Tara Bench's Floating Ghost Cupcakes Recipe

The Tara Teaspoon food blogger and author of the Live Life Deliciously cookbook uses a clever trick to make her spooky ghosts look like they’re flying: mini lollipops!

Photo: Jennifer Causey

"Halloween is a holiday that lets you create a different world with food," says food blogger Tara Bench. "For a fun treat that looks good on a party table and kids go crazy for, a ghost floating on top of a cupcake is just the thing."

The Tara Teaspoon blogger uses a clever trick to make her spooky ghosts look like they're flying: mini lollipops! "The great thing about these treats is that kids can easily help make them! Simple icing, cutting circles of fondant with a cookie cutter and using lollipops for the ghost body are all great tasks for little hands," says the author of the Live Life Deliciously cookbook.

"I love that you can use store-bought ingredients (or even prepared bakery cupcakes!) to make a super impressive dessert, or kick it up a notch and use your favorite homemade cupcake recipe if you want," says Bench. "You can use a black food marker to draw eyes on the ghosts if you'd rather not pipe the icing on."

Ingredients

Ingredient Checklist

• 18 standard-size cupcakes
• 1 (16-oz.) container dark chocolate frosting and/or orange-colored frosting
• 1 (1-lb. 8-oz.) package white fondant
• 18 sphere lollipops (such as Dum Dums)
• 1 block floral foam
• 1 tube black decorating icing

Directions

Instructions Checklist

• Step 1Frost cupcakes and set aside. Lightly dust work surface with cornstarch and roll fondant a little thinner than ⅛ inch. Cut 18 (1½-inch) rounds and 18 (4-inch) rounds with cookie cutters. Knead scraps together and reroll as necessary.
• Step 2Insert the stick of a lollipop into a block of floral foam to hold it steady. Place one 1½-inch fondant round over lollipop and pinch to close. Then place larger fondant round over the smaller one, pleating to make a ghost shape. Repeat for all lollipops. Place a ghost in the center of each cupcake by inserting the cleaned stick into the cake. Pipe black eyes on each.