HAPPY HALLOWEEN: A Jack Skellington Edition

How else could I commemorate this -- this my favourite day, this -- the grand finale of Halloweek -- than with this beautiful Jack cake?!?


Speaking of which -- have you checked out my HALLOWEEK RECIPE ROUND UP?! Not too late to whip up some treats for tonight ;)

I feel like since taking a brief hiatus from caking and food styling on a bigger scale I've really struggled. I just feel like lighting is never right and props are falling over or breaking and my set is on the verge of collapse every time.


I was admittedly nervous to make this cake.


Y'all know Jack is BAE. I have worshipped at the alter of Tim Burton since I was a kid. Half of my room is macabre little accents inspired by Tim Burton's world.


That being the case, there were of course some things I wasn't thrilled with and had to start over. Word to the wise -- the Wilton ribbon cutter is a lot harder to use than just a ruler and a pizza cutter. So I can't suggest it if you have a lot of stripes to cut.


The base of the cake is vanilla cake. I make a butter cake because I think the flavour is delicious and it's a sturdy cake. Layered in between is strawberry buttercream. I made a strawberry reduction and folded it into my vanilla bean buttercream, DIVINE! Probably my favourite flavour so far. I used fondant for the stripes. I don't think piping buttercream stripes on black buttercream is reliable. Make one mistake and bye bye colours.

More on the decorations...

Happy Halloweek! Healthier Halloween Recipe Round- Up!

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!



Halloweek technically won't end until Monday but being that most people will be partying it up on the Friday and Saturday I figured it's pretty important to release this before hand so people have time to make their goodies.


WHICH YOU ARE GOING TO DO, RIGHT???? I SWEAR TO GOD RANDOM PERSON READING THIS YOU BETTER DO IT.



As promised this week has been full of a combination of old and new Halloween recipes -- but here is an official round- up of all the Halloweek treats you could possibly handle. There is something in here for everyone so if you can't find a recipe you'd want to try THEN YOU NEED TO HOLLA AT ME and I will get to cracking on developing something new ;)



Also I have no idea what to be this year. I usually am so on my costume. Basically by September 1st I have all my Halloween decor our and costume ready. The past few months have been a bit blurry but I am sure I will pull something our of my closet and figure it out. I have been watching late night Youtube Halloween Make up tutorials. Those folks make me believe anything is possible with make up and then I try it and look at a very muddy looking mess in the mirror and cry litres of purple glitter tears.


I hope you give some of these recipes a try. I keep saying it but this is worth repeating - I am your life line! If a recipe doesn't work for you or you have questions I am always happy to help :) That being said I try to be as clear as possible but sometimes the baking Gods are not on our side, you know?!



Here we go!

11 Spooky (but Healthy) Halloween Treats

1. PROTEIN SNICKERS BAR 

If you were like me then Snickers were one of your most beloved treats. They made me mad, though because they were hella small. SO MAKE THESE INSTEAD! They'll cure your hunger (actually). 

2. PUMPKIN PATCH BROWNIES (GF) 

These brownies are great because they are so much healthier than normal brownies but just as fudgey and delicious. I think these are super cute to bring to school or to a party!

3. HEALTHY NO BAKE VEGAN TWIX BARS

Twix were also a member of the 'you are my favourite but why you so small doe' club. Be like a coffee crisp. OR A KIT KAT. Those were decently sized!!!!!

Anyways these are kind of annoying because everyone loves them too much and they disappear too quickly. But still make them just to know their joy. 

Keep reading because there are 8 more ideas!!

Pumpkin Pie Protein Cheesecake Blondies

Confessions of a frantic food blogger:

I have made this recipe 5 times before intentionally making the time to make them for a post.  YEAH THAT'S A LOT.

Every time I was either taking them to a function or we just ate too many and had none left for me to photograph or some other nonsense.

I did, however, release this recipe in my last newsletter so this will be old hat to you if you are a subscriber ;)

These are a PUMPKIN PROTEIN BLONDIE. YES. WITH A CHEESECAKE SWIRL.

YES YOU NEED TO CALM DOWN!

The blondie ends up being really moist and delicious and pumpkin-y and the cheesecake layer adds the perfect amount of creaminess. YUM.

I loved making these in cupcake liners because it made them more portable and I just thought they were cute. You can totally make them in an 8 inch square or circle pan, too, though!

Word to the wise if you think you may want to freeze them (they freeze amazing) then I would bake them in paper liners and NOT the foil ones because you can't microwave those and its annoying to have to peel them off. Take it from me ;)

I shared these with friends and family and they were a hit every where I went. They have the perfect balance of creamy and pumpkin spicy that really warms the soul.



Sometimes too warm. As in they just came out of the oven and now I burnt my finger tips trying to box them as I run out the door.

Also even though I promised myself I wouldn't I bought some new Halloween decor. Fml, right? The cake stand was from Marshall's or Homesense...or Winners. Somewhere. I think the same place my mom found the Ouija board decor from my last post.



I got this mason jar skull cup from Dollarama tho. I freaking love Dollarama. I can't even think of going to any of the OTHER GREEN AND YELLOW DOLLAR STORES. You heard me Dollar Tree/Dollar Giant/Dollar other things.

My hair is black as night but for today. I am all about the blonde so let's go!

Candy Corn Protein Brownies

Hello Humanoid!

Or alien. Honestly if you're an alien you need to leave a comment right now because that's so hella dope for real. Alien emoji.

YES I HAD TO WRITE THE WORD ALIEN EMOJI BECAUSE I LITERALLY DON'T KNOW HOW TO COMMUNICATE ON THE INTERNET WITHOUT THEM GET ON MY LEVEL BLOGGER WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH YOUR LIFE.

That just happened.

And so did these. 

BUT FIRST. IT'S HALLOWEEK!!!!!!!!!!!

That's a thing I made up to celebrate the week of Halloween with delicious and healthier recipes that you can make at home for yourself, your kids, or other people to bring to a party this weekend! I know it seems silly - like girl. Halloweek? You need to check yourself.


BUT it is so insanely important to me to inspire other people to throw on an apron and make some dirty dishes. It's all too often that we let our health slip away from us -- and that can be mental health from the stresses of dieting or being allergen friendly. Even if you need to make suggestions or work with me to find a recipe adaptation for you I am happy to do it. It's so worth carving out some time to make healthier goodies and it can be a lot of fun!

ANYWHO I DIGRESS -- Before you even formulate a thought here are some super important caveats:

1. Yes these are insanely delicious like. REDONK.
2. Yes they are more work than your average brownie. Not gonna front.
3. YES I baked mine in an absurdly small pan and didn't think it through.
4. No you should not do the same
5. Yes you should still make them but not rush the cooling process for a photo shoot and end up with a big ol mess because it hasn't set yet and even though you knew better YOU DID IT ANYWAY.

Meringues are so beautiful. I am so happy I am not afraid of them anymore (thank you bakery life).

Even though if you read my newsletter you know that's no longer gonna happen (see ya bakery life:( )




So you can see the bleeding effect happening because my rushed self didn't wait the recommended cooking time, YEAH MY OWN RECOMMENDATIONS NOPE DIDN'T FOLLOW THOSE.

Probably less important if you bake them in the right size pan, too. Then they won't be so high and constantly on the verge of death.


That being said, I haven't had much free time and I was trying to bake and shoot all on the same day which usually never works out and involves me in a puddle of sweet meringue filled tears on the floor at some point.


lol what.


No, not me. I am like...totally put together. Painting nails emoji,

So rest assured your version will be even more wildly delicious and beautiful, too ;)