Halloween Recipe Review: Easy Mummy Cupcakes

This isn't so much of a recipe review as it is some tips and words of encouragement.  I am by no means a cake decorator.  I am just an average mom who likes baking and making treats for her kids.  So, while something like this LOOKS really simple, I know for me, it sure isn't going to come out looking like the picture.  I think that is where most of us "pinners" fit in.  We love the look of all the beautiful foods and treats, but really are unsure of whether or not it is within our capabilities.  I am basically here to say if I can do it, you can do it!

Honestly, do you want to know my secret to delicious cupcakes?  Every time I make these, I am complimented on how good they are.  They are light and fluffy, yet still chocolaty.  I have tried other recipes.  You know, ones that claim to be the "best ever chocolate cake recipe", and I always come back to this.  Here's my secret:

I kid you not.  Make it exactly how it says on the package and you will not be disappointed.

I wanted to send these in to my son's class for a Halloween treat.  I also know the teacher would appreciate my gesture a lot more if I didn't send in enormous iced cupcakes.  You know what sugar does to kids.  This box makes A LOT of mini cupcakes.  I was tired of them after about 48 and I knew I had enough, so I made 5 large cupcakes with the rest.  That's a lot of cupcakes!

I usually have such a hard time finding candy eyeballs at Halloween.  This year, I found a vial of them at the Dollar Tree.  I contemplated getting 2, then like an idiot thought, NAH, I WON'T NEED THESE.  Wrong.  I ran out towards the end.  Guess what happened when I went back to get more.  You guessed it!  All gone.  Lesson learned - spend the extra $1.25 even if you think you won't need it.  Don't be a cheapskate.

I also cheated and didn't make the icing.  Homemade icing is so much better, but I thought it would just be easier to get a really white icing if I bought it.  As you can see below, the icing I bought didn't turn out to be white.

I began by "gluing" on the eyeballs with icing.  Give yourself enough room so you can fit some icing bandages on the forehead. Doesn't he look sad without his bandages?

 I just used a flat tipped icing end, and away I went.  You kind of have to get into a rhythm when you are doing these.  Do a couple passes on the forehead, and then come down around one side of the eyes.  Do another pass or two on the forehead and come down the other side of the eyes.  After that, you just fill in the bottom, back and forth.  Be careful not to cover up the eyeballs when you are coming down the side.  I did that several times.  Remember? I'm no expert. Here is one close up, so you can see all the imperfections.

They look much better in a group! But, as you can plainly see, some look better than others.  You can see my blunder of covering up the eyes on a couple of them.

Also, it is best to keep these chilled.  As the icing starts to warm, it starts to lose its "bandage" look because it all just kind of blends in.

I don't think they turned out too badly.  No, they don't look as good as the pictures on Pinterest.  But, this is how mine looked.  They still look like mummies, so mission accomplished.  They were fairly easy to make.  I do believe even someone who has never iced a cupcake could pull these off. 

What to look up on Pinterest: Easy mummy cupcakes
Pros: This is a really easy "recipe" to throw together if you used a box cake mix, and premade icing, you can make these large cupcakes or mini cupcakes
Cons: these do still take a lot of time to make once you consider all that icing you have to do - especially if you aren't an expert at icing (like me)
Would I make these again? I think I would.  In the end, they are fairly easy to make and you do get a really spooky Halloween cupcake out of it!

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