Friendly Flaming Ghost Cake (for Halloween)

This isn't a recipe but a method of decorating that is so darn cute! I meant to post this last year but forgot.

Start with a 9x13 cake of your own creation and cut it like so: Basically the top of one end is rounded to form the top of a ghost shape, and these cut pieces are flipped around to form the ghosts "arms".
I made this image to show the basic idea:


The ghost is iced in your favorite white icing, and then you can decorate a face using candy corn, red hots, M&Ms - whatever you like...except the eyes are made by using eggshells that have been washed and had the membrane removed. So the eyes are like little half-eggshell cups.Place a cube of sugar inside each eggshell. When you are ready to serve the cake, pour 1/2 teaspoon of FRESHLY OPENED lemon extract onto each sugarcube. Turn out the lights, light the sugar cubes, and they flame up really nice! The ghost looks like he has fiery eyes. It sounds weird but it's very impressive! The icing around the eyes will get a little melty, but it's worth it for the effect! I make this every year!

Here is a scan of the photo that originally appeared in The Detroit News along with this recipe. I taped over it to save it onto a recipe card.

That looks so cool! I may have to try it.

Karen, the kids will want it every year. It is so damn cute. About a week before I plan to make it I have to start being really careful when I crack eggs so I can get just the right matching set of "eyes". It's a tradition. I cut this recipe out of the paper about 20 years ago and still love making it.

Oh - the lemon extract is much more flammable if it's freshly opened. It loses potency over time, so do a trial run in an old shell a day ahead of time to make sure the extract will give you the desired effect when you serve the cake.

That is cool! I'm going to try it, the kids will love it. Thanks Lori.

everclear would work well i bet, i got some of that.
Gonna make this for my meeting halloween night................

I'm topping this again. I'm bummed that we won't be home this Halloween weekend, we have a wedding in Detroit. Next year I'm all over it again. Or maybe I can make a "Ghost of Christmas Past" in December.

wow! this is amazing! I wonder if vanilla extract would work,I've never heard of lemon extract

Does anyone have a great buttercream frosting recipe??? I would really appreciate it.I really want to make this cake

Sorry, Athena, I usually wing it when it comes to making icing. When this recipe was in the Detroit News it came with a recipe for Waldorf-Astoria frosting. I used to make that, but I found that although I loved it, others did not, so I got rid of that recipe. I liked it because it was not too sweet. It was cooked on the stove and had some flour in it as a thickener.

Next time I make buttercream I'm going to use one I found at Allrecipes for an Italian or meringue buttercream. I asked my husband's cousin how she makes the buttercream she uses for her bakery and it's similar to this one...except she starts with 20 cups of egg whites. LOL If you use this recipe, it calls for unsalted butter (Linda uses white butter so her buttercream is super white) but you should add a pinch of salt anyhow.

http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/easiest-most-delicious-meringue-buttercream/Detail.aspx

Here is a Waldorf Astoria Frosting recipe, which is probably pretty close to the one I was using. As you can see, it only has one cup of sugar in it...probably why I liked it.

http://www.lattaplantation.org/sugarpop/html/waldorf_astoria_frosting.html

thanks Lori!!

Happy Halloween! Topping this!

Happy halloween!!!!!!!!!!!!

BoO - Happy Spook Day! Great Recipes.