Cauldron Cakes

I decided to make some cauldron cakes.  After hours of looking up pictures of cauldron cakes on pinterest, I cam up with these little guys.  I bought the cheapest store brand cake mix and frosting.  Total cost is about 5 bucks if you already have the fondant.  Around 10 if you don't have it.  I would recommend buying the wilton multipack fondant for about 5 bucks at Michaels.  It's always handy to have a variety of colors of fondant.

Here are the ingredients I used:

1 box store brand chocolate cake mix (oil, water, 3 eggs)

crisco and flour (to grease the cupcake pan)

store brand chocolate frosting

store brand chocolate chips

jello brand instant vanilla pudding

green food coloring

green sprinkles

black fondant

I baked cupcakes in a regular cupcake tin.  Instead of using cupcake wrappers, I greased the tin with crisco and dusted it with flour.  I filled the tins with boxed chocolate cake mix.  I filled them about 3/4 of the way up.  If I made these again, I would do less.  It works better if they don't have a muffin top. 

Once they were done cooking I flipped them immediately on a cooling rack and let them cool upside down.

While they were still warm, I used a 1/4 of a teaspoon to create a little whole in the top of the cauldron. I just pushed the little spoon in 4 times around like a square and it make a nearly perfect hole.

Be sure to scoop the holes while they are still warm because as they started to cool, it got more difficult to cut it out without squishing the cupcake. 

While the cupcakes were still cooling, I made the handles for the cauldron.  You don't need to much fondant for the handles.  I just happened to have some left over from a cake I made before.  I rolled it out to the thinnest width I had.  I used a paring knife to cut the shapes out.  I made more handles than I had cupcakes for but I found the more I cut the better I liked the shape of them.  Just be sure to hold one up to check for sizing. 

I laid the handles out to dry on a piece of parchment paper and let them sit for a few hours.

At this point, you need to decide what you want the final product to be displayed on.  I just used a cookie sheet because it's sturdy and flat.  I arranged the chocolate chips to fit the bottom of the cupcake.  I put the chocolate frosting in a microwave safe mug with a wide rim for about 45 seconds.  After stirring, the frosting was liquidy.  I dipped the bottom of the cauldron in the warm chocolate frosting.  I tried to put a lot of frosting on but it would have been better to use less.  That way is would not have run when it was on the cookie sheet. I placed the dipped cupcake on top of the chocolate chips which looked like the feet of the cauldron. Once this was done I went on to making the pudding.

I did not realize there were so many types of pudding.  I just so happened to end up with vanilla fat free sugar free pudding.  It called for 3 cups of milk and the little package of pudding.  I put the 3 cups of milk in a bowl and added the food coloring.  Once I got my desired color I added the powder mix.  I whisked until I felt it start to thicken.

I used a spoon to fill the hole in the cupcake.  At first, I tried to make it perfect, but I accidentally spilled and it actually looked really good so on the next few I purposefully spilled.  I added green sprinkles to this to add additional charm.

To add the handle, I cut a little slit on opposite sides of the rim of the cauldron.  I took the fondant handles and stuck them in the little slits.  At first I didn't make slits and the handles cracked.  The slits just make life a little easier.  I am dying over the finished product.  They are sooo cute!