Last post, I talked about historic Halloween divination games. Today, I’ve got a modern twist on an old classic for you. I took the traditional idea of baking a fortune cake with charms hidden inside (a key for travel, a ring for marriage, and so on), and came up with a series of printable, fortune-telling cupcake charms. Same basic party game, more fortune possibilities, no lead poisoning or choking hazards. Win, win, and win.
Fortune-Telling Cupcake Charms
Print these pages out on card-stock. Bake and decorate a batch of Halloween cupcakes. (Scroll down for a wicked good gluten-free, vegan apple spice cake recipe.) Cut out your charms and stick one to the bottom of each cupcake wrapper, using a little loop of scotch tape. Arrange your finished cupcakes so the charms are hidden, and let your friends pick their fortunes at random. (For entertainment purposes only.)
Careful not to mix up the kids table and the adults table!
Careful not to mix up the kids table and the adults table!
 | Kid’s Table: heart - lots of love crown - drama king or queen hot air balloon - travel and adventure clock - time-traveller glasses - wicked smart paw print - animal friendship planet & stars - future astronaut trophy - great success paint brush & music notes - artistic genius horseshoe - good luck *Planning to use this at a party? Make sure you have permission from parents & guardians before playing fortune telling games with any kids that aren’t yours.* |
 | Adults Only: overlapping hearts - true love kissy lips - great sex xxx hooch bottle - debauchery/excess knitting needles & book - dry spell gem & pearls - wealth key - luck in housing briefcase w/ star - career opportunities compass - travel/change of direction or location raincloud - ennui owl - wisdom |
You can print the low-res files from this post, or you can buy the high-resolution sheets on my new Etsy shop for a dollar. The high-res ones will print better.
Don’t like these charms? Draw your own, or decorate your cupcake bottoms with store-bought stickers and make up meanings for them.
Don’t like these charms? Draw your own, or decorate your cupcake bottoms with store-bought stickers and make up meanings for them.
I did this last weekend at a family Halloween party with my little niece, and we had so much fun with it. She asked if she could color in the charms before we decorated the cupcakes with them. I think she did a great job! I didn’t expect this game to work beyond a laugh, but we all ended up getting fortunes that matched our personalities pretty well.
 I asked my niece if she wanted markers, crayons, or pencils to decorate the charms. She said "I would like markers AND crayons AND pencils please."  Tack a charm to the bottom of each cupcake and shuffle them around so no one can tell which is which. No peeking! |  Our beautifully decorated cupcakes. Don't hate. One of us is very small, and I'm . . . just not good at this, apparently.  My niece added a letter "B" to this one to make it a bear print. I won the fortune of having many bear friends. They are one of my favorite animals! |
Apple Oatmeal Spice Cake
I love to wing it in the kitchen and invent new recipes. This one popped into my head a few weeks ago, before I got all my Halloween history research together. I didn’t even realize until I sat down to write the last blog post how much my latest recipe had in common with traditional Irish Halloween/All-Soul’s recipes like barmbrack and soul cake. The key ingredients are oatmeal, constant comment tea, fresh fruit, and autumn spices. It was a happy enough accident, I just had to share.
Some quick notes on diets & variations: I have to make all my food gluten-free cause I have Celiac, and half my household is vegan to boot. This happens to be a pretty diet-friendly recipe (fat free, oil free, soy free, gluten free, and vegan), but it tastes rich and delicious. Perfect for dessert, or breakfast. I don’t expect all my readers to have the same diet restrictions as my family, and unless you have a gluten disorder like Celiac or a wheat allergy, there is absolutely no reason to bake gluten-free. GF flours are ungodly expensive, and tend to be denser and more caloric than wheat flours. For a standard, yes-gluten version, regular baking flour, regular oats, and only 1/2 tsp. baking powder should work just fine, but I obviously haven’t been able to test that at home. If any of you try it, let me know how it comes out! Omnivores and carnivores, keep the cake recipe as is (the texture and flavor balance are already right where you want them), but top with a cream cheese frosting. And if you’re offended by the lack of meat and eggs, like I know some of you get, quit whining and put some fucking bacon on it.
And now, the recipe:
INGREDIENTS
DIRECTIONS
For Cupcakes:
•Pour batter into cupcake liners in cupcake/muffin pan.
•Bake 20-25 minutes, 350º F.
•Makes 12-18 cupcakes.
For Cake:
•Pour batter into 9x9” cake pan.
•Bake 45 minutes, 350º F.
FINISHING TOUCHES
Fat Free, Vegan:
•Top with a light dusting of powdered sugar.
Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Vegetarian:
•Decorate with Pillsbury cream cheese flavored frosting (contains soy and oil, may or may not be 100% vegan) and Halloween sprinkles.
Carnivore:
•Decorate with homemade cream cheese frosting and Halloween sprinkles.
•Top with bacon.
Some quick notes on diets & variations: I have to make all my food gluten-free cause I have Celiac, and half my household is vegan to boot. This happens to be a pretty diet-friendly recipe (fat free, oil free, soy free, gluten free, and vegan), but it tastes rich and delicious. Perfect for dessert, or breakfast. I don’t expect all my readers to have the same diet restrictions as my family, and unless you have a gluten disorder like Celiac or a wheat allergy, there is absolutely no reason to bake gluten-free. GF flours are ungodly expensive, and tend to be denser and more caloric than wheat flours. For a standard, yes-gluten version, regular baking flour, regular oats, and only 1/2 tsp. baking powder should work just fine, but I obviously haven’t been able to test that at home. If any of you try it, let me know how it comes out! Omnivores and carnivores, keep the cake recipe as is (the texture and flavor balance are already right where you want them), but top with a cream cheese frosting. And if you’re offended by the lack of meat and eggs, like I know some of you get, quit whining and put some fucking bacon on it.
And now, the recipe:
INGREDIENTS
- 1 constant comment teabag (I use decaf)
- 1/2 cup boiling water
- 1 cup gluten free oats
- 1 cup Bob’s all-purpose baking flour (do not use a GF 1:1 flour)
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/4 tsp. table salt
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. ginger
- 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp. ground clove
- 1 ripe banana
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (4 oz.) unsweetened apple sauce (1 little snack cup)
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 3 medium apples
- 1-3 Tbs. lemon juice
DIRECTIONS
- Steep a strong 1/2 c. of constant comment tea.
- Mix baking flour, baking powder, baking soda, and spices in a medium/large baking bowl. Set aside.
- Pour steeped tea over 1 cup uncooked oats in a second bowl.
- Slice the banana into a third bowl and cream the banana and brown sugar together. Add apple sauce and vanilla. Mix thoroughly. Note: try to use a ripe, yellow banana with few to no brown spots. If it’s perfect for eating, it’s perfect for this recipe. The riper the fruit, the more banana flavor you’ll get in your finished cake, while an unripe banana will impart a slightly bitter aftertaste. Ideally, we want the banana flavor to blend and recede to the background, so the apple can shine.
- Stir softened oats and tea into wet ingredients. Set aside.
- Reuse the oats bowl to prepare your apples. Rinse, peel, and dice apples. Douse your apple chunks in 1-3 Tbs. lemon juice as needed to prevent apples from oxidizing. While you're at it, toss an apple peel over your left shoulder and read how it falls to find the initial of your next lover.
- Stir apples into wet ingredients.
- Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir gently until just combined.
For Cupcakes:
•Pour batter into cupcake liners in cupcake/muffin pan.
•Bake 20-25 minutes, 350º F.
•Makes 12-18 cupcakes.
For Cake:
•Pour batter into 9x9” cake pan.
•Bake 45 minutes, 350º F.
FINISHING TOUCHES
Fat Free, Vegan:
•Top with a light dusting of powdered sugar.
Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Vegetarian:
•Decorate with Pillsbury cream cheese flavored frosting (contains soy and oil, may or may not be 100% vegan) and Halloween sprinkles.
Carnivore:
•Decorate with homemade cream cheese frosting and Halloween sprinkles.
•Top with bacon.
And that's it! This is my last post before Halloween. Wishing you all a delightful and sweetly spooky rest of October, a very Happy Halloween, and a blessed Samhain. Cheers!
New Etsy Shop!
After a long hiatus, I've ventured back onto Etsy with a brand new illustration shop. You can find today's cupcake charms there, and beautiful Halloween/Samhain coloring pages for grownups. New designs every month. Sales help keep me in art supplies and keep the blog up and running.
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