Little Cakes of Horror

MAKES 12 PREPARATION & COOKING 2 HOURS

125g butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¾ cup caster sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups self-raising flour ½ cup milk

36 sour worms

6 large white marshmallows

6 round black sweets white writing icing

BUTTER CREAM

185g butter, softened

2 1/4 cups icing sugar

2 tablespoons milk green and red food colouring (see tip)

1. Preheat oven to 180°C or 160°C fan-forced. Line a 12-hole muffin pan with paper cases.

2. Beat butter, vanilla and sugar in a small bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until combined between additions. Stir in sifted flour and milk in two batches. Divide mixture among the paper cases. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Turn the cakes, top-side up, onto a wire rack to cool.

3. BUTTER CREAM. Beat butter in a small bowl with an electric mixer until as white as possible. Gradually beat in half the sifted icing sugar, milk, then remaining icing sugar. Place half the butter cream in a small bowl. Tint one bowl green and the other red.

4. Cut a 1.5cm-deep hollow from the centre of six cupcakes. Spread green butter cream over cakes. Position sour worms in the hollows (see picture).

5. Spread red butter cream over the remaining six cupcakes. Trim the marshmallows and place in the centre of cakes as whites of eyes. Position black sweets on top of marshmallows to form pupils. Use white icing to pipe veins around eyeballs.