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Chef Richard Decorates Halloween Treats in “Yes You Can Dessert!” Class … NOT Scary, Kids!
Montage Halloween Cupcake: The Ogre
In this, Chef Richard’s fifth “Yes You Can Desserts” class at the Montage Beverly Hills called “No Tricks, Just Treats,” he showed how to make and decorate Halloween treats.
But first, a very important correction about Richard Ruskell’s seasonal Cupcake Collection:
In my original post, I told you that the Montage Beverly Hills was selling their cupcakes, decorated for Halloween, 14 for $16. In fact, I told you that that was quite a bargain! I thought that was what I heard in the class … come to find out, I heard wrong … the price was actually $60 (about $4 each) which makes much more sense. Cupcakes handcrafted by by Food Network’s “Best Cake Artist in America,” Richard Ruskell, have a production value far greater than the price. For Halloween, they came in three flavors (pumpkin, red velvet and blackout) and were decorated in four varieties (Spider, Eyeball, Ghost and Ogre). And now, they’ll be doing the same thing for Thanksgiving (pumpkin cupcakes decorated with Fall leaves) and Christmas (blackout cupcakes decorated with ornaments, Christmas trees and snowflakes). To order your themed seasonal cupcakes, you may call (310) 860.5800. And, as I had (correctly) stated before, deliveries within the City of Beverly Hills are FREE!
Montage Cupcakes - A Gift To Take Home
NOW, onto the original post about the class … first, Chef Richard made his Rolled Sugar Cookies, based on a modified recipe from his mother’s church cookbook. As with 90% of cookies made in America, Sugar Cookies are a “creamy method” cookie – meaning, they are made by:
- Blending fat (butter) and sugar to get a creamy texture;
- Adding liquid (usually eggs and vanilla); and
- Adding the dry ingredients last.
If decorating is the goal, then the cookies must be rolled. Prior to rolling, the dough must be thoroughly chilled first then rolled to 1/4″ thick. Chef Richard Tip: PVC piping from Home Depot makes for a great (and cheap) rolling pin!
Next Chef Richard “whipped up” (literally) his Royal Icing. He prefers a meringue icing because it dries faster. The key to this icing is that you must WHIP it to activate it, testing by making sure it’s stiff and doesn’t fall back on itself. Once that’s achieved, you know it will pipe well. He then explained how to make a run-out icing for the middle section of the cookie by adding ever-so-slight amounts of water to the meringue.
Working with run-out frosting
Making a Mummy
After icing, he lets the cookie dry for 24 hours at which point it is ready for decorating with liquid food coloring and/or Fondant. Chef Richard Tip: His favorite local cake decorating supply stores are New York Cake West and Gloria’s Cake & Candy Supplies.
Painting a Skull ...
So, what’s next for Chef Richard?
Chef Richard and his "Ogre" Cupcake Creation
For one, his last class in the series will be next month on Wednesday, November 30th: Gingerbread Houses where he’ll show how to make a Gingerbread House from the ground up. Sounds like a solid holiday-prep plan to me!
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