Marshmalloween Ghost Cupcakes

These are my favourite cakes out of the ones I made for Halloween, both in terms of taste and looks.  They just came out so cute!  And vanilla, marshmallow and fondant is a wonderfully sweet combination.  I kept most of these for myself, rather than taking them to work.  I took four into my work and gave none to the fiancé.

So these ones are a vanilla cake, with a marshmallow centre.  They were then topped with a marshmallow and covered in a layer of ready-to-roll fondant to look like little ghosts.  I was quite proud of them, since I was pretty much making it up as I went along.  I even made vanilla buttercream to use for sticking the fondant on but then had so much melted marshmallow left over that I ended up using that instead, and really, I think that was the better option.  I had a much easier time putting the marshmallow in this time around.  I don't know if it was because I used bigger marshmallows or a bigger pan and bowl for melting.  Whatever I did, it made my life easier.

In the recipe write up, I'm going to do something I've not done before, which is post pictures of some of the decorating process, since I took some photos as I was doing it.  Admittedly not the best photos because the light wasn't that great but hopefully still helpful.

Recipe - makes 18

• 150g/5oz butter
• 150g/5oz caster sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 175g/6oz self-raising flour
• 200g/7oz bag of large marshmallows
• 300g/10.5oz ready-to-roll fondant icing
• Chocolate flavoured writing icing

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4 and line a 12 hole cake tin and a 6 hole cake tin with cases.
2. Cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl until pale and fluffy.
3. Add the vanilla extract and beat in.
4. Add the eggs one at a time, and beat until fully incorporated after each addition.
5. Sift in the flour and fold into the mixture.
6. Spoon into the cases, trying to distribute the mixture equally.
7. Bake for about 20 minutes.  The cakes should be risen and golden, and a skewer inserted into the centre should come out clean.
8. Leave to cool on a cooling rack.

1. Melt the marshmallow while you wait.  Count out 9 large marshmallows and put to one side.  Put the rest into a large glass bowl set above a pan of simmering water.  Don't let the bowl touch the water.  You will want to keep the bowl warm after all the marshmallow has melted because if it is allowed to cool too much, it becomes hard to work with.
2. When the cakes have cooled, use an apple corer or a knife to carve a hole in the centre of a cake.  Do not get rid of the cake 'core' you removed.
3. Fill the hole with melted marshmallow.
4. Cut the top off the 'core' and put this top back into the top of the cake to cover the marshmallow. 
5. Cut the remaining marshmallows in half, dab the base in melted marshmallow and use it to stick them to the centre of the top if the cakes.
6. Drizzle the remaining melted marshmallow around the edges of the cake.
7. Knead the fondant until pliable and then roll out small amounts into thin squares that are bigger than the cakes.
8. Drape the fondant over the marshmallow and gently push down to cover the cake.
9. Press your finger around the fondant against the edge of the cake case and it should cut through the icing, giving you a smooth finish.
10. Use the writing icing to pipe faces on the wider side of the ghosts.