Spooky Halloween Mini Pumpkin Cakes

October, is the time to get in the spirit of making spooky, delicious treats for everyone to enjoy.This is where you can get really creative and there are no limits.So, to begin celebrating my spirit of Halloween, I have this  super simple recipe to make spooky applesauce-spiced pumpkin cakes, as shown above.These cakes can be decorated anyway you want from gruesome to just plain cute.Did I peak your interest? Well I hope so because this is a really fun and creative recipe that everyone would love to take part in.

So to begin,this recipe is really simple to follow in directions and has really inexpensive ingredients to create the cakes.The step are also simple enough for children to get involve in the recipe,especially the decorating process and it very easy to adapt to your liking.These aspect of a recipe I find to be very important in baking anything and its also a pretty quick treat to put together.Also, when I mentioned very adaptable,I mean this recipe just started out as a simple applesauce-spice cupcake with frosting and then was magically transformed into a full on pumpkin.

 How did I do this? Well simply using my President Choice mini pumpkin cake pan that I received as a birthday gift.This pan transformed this cupcake recipe to something brand new, by simply baking cakes as the bottom half of a pumpkin and the tops with leave imprints.So when their done you can put them together and create a mini pumpkin cake that you can now decorate as you desire.Its simpler then you actually think,but still challenging and fun to make.So I give this recipe two thumbs up,since I love to have the opportunity to change something for creativity.

Now, the decorating is the best part about creating these mini pumpkins because there is no recipe directions,which gives you room to expand your creativity.For me,all this recipe gave me was a deliciously simple cream cheese frosting and from there it was up to me to create a treat I'm proud of.So, I simply dyed the frosting with orange food coloring gel and used that to put the cakes together.Then I created an green icing with just water,confectioner sugar and green gel food coloring to pipe green leaves on top of the pumpkin.Then lastly,I used the rest of the orange frosting to pipe lines in the each of the indents of the cake to create a pumpkin and for just an added effect I gently dusted sprinkles on top.That was my simple decorating ideas;however I can see going even farther with these cakes.These cakes came out great and looked exactly like pumpkins.Top notch baking pan, I give two thumbs up!

So now, everyone wants to know what these cakes tasted like in the end.Well I have good news, these were delicious mini spice cakes.These had a strong combination of spices and the apples gave natural sweetness.Now the cream cheese frosting only helps enhance all the flavors with it being rich,creamy and delicious.Then lastly, when you bite into these cakes you get a ton of flavor along with a moist,light and airy texture.All together you end up with a delicious fall cake that everyone will be impressed by,especially when there cute little pumpkins like these.

So in the end we have two mini cakes put together and decorated to create mini pumpkins.This is a really simple and fun treat for everyone to make and children will especially love decorating their own pumpkin.The creativity is endless, you could create a pumpkin patch,jack O lanterns or even transform them into gruesome monsters.There is a variety of colors,sprinkles,frosting,icings at every one's disposable to create something their proud of this Halloween.So I definitely recommend everyone to pick up a pumpkin mini cake pan while they are still out this month and try it out yourself.Just think, you could make pumpkin cakes made with pumpkin. Yum! Enjoy!

Mini Pumpkin Cakes

Applesauce-Spice Cupcakes,

Adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes Cookbook 

2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
 1/2 cup unsalted butter,room temp
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
4 large eggs,room temp
1 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce 
(Tip:Homemade is best)

Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 cup unsalted butter,room temp
8 oz cream cheese, room temp ( Approx. half of  a bar)
1 cup packed brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350F. For extra reinsurance,spray pumpkin mold pan with cooking spray.

I whisked together flour,baking soda, salt, cinnamon,nutmeg, and cloves.

Making homemade applesauce.I defrosted one large package of frozen peeled and cut apples.Then I boiled the apples in a large pot, until soft enough to mash.Then I took it off the heat, to cool down.

With my kitchen aid mixer on medium, I creamed the butter and both sugars, until pale and fluffy.Then I added the eggs ,one at a time, beating each time until incorporated,scraping down the side when needed.Then, reducing the speed to low,I added the applesauce and flour mixture,beating until just combined after each.

Then after the batter was just combined.I began dividing the batter among the greased mini pumpkin cake pan.Filling them up about three quarters full. 

Then I baked them for about 20 minutes or less, until firm and toothpick came out clean.I also rotated the pan halfway through to help bake evenly.Then I let the cakes rest in the pan to cool and then flipped the pan over for easy release.This kind of cake can be stored overnight at room temperature,or frozen up to 2 months,in airtight container.Let cool completely on a wire rack or plate.

Making The Frosting:

With my handheld electric mixer, I creamed the butter,cream cheese and brown sugar together in a large bowl,until smooth.Then I added wilton orange icing gel coloring,I slowly added in the color, until it reached my desired color. I also used a spatula to mix in the color to the frosting. Its best to use a toothpick or a small spoon to add the gel to the frosting.

This frosting can be used immediately or refrigerated up to 3 days in an airtight container.Before using,bring to room temperature and beat on low speed until smooth.

Using the frosting immediately, I began cutting the tops off of the cupcakes to make them all a flat surface.Then I began spreading on frosting to the centers and placing on the tops,gently pressing them together.Tip: Don't want to add to much frosting.After, I placed the filled cakes in the fridge to help set.

For the imprint leaves on top of the cakes, I made a icing glaze by adding water, icing sugar and green gel food coloring together.I played around with this, until it reached the consistency I desired. I wanted it thick enough to hold a shape and thin enough to pipe.Then I added the green icing to one of my piping bottle and set it aside.

With my second piping bottle, I added the orange frosting and used a small round tip.I pipe lines in between the indents of each mini pumpkin and then lightly added orange sprinkles. Then I removed the small round tip and thoroughly clean it.

Then I added the small round tip to the green icing bottle.I proceeded to pipe the icing by loosely following the imprinted leaves design.I then gently sprinkled on some Halloween sprinkles.I then let the icing set for a few minutes before serving.

Tip: You can decorate these cakes anyway you want, Get Creative!