Bake Sale!

Support The Great American Bake Sale!




Many of you that have been friends of mine since the begining know that I strongly believe in doing things that benefit our community. I hope that you feel the same way too. I don't currently have a true, honest to badness bakesale in the works... yet... but you can still help out by donating to this "virtual bake sale". I will keep you all aprised of any possibilities of a real bakesale in the future.

Your donation really does make a difference in helping to fight hunger. So please donate what you can afford, it doesn't need to be much.


Click the great American Bakesale image above, or copy and paste http://join.strength.org/goto/zombirellasbakesale in your browser.

Frankencake

Now here’s one “monster” of a cake! These six tall, green layers will be sure to make an impression. Then, experience the terror, as they realize that you have pieced your monster together from three cakes!

Now, this cake does take quite a bit of work… as all good monsters do… And it will feed an angry, torch wielding mob with ease… making this the perfect cake to make for your very own Frankenstein party… or to celebrate the day of your own creation. (For birthdays top with sparkler candles for that extra electric spark!

xoxo
Dine Deadly,
Zombirella

Frankencake

Suggested Movie Accompaniment:
Frankenstein (1931)

Basic cake recipe / per flavor

Ingredients

Instant pudding mix (4 serving box)
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cups milk
2 tsp extract
1/4 cup oil
2/3 cup water
green food coloring


Variations needed per flavor

Cake 1: use pistachio pudding mix, vanilla extract and 1/8 tsp food coloring
Cake 2: use vanilla pudding mix, almond extract and 1/4 tsp food coloring, and an extra 3/4 tsp right before pouring into pans (do not mix entirely, stir it in so that its swirly and marbled looking)
Cake 3: use chocolate pudding mix, vanilla extract, and 1 1/2 Tbs food coloring.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF
2. Sift together all dry ingredients, and stir until well mixed.
3. Wisk together wet ingredients until combined and smooth.
4. Combine the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients, and stir until smooth and there are no more dry spots.
5. Pour into 2 greased and floured 8 inch cake pans.
6. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until firm in the center.
7. Remove from oven, let cool slightly and remove from pan, and let cool COMPLETELY.
8. Repeat for other flavors.

To assemble

You will need
2 jars of Nutella or similar chocolate hazelnut spread
1 jar readymade dark chocolate frosting
Roughly chopped pistachios (optional)


1. Take one cake of each flavor and stack on top of each other.
2. Randomly cut into different size pieces, all the way through all three cakes. (see example)
3. Mix up the pieces of each flavor, so that you have three “patchwork” layers. (see example)
4. Take one layer and place onto large serving plate, piece by piece, gluing together the pieces with a thin bit of Nutella. Spread a thin layer of Nutella on top of the cake layer, and repeat with the next cake layers one on top of each other. ( Tip, rotate the pieces so that it appears more random. See example)
5. Repeat with the other three cake layers.
6. Spread all around the sides and top with the remainder of the Nutella, then spread the dark chocolate frosting all over the cake, and smooth out the frosting.
7. Press chopped pistachios into the sides of the cake, or if you don’t like that idea, you can decorate the sides with green sanding sugar instead.

Vampire Bites & Mummy Cakes

Ah… the lighter side of horror. The movies that are more on the sweet side, making us giggle. Maybe you would like a funny monster movie night? I’m sure your victims…er… guests, would approve. I just know that once they’ve bitten into the vampire bites they will keep coming back for more. And they will be all wrapped up in the sweet little mummy cakes…

OK… enough bad repartee… on to the recipes.

Xoxo
Dine Deadly,
Zombirella

Vampire Bites

Suggested Movie Accompaniments: The Fearless Vampire Killers or Pardon Me, But Your Teeth Are In My Neck (1967) Once Bitten (1985) Cake Ingredients

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
2 cups all purpose flour
4 egg whites (save the yolks for the mummy cakes… if you aren’t making them, save for breakfast)
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup boiling water
Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF
2. Cream together the sugar and shortening until soft and completely incorporated.
3. Mix in buttermilk, vanilla and eggs.
4. Sift in all the dry ingredients, and mix
5. Pour in the boiling water, and mix batter until smooth and no longer lumpy.
6. Pour into cupcake pan lined with muffin cups.
7. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until firm in the centers.

Filling Ingredients

2 cups cold milk
1 box instant vanilla pudding
1 can (21 oz) cherry pie filling
1 Tbs red food coloring

Directions

1. Wisk the milk and pudding together until the pudding mix is dissolved.
2. Stir in the pie filling and add food coloring.
3. Mix well. It should look like the horribly obvious fake blood of a 70’s grindhouse flick.

For Frosting

You can use your favorite premade white frosting, or do what I did and mix together 1 12oz can of frosting with 1 12oz tub of whipped cream cheese. I know, I know… they make cream cheese frosting, but for me its too sweet, tastes nothing like cream cheese, and is not the right shade of pallid white to give that pasty drained victim look…

To Assemble

Cut out a large circle from the top of the cupcakes… this is easier if you angle your knife so that the piece you cut out is like a short cone shape, save for a “lid”. Scoop out a little bit of the center of the cupcake, being careful not to break the sides or go all the way to the bottom. Fill the now hollow cupcake with the blood red filling, and put the “lid” back on.
Swirl on your frosting, liberally all over the top. Make fang marks using a toothpick or skewer, and drizzle a little filling coming out from the holes… or you can use some store bought decorators gel… Then, of course… enjoy.


Mummy Cakes

Suggested Movie Accompaniment: Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955)

Cake Ingredients

1/2 cup almond butter
1 cup honey
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
4 egg yolks
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF
2. Mix together almond butter, honey, vanilla, sugar, buttermilk and egg yolks. Mix well.
3. Sift in flour, baking powder and baking soda. Mix until smooth and there are no more pockets of dry flour.
4. Bake for 20 minutes, and remove from oven… but don’t turn it off yet.
5. Drizzle a little honey over the top of each and let soak in.

For Decoration

Half a roll of filo dough, cut or torn into 1 inch strips
1/4 cup of butter, melted with some brown sugar

1. Paint, or even dip, the filo strips with the butter mixture.
2. Wrap the strips around the top of the cupcakes, starting from the center and moving out to the sides.
3. Put back into the oven for 5 to 10 minutes, until the filo strips are crisp and golden.

Bet you didn't know Dracula likes cupcakes...

Still working on the recipe... but it looks bloody delish...

Bayou Mummy & Cajun Joe

It’s always baffled me how a mummy, a creature created of an extreme dry climate, could not only manage to wind up in the swamps of the deep south… but survive to wreak havok… but as “The Mummy’s Curse” and “Bubba Ho-Tep” have taught us… they do.

For you fans of the creepy, you will remember Cajun Joe as the character in “The Mummy’s Curse” that first tells everyone about a mummy that wanders the swamp… odd that he knows so much about the whole thing isn’t it? No wonder that Kharis gets him…

Enjoy these as you wrap yourself up in front of the TV, enjoy our Cajun-fied version of the Egyptian dish “Om Ali” and a cup of our bourbon and rum laced Cajun coffee… Even sing along with the refrains of "Hey You (Yoo Hoo)." And make Tante Berthe proud!

Xoxo
Dine Deadly,
Zombirella

Bayou Mummy

Suggested movie accompaniments:
The Mummy's Curse (1944)
Bubba Ho-Tep (2002)


Ingredients
8 oz (1/2 a box) of filo dough
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup diced, dried peaches
1 cup raw pecan pieces
3 cups milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 eggs
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup spiced rum
1/2 cup bourbon whiskey

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 300ºF.
2. Cut filo into approximately 1 inch strips, to resemble bandages.
3. Paint strips with melted butter, and place onto cookie sheets. Don’t flatten out, let them fold and crumple (see example.)
4. Bake them in oven until lightly golden, about 10 to 15 minutes.
5. Remove from oven and turn up heat to 500ºF.
6. Use left over melted butter to grease baking dish.
7. Place a layer of toasted filo on the bottom of the dish, top with some pecans and dried peaches, top with more filo, and continue layering.
8. In a large sauce pan wisk together , milk, cream , eggs, rum and whiskey.
9. Over medium heat bring liquid to a simmer, making sure to stir, and be careful not to let it burn.
10. Pour liquid over the filo and bake for 15 minutes. Make sure to watch, to make sure it doesn’t burn, as the oven is at high heat.
11. Remove from oven and let cool. Serve warm.


Cajun Joe

Ingredients (per person)
1 cup coffee with chicory (like café du mond, or French market) brewed according to directions on can.
1 Tbls. Brown sugar
1 Tbls. Spiced rum
1 Tbls. Bourbon whiskey
3 Tbls. Half and half
heavy cream or whipped cream

Directions
1. Mix coffee, brown sugar, rum, whiskey and half and half.
2. To garnish, slowly pour cream to float on the top of the coffee. To make a skull in the cream, very slowly pour (more like drip) cream into the shape of a skull. If the eyes and details fill in, you can take a toothpick, dip into the coffee and then drip into the cream skull to open up a “hole”.
3. If you don’t want to deal with making a skull out of cream, its equally good with whipped cream on the top.

Coming Soon...

Chocolate Buzz

Lets face it fellas, girls may be sweet, but they can also have a little bit of a sting to them. And so does this dessert. Enjoy!

Chocolate Buzz

Recommended movie accompaniment:
Invasion of the Bee Girls (1973)
Wasp Woman (1959)

Ingredients

Cake-
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups honey
1 Tbls. Ground ginger
1/4 tsp. Ground cayenne pepper
1 can (12 oz.) ginger ale
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1tsp. Baking soda
2 cups All purpose flour
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Filling-
1 1oz. Package of instant lemon pudding
1 3/4 cups cold milk
1/2 cup lemon curd
1 12oz. tub whipped cream cheese
yellow food coloring

Optional decoration-
White chocolate chips
Dark chocolate chips
Powdered sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325ºF
2. Grease the bottom and sides of a 12”x8” baking pan, and set aside.
3. In a large sauce pan, melt butter with the brown sugar, honey, ginger and cayenne. Wisk until combined and the butter is completely melted, and remove from heat.
4. Add ginger ale, eggs, and vanilla. Wisk until combined.
5. In a large mixing bowl, mix flour, baking soda, cocoa powder, and chocolate chips.
6. Add the liquid mixture to the bowl of dry ingredients, and mix until no longer lumpy and you don’t have pockets of dry flour.
7. Pour batter into the greased baking dish, and bake for 45 min to an hour, or until center is firm. Remove from oven and let cool.
8. While cake is baking, mix the filling. Pour the instant pudding mix into the cold milk and wisk until slightly thickened.
9. Add the lemon curd and cream cheese, and wisk until smooth.
10. Add as much yellow food coloring as you need to make the filling into a bumble bee yellow. Refrigerate until ready to assemble.
11. To assemble: layer chunks of cake alternately with filling, either in pretty glasses for individual servings, or a large glass serving bowl if you would rather have one big dish.
12. To decorate individual servings, dust top with powdered sugar. In a small bowl, melt white chocolate chips in microwave, it should take about 30 seconds. Spoon out a small amount on to wax paper, and with the back of the spoon spread and shape into a flat teardrop. Dust with powdered sugar.
13. In a zip lock bag, melt dark chocolate chips in microwave for about 30 seconds. Snip off one corner and squeeze out a long spike onto the wax paper. Take a little of the dark chocolate to create veins on the white chocolate wings.
14. Chill the chocolate decorations until hard, and arrange on the individual cups.

Little Soup of Horror

Those darn plants… something must be done! So lets make a soup and eat them, shall we?
This soup contains chayote and tomatillos... picked for some obvious reasons as you can see from the picture. It’s almost as if you went to some odd little florist…
Enjoy on a dark night with friends, and of course a wicked movie.

xoxo
Dine Deadly,
Zombirella

Little Soup of Horror

Recommended movie accompaniment:
Little Shop of Horrors (1960)

Ingredients

2 Tbls. Olive oil
1 cup green onions, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 fennel bulb, sliced – reserve the green tops
4 medium tomatillos, chopped
2 chayote, chopped
2 cups cilantro (about two handfuls), large stems removed
1 bag (16oz) frozen peas
4 cups vegetable broth
1 cup white wine
1/2 cup sake
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup parmesan
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. With the olive oil, sauté green onions, celery, sliced fennel, and a dash of salt in a 5qt stock pot for 5 minutes, until everything starts to soften.
2. Add chopped chayote and tomatillos, and sauté for about 5 minutes.
3. Add 3 1/2 cups vegetable broth, 2 cups peas, wine, and sake, and bring to a simmer.
4. In a blender (or food processor), pulse the fennel tops (the green “leafy” part, with the stalks removed), the cilantro, and 1/2 cup of broth.
5. Simmer for 30 minutes.
6. Remove from heat, stir in heavy cream, the rest of the peas, and parmesan.
7. In the blender, pulse the soup until fairly smooth. (Do this a little bit at a time, and make sure to have a towel covering the lid. Otherwise, you will have green all over your kitchen.)
8. Ladle into bowls, and, if you wish garnish with cheese “teeth”. (A very “sharp” cheese is best) And, if you like “Blood?! You like BLOOD?!?”... silly...

The soup is best served chilled to the bone. Plant yourself in front of the TV and enjoy.