Spooky sweets

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It doesn’t take a sweet tooth to be a good baker.

Inverness resident Kasey Leath doesn’t bake to enjoy her own sweet treats; she prefers watching cupcakes disappear off the plate at a friend’s party. A radiography student at Jefferson State Community College, Leath taught herself to bake as a creative outlet.

“I find a great deal of pleasure baking for other people,” Leath said.

With the help of online videos, Leath learned to bake everything from cupcakes and cookies to cheesecake and Danish pastries in her own kitchen. With a fair share of flour explosions and bad recipes under her belt, Leath prefers to stick to tried and true recipes rather than experimenting. One of her favorite recipe books is The Big Book of Cupcakes by Jan Moon, the owner of Dreamcakes Bakery in Homewood and the Dreamcakes food truck.

“Baking is basically chemistry cooking. You have to do everything right,” Leath said. “Everything in baking is done in measurements for a precise reason.”

The recipes may stay the same, but Leath gets to have fun with the decorations. She has created everything from Christmas tree cakes to LEGO birthday cupcakes. Holidays are her favorite baking occasion because she can have a theme for her baked goods.

Leath said she could someday imagine making a part-time business out of baking for other people, but right now she just enjoys it as a hobby.

“I think if I did it for a living, though, I’d get tired of it. So for me, it’s almost like work is work and pleasure is pleasure,” Leath said.

About the recipe

Leath got the idea for these Halloween-themed cupcakes when she saw candy knives in the baking aisle of the grocery store. She likes that the cupcakes are a lighthearted take on her favorite holiday.

“Have fun with it. They’re not serious cupcakes,” she said.

Leath prefers pumpkin cupcakes as the base because they fit the season, and she said they go great with coffee.

“I think people who don’t like pumpkin spice are just weird,” Leath said.

The cream cheese frosting is adapted from a friend’s recipe to make it light and fluffy. Candy knives are made by Wilton, a popular baking company, and Leath said they can be purchased in major grocery stores or online.

Instructions

1. Bake pumpkin or other flavor cupcakes and allow them to cool completely before frosting.

2. Frost with Cream Cheese Icing using a spoon. Make the icing mostly flat so you can easily add the red icing later. Allow the icing to set.

3. Take a spoonful of Fake Blood Frosting and put a dollop on each cupcake. Allow it to sit for a minute. The frosting will naturally spread out slightly.

4. Pick up the cupcake and tilt it to one side, gently tapping the cupcake with one finger. This will make the frosting spread and “drip” over the edge.

5. Use your spoon to spread the frosting in irregular shapes until it looks like fake blood. Allow the frosting to harden.

6. Take a candy knife and press it into the cupcake so that it stays in place but part of the blade and handle are still visible. 

7. Keep the cupcakes cool so the frosting retains its shape until serving.

Recipes

Cream Cheese Icing 

  • 8 ounces cream cheese
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 3 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon heavy whipping cream
  • Combine ingredients and mix on high for two minutes. Frosting should be able to hold its shape. If too thick, use half ‘n half to thin.

Fake Blood Frosting

  • 3 egg whites
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Red gel food coloring
  • Mix ingredients together until frosting holds its shape, but will still drip off a spoon onto cupcakes. If the mixture is too wet, add more powdered sugar. Add food coloring once the desired consistency is reached.
  • Use gel food coloring to create a brighter color in the frosting than liquid. Leath said gel coloring can be bought in baking and craft stores.