Boo! Do you believe in Ghost Petit Fours? I do! And if you do too I’ve got a quick and easy tutorial for you that’s perfect for a little treat this Halloween.
These little bite-sized treats are literally a piece of cake with a smooth glaze coating and are a perfect baking project for beginning bakers and sweet decorators. They start with a very cool and versatile Breakfast Bites baking pan by Wilton.
Although I immediately thought of the Ghost Petit Fours when I saw the pan, as you can tell by the name it also has another creative use. If you fill each cavity in the pan and add a piece of cooked sausage link and fill it with pancake batter and bake, you’ve got Breakfast Bites waiting to be dipped into warm maple syrup! How great is this for a Thanksgiving morning to nosh on while the parade is on? There’s additional baking info that accompanies the pan.
So, back to these spooky little guys with the big black eyes – no tricks here only super simple and fun treats for Halloween.
To make the Ghost Petit Fours you’ll only need a couple more things besides the Breakfast Bites pan and a box of cake mix:
Wilton Breakfast Bites Pan
Wilton Vanilla Treat Glaze (or make your own from scratch)
Wilton Black Sugar Pearls
Wilton Pearl Dust (optional)
Wilton Squeeze Bottle (optional)
Tips:
- Spray lightly with a baking spray and fill 3/4 full with cake batter. I found filling the cavities to where they bake rounded up like a cupcake makes it easy to level the ghost so they stand straight up.
- The ghosts bake in approximate 10 minutes. Cool slightly in the pan then pop them out to cool completely.
- Clean pan, spray again and fill. Keep doing this until all the cake batter has been baked or purchase multiple pans to make the baking process go more quickly.
I was surprised how easy the ready-made glaze is to work with. Heat according to directions for smoother pouring. The desired consistency for the glaze is to be able to run down the sides of the cake but not too quickly or it won’t cover the cake well. Too thick, and it won’t reach the bottom of the cake and puddle a little. Do they remind you of “It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown”? I found that putting the warm glaze into a squeeze bottle works much better than spooning the glaze over the cakes.
- Placing the ghost cakes to be glazed on a flat non-stick surface (not a wire baking rack) will let you lift up the ghost petite fours all in one piece after they’re set.
- If you’re using the squeeze bottle and the glaze needs warming, pop it into the microwave for about 7 seconds and massage the glaze in the bottle to mix it up well. It’s easy to find the glaze’s happy place. Make a few extra ghosts to practice on too.
While the glaze it still tacky, add the black sugar pearls for eyes. They’re slightly metallic looking which is a great effect. Using tweezers helps to place the eyes in the exact spot where you’d like them to be.
Boo! You can brush on Wilton Pearl Dust in white if you’d like.
Each ghost petit four is unique with it’s own personality. I just love them! And they taste great!
For a different presentation, you could place each one in a paper cup like a cupcake, or pop one on the Wilton Caramel Apple Branch Sticks or the seasonal Candy Corn Striped Straws like a little cake pop.
I think Halloween party guests would love a tray or cake stand haunting!
I hope you’re not “afraid” to give them a try. 😉
As a Wilton Brand Ambassador and member of the Wilton Sweet Treat Team, I received product and/or compensation for this post by Wilton Cake Decorating. All ideas and opinions are my own and all the products were chosen by me to share with you because I use them and love them and thought you might have fun trying a new idea and like them too. 🙂
hi marilyn, these ghosts are adorable! I love the idea. you mentioned making a glaze from scratch – do you have any suggestions for a recipe that would be thick and viscous enough to mimic the wilton vanilla treat glaze? I much prefer to make food items from scratch, if that’s possible. :0)
thanks so much!
Hi Jodi,
A glaze I make is just a combination of sifted powdered sugar and thinned with either milk or half and half. Add just a tiny bit of liquid at a time. If you need it thicker, add more sifted sugar. It’s just trial and error for the consistency you like. I searched recipes and found a lot made with corn syrup for the liquid but it needs to be heated. There are a lot of options out there. I’d love to see what you make so make sure you send me a pic. 🙂
These little ghosts are SO CUTE!!
Thank you, Danielle. They were so easy to make. That pan is a keeper!