I Tried VIRAL HALLOWEEN TREATS & FOOD HACKS! What's ACTUALLY worth making??

[@divinelyengineered]

Really need a video of you testing the hacks in the comments section. You ask for tips during your videos when things don’t go completely 100%, so it would be really cool to see you revisit the hacks with our tips!

[@Liz-vc3js]

Yes! That would be cool!

[@gs135790]

I tried the brain cupcake thing last week, my tip for anyone trying it would be to do your base/detail layer in the molds first, then chill it in the freezer for 10-15 minutes before you fill with room temp frosting and add your cupcake. It helps a ton with the definition of the outer "brain folds" that can get easily smooshed if your frosting is too soft.

[@Emilygregoire9]

If you add just a drop of brown food coloring to the orange, it will look more like pumpkin orange instead of just bright orange.

[@kelseymathis544]

Same with the "brain pink".... Also if you were to add coco powder to the black buttercream it will get blacker, quicker. With less black food coloring.

[@LaineyBug2020]

Also, if you don't have brown food coloring on hand, like just the red blue and yellow droppers, if you mix those you get brown.

[@nicolethornton6409]

Love your videos. The reason for egg wash not white wash is so it's comes out dark golden brown. Still great concept. Maybe your sugar mold was too thick and needed a more shallow pan. Agreed marshmallow over peeps but i like this idea. Oh and the brains maybe make outer wormy brain design freeze then fill with and place cupcakes. So it has time to fully set up cause sides looked fabulous.

[@ryleekabacinski9904]

Same with some blue!! Blue is oranges complementary color so it would dull it down cus ok a lot of food coloring doilesnt come with brown

[@danielletdg8423]

I love Christopher's confidence that everyone agrees with him. 😂 In this case i do agree. 😊

[@heatherclawson764]

Hello! Baker here 😊 black frosting works best if your base frosting is chocolate frosting made with dark coco. Then it just takes a small amount of dye to make it black…and if you mix your colored frosting with an immersion blender it makes the color more potent.

[@heatherclawson764]

Oh and freeze your brain frosting for a minute before putting in the cupcake

[@RachhLovesLife]

Brilliant!

[@GraceChela]

​@RachhLovesLife have you tried the immersion blender hack for getting darker or more vibrant frosting colors? It makes the frosting a bit thicker and less fluffy, because it removes the air whipped into it. But m for adding details like the faces, it might be perfect!

[@shainamichnal3551]

I use black cocoa to get black buttercream and don’t have to use any black food coloring! Plus it doesn’t dye your teeth black

[@shaunacorrigan9372]

​@@shainamichnal3551Yes! Black cocoa is a complete game changer! And it isn't super intensely chocolate flavored so it works with lots of different flavors

[@uribove]

for the brains you could freeze the squigles first and do a bit of backfill and press the cupcake in after the squigles are solidified

[@LAURAdanielle97]

This is exactly what I was thinking!

[@AztecblondieRN]

Genius

[@bevbadger7563]

I agree with Christopher, marshmallows are better than peeps.

[@GoodOldGamer]

I can't believe the word delulu is catching on so much, but I'm here for it, lol.

[@Aurora3242]

Right? I learned it from Charlotte, and I'm loving the trend!

[@TheLettybird]

The marshmallow peeps ghosts look like one of those “how do you like your toast?” pictures. 😂

[@alisonmiller7548]

Rachel, I am absolutely loving these longer videos! I love all your videos and YOU! I love how real and honest you are with your audience.

[@IonIsFalling7217]

Rachel: I will watch these like a hawk! Also Rachel: Proceeds to watch them not at all 😂

[@kalyco6211]

Ok, not sure if this would work, but candy makers use cornstarch to create their chocolate molds. Wonder if that would have been a better choice than brown sugar?

[@1412mariLU]

I think it's usually a mix of corn starch and powdered sugar. But yes, I was also thinking that.

[@EvelynRobinson22]

Powdered sugar would probably work better too

[@Aurora3242]

I would have laid out all the twine in my star pattern on the parchment first then put the bree package on top - then just tie them all up. 💜Your pumpkin cupcakes wre too cute❣ ~Try using corn starch instead of brown sugar for your molds ~ Marshmallows are definitely better than peeps!

[@jilla8503]

Next time w the Brie and apricot jam, cut the Brie horizontally in half then spread the jam on the Brie then place the other half on top then wrap in the pastry. I find it works better that way cooking and it has a better jam/cheese ratio. It’s delicious too. The pumpkin was beautiful ❤

[@Aurora3242]

That would also give you more height

[@jilla8503]

@@Aurora3242 yes true

[@bellasquare]

21:59 if the brown sugar thing does work the archeological dig thing would lowkey be fun for kids

[@abbywilliams7114]

For storing your food coloring! I have a nice clear storage container for all of my nail polish. So each bottle has its own place but all in one container, if that makes sense.🤪 you should look at fingernail polish storage. It’s around the same size.

[@melindawargowsky8176]

Egg whites give you a lighter color than yolks when baked😊 Cake frosting paste coloring (instead of gel) gives you better color with less change in moisture of your frosting. And MUCH less product for saturated color. Make sure the stencil is firmly on the frosting and dust it with cocoa or a mix of cocoa and hot chocolate mix😊. Much easier than more frosting (and black frosting tastes terrible 🤮).

[@kaivickers166]

I find that any super bright coloring tastes bad. Those cupcakes which have the neon icing are yucky.

[@virtuallyveronicka]

Totally agree with Christopher, marshmallows are better than peeps! 🎃

[@lh5670]

You might also want to try starting with chocolate icing if you need black. So much easier!

[@Squabetty]

Gotta love a husband who still says thank you to his wife. Y’all are so good together!

[@tiffanybrown6501]

I agree with Chris on picking the blue frost cupcake because like a child I like when my tongue turns blue. Green is my favorite color but when it comes to food green has always been mint flavored.

[@TheNinnyfee]

Hello! ❤ Your crooked pumpkin face should be a stencil, absolutely adorable!❤❤❤ I also saw that technique with mini loaf cakes with lids that kids could take e.g. to school or to a party. I wonder if you should first do the brain layer of the cupcakes, pre-freeze that and then fill it in and add the cupcake. The brain layer wouldn't have to carry so much weight then. And I recently saw a Halloween streusel cake where they put the streusel dough into little skull silicone molds before putting them onto the cake (loaf cake form). It's more for adults as it wasn't coloured and looked chic and fun at the same time. And of course there were tons of fun fruit/veggie platters.

[@Maria.art_and_soul]

rachhl to get frosting color bright without using too much food coloring just use a hand blender after you put some color mix it like normal then bland with hand blender and the color with just pop out like magic

[@winnienjuru9269]

Those pumpkin face cupcakes look perfect Rachel...it might even be more Halloween like than if it were completely perfect 😊

[@DalaineBloom-iw3ex]

I liked all of these hacks. My favorite was Your cupcakes. They were cute. People’s pumpkins sometimes have bad cuts. The mouth looks GREAT!!!

[@laurelstanard5200]

Oh my gosh! 😂😂 the "I'm tired of it grandpa" moment just cracked me up

[@PixelWolf0325]

Perfect timing, a fun video for my lunchtime

[@HowdyVal]

Saw some one else comment this on another video but you can actually store your food coloring containers in an egg carton. Obviously this will only work with ones that will fit the carton but its an easy was to store them upright to prevent any leakage with the gel coloring and sort the colors. A normal bin could work but just be careful if any will be knocked over while moving it around.

[@suedraws4998]

I am going to keep an eye on these. Immediately goes onto next thing

[@avdiesen]

Can you please do a video on savory treats instead of sweet? I need to make a table with savory halloween treats and I am so uninspired ❤

[@hockeysteph]

I've seen people microwave the frosting to get a more vibrant color. You can then whip it again after it cools to make the twxture nice again. I haven't teied this yet but seems like it could work. I prefer the immersion blender method because you dont have to wait for the frosting to cool down again. Same goes dor re-whipping after usibg the immersion blender to fix the consistency a bit.

[@Behold_I_am_Egg]

My family loves to make a graveyard cake around Halloween, and has been doing it for 20+ years now. 🙂 It's just a devil's food cake with chocolate frosting and crushed up oreo cookies (without the filling) on top to look like dirt, but you bake it in a rectangular pan and add a bunch of little decorations to make it look like a graveyard. You can use fall leaf sprinkles, bat or bloody bone sprinkles, pumpkin candy corn, chocolate rocks, marshmallow or whipped cream ghosts, etc. I think some years we even used gummy bats and gummy brains because we were using whatever edible spooky decorations we could find after running out of Halloween sprinkles. 😂 But the kid's favorite part of the whole thing besides sometimes helping with the decorating is usually the milano cookies that we use as the gravestones, that we decorate with a little piping bag (or ziplock with the corner cut to make a piping bag) to say RIP and BOO or spooky little phrases that we can manage to fit onto a lil cookie. 😂 It's a crowd pleaser every year that we make one, and the kids fight over any leftover milanos or who gets a piece with a milano cookie, because it's like the only time of the year we get those. One year we even made graveyard cupcakes so that the kids got to decorate them themselves and that was also really fun! The kids realized they could stick a toothpick in the bottom of the peep ghosts so that they could fit a milano and a marshmallow ghost on their cupcake for maximum spooky effect and sugar content, and I thought that was pretty cute and clever. :) You can fit more ghosts on the cake if you stick them upright like that, than you can if you lay them flat on the cake, and my family loves extra marshmallows!

[@afifakath2230]

Im dying for ur cord set Rachel!! Its gorgeous ❤the color, the style!!!

[@madmudd96]

Maybe brushing the brain cupcakes with a REALLY diluted red food coloring and water mix to define the grooves..?

[@seralynn7286]

I love that parchment paper hack for the pumpkin faces! Going to have to try that. I've tried to freehand pumpkin faces on baked goods before.....I think I ended up deciding that I would instead just be adding black stripes on top XD.

[@kierancampire]

I was watching a KZbinr recently toast marshmallows with his partner, he quite literally shoved it into the fire, burned it, blew out the fire, then said it was the perfect marshmallow. His partner however held it from the fire, slowly rotating it and slowly browning it, and she said that made a perfect marshmallow and he just burns them I thought of you and Chris and how they are your parallels haha

[@BhappyD]

I’m on team burn the marshmallow! 🔥🔥🔥

[@rachelvp]

I heard if you use an immersion blender in the icing after you mix the food coloring in, it’ll get really saturated. Haven’t tried but may be worth a shot! It’s gotta be quicker than using a spoon!

[@katiedid1983]

That 100% works, especially for red and black frosting. I own a custom cake bakery and I use the immersion blender all the time for nice bright buttercream 🧁

[@jilletdelphine]

it knocks the air out of the frosting & ruins the consistency

[@katiedid1983]

It doesn't ruin the consistency for me. Maybe you shoukd try a different kind of buttercream. It still pipes beautifully for me and tastes infinitely better than adding so much gel color that it gets bitter and becomes inedible.

[@kierancampire]

​@@katiedid1983Ann Reardon did a video on it to test/prove it, but also it's just science and logic. An immersion blender won't be doing anything to darken the colour or add colour, there's nothing in that sense to change it, however if you are knocking all the air out of it with the blender, it being denser and more thick will make the colour darker, like when you're making caramel, it gets darker the thicker it gets. The air being in it is what lightens it, again using caramel, if you add bicarbonate of soda and it creates all the air bubbles to turn it into honeycomb, it makes the colour lighter It's not to say what you're doing tastes bad or has a bad texture, but factually due to science, which there is no way to deny that, removing the air from an icing by using the immersion blender to make it darker means it isn't going to be as light and fluffy in texture. I should add, I have been baking/cooking for 10 years so I'm not only relying on Ann's video, this is just also my experience and personal knowledge

[@katiedid1983]

The science doesn't disprove that the color gets darker. The science shows that knocking the air out causes the color to be able to disperse throughout the fat molecules, and therefore, you get a more concentrated color. If you rewhipped that extremely saturated color, no amount of air will get the frosting back to the initial pastel it was before the immersion blender was used. The buttercream would break down into a soupy lumpy mess before it returned to the initial color. Additionally, all I suggested was that possibly another style of buttercream may yield different results as some bakers use meringue based buttercreams. However, that isn't typical. And it doesn't 'ruin' the texture or mouth-feel of the buttercream. It changes it very slightly because there is less air, but you dont lose the smooth mouth-feel of a meringue based buttercream. The buttercream acts and tastes identical after immersion blending. I do this daily for a living.

[@krazyoyster6003]

Look forward to these every year, the pumpkin Cresent rolls from a couple years ago are a staple every fall ❤❤

[@carolinelapano4615]

I wonder if you just did the brain icing in the mold, froze it, then added an icing layer and adhered the cupcake if that would work? That way the icing design wouldn’t get smooshed? So cute either way!

[@markwayne]

the Peeps are a fine semi-homemade option, but that chocolate looked like a bar of baking chocolate that isn't going to melt well or fast. chips would work, or large size candy bars, then place the Peeps on when it's quite gooey. or use a cookie cutter on large marshmallows, which could allow for more portions, almost "bite size".

[@blaireshoe8738]

I was telling her through my screen, "you can use the same amount of chocolate, but it will melt so much faster if you chop or grate it first!" A shame my advice can not travel through time and space to reach her, hahaha

[@nikkalcaraz]

Hey! I see my video in this! 💀 Yes, the brown sugar one gives an aged effect. It’s perfect for decrepit bones. WATER IS A MUST!

[@Ecox51719]

So for things smores like in the oven, ill broil just the chocolate and Graham cracker, so it gets melty first. Then put marshmallows on it so everything is nice and toasty

[@kaciemoser8915]

I love all of your videos!! My family and I , as Jehovah’s Witnesses, do not celebrate most holidays. However, I love your recipes and presentation ideas throughout the year! Whether something is shown at a holiday time, the pastry and decoration skills are useful for so many things! I love how you show how to make a certain shape (out of a/e you happen to be making) and I can now use it at anytime of the year. I love your channels and will keep watching every week! 🥰😁

[@goose7574]

An immersion blender is great for mixing color into food coloring. With most colors, you don't have to use a bunch of food coloring & it makes it sooo smooth. 😊

[@tbrwithkayla]

“They look Tim Burton-y” because they are lol 😆

[@GracieTyTravels]

I love baking so much but I do not have this much patience 😂 props to Rachel and team for always pushing through with these hacks 👏

[@rakng]

6:16 same I thought of blue right after she asked the question

[@stephaniemedina3317]

Try using an immersion blender to help get a brighter color with your buttercrean . Saw a video on it today

[@lilannegirl03]

if you are using a wisk attachment when making your frosting, switching to the paddle attachment (if using a stand mixer) will help with knocking the air bubbles out

[@lindseymoon4354]

100% team marshmallow. I'm with Chris on this one!

[@FancyNeonWolves]

New here! Watched this while doing my own Halloween treats! Make mini rice crispy halloween pumpkins, used pretzels for the stem, and butter creme, green leaves!

[@elizabethhanrahan4085]

For the smore's, I would pre cut the chocolate to the size of the pan then when the crust comes out, pop on the chocolate and Peep's and put them back in the warm oven. With a hot crust, the chocolate will melt faster and in a warm oven, the Peep's will melt and not brulee. Just WATCH THEM CLOSLEY.

[@Rckstrroma5]

Thanks for making this awesome food video I love Halloween 🎃

[@samanthaestrada9476]

Marshmallows are WORLDS better than peeps. I agree with Chris! Love you Rach!! ❤❤

[@lindahughes5781]

You have my admiration, I would have given up long before. What a lot of work! I'm tired, just watching°°❤😂

[@courtneysantos6605]

The jack o lantern cupcake hack is my favorite 😊

[@jessicaann1842]

For the brain cupcakes maybe instead of pushing it down, try twisting them into the frosting lightly. Orrrr add a thin layer of frosting onto the cupcake & just set it on top. Maybe the frostings will adhere to each other. Always look forward to your videos!❤️

[@jenniferpletcher2582]

I wonder if you could do the outside layer with the squiggles, freeze that, then fill with room-temp frosting, add cupcake, and refreeze? a lot of work, but maybe less squishing? then I'd drizzle them with strawberry syrup or red icing...

[@brittanytucker6277]

Christopher is so supportive of all the things! I am going to try the cupcake brain hack!

[@blairpoisson6474]

Same about the decorations! My kids are asking where the Halloween decorations are and I played dumb. I don't know where they are but they are hiding somewhere. We are getting pumpkins on Monday...there they are, decorations!

[@UnnamedAndUnindicted]

For the brain cupcakes maybe putting the icing in the freezer to firm up after pipping, and adding a small dome of icing on top of the cupercakes before pushing into the tray would help keep them from flattening.

[@yaowsers77]

With the brain, try not to push the tip onto the mold. Like let it come out of the piping bag and "fall" onto the mold. If you're really wanting the bumpy lol and are afraid you might smoosh the design, pipe the brain layer, freeze it for ten minutes, and then put more frosting and the cupcake and freeze the whole thing.

[@quixxovel]

🥚Do a test for egg white, vs whole egg vs yolk! You can also throw milk or water in there. as a pastry chef, I can tell you there are differences! The yolk turns more golden vs the white is more shiny. When you get into advanced pastry, there are different specific regional recipes that are very exact. 😊

[@rachelknight9730]

I’m so happy I’m not the only one with gel food coloring all over the place from those Wilton jars. I wish they would put the same product in squeeze tubes! 🙃

[@carnev]

Pumpkin Brie! I love your personality!

[@dkeraghan]

I think with the brains you could make the mold of them, let them freeze without the cupcake, then add a bit of frosting to the cupcake to make the brains stick on.

[@KateMaddy]

For smooth buttercream use the balloon whisk to make the buttercream then replace with the paddle and mix for 10 mins on low and this should remove the bubbles.

[@tabithashaw7123]

lol the skulls are from tim burtons nightmare before Christmas🤣

[@brittneyworst377]

for the s’mores bars i would have put the chocolate in the oven first then broil the peeps. but really cute ideas!

[@sabrinab5819]

15:09 "for the chillldreeenn" oh llooord that took off guard 😂😂😂😂😂

[@beccal_123]

I agree with Chris about the marshmallow thing

[@cassieorosz8528]

Peeps are the greatest holiday treat!!!

[@jalleahreyes6797]

Use mini silicone spatulas to mix color into frosting and to fill the bag instead of a spoon 🥄 it helps

[@ericastoddard1068]

6:42 My gut said blue too! It must just be quintessential cupcake color?

[@andreahpps]

A tip for the future. Using an immersion blender for mixing your frosting makes the color POP (especially black). I saw it on KZbin

[@catiiep.4797]

I am a baker and a trick to a really smooth butter cream is mixing it on low speed with the paddle atachment for a few minutes. Also to get deep colors without using a ton of food coloring just use an immersion blender!

[@piffo9195]

For the blackest frosting use an hand stick immersion blender and it will cause the frosting to turn very black, it will cause some air to be removed from the frosting but it’s still very delicious and you don’t have to use a ton of black coloring

[@Stephaneeza]

18:18 they’re literally Jack skulls from Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas 😂😂

[@MichaelPlatts]

That's exactly what I was thinking.

[@LaurenCorine]

Where did you get that sweat set? I neeeeeed it 😍

[@sabrinab5819]

I LOVE this video for sooo many reasons ...😂😂

[@elysehodgson7871]

I recently saw someone make their frosting more vibrant by mixing the colors in with an immersion blender. That might be worth a try.

[@heatherpedraza2818]

For the black coloring, add a little coco powder and mix first before adding black

[@kshitijaojale86]

There is another hack to make frosting darker, works with red blue black any of it… I saw it on Instagram. You just use an immersion blender on it and blend till the color you want comes through

[@jilletdelphine]

it knocks the air out of the frosting making the texture not the best

[@Samantha-qj9wq]

The brain cupcakes - you need to make the surface squiggles look like two distinct hemispheres. That would help a LOT.

[@karennoneyabeeswax7929]

Drip some runny red frosting on top of the thicker pink frosting, too. Yummy brain mucus!

[@gretamg23]

You could use powdered sugar as a mold for the chocolate skeletons. This way you wouldn’t see it on the white chocolate, but it still functions as a mold.

[@Katt1204]

The Tim Burton skull is so cute. I love him.

[@anidahot7131]

If you use an immersion blender to blend the icing it will both take out the air bubbles in the buttercream and it will also deepen the colour of the buttercream

[@karlidomingo]

I love how you say “I’m going to watch you like a hawk”, and then you switch tasks lol 😂

[@christiangraves2857]

The dye changes the flavor. If you use an immersion blender in it it will darken it without using more color.

[@bobbaxter171]

After you’re done making a frosting change out the whisk attachment for the paddle and diet it go for a bit. It will smooth out. Those air bubbles.

[@daniellesteerebell5102]

For me the easiest way to get the air out of your frosting is after you whip it up, switch to the paddle attachment on your mixer and let that go for a couple min on medium or med. Low and it does a pretty good job.

[@MrsBlingQueen]

I made mummy meatloaf about 3 years or 4 years ago, and now it's a tradition every year. Along with spider web mashed potatoes or potatoe skins.

[@quintiliasfrengeu1284]

Omg I'm not even 2 minutes in and already lost it at the Anastasia reference 😂

[@caradanellemcclintock8178]

Id love to see you try a Cricut think youd have fun with it

[@AminaFolaranmi]

You can use an immersion blender to get your frosting darker

[@-mitsuyasimp-2281]

Use an immersion blender for icing and food coloring, it will get all the air bubbles out and the colors will be amazing! Also, black cocoa will make black frosting without staining your teeth.

[@Amanda-cv7vn]

Emulsion blender on frosting/icing will help get a darker color

[@sowsowww]

I’m so happy thank you 🥰

[@Maddie-mt9ue]

Could you use crushed up cookies/Oreos for the moulds and then pretend it’s dirt?

[@RJ-jw2rs]

You should try putting a piece of Saran wrap down on top of the brown sugar before pouring the white chocolate so you don't have to dust any brown sugar off from the molds

[@heidihammer1987]

Wilton makes an organizing case for the gel colors. I was having the same issue with it being ridiculously messy, and then I found the case and it’s so much cleaner now. The case is around $15, I think.

[@heidihammer1987]

15:46 Also, to make black icing faster, throw some black cocoa powder into your icing! It helps a lot.