Donut Eyeballs -- Halloween Dessert in a Flash

Zoulah has one more spiffy Halloween idea which comes together in a flash!  Yup, Donut Hole Eyeballs!  They are quick and delicious!

 

 

Just get some eyes.  Zoulah got hers at Hobby Lobby in the cake decorating section and apply some corn syrup to the back.  If you let them sit awhile, the corn syrup will dry and the eye will become fixed to the donut holes.

 

 

 

Put them on a skewer, as in skewered eyeballs in a bowl or in little cupcake liners.  Zoulah thinks they will be a hit at your Halloween party.

 

 



 

Zoulah saw this concept on the blog Eighteen25.

 

Thanks for dropping by Red Couch Recipes.

 

Posted with Home Sweet Home.

Pumpkin Beignets

 

Zoulah, naturally, is in love with pumpkin-anything this time of year.  She had a hankering for some sweet confections, and she remembered the hot and delicious beignets at Disney.  What to her wondering eyes she did find was a recipe for Pumpkin Beignets served at Disneyland at MagicalRecipes.net.  We have eaten the incredibly good beignets at New Orleans Square, but apparently, the pumpkin ones are only served at a club at Disney.  Just in time for pumpkin season, you can make these at home.

 

 

Now, we don't fry too much at the Red Couch home, but we let Zoulah give a try.  Be warned, these will disappear like magic at your home.  They are a bit heavier than normal beignets, because of the pumpkin, but they were sheer delights.  We made them large; this recipe yielded about 12.  Instead of the maple syrup icing as was suggested, we sprinkled powdered sugar laced with cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, and the spiced powdered sugar really complimented the beignets.  Zoulah tried the maple sugar glaze, but liked the powdered sugar dusting much better.   

 

Pumpkin Beignet Recipe

 

1/2 teaspoon dry yeast

1/4 cup warm water (105 degrees F)

4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup hot water

1 egg

2 tablespoons vegetable shortening

1/2 teaspoon salt

Vegetable oil for frying

See below for ingredients for Powdered Sugar dusting

  

Pumpkin Beignet Instructions

 

1.  Sprinkle yeast over warm water in a small bowl, stirring to dissolve.  Let stand for 5 minutes.

 2.  Combine flour, pumpkin puree, sugar, heavy cream, hot water, egg, shortening, and salt in a large bowl; stir in yeast mixture. 

3.  Mix dough just until combined and smooth.  Let dough rest in bowl, covered with a clean kitchen towel, 30 minutes.

4.  Transfer dough to a well-floured surface.  Pat to about 1/4-inch thickness and cut into 2-inch squares.  Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let dough rise in a warm, draft-free area, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

5.  Heat 3 inches of vegetable oil to 350 degrees F in a deep, heavy pot over medium-high heat. 

6.  Fry beignets until golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes, turning as soon as they brown on one side. Remove with tongs or a slotted spoon and place on paper towels to drain.

 

Zoulah used our electric wok for frying,

 

 

Powdered Sugar Dusting

 

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon cloves

 

Place ingredients in a medium-sized mixing bowl.  Mix together well.  While beignets are warm, place powdered sugar mixture in a small holed sieve and sift over the beignets generously.  If desired adjust spices according to your desires.

 

Posted with Home Sweet Home. 



Frankie's Table or Why Frankie is Green

 

  

Welcome to Red Couch Recipes where I am partying with A Fanciful Twist today at her Witches 2015 party.  Click here to access all the other partiers.  Thanks to Vanessa for putting on this annual party.  You really should drop by, because those ladies know how to throw a good party.

 

 

 

As I was deciding what to do for this day's party, I thought of introducing you to the Batty Sisters, my new witches, when I heard a stomping and a groaning from Frankie.  He said "Enough, already, with all of those witches.  There will be too many witches at that party!"  Indeed, Frankie is green with envy about all the attention the witches get at Halloween; that is why Frankie is green.    So Frankie took over my blog today.  I had little say in the matter, I mean Frankie is quite an intimidating character when he wants to be. 

 

 

He gets tired of their cackling, their broom flying, and their casting spells.  Most of all he gets green with envy about all the attention they get.  Little girls and big girls dress up like witches.  How many Frankie's do you see at Halloween?  Oh, the injustice of it all.  See these witches partying here.

 

 

 

Zoulah gets to take over the Red Couch Kitchen every year in her "Bewitchen Kitchen," and Frankie just gets to hold licorice in his oversized hands.  Frankly, Frankie was glad when Zoulah didn't appear on the blog last year.

 

 

 

If one fat old ceramic witch is not enough, there is Beaulah her twin sister cooking up magic on Jaqueline's blog.  Really two of these old witches running around!  As if one is not enough.  They even held a luncheon together one year.    See the luncheon here.  Did Frankie get to hold a luncheon.  No!  And by the way it really gets to him that some witches, like Zoulah and Beaulah have green skin.  What is up with that?

 

 

 Frankie is also a bit "jelly" of Witchie-Poo, a resident witch at the Red Couch Home.  "I mean she gets to sit in the living room in her own chair.  What is up with that?" says Frankie.  Witchie-Poo thinks that Frankie is green with envy because of her beauty.

 

 

 

 Every year the Red Couch Family would make their visit to the Witch Festival at Gardner Village.  Frankie asks, "Did they go to a Frankie Festival?  I think not!"  See the Gardner Village post here.

 

 

 

 

Frankie has been in the Red Couch Family for many years, with little attention given to him for all those years.  Click here for the homemade Licorice that Frankie is holding.  It is a Red Couch favorite at Halloween.  NOW IT IS FRANKIE'S DAY!  You know the old saying, "Every monster has its day!"   I have put together a table in honor of Frankie and his friends.  Of course the color green will be highlighted in honor of Frankie.

 

 

 

 

We will use our green 'plastique" goblets.

 

 

We love to use these napkins at Halloween.

 

 

Frankie's friends will light up the table casting an eery green glow on the table.

 

 

 

 

Each place setting will get its own candle holder.

 

 

The centerpiece of the table will be a cake honoring Frankie, made by the youngest Red Couch daughter.  Now I ask you, has a Red Couch table ever been graced with a witch cake?  The answer would be NO!

 

 

 

 One more look at the table.

 

 

Just a night time view of Frankie's Table

 

 

The stomping and shouting at the Red Couch Home is gone as Frankie got his Day. Now you know why Frankie is green!

 

 

 

Frankie wasn't you to take a piece of licorice as you leave and he thanks you for visiting Red Couch Recipes.

 

Posted with Tablescape Thursday.



Candy Corn Halloween Tablescape

Welcome to Zoulah's Bewitchen Kitchen.  She has been busy at work this year....let's not even mention last year when she didn't even do one Halloween post!  Shameful!!!

  

She has brought to you another Candy Corn post.  She has done many in the past.  Candy Corn is just that iconic Halloween treat; you either love the taste or hate it, but you cannot hate the look of it.

 

We mix the modern (yikes it is plastique!) with the classic.  Zoulah has the yellow white and orange covered on the table.

 

 

There's an orange plate, a yellow plate, and a white salad plate.  It looks as if Zoulah has been a bit tipsy because the plates are a bit wonky, but she doesn't drink, ever! 

 

 Zoulah is showing off her new photography skills camera's capabilities with this napkin shot.

 

 

Love these orange goblets.

 

 

 

One of the centerpieces is this spooky apothecary jar with Candy Corn.

 

 

The other centerpiece is this Candy Corn Rose Cake.  You can find the instructions for the Candy Corn Rose cake here.

 

 

 

It is such a fun cake to make!

 

 

Zoulah invited you to take a bite of a slice.  It is such a fun cake to eat.

 

 

 

Zoulah thanks you for dropping by Red Couch Recipes.

 

 

Posted with Tablescape Thursday

 

 



Candy Corn Rose Cake

 

Zoulah whipped up this lovely and delicious Candy Corn Rose Cake this weekend.



 She has been one busy witch with making these Jack Skellington Royal Icing Cookies, and so much more.
 

 

This is a fun and easy cake to make.  Yes, it has a lot of frosting, and yes we love buttercream frosting at the Red Couch home.

 

 

 

Zoulah wants to squeal a bit on Joni at this point.  Several years ago Joni made this cake for a friend's birthday.  As she went to take the finished cake out of the fridge, she dropped it!  She then scraped it off where it was damaged and had touched the ground and repaired it to the best of her ability.  Yes, it was sanitary, but no it wasn't perfect.  The Red Couch Family took it to their friend Leroy.  What were they to do?  They didn't have another cake. Leroy praised this cake up and down and said it was the best cake he had ever eaten.  Leroy is just that kind of guy.  Zoulah still cackles about this one.

 

Instructions for Candy Corn Rose Cakes

 

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.  Make a white cake mix following the package directions.

3.  Divide the batter into 3 medium-sized mixing bowls.  The cake mix batter Zoulah used yielded 4 cups of batter, so 1-1/3 cups batter for each cake.  Using food-safe coloring, color two of the batters yellow and orange, leaving one batter white.

 

 

 

3.  Flour and grease (or use Baker's Joy) each pan.  Pour batter into  6-inch sized round baking pans.  Bake for 18 to 20 minutes.  Since all ovens vary, just make sure they are done in the center.  Place cakes on a wire rack for about 5 minutes.  Then remove cakes from pans and let sit on wire rack until the cakes are cool.  At this point, you can level your cakes, if you would like.  I did level mine, although the picture below does not reflect the leveling.  If you like, for ease of frosting, put cakes in plastic wrap and place in freezer for at least an hour. 

 

Instructions for Butter Cream Frosting

 

8 cups powdered sugar

1-1/2 cups softened butter

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

6-8 tablespoons water

 

1.  Mix all ingredients well, making sure that the butter is well-mixed. 

2.  Divide frosting into three portions, making sure that you allot more white frosting, as you have to frost the top of the white cake, as well as the sides, in white.

3.  Color two of the frostings in yellow and orange; leave one frosting white.

 

All imperfections will be covered.

 

4.  Place the cakes on a cake stand in this order:  yellow, orange, white, and spread frosting between each layer.  Crumb coat each layer of cake.

5.  Fill three pastry bags with the frosting.  Using a 1 M tip, starting with the bottom yellow level, begin to make roses.  Just google a rose cake with a tutorial if you are unsure of how to do it. You just begin in the center and then circle out.  You can refrigerate the cake in between colors, if your buttercream is getting soft.  Make roses on the orange level, and then on the white level, on the sides and on the top.

6.  Refrigerate to firm up, and then serve.

 

I thought I would show you the Candy Corn Cake as a centerpiece on a Candy Corn Tablescape, because as Zoulah always says, "Cake makes the best centerpieces."

 

 

 

 Zoulah cackles with delight at this tri-colored cake!

 

 

 Zoulah would love you to have a piece of cake.

 

 

 

She thanks you from the bottom of her witchy toes to the top of her witchy hat for dropping by Red Couch Recipes.
 

 Posted with Wow us Wednesdays

 

Jack Skellington Jack O'Lantern Cookies

 

Just a little bit of cookie making Zoulah has been doing in her Bewitchen Kitchen.  She saw these on Sweet Ambs website.  Joni was able to take a class from the author of this sweet website in 2014 at Cookie Con.  Zoulah fell in love with these and decided to make a few.  They are relatively easy to make and just scream Halloween.  Of course hers are more perfect than Zoulah's, but they have some personality.  OUCH!  Zoulah gave me a swat with her witchy broom for that comment. 

 

 

 

Thanks for dropping by Zoulah's Bewitchen Kitchen!

Gone Batty

We Have Gone Batty!

 



As you might have noticed through the years, Zoulah is a bit batty about Halloween, and so are all the Red Couch Family, minus the Professor.  

For years the Red Couch Family has lived on acreage.  We would never get any Trick or Treaters.  Sometimes, our friends would feel sorry for us and come over.  Last year, we moved and lived on a normal street, a subdivision street, a street where kids would go Trick or Treating.

And Trick or Treating they did come.  Witches, and Ninja Turtles, Spider Men, and Princesses all converged at our home.  We lured them there with Halloween lights and many Jack-O-Lanterns.  And Trick or Treating we did give out candy.  Of course we gave out more at the beginning because we were so happy to have the little ones at our doors.  And you guessed it......

 

WE RAN OUT OF CANDY!!!!  Zoulah thought it was shameful behavior on our part.  Zoulah thought it was scandalous behavior on our part.  Zoulah thought it was unconscionable.  This year we will be ready.  This is the closet door they will see as they peer into our spooky home.  The youngest Red Coucher, Talley, made these out of black cardstock.  Zoulah loves the little batties.

 

This is the cute sign they will see.

 

 

This is the cute face they will see....

 

 

What a night it will be......

 

Zoulah thanks you for dropping by for a "spell!"