Spiced Skull Cakelets

These spiced skull cakelets are cute little tasty bites flavored with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, clove, and cayenne. They are a sweet dessert with a bit of a kick!

These little cake bites are such a fun and tasty treat to make for Halloween. The cakes are moist and spicy, and so reminiscent of the fall season. 

While I baked these in this cute specialty mini-skull pan, which I "needed" to buy, you can also make them in a mini bundt cakelet pan, which would also make these perfect for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Of course, you could also go all out on a pan buying spree and mix them in with little monster mask cakelets, especially if you are throwing a Halloween party. 

I'm not quite sure how to get all of the details of the pan, especially the teeth, to imprint on the cakelets after baking, but the candy eyeballs and sprinkles add the right amount of creepiness to the cakes. 

This creepy cake pan would also be great for making chocolate or vanilla cakelets. You could also coat the cakes in a thin glaze or chocolate ganache... or you could sprinkle them with cocoa powder or powdered sugar. 

I attached the eyes and teeth with a thinned glaze made with confectioner's sugar and water. If you make these cakelets in chocolate, you could coat them in chocolate nonpareils and attach the eyes with chocolate frosting. 

So many possibilities!

For the eyes, I used candy eyeball sprinkles. For the teeth, I picked out the white sprinkles from an assortment of sprinkles. You could also use other colors. Use your imagination. 

Ingredients in These Spiced Skull Cakelets:

Pantry Ingredients: Brown sugar, all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt. 

Spices: Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cayenne, cloves. 

From the Fridge: Butter, egg, and maple syrup. 

To Make These Cakes:

First, cream the sugar and the butter together and then blend in the egg and maple syrup. 

After that, in a small bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add it to the butter and sugar mixture and blend on low until just combined. Stir in some hot water. 

Add the batter to each cavity of the cakelet pan, until each is half full. This should be just about a tablespoon. 

Finally, bake the cakelets for about 12 minutes. 

Once the cakes have cooled you can decorate them however you like. 

P.S. The cakes are so "poppable" and delicious! 

Make-Ahead Tips: 

These cakes are best on the day they are made or the next day. To make them last longer, you can individually wrap them and freeze them. 

To attach the eyes and the "teeth," I used a transparent mixture of powdered sugar and water. I used a paint brush to dab some of the glaze in the eyes and placed the candy eyeballs in the eye cavities. 

Next, I brushed the mouth area with the glaze and placed three to four sprinkles where the teeth would be. 

Welcome to 2024’s #HalloweenTreatsWeek event!

If you’re new here, Welcome! If you’re a returning haunt, welcome back!

#HalloweenTreatsWeek is a yearly Halloween blogging event that is hosted by Angie from Big Bear’s Wife . This spooky event is an online, week-long event that is filled with some frightfully fun Halloween treats and recipes from some fantastic Halloween loving bloggers!

For this year's 7th annual #HalloweenTreatsWeek event we have 12 hauntingly talented bloggers who are sharing their favorite Halloween recipes throughout the week! You can follow the hashtag #HalloweenTreatsWeek on social media to collect all of these frightful recipes to use at your own Halloween parties and events!

• BeetleJuice Jell-O Poke Cake from BigBearsWife
• Bloodshot Eyeball Cookies from Semi-Homemade Recipes
• Pumpkin Whoopie Pies from Jolene's Recipe Journal
• Halloween Candy Corn Pizza from Savory Moments
• Black Garlic Skull Deviled Eggs from The Spiffy Cookie
• Sandworm Stuffed Bread from A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures
• Mummy Garlic Bread from Cheese Curd In Paradise
• Spiced Skull Cakelets from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Mocha Spider Donut Cupcakes from Sweet ReciPEAs
• Halloween Caprese Crostini from Art of Natural Living
• Halloween Blackberry Margarita Mocktail from Jen Around the World
• Halloween Ghost Toast from For the Love of Food
• Pumpkin Vegetable Tray from A Day in the Life on the Farm

Spiced Skull Cakelets

Yield: 35 cakelets

Author: Karen Kerr

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 24 MinInactive time: 10 MinTotal time: 49 Min

These spiced skull cakelets are cute little tasty bites flavored with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, clove, and cayenne. They are a sweet dessert with a bit of a kick!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 1/2 cups (6.75 ounces) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 cup hot water
• 2 tablespoons confectioner's sugar plus water to create a thin glaze (optional)
• Sprinkles for decorating (optional)

Instructions

1. Heat your oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare your skull bites (or mini bundt) pan with butter and flour or baking spray that contains flour.
2. Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the sugar and butter together until the butter has paled. Beat in the egg and maple syrup until the mixture is smooth.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, spices, baking soda, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture by 1/4 cups with the mixer on low speed until just combined. Stir in the hot water.
4. Add the batter to each cavity of the pan until each is half full (about a heaping tablespoon). Tap the pan on the counter to remove any excess bubbles in the batter.
5. Bake the cakelets for 12 to 14 minutes, until the centers are firm to the touch. Cool the cakes in the pan for five minutes and then turn them out onto a wire rack.
6. Regrease the pan, add the rest of the batter, and bake the rest of the cakelets.
7. Optional decorations: Place a few drops of glaze in the eye cavities and place small eye ball sprinkles in the cavities. Brush the mouth area with more glaze and place sprinkles to represent teeth. 

Nutrition Facts

Calories

64

Fat (grams)

2 g

Sat. Fat (grams)

1 g

Carbs (grams)

10 g

Fiber (grams)

0 g

Net carbs

10 g

Sugar (grams)

6 g

Protein (grams)

1 g

Cholesterol (grams)

10 mg

https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2024/10/spiced-skull-cakelets.html

Karen's Kitchen Stories

halloween, cake

dessert

Recipe adapted from NordicWare.