Birthday Goodies for a Halloween Pumpkin

Pam, one of the Moms from my playgroup, has an adorable little girl, Hayden, who was having her first birthday on, you guessed it (or maybe you didn't if you don't pay attention to the titles) Halloween. So Pam contacted me to see if I could make some cupcakes and a smash cake for the party. Her request was for a pumpkin smash cake and cupcakes with a girly Halloween theme. I read this and thought, what fun! So after thinking and making up some sample cupcakes, I came up with a mummy with a pink bow, a black cat, and a pink witch's hat with a little black flower. To make these creations, I need to make up some marshmallow fondant (my recipe for the day...see I told you I would include one again soon). This recipe is very easy, not too messy and gives you a nice product to work with. So without further ado...here we go!









8 ounces marshmallows

2 Tbsp water

1 to 2 pounds powdered sugar

Crisco (or any type of vegetable shortening)



Put the marshmallows in a heatproof bowl and add the water. Put the bowl in the microwave and heat it for about 2 minutes until the marshmallows puff up. Stir the marshmallows until they get smooth. If you want to, you can add food color or give it flavor. Adding the color now does help reduce any mess of coloring the fondant by hand (learned that from personal experience and very colorful hands).

Now add the powdered sugar and stir the mixture with a well greased spoon. Keep adding powdered sugar until it looks like a dough. Turn out the dough on a greased work surface and with your hands, greased with Crisco, start kneading the fondant. Keep adding a little powdered sugar at a time until it is not sticky anymore.

Be careful not to use to much powdered sugar because it could make it too dry. When it feels pliable and ready to roll, you have your fondant. If you are not using the marshmallow fondant right away then rub a bit of Crisco on it, wrap it in plastic wrap and seal it in a airtight bag or container. But if you do want to get started on your creation, you are now are ready to roll out the fondant, or shape it anyway you like.

Pink Lemonade cupcake with vanilla buttercream and pink witches hat.

Chocolate cupcake with vanilla buttercream and black cat .

Vanilla cupcake with vanilla buttercream. The eyes and bow are made out of the marshmallow fondant.

Chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream and marshmallow fondant stem.

Happy First Birthday Hayden. Hope you had a spooktacular time! (sorry couldn't resist)