Skully Cakes
Published October 30, 2023
Eat, drink and be scary this Halloween with frightfully easy dishes to win over a crowd.
Skully Cakes
Skully cakes take the cake this Halloween. Individual sized, rich black chocolate cakelets filled with black cocoa buttercream...so good they’ll make you scream.
Cake Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
4 large eggs
2 ½ cups cake flour
1 cup black cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 ½ cups buttermilk
Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Grease and flour/cocoa a Nordic Ware Skull Cakelet Pan. Beat together the butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt until light and fluffy, about 4-5 minutes. Add the eggs, one by one, allowing each to fully incorporate. Once all the eggs are in, beat for another 2 minutes. Sift in the cocoa, baking soda and flour with the mixer on low. Mix in the buttercream until the batter is fully incorporated. Avoid overbeating. Pour ¾ full into each cakelet. Bake 20-25 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes, then flip them onto a wire rack to fully cool. Once removed, clean and cool cake pan and repeat.
Buttercream Ingredients
1 ½ cups unsalted butter at room temperature (3 sticks)
⅓ cup black cocoa
3 ½ cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon vanilla
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
2-3 tablespoons heavy cream
Beat the butter with vanilla and salt for 1 minute. Add the cocoa and powdered sugar. Add a dash of heavy cream, as needed, and beat until smooth and desired consistency. Cut cakelets in half and frost with buttercream.
Graveyard Brew
Get into the Halloween spirit with this sparkling Halloween brew – easy to make; even easier to drink! Cheers witches!
2 cups peach nectar
1 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
½ cup fresh squeezed lime juice
Sparkling wine for serving
Dried citrus for garnish
Mix peach nectar, orange juice and lime juice. Pour into ice cub tray and freeze until completely frozen. Fill glasses with juiced ice cubes and top with sparkling wine.
Dried Citrus Garnish
Don’t have a food dehydrator? No problem. Lay thinly sliced citrus in a single layer on cooling rack placed inside a large cookie sheet. Bake at 175-200°F for about 3 hours, flipping every 30 minutes, until fully dried.
Apple Stuffed Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Squash & Sweet Potatoes
Juicy pork loin, loaded with flavor, surrounded by bright veggies for an easy Halloween dinner treat.
Olive oil
1 sweet onion, diced
1 stalk celery, minced
Salt
4 apples, divided
1 bunch kale, ribs removed and chopped
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Freshly ground black pepper
3 lb boneless pork loin, butterflied and pounded
4 sweet potatoes, peeled and quartered
20 oz butternut squash, peeled and quartered
4 tablespoons coconut aminos
Preheat oven to 350°F. Place a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add olive oil, enough to lightly coat the bottom of the pot. Add the onion and celery, and season with a large pinch of salt. Cook until softened and caramelized, about 10 minutes. Dice 2 of the apples and add to the pot. Cook for 5 minutes. Add the kale to the pot and combine. Cook until wilted, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic powder, onion powder, sage, red pepper flakes, and nutmeg and stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from the pot and let the mixture cool slightly.
Season the butterflied pork loin on both sides with salt and pepper. Place the pork cut side up on a large cutting board. Spread the cooled kale mixture over the pork. Roll the pork up lengthwise with the filling inside. Secure the pork roulade with butcher’s twine.
Add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pot and place back over medium heat. Add the sweet potatoes and squash to the pot. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until beginning to brown and caramelize, about 5 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat.
Place the pork roulade in the middle of the vegetables. Brush pork with the coconut aminos. Put the lid on and place in the preheated oven. Cook for 30 minutes. Basting with coconut aminos halfway through.
Remove the pork from the oven and take off the lid. Cut the remaining 2 apples in half and add to the pot. Brush the pork, again, with the coconut aminos. Return the pork to the oven, uncovered, and cook until the pork has reached 145°F, about 30-45 minutes longer. Brush the pork, again, with the coconut aminos. Turn the oven to broil and cook until the top of the pork is browned and caramelized, about 3 minutes.
Remove the pot from the oven. Place the pork roulade on a cutting board. Let rest for 10 minutes before removing the twine and slicing. Serve the sliced roulade with the roasted vegetables and a spoonful of the liquid released by the pork and vegetables.
Enjoy!
Renée Meuse Lovley