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How-to: Brain Cupcakes!

October 24, 2011 Leave a Comment

Pastries aren’t my strongest suit, but when I had an idea to decorate cupcakes to look like bloody brains, I couldn’t help but try it. It took me a few tries to get the right look. Scroll all the way to the bottom of this post to read about what didn’t work for me.

Supplies

at least 2 unfrosted cupcakes (I used an organic cocoa cayenne cake mix that is perfect for surprising Halloween treats)

white frosting

serrated knife

red gel icing

ziploc bag (or a pastry bag if you have one on hand)

scissors

Directions

Cut one cupcake in half and carve it in to a dome shape.

Stick the dome to the uncarved cupcake using a dollop of frosting.

Draw a line down the center of the dome using the gel icing. Fill a ziploc bag with frosting. Trim a small piece from one of the corners.

Squeezing from the far side of the bag toward the tip, ice a brain-looking pattern on to each half of the cupcake dome.

Fill in gaps in the frosting with the red gel icing. If you notice, I used sparkly gel. I decided these must be Twilight vampire brains – y’know, the sparkly kind of vampire? Anyway, these aren’t perfect, but they make me happy.

What didn’t work

I cut too big of a hole in my frosting bag to begin with. The brain pattern was too thick and the frosting too high. The result didn’t look realistic.

The smaller the dome the better. Since the dome and brain frosting are held on to the cupcake with more frosting, the top gets heavy when there’s a lot of weight on it. If they’re too heavy, the’ll slide off. Believe me. :)

Filed Under: Halloween, How-to Tagged With: brains, cake decorating, cupcake, frosting, halloween, icing, twilight, zombie

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad is a craft book author, designer & creator specializing in yarn crafts like knitting, crochet, latch hook & macramé. Her first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is out now.

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Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi (she/her/hers), a craft book author & pattern designer specializing in knitting, crochet, latch hook & macrame. Really anything with yarn! ❤️  My work combines vintage and modern design elements, featuring bold colors and graphic motifs.

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How to knit a one-row buttonhole 🧶 . Sweater k How to knit a one-row buttonhole 🧶 
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