Halloween Caribbean Voodoo Cake

I love walking through my local TKMaxx  and it is always worth stopping at my nearest Homesense (which is in Watford) when I am passing through. Both of these stores have an ever changing, limited edition range. If you see it, you like it then buy it. It may not be there tomorrow!

I am always on the look out for things that will enhance my blog photos which could be tea towels, little dishes, cookie cutters etc or the Holy Grail of bakeware - NordicWare!  Some of my recent purchases -

Every now and then they will have a NordicWare bundt tin or other interesting baking tin. I was so excited recently to find the standing skull baking pan - this would be perfect for Halloween a few weeks away! 

I made my every day sponge cake mixture but added some Caribbean influence i.e. freshly grated nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger along with a few tablespoons of dark island rum!

Here is my recipe for a Halloween Caribbean Voodoo Cake

Ingredients: 
Cake:-
185 gm unsalted butter, room temperature
185 gm sugar
185 gm Self Raising flour
3 medium size eggs
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
2 Tbsp maple syrup
2 1/2 Tbsp dark rum
25 gm little crystalised ginger pieces

Icing:-
500 gm icing sugar
250 gm unsalted butter, room temperature
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1 Tbsp dark rum
2 Tbsp nutmeg jam (or apricot jam)

Method:-
* Mix the flour and spices together in a bowl and set aside
* Cream butter and sugar until very light and creamy ( do this for between 2 1/2 - 5 minutes)
* Add the eggs one at a time, if they start to curdle add a little flour after each one.
* Add the flour and mix well then add the maple syrup, dark rum and ginger pieces.
* Pour into the well prepared (greased and floured) skull baking pan.
* Bake 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean
* Cool for about 5 minutes on a wire rack then remove from baking pan and continue to cool completely

* Cream the butter and icing sugar together until smooth and creamy.
* Slowly add the rest of the ingredients and mix well
* Put a small amount of icing on a plate to act as a glue
* Spread a thick layer of icing on the back of the head then press the two pieces together and stand on the icing on the plate.
* Completely cover the entire skull head with the icing paying attention to the join and smooth all around it.
* Put the skull in the fridge for a couple of hours to set the icing before decorating.

* With the back of a spoon clear the indents for the eyes and nose and teeth.
* Decorate with edible colours or chocolate writing icing.

I wanted the finished cake to look a bit scary and a bit voodoo but I think it was a bit more like a clown!  At least it tasted fantastic, try it yourself and let me know with a comment below!

At least it tasted fantastic, try it yourself and let me know in a comment below how you get on.

If you are near a TKMaxx or Homesense pop in whenever you can - you never know what you will find!

This is a sponsored post but all opinions, photographs and decorating skills are my own!

Grenada: Spice Giveaway

Cinnamon is one of my favourite ingredients and pretty much enhances any recipe you add it to.  Try to imagine apple pie without cinnamon.  That is almost like thinking of serving rice pudding without nutmeg another of my top favourite ingredients.

Both cinnamon and nutmeg grow wild and abundantly on the West Indian island of Grenada which is also known as The Spice Island.

In the capital city of St Georges almost every street corner has some one trying to sell you their spices or fresh fruits from their little patch of land. 

One of the treats both visual and olfactory (smell) is the spice market in the middle of the square in St Georges.  Flanked on all sides by shops, banks, little cafes you escape the heat for a short while and walk around the market. 

Every stall you linger at the owner will offer to help you and tell you all about the interesting array of spices, jams, syrups etc that they have.  I try to buy from three or four stalls to be fair, 

One stall owner I found at the entrance of the market was Betty.

Betty was patiently grating whole nutmegs into a bowl which she would then put into little plastic bags to sell on her stall which was full of all sorts of local spices and herbs.

Betty was really happy to chat to us never stopping her mammoth task of grating.  The smell of fresh nutmeg was intoxicating.

I brought back nutmeg, cinnamon curls as well as ground ginger, turmeric and more.

If you would like your own little bit of spice heaven then fill in the Rafflecopter form below and I will giveaway a package that I brought back of nutmeg and cinnamon and a little grater too.

I know you will love having these fresh spices in your kitchen as much as I do!


a Rafflecopter giveaway