Ghosts, Ghosts Everywhere! And ALL Of Them To Eat!

Dear Minions!

How's life? Thought I'd share my latest baking adventure with Monster, Ghosty Cake Pops! Delicious!!! So! Here's how we made them!

 Here are all the ingredients you need! For our cake pops we use rainbow/confetti cake, chocolate frosting and white chocolate. Also pictured are the eggs, oil and water that the cake batter calls for as well as lollipop sticks.

 Preheat your oven while you prepare the cake batter. Follow the directions on the back of the cake box. This particular cake mix calls for egg whites only. If you don't have an egg separator you can always use your hands by spreading your fingers just slightly and letting the egg whites seep through your fingers while the yoke stays in your hand.

 Once the egg whites, oil and water are added mix the batter with an electric mixer.

 Before pouring your batter into the pan make sure to grease your pan. You can either use cooking spray or butter. I prefer butter since most cooking sprays contain butane, and I'd rather not consume even trace amounts of it myself :) I've found the easiest and tidiest way to butter a pan is to use a piece of paper towel wrapped around your index and middle finger. Simply scoop up a bunch of soft butter and spread it around. Voila! Greased pan and clean fingers!

 Pour your batter into your greased pan and bake for the time specified on the back of the box. The best way to tell if your cake is done is to insert a toothpick into the center of your cake, if the toothpick comes out clean you're done! If not bake for another 5 minutes and try again :)

 Here is our finished cake!

 To speed up cooling time cut cake into quarters and remove from pan to a wire rack.

 After washing your hands start crumbling up your cooled cake.

 Now that the center of our cake is all crumbled into small little bits.....

 It's time to eat the crispy edge bits :)

 Soften about half the jar of frosting down by popping it in the microwave at 10 second intervals. You want to soften the frosting, not make it runny. We had it in in for 20 seconds total.

 Add the softened frosting to the cake crumbs and mix with a spatula until well coated.

 It may look like poop now, but I promise it's delicious!!

 Grab a chunk of batter and make a ball about 2 inches in diameter.

 Form the ball into a bell shape with your fingers.

 You've made your first ghost shape! Yay!!!

 Now, just make about 23 more! Once all your ghosties are formed and placed on a cookie sheet put them in the fridge to firm up for about 2-3 hours.

 To melt the chocolate down you can either put it into a microwave safe bowl and melt it at 30 second intervals but we prefer to use a double boiler method since the chocolate can get too thin in the microwave and make it difficult to coat the ghosties properly. A double boiler is super easy to make, fill a small sauce pan with a couple inches of water and bring to a boil on the stove. Put the chocolate into a small metal mixing bowl and place on top of the sauce pan.

 Stir the chocolate regularly to help it melt.

 Once the chocolate is melted dip a lollipop stick into the melted chocolate about 1/4 of an inch down.

 Once the end is dipped insert it deep into your ghostie, about 1/2 - 3/4 of the way into the ghost to keep it on the stick while dipping.

 Take the chocolate bowl off the boiler and coat the ghostie in the chocolate, you'll want to have let it sit for a couple minutes after inserting the stick to let the chocolate glue set the ghost to the stick.

 Let excess chocolate drip off.

 Stick the lollipop sticks into a styrofoam block to allow them to dry without touching a surface. You'll want to do two layers of the chocolate coating in order to completely mask the brown chocolate insides.

 Here's a bunch of our dried and double coated ghosties :)

 If you can get a hold of it, edible ink pens are the best option to draw on the faces, but we have yet to find them for sale in our area o we use decorating gel to make our faces!

 Here are the eyes......

 And the spooky mouth.........

Voila! A tasty, tasty little ghost! They're just like eating chocolate coated tim bits! Very sweet and highly addictive :)

Also, if you run out of chocolate for coating you can always make reverse ghosts with white chocolate eyes and a milk chocolate body :) Still just as tasty :)

These make a lovely halloween treat for the kids (and grown ups too!) While Halloween is months away I thought I'd share this now to give you plenty of time to "practice" *wink wink* before the festive season is upon us :) The Monster and I are planning to use the same method to try our hands at some Dalek cake pops in November for the premier of the newest season of Dr. Who, I promise to post pics of that little adventure :)

Hope this post gets you salivating and baking! So, until next time my darlings........

Keep kreepin'!

Missa Deadlove xoxo

Rainy days, Kahlua, and poetry!

Dear Minions!

Oh my! It's been so long again! Quick update and then to the good stuff :)

So, due to all kinds of stupid plumbing problems caused by tree roots wiggling their way into our plumbing channels under the house, we had to get a portion of our cement floor in the basement ripped up! Therefore, while a bit of minor construction goes on to install a new bathroom and re-arrange a couple of walls down there, I have been exiled to the wilds of Angus (a small town about 15-20 mins from where I live)! There is no internet out there, so I've been occupying my time with puzzles, DS games, crafts and Cops! My darling Monster has kindly offered to keep me company out there, she's so sweet :) My opportunities to post will be few, but I'll try my best!

 Sitting at the dinning room table with a mug of hot chocolate and looking out at the dreary evening, I'm drawn to my little poetry notebook, though, it's more something in between a journal and a book of poems. I spill my heart out to this little book on occasion, often fueled by heart ache and a little too much hard cider. Most of it is rantings and ravings over old flames and how poorly they treated me in times of great stress for me. Looking back at it they were very rarely at fault because I never properly expressed my needs to them, merely casually informed them of a significant day. However, every now and then I stumble upon a gem, such as this one....

Simply titled,

Jan 26, 2011 12:23am

I've seen what lies beyond,
And it pales in comparison,
Only sorrow lives there,
The ground is fed by a mother's tears,
The plants bear the fruit of our regrets,
The rivers run with broken dreams,
And the clouds are spun from heartache,

I've seen what lies beyond,
And it pales in comparison,
There is no peace,
There is no rest,
There is no sanctuary,
Only lost moments,
And memories of what you were,

I've seen what lies beyond,
And it pales in comparison,
Only terror lives there,
What you could have been,
What you should have been,
And the terror is,
Knowing it will never be,

I have seen what lies beyond,
And it pales in comparison,

I know what life means......


This tragic little poem came to me one lonely night, in my greatly inebriated state while reflecting on my experience with cancer nearly 5 years ago now. My goal was to convey the bleakness and terror I felt after my diagnosis. Some parts are quite literally the fears and emotions I had when I closed my eyes, but through that experience I found a new outlook on life, not to live like everyday is your last, but like it's your first, revel in every experience no matter how mundane and be excited just for the opportunity to experience it.

That being said, there is only so much that will alone can accomplish. In my post "Ramblings" I touched upon some very deep-seated emotions that have a tendency to consume me sometimes. I battle with depression/bipolar. At home in Barrie, I have a wonderful group of friends and family that are an amazing support system for me, but when I was living in Kitchener, I didn't have that. The following was written on my last birthday after a lot of cider, while left to my own devices.....

I have lost myself here,
I have no sense,
Of reason or being,
I am only a shell,
A sham,
A hoax,
Of all that I was,
There is no spark,
No joy,
No light in my life,
Just the darkness that pervades,
That has seeped into my soul,
I am lost,
Hollow,
Torn,
Alone,
Therein lies the problem....

I am alone.

It was this very night I decided to leave my good-paying job in my field of study to return home and become a fabric jocky once again. I honestly believe that if I had have stayed there for even one more month, I would not be writing this today. It was a very dark chapter in my life that I have closed a door on. I now look forward, though I'm under employed and barely paying the bills, I have hope for my future, something I never had there. So let's end this wholly depressing post with a cute little number I wrote in my elementary school days for a poetry assignment!

The man from Kentucky

There once was a man from Kentucky,
He had a little pet ducky,
The ducky was a lucky little ducky,
The ducky's name happened to be Plucky,
Plucky lived in a pond that was mucky,
One day, Plucky said "Here, here!",
And told a story that was quite queer,
At the end, from his eye did the man wipe a tear,
As he coward in the corner with fear!,
He said," I will clean your pond that is mucky,
My little pet ducky",
And they lived happily ever after,
The man from Kentucky,
And his pet ducky,
Named Plucky.


Until next time my darlings......

Keep kreepin'!

Missa Deadlove xoxo