Eyeball Cake Recipes

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Generously grease 2-quart round ovenproof bowl with shortening; lightly flour. Make cake mix as directed on box, using water, oil and egg whites. Pour batter into bowl.
• Bake 1 hour 5 minutes to 1 hour 10 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Run knife around side of bowl to loosen cake; remove from bowl to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour. On serving plate, place cake rounded side up, trimming as needed.
• Frost cake with frosting. With scissors, cut fruit snack into 3 1/2-inch circle. To decorate, place cutout on top center of cake. Pipe black gel in center of fruit snack for pupil. Use red gel for veins to look like bloodshot eye.

Steps:

• Prepare and bake cake mix according to package directions, using a greased 13x9-in. baking pan. Cool completely on a wire rack., Crumble cake into a large bowl. Add frosting and mix well. Shape into 1-1/2-in. balls. Place on baking sheets. Chill cake balls until firm, at least 2 hours in freezer or at least 3 hours in refrigerator., In separate bowls, heat candy melts in the microwave until melted; stir until smooth. Dip each cake ball in coating; allow excess to drip off. Decorate as desired. Let stand until set.

Steps:

• For the cake pops: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Combine the cake crumbs and frosting in a large bowl. Work the frosting into the crumbs with your hands until it forms a thick paste and can be easily rolled into balls.
• Roll the mixture into 12 balls and place on the prepared baking sheet. Freeze until almost solid, 20 to 30 minutes.
• For the decoration: When ready to decorate, melt the white chocolate discs in a double boiler and keep warm. Melt the red and black chocolate discs in small bowls in the microwave. Remove the cake pop balls from the freezer and insert a plastic or metal fork into each. Dip the tines of another fork into the red chocolate and wave over the bowl of white chocolate to make flecks and drizzles. Insert cake pops into the white chocolate and swirl to coat completely. Let any excess drip off, then place a green chocolate disc in the center to form the iris of the eye. Set down on the prepared baking sheet and allow to set while you repeat with the remaining cake balls. Dip the back of a skewer into the black chocolate and make a large dot in the center of the green on each pop. Clean the skewer, dip into the white and make a small dot to the side of the black. Allow to set completely at cool room temperature or in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the confectioners' sugar, butter, milk, vanilla and salt, and whip on low speed until incorporated. Turn the speed up to high and whip until the buttercream is smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice. If it's too wet, add a bit more confectioners' sugar. If it's too stiff, add a bit more butter.
• Use immediately, or store in an airtight container at room temperature for 24 hours or in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Rewhip cold buttercream before using it.

Steps:

• Crumble up the cake or scraps into fine crumbs in a large bowl. Add in the buttercream and mix until completely combined and the mixture can hold a shape if formed into a ball. If the cake is still crumbly, add more buttercream. With an ice cream scoop, scoop the cake mash and flatten out the top of the scoop. Press your thumb in the center to make a hole and fill the hole with jam.
• Place a small amount of the cake mash on top of the jam to prevent spillage and seal up the ball. Remove the cake ball from the scoop and round it in your hands until smooth. Place on a baking sheet and freeze for 3 to 5 minutes or refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Melt the chocolate coating over a double boiler or in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between. Add oil if too thick.
• Once the cake balls are chilled and the chocolate coating is melted, drop your cake balls into the chocolate and fish them out with a fork. Place on a clean baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Set the cake balls aside to set up.
• Meanwhile, roll out your modeling chocolate to create eyelids, iris and pupils and arrange on the cake balls. Cake balls can be held at room temperature.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and lightly spray 2 standard cupcake tins.
• In an electric mixer on low speed, combine the sugar and butter until well mixed. Turn the mixer up to medium-high speed and beat until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally, about 5 minutes.
• In a large bowl whisk together the baking powder, salt, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.
• In a separate smaller bowl whisk together the vanilla extract and egg whites, mixing well. Stir the pumpkin puree into the whites just until incorporated. In the bowl with the creamed butter and sugar add the flour and pumpkin mixtures about 1/3 at a time, mixing until just incorporated, ending with the pumpkin. Scrape down the bowl and beater and remove the beaters.
• With a rubber spatula fold the batter until it is one even color. Fold in the mini chocolate chips.
• Fill the prepared cupcake tin filling until the cups are almost full. Dip your fingers in a little bit of water and use it to pat down the mixture in each cup. Put the tin in the preheated oven and bake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, about 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer the tin to a wire rack and allow to cool to room temperature.
• Divide the buttercream. Leave the majority white for the base frosting and color approximately a quarter of the white in 3 portions with red, blue, and red and blue mixed together coloring (to make a black portion) to pipe the eyes.
• Unmold the cupcakes onto a work surface. Frost the cupcakes with the white buttercream and smooth it out with a knife or a small offset spatula. Fill 3 pastry bags with the blue buttercream (fitted with a ribbon tip) and the black and red butter cream (both fitted with small plain tips). Pipe on the iris of the eyes with blue buttercream. Pipe in the pupil with the black buttercream, also add a couple of black lines to the iris, as well. Pipe on veins using the red buttercream.
• Make sure to have a completely clean and dry bowl when you start your process, any fat or liquid at all in the bowl will stunt the protein development of the albumen (egg white protein) and you will not have a proper meringue at the end, the results could be disastrous. Start whipping the egg whites slowly in the mixer by themselves (no sugar or butter yet) until the whites are foamy.
• Increase the speed of the mixer and slowly start adding the sugar until all the sugar is incorporated.
• Once all the sugar is combined, increase the speed of the mixer even further and whip until the mixture is shiny and stiff. You now have a meringue. You know when your meringue is done when you pull out the whip, hold it horizontally, and you have what looks a "sparrow's beak" on the end of the whip.
• Replace the whip, turn the mixer on medium and start adding the butter a bit at a time, once all the butter is incorporated, turn the mixer on high and leave it for a while. Depending on the weather, the buttercream could take anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes to form. You will know when it has formed when you hear the motor of the mixer starting to slow down and whine a little bit. Also when you first add the butter, your meringue will break down and look nasty, this is good and is what you want. When the buttercream is done, the mixture will be homogeneous and consistent...and tasty.
• Remove the buttercream from the bowl and put in an airtight container. Buttercream can be kept at room temperature for a few days or in the refrigerator for 1 or 2 weeks, but always use warm buttercream when icing a cake. To warm up the buttercream, put it back in the mixer using the whip or the paddle, and apply direct heat to the mixer bowl with a propane torch you can find at any hardware store.
• Food coloring method.

Steps:

• Prepare and bake the cake in a 10-cup Bundt pan according to the package directions. Let cool completely, then transfer to a large serving platter.
• Microwave the jam until pourable, about 2 minutes. If there are seeds, strain through a fine-mesh strainer. Pour enough jam into the hole of the cake to fill it to the top. Reserve the remaining jam.
• Microwave the taffy until soft and pliable, about 10 seconds. Put the taffy in between two 8-inch-long pieces of parchment sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Roll it out to a 1/8-inch-thick circle using a rolling pin, then cut it with a 5-inch biscuit cutter. Warm the black gummies and roll into a marble-sized piece. Place in the middle of the blue taffy circle and roll out to create a pupil.
• Stir together the gelatin and 1/3 cup cold water in the bowl of stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment.
• Combine the sugar, corn syrup, salt and 2/3 cup water in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is completely dissolved. (If any granules of sugar stick to the side of the pan, brush them back into the sugar-water mixture with a wet pastry brush.) Attach a candy thermometer to the pan and increase the heat to medium high. Cook until the mixture reaches 240 degrees F, about 5 minutes.
• With the mixer on low, slowly pour the sugar syrup into the softened gelatin. Once all the syrup is added, increase the speed to high and beat until the mixture is very thick and holds soft peaks, about 15 minutes. Beat in the vanilla.
• Coat a rubber spatula with cooking spray and while still warm, spread the marshmallow frosting all over the bundt cake. Let sit at room temperature until the frosting is completely cool and set, about 1 hour.
• Place the blue taffy piece centered on top of the cake. Use the red decorating gel to draw bloodshot lines on the outside of the cake. Serve with a butcher's cleaver.

Steps:

• Prepare the cake mix according to the package directions for a 9-by-13-inch cake or two 9-inch cakes. Allow to cool slightly in the pan, then remove to a rack, cover with a dish towel and let cool completely.
• Break off sections of the cake and crumble in a large bowl. When finished, you should have a bunch of very fine cake crumbs. Using a rubber spatula, work the frosting into the cake until it is no longer visible. (Even if you use white frosting with red velvet cake, the white will eventually blend in entirely.)
• Next, roll the mixture into 1 1/2-inch balls (a small ice cream scoop helps with this) and set on a parchment-lined baking sheet. This is important: Pop 'em in the freezer, uncovered, for at least an hour. The cake balls need to be very firm before coating them.
• When the cake balls are nice and firm, place the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. (Don't let the bowl touch the water.) Stir occasionally until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove the bowl from the pan. Add the cake balls one at a time to the melted white chocolate and gently roll to coat. Using a fork, lift out the cake balls, then tap the fork against the side of the bowl to remove the excess chocolate. With a toothpick, push the ball off of the fork and back onto the parchment-lined baking sheet. Let set at room temperature, 10 to 15 minutes. Decorate with gel icing to look like eyeballs.

Steps:

• 1. Line cupcake tins with the liners. Fill the tins two-thirds full with the batter and bake the cupcakes as directed in the recipe .
• 2. Frost the cupcakes, reserving some of the frosting. Pile the frosting up a little in the center to make a sort of domed shape, more like an eyeball. To make the surface smooth, dip a butter or frosting/palette knife in hot water and smooth it over the top of the frosting.
• 3. Tint the remaining frosting bright red with the food coloring. Using the pastry bag, pipe the red frosting on the tops of the cupcake in vein patterns. Make the veins radiate from the center of the cupcake to make the bloodshot quality more realistic. Cut the jelly beans in half. Place a jelly bean half into the circle of the round candy. Now you have and iris and a pupil. Place this in the center of a cupcake. Continue with the rest of the eyeballs.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a cake pan or heatproof bowl and dust with flour, tapping out excess. Set aside.
• In a small bowl, lightly whisk together egg whites, ¼ cup milk, and vanilla. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix together on low speed for 30 seconds. Add butter and remaining milk to bowl and continue beating on low speed until just combined. Increase speed to medium and beat until batter is light and fluffy, 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Reduce speed to medium-low and add egg mixture in three batches, beating for 30 seconds after each addition.
• Divide batter into three medium bowls. Using gel paste food coloring, tint one third of batter electric green and another one third orange. Spoon batters into prepared pan, set on a half sheet tray in an aluminum foil ring to steady the base, randomly alternating colors in an approximate checkerboard pattern. Using a butter knife or wooden skewer, make swirls through the batter to marble.
• Transfer to oven and bake until the top of the cake springs back lightly when touched, or a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 1 hour & 15 minutes to 1 hour & 30 minutes. Allow to cool 15 minutes on wire cooling rack, then turn cake out of pan, return to cooling rack, and allow to cool completely.
• Meanwhile, make frosting. In the metal bowl of a stand mixer set over a pan of simmering water, whisk together egg whites, sugar, and salt until mixture is warm and completely smooth to the touch, 2-4 minutes. Transfer bowl to stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beginning on low speed and increasing to medium-high, beat mixture until stiff, glossy peaks form and the bottom of the mixing bowl is cool, about 15 minutes. With mixer on medium-low speed, add butter to mixture a few tablespoons at a time, completely incorporating after each addition. Once all butter has been added, whisk in vanilla. Set aside.
• In a medium bowl, stir together chopped malted milk balls, mini peanut butter cups, and candy-coated chocolate pieces and set aside. Using a long serrated knife, level top of cake. Invert and split cake horizontally into three layers. Anchor widest layer, bottom side down, to a 8" cardboard cake round with a dab of reserved frosting. Spread a layer of frosting evenly over cake. Scatter ¾ cup chopped candies over frosting and top with assorted red sprinkles. Place middle layer, bottom side down, onto cake. Spread another layer of frosting evenly over cake and top with remaining chopped candies, along with assorted sprinkles. Add the final layer to the cake. Use remaining frosting to crumb coat cake and then spread a second thin layer of buttercream over. Transfer to refrigerator and chill for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat cream to a bare simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add white chocolate to a medium bowl. When cream is hot, carefully pour over chopped chocolate. Allow to sit for 5 minutes, then stir with a rubber spatula until ganache is completely smooth (if small chunks of chocolate remain, microwave in 15-second intervals until smooth when stirred). Allow to cool somewhat and thicken slightly at room temperature, stirring occasionally, 10-15 minutes more.
• Remove cake from refrigerator and set on a wire rack over a half sheet tray. Pour ganache over cake to coat completely. Return to refrigerator and allow to set, at least 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, mix assorted petal dusts with small amounts of vodka to make edible paints. Once ganache is set, use brushes to paint cake to look like an eyeball. Serve cake on a black platter scattered with gummy worms and chocolate sandwich cookie crumbs.