Bloody Bite Cupcakes

Ewwww.

If that's what you just said...mission accomplished.

This is where I was going with those chocolate dentures the other day. While these might look kinda complicated, they're really not. It's just cake mix, store bought frosting, canned strawberry pie filling and plain old white chocolate chips for the teeth. I'm as fierce a lover of 'from scratch' as anyone, but let's be honest, we all have our limits. These cupcakes are not about slicing organic strawberries to make a homemade compote or scraping vanilla bean seeds into cake batter.

They are about an orphaned set of demonic dentures biting into a bloody cupcake.

The best part about them might be that they truly 'bleed' when bitten because they are filled with strawberry filling. [Note: Eating them is not quite as messy as the following picture implies. I definitely added some oozing strawberry for effect.]

The only special equipment these require are life sized teeth candy molds. I found some at my local independent baker's supply shop. I actually bought them about eight months ago, they were too weird not to buy. You'll also need food coloring. I find the Wilton gel colorings from Michael's are the best, they come in so many colors. But you could probably wing it with the standard grocery store four.

If you don't want to go through the trouble of making teeth, you could totally get a bag of cheap vampire teeth, the kind given out as favors, and use those instead. You might need to snip them in half if they're the hinged kind.

Either way kids and adults alike will LOVE these at your Halloween party!

Bloody Bite Cupcakes

Ingredients:

12 baked yellow cupcakes

1 can white frosting

1 21 oz can strawberry pie filling

1 bag white chocolate chips [white candy melts would probably work better, but I already had the chips]

Wilton gel colorings in Pink and Creamy Peach

false teeth candy molds

Directions:
First cut a circle into the top of a cupcake.

Then pry out the circle. It should come out pretty easily. Set it aside - it's going to be the 'lid'.

Dig out the inside of the cupcake with a spoon. Don't dig all the way to the bottom. Toss the cupcake innards. Or eat them. No one's watching.

Fill the cavity with some strawberries and strawberry goo, but not all the way.

Now cover it with the cupcake 'lid.' Repeat for all the cupcakes.

Put the frosting in a bowl and microwave it in 5 second intervals until it's slightly runny. [This will make a nice smooth and shiny surface on the top of the cupcake.] Add just the TINIEST bit of creamy peach food coloring. Like a single molecule. Stir until it's all combined.

Spoon some frosting on the top of each cupcake and work it around to cover the top.

To make the teeth - microwave the chocolate chips in a bowl in 20 second intervals until you can smush them around with a spoon. They won't melt past the consistency of clay. It's weird. But it will still work. Spoon some of the chocolate into your molds and tap the top with a spoon until it's down in all the crevices. Tap the full molds firmly on the counter to help them flatten out.

Put them in the fridge to set up for a few minutes. Then just pop 'em out.

On a sheet of wax paper, mix a little creamy peach and pink gel coloring. Add some strawberry goo to make a nice glossy pink paste. Use a finger to carefully smear the color on the 'gums' portion of the teeth. Don't forget the tops too. If using your finger grosses you out, you could probably use those disposable foam makeup wedges. I tried a paintbrush, it didn't work very well.

Dribble a little strawberry filling goo on the top of each cupcake, letting some drip down the side. Push a set of teeth down into the frosting. Repeat for all!