairdo made of yarn or frosting. Alternatively, you can design the monster’s face on cookies using icing.
Print templates of Totoro, No-Face, Calcifer, Kodama, and even the soot sprites! Cut out and assemble stuffed bodies using cotton balls and paper features. No-Face will look extra spooky with a googly eye "stomach." Display the whimsical, beloved monsters on tarts and cupcakes as solo decorations.
Bats are good alternatives if spiders feel too complicated to make. However, if you are confused between the two, go for both! Trace bat wing shapes onto sturdy black paper and cut them out. Glue onto ice cream sticks for handles. Add pink paper triangles for noses or pipe on faces with white icing for extra detail. Stick the paper bats into any dessert for a creepy but cute decorative touch. If you want a more elaborate themed decoration, like the graveyard, do add the cobwebs. They can be made out of sugar syrup that needs to be spun, which might take a little time and effort, but will be all worth it in the end!
These are another popular addition to any dessert with a potential for stick-ins. Fancy a severed limb in your cupcake, monsieur? Melt chocolate chips and dip biscuit sticks, cookies, or plain crackers for "bones." Let them harden, then assemble them into spooky poses on a plate. For extra fun, make eyeball lollipops by dipping chocolate balls in melted chocolate!