This year, I went for slightly less traditional pumpkin carvings going for a few of my favourite things; a unicorn, a cupcake and the Deathly Hallows (shout out to all the Harry Potter fans).

With all of these lovely pumpkins I had lots of lovely pumpkin seeds hanging around. I usually just roast them but this time I wanted to get a little experimental, so I divided them into two bowls and flavoured one sweet with pumpkin spices and brown sugar and one savoury with salt, pepper and paprika and I tell you now, they were delicious!

As they were an experiment they weren’t going to get an official write up but it’s been requested of me by a few people on social media so here it is! Enjoy!

Sweet Pumpkin Seeds

• 250g pumpkin seeds (from 2 medium pumpkins)
• 50g melted butter
• 1 tablespoon Pumpkin Spice
• 1 tablespoon light brown sugar

Savoury Pumpkin Seeds

• 250g pumpkin seeds (from 2 medium pumpkins)
• 50g melted butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon paprika

Method;

1. Detangle the pumpkin seeds from the pumpkins
2. Wash them well and dry them on kitchen towel
3. If making both flavours, split into two bowls (or put in one bowl for the one flavour)
4. Pour in the melted butter and mix well
5. Add in the dry ingredients depending on your flavour
6. Spread into a single layer on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper or foil
7. Bake at 180°C for 15-20 minutes
8. Leave to cool slightly and enjoy!

The savoury ones are great warm on a salad and the sweet ones are delicious on their own or in a flapjack recipe or to top granola! Get creative with your flavours. The possibilities are endless!

Give it a try and let me know how you get on either on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram.

Happy Halloween and happy baking!

Britt xo

The post Roasted Pumpkin Seeds appeared first on She Who Bakes.

I’ve used it in several of my seasonal recipes including Pumpkin Spice Slice, Pumpkin Macarons and of course, Pumpkin Pie. Follow the recipe below and check out the video on how to make it at home!

Pumpkin Spice

• 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons nutmeg
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground mixed spice
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground cloves

Mix well. Keep in a jar and use as and when needed.

If you want to turn your baking hobby into a career, check out my book Cakes, Bakes & Business for everything you need to know about running a successful baking business, including pricing, marketing, insurance and much more!

Give it a try and let me know how you get on either on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram.

Happy Halloween and happy baking!

Britt xo

The post How To Make Pumpkin Spice appeared first on She Who Bakes.

These decorations can be made ahead of time. I recommend using modelling paste for stability and keep the toppers in a cake box or another container that the air can get to (not in a sealed box, otherwise they may melt). For more on types of icing, check out my blog post here. The green and orange was white modelling paste, readily available which I have coloured green using Sugarflair Party Green and Tangerine colour respectively and pre-coloured black modelling paste

I recommend using actual edible glue as opposed to water as water can make your shapes soggy. My top tip with edible glue is less is more! Only use a small amount.

Equipment can be purchased from Iced Jems.

Equipment 

• White, black orange and green modelling paste
• Cornflour in a shaker
• Edible glue & paintbrush
• Dry paintbrush
• Large circle cutter
• Small circle cutter
• Small star cutter
• Cutting wheel
• Small triangle cutter
• Dresden tool
• Ball tool

Ghost

Roll a smooth round ball of white modelling paste, elongate this shape to create a ‘tic tac’ or ‘minion’ shape. Set aside.

Roll out white modelling paste onto a side dusted with cornflour and cut out a large circle. Paint the moulded shape with edible glue and place the large circle of modelling paste on top, fixing down the sides. Make sure there are pleats around the ghost as this is essentially the ‘duvet’ he is hiding under!

For the face, roll out three small balls of black modelling paste and flatten the third to create an O shape. Stick these on using a small amount of edible glue.

Witches Hat

Roll out black modelling paste and cut out a small circle, this is the base of the hat. Then roll a ball of black modelling paste, tapering it into a cone shape. Stick this on top of the circle using a small amount of edible glue.

Roll out a longer piece of black modelling paste and check it goes around the circumference of the base of the cone. Then cut a strip using a cutting wheel or sharp knife. Glue this around the base of the hat.

Lastly, roll out a small piece of green modelling paste and cut out a small star. Stick this to the front of the hat using a small amount of edible glue.

Pumpkin

Roll out a smooth round ball of orange modelling paste. Using a ball tool or the end of a paintbrush indent the top of the pumpkin, this is where the stalk will go.

Roll a small amount of green modelling paste into a sausage. Then taper the end slightly and bend it over. Stick this into the hole we created with a little edible glue.

For the leaf, roll a small ball of green modelling paste and flatten it slightly, squeeze the end to create a point then, using your dresden tool, mark a line down the middle and a few either side to create the leaf pattern. Fix this to the side of the stalk using a little edible glue.

Roll out black modelling paste quite thinly, then using a triangle cutters, cut out two eyes. Then, cut out another triangle but make it a little smaller by cutting off the end using the same triangle cutter. This will be the nose.

For the smile, cut out a small circle of black modelling paste and then cut it again using the same cutter to create a crescent shape. Use the same circle cutter to cut the points off. Using the triangle cutter, cut out two points from the top either end of the smile and one from the bottom in the middle.

Then, stick these to your pumpkin using a little edible glue.

If you want to turn your baking hobby into a career, check out my book Cakes, Bakes & Business for everything you need to know about running a successful baking business, including pricing, marketing, insurance and much more!

Give it a try and let me know how you get on either on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram.

Happy Halloween and happy baking!

Britt xo

The post How To Make Halloween Cupcake Toppers appeared first on She Who Bakes.

I’ve used orange sugarpaste for the top of the cupcake and modelling paste for the details. The green was white modelling paste, readily available which I have coloured green using Sugarflair Party Green colour and pre-coloured black modelling paste. I recommend using modelling paste for stability and keep your decorations in a cake box or another container that the air can get to (not in a sealed box, otherwise they may melt). For more on types of icing, check out my blog post here.

I recommend using actual edible glue as opposed to water as water can make your shapes soggy. My top tip with edible glue is less is more! Only use a small amount.

I’ve used my flat top vanilla cupcake recipe which can be found here.

Equipment can be purchased from Iced Jems. Cases from Scrumptious Sprinkles.

Equipment

• Flat topped cupcake
• Cornflour in a shaker
• Small rolling pin
• Large circle cutter
• Piping gel & silicone pastry brush (OR small amount buttercream)
• Orange sugarpaste
• Black modelling paste
• Green modelling paste
• Edible glue & paintbrush
• Dry paintbrush
• Dresden tool (or something sharp to make the lines of the pumpkin)
• Ball tool
• 2 triangle cutters, one smaller than the other
• Small circle cutter
• Small square cutter

To top the cupcake

Roll out orange sugarpaste on a surface dusted with cornflour and cut out a large circle, a little bigger than your cupcake.

Paint the top of the cupcake with either piping gel or a little buttercream and secure the circle of orange sugarpaste using your hand. Make sure to fix it all the way around and to the case so no cake is showing. This will help for the end design and also keep the cupcake fresh underneath.

With a dresden tool (or something sharp), mark three lines on the pumpkin, one straight down the middle and two either side going from the top centre line to the bottom centre line.

Then, with a ball tool or the end of a paintbrush, make a hole in the top for the stalk to go into. Dust off any excess cornflour with the dry paintbrush.

For the stalk and leaf

Roll a small amount of green modelling paste into a sausage. Then taper the end slightly and bend it over. Stick this into the hole we created earlier with a little edible glue.

For the leaf, roll a small ball of green modelling paste and flatten it slightly, squeeze the end to create a point then, using your dresden tool, mark a line down the middle and a few either side to create the leaf pattern. Fix this to the side of the stalk using a little edible glue.

For the face

Roll out black modelling paste quite thinly, then using the larger of the triangle cutters, cut out two eyes. Then using the smaller triangle cutter, cut out the nose.

For the smile, cut out a small circle of black modelling paste and then cut it again using the same cutter to create a crescent shape. Use the circle cutter to cut the points off. Using a small square cutter, cut out two half squares from the top either end of the smile and one from the bottom in the middle.

Then, stick these to your cupcake using a little edible glue.

If you want to turn your baking hobby into a career, check out my book Cakes, Bakes & Business for everything you need to know about running a successful baking business, including pricing, marketing, insurance and much more!

Give it a try and let me know how you get on either on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram.

Happy Halloween and happy baking!

Britt xo

The post How To Make A Pumpkin Cupcake For Halloween appeared first on She Who Bakes.

Autumn and Halloween are my favourite times of the year and I absolutely LOVE Pumpkins! Baking with them, carving them, just having them in the house makes me so happy. When I was a little girl in Canada, my mum and I used to pick pumpkins every Autumn but I didn’t know there was anything like that here in the UK. A few years ago I discovered a place called PYO Pumpkins which was only half an hour from me in Hoo and it was everything I had imagined.

Pumpkins as far as the eye can see in so many varieties, it was a pumpkin dream! So, imagine how happy I was when they got in touch and asked if I would like to go to the farm before it opened to the public to get my pick of the pumpkins!!

PYO Pumpkins started seven years ago with just a handful of seeds and has grown over the years thanks to social media and it’s amazing experience that people just want to talk about! Over 300,000 seeds get planted every year making more than 30 different types of pumpkins.

Check out my video below of my awesome day and make sure to go down and check it out! They are open weekends in October, including half term. For full details check their website here.

Happy Halloween and Happy Baking!

Britt xo

The post She Who Bakes at PYO Pumpkins! appeared first on She Who Bakes.