Owl Cake Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Line 21 muffin cups and 6 mini-muffin cups with paper liners., In a large bowl, combine cake mix, water, oil, coffee and eggs; beat on low speed 30 seconds. Beat on medium 2 minutes. Stir in chocolate chips. Fill prepared cups two-thirds full. Bake 18-22 minutes for regular-sized cupcakes and 10-12 minutes for mini-cupcakes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely., Place 1-1/3 cups chocolate frosting in a small bowl. Tint black with food coloring. Cut a small hole in the tip of a pastry bag or in a corner of a food-safe plastic bag; insert #125 or other large petal or flat pastry tip. Fill bag with black frosting and set aside., Frost mini cupcakes with some of the remaining chocolate frosting. Separate Oreo cookies, leaving cream filling on one side of the cookies. Place filling sides of cookies on frosted cupcakes for eyes, cream side up; attach brown M&M's with chocolate frosting., Trim plain sides of cookies into triangles for ears; place above eyes. Insert #16 or other star pastry tip into another pastry bag. Fill bag with remaining chocolate frosting. Pipe feathers on ears and around eyes. Place yellow M&M's between eyes for beaks., In a large bowl, beat confectioners' sugar, butter, shortening and enough water to reach spreading consistency; frost large cupcakes. Arrange cupcakes side by side on a covered cake board., Pipe black frosting across tops of cupcakes for tree trunk and branches. Place owl cupcakes on branches.

Steps:

• Place the snack cakes on a parchment-lined work surface. Using the cookie cutter, gently score half circles onto each side of the cake to denote the owl's wings (don't cut through, just make a line with the cutter). Use a dry art brush loaded with cocoa powder to color the half circle marks to denote the owl's wings.
• Place a chocolate chip onto the cream covered cookie halves to create pupils. Using a separate kitchen-dedicated art brush, brush a dime-sized portion of the caramel or corn syrup onto the back of each cookie to act as "glue." Place two cookies side-by-side onto the upper-third portion of the snack cake, creating eyes. Brush a small amount of caramel onto one side of a whole almond and place it just below each pair of owl eyes to create a beak.
• Brush a small amount of caramel, approximately 1/2-inch long, onto the left and right bottom edge of the snack cake. Place three sunflower seeds, pointed-ends down, on each of the caramel brushstrokes to create talons. Repeat with the remaining snack cakes and ingredients.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line 2 muffin tins with paper liners.
• Combine 2 cups sugar, flour, 1 cup cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a bowl.
• Whisk buttermilk, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla extract in a large bowl. Add flour mixture; mix until well-combined. Pour in hot water; stir until batter is smooth. Divide batter evenly among muffin tins.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 12 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to a wire rack and let cool completely, about 20 minutes.
• Whip 3/4 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoon heavy cream in a bowl with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Fold in 1 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons mascarpone cheese, 7 tablespoons cocoa powder, and 1/4 cup sugar gently to make frosting.
• Spread 1 tablespoon frosting over each cooled cupcake.
• Twist chocolate sandwich cookies open, leaving all cream filling on 1 side. Place 2 cookies, cream filling-side up, on each cupcake to make owl eyes. Place a brown milk chocolate piece on each cookie to create pupils. Insert an orange or yellow milk chocolate piece in the center to make a beak.

Steps:

• Place templates on sheet cakes, and cut out with a paring knife. Halve eye, beak, and brow pieces horizontally. Reserve scraps.
• Arrange pieces into an owl shape, using scraps to build up chest.
• Starting with 9 1/2 cups buttercream, reserve 2 1/2 cups and tint the rest yellow. Use yellow buttercream to attach pieces. Coat eyes with untinted buttercream and rest of cake with yellow, rounding over chest. Refrigerate until frosting is firm, about 30 minutes and up to overnight. Add a second smooth coat of untinted buttercream to top surface of eyes. Add a second smooth coat of yellow to beak and edges of eyes. Layer yellow frosting on wings and head, creating grooves with a small offset spatula. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a medium petal tip (Ateco #103) with 1 cup untinted frosting and 1 cup yellow, the two side by side. Holding bag at a 45-degree angle, with the thinnest opening of the tip facing up, pipe ruffles in vertical lines to cover chest. Pipe 2 lines of ruffles on each brow.
• Place a chocolate wafer cookie on each eye, and top each with a Necco wafer, using a dab of frosting to adhere. Halve 6 cookies, and use as talons. Halve another cookie, break off the top of each half, and use as beak.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Place paper baking cup in each of 24 regular-size muffin cups.
• Mix and bake cake mix as directed on box for 24 cupcakes. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• To make spiders, press 4 licorice pieces into each side of 12 of the cupcakes, letting about 1 1/2 inches hang over side of cupcake. Spread tops of cupcakes with chocolate frosting; sprinkle with black decorator sugar crystals. Slice black gumdrops in half for faces. Press red cinnamon candies in center for eyes.
• To make owls, spread chocolate frosting on remaining 12 cupcakes. Use candies to form eyes, beaks and feet on each cupcake. Cut chocolate wafer cookies into quarters; place wafer pieces, triangle points up, behind eyes for ears. Cut wafer cookies into thirds for wings; place on cupcakes. Store loosely covered.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 160C/fan 140C/gas 4. Base line a 20cm round and a 18cm square cake tin.
• Put the butter and chocolate into a saucepan and stir over a very gentle heat until melted and smooth. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
• Sieve the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl. Add the sugar, breaking up any lumps if necessary. Beat together the eggs and soured cream and pour onto the flour mixture. Add the melted chocolate and mix all well together until smooth.
• Divide the mixture equally between the two tins and bake in the oven for about 55 mins - 1 hour. A good way to check that the mixture is equally divided is to put a cocktail stick into each mixture and the levels should be the same.
• To make the icing, put the butter into a bowl and beat until creamy. Add the icing sugar and cocoa a little at a time beating well between each addition. Add the milk to mix to a soft spreading consistency.
• To assemble, place the round cake on a large wooden board or tray (the cake will need to served on this). Place the round cake tin on the square cake about 12cm from one edge and cut around the edge of the tin. Remove the smaller piece and place at one end of the round cake to represent the ears.
• Using the remains of the square cake cut almost in half to give an oblong (for the fence) and a semi circle (for the wings). Place the oblong at the bottom of the owl cake. Slice the semi circle in half horizontally through the middle. Arrange one piece each side of the round cake to make the wings.
• Spread the butter icing all over the cake. Cut the flake bars into small pieces and arrange on the wings to represent feathers. Keep the flake crumbs. Arrange milk chocolate buttons over the body. Place chocolate fingers on the bottom cake to make the fence. Using a fork, mark the icing to make the owl's ears. Use the flake crumbs to make a v-shape between the ears like a 'widow's peak'. Arrange the white chocolate buttons in two circles to make the eyes and place a milk chocolate button in the centre of each. Use a third of the marzipan to shape a beak and use the remaining marzipan to make two feet.
• Place the candles on the 'fence' part of the cake. You can also pipe a child's name or message on the fence using writing icing.