Halloween Food & Recipes

Red Hot Cauldron Cakes

this variation on an old brownie recipe comes from Dixie & M. Ryan Taylor |
makes 12 candy-crusted brownie-like ‘Cauldron Cakes’

Ingredients:

• 3/4 C melted Butter
• 1 1/2 C Sugar
• 1 T Cinnamon
• 1/2 C Cocoa Powder
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1 T Vanilla
• 2 Eggs
• 3/4 C unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 120 “Red Hots” Cinnamon Candies (must be "Red Hots")
• Silicon muffin bakeware

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350° and prepare 12 silicon muffin cups with non-stick cooking spray (do not attempt to use an un-lined muffin pan, please!).
2. Sift together dry ingredients into a medium sized bowl and then pour melted Butter over these ingredients, mixing until smooth. Add Vanilla and Eggs and stir till mixture looks creamy. Finally, mix in the Flour.
3. Arrange 10 “Red Hots” in the bottom of each muffin cup and then scoop ‘just shy of’ 1/4 C of the batter over the “Red Hots” in each cup. The “Red Hots” will form a ‘flaming’ candy crust under each single serving ‘cauldron cake.’
4. Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes. Do not open the oven before 30 minutes or your dessert will fall. Let cool until firm enough to remove from muffin cups.
5. If your ‘cauldron cakes’ fall, don’t worry, you can fill them with whipped cream!

Suggestions:

• Fun variation: Forgo the “Red Hots” candy. Place 2 Pecan halves on top of batter in each muffin cup, then place 2 assorted Hershey’s Kisses (Caramel, Truffle, etc.) on top of the Pecans. Press the Pecans/Kisses into the batter (tops will stick out) and bake. Or, try White Chips on the bottom, alone or mixed with the “Red Hots.” Or, try Cinnamon Baking Chips.
• Don’t try the cheap "cinnamon imperials" instead of real "red hots" (it was already a disaster when I tried them - they won’t melt properly).
• Play fun Halloween music while you make your treats and eat them.