American Werewolf in London Cupcakes

Pupcakes, anyone?

     I first laid eyes on these lycanthropic cupcakes through Annie's Eats and knew I had to make them myself, in honour of my favourite werewolf movie. I try out different recipes all the time, and here I discovered a great one for dark chocolate cupcakes that I'll definitely be using again. The Underground sign is made from painted and coloured fondant with white icing piped on top. 

Photo credits: Kelly Garsha

     The things I could say about John Landis' An American Werewolf in London (1981)... It's charming from start to finish, and it succeeds in being both a comedy and a horror film while excelling at the former. The makeup and special effects are phenomenal and still renowned today. It's my favourite werewolf film and my second favourite horror-comedy after Shaun of the Dead (2004). It starts with two young American men who begin their Euro trip by hitch-hiking through the Yorkshire moors. So they're pretty much asking for what happens next. They get attacked and one of them, David, ends up in a hospital in central London, where he starts experiencing strange hallucinations and cravings for live deer. As the full moon approaches, David struggles to keep his animal instincts under wraps, but soon finds himself engaging in "carnivorous lunar activities"...

"I will not be threatened by a walking meatloaf!"

If, like me, you enjoy movies set in the 1980's that feature attractive, dark-haired young men overcome by their darker impulses after nightfall, you should check out this post I made for Donnie Darko.

The Apple Crisp Has Eyes

Is there anything better than homemade apple crisp? Maybe, but not much. 

     So, I decided to bake some up, and I noticed a striking resemblance to the Nevada desert. I topped it off with a sugar cookie decorated to look like an Airstream trailer. The glaze is a simple milk + sugar mix with a bit of black colouring and silver lustre dust. The wheel and blinds are made from gum paste. The "rocks" are actually cinnamon cookie nuts I bought at Picard's Peanuts. If you're ever in the area, I highly recommend picking some up.

Photo credits: Kelly Garsha

     Just like my Dawn of the Gingerbread, this treat was inspired by a horror film with an almost-equally-famous remake. The original (1977) is a cult classic by the legendary Wes Craven, and the remake (2006) is a brutal gore-fest courtesy of Alexandre Aja, who's not one to mess around. Both tell the story of a happy American family (mother, father, son, daughters, son-in-law, baby and dogs) traveling through the Southwest when they find themselves stranded in the desert. As if this weren't enough of a problem, there are also mutant cannibals living in the surrounding hills. Once the attacks start, our heroes are pushed to their limits in fighting for their survival. I wish I could combine these two films into the ultimate hunted-in-the-desert film. 

     I find the first one a little slow and unintentionally goofy, and the remake is so cruel and gruesome that even I, a seasoned horror fan, found it hard to handle. But I love the gritty, nostalgic feel of the first and I thought the back-story that was introduced in the remake was worthwhile and added interest. If you could take the best of both, you would have a fantastic film, but I respect them separately and for their own merit. 

      

"We're gonna be French fries! Human French fries!"

Mummy Cupcakes

No one escapes the cupcake curse.

     Certainly not me, anyway. These are salted caramel cupcakes with salted caramel icing. Good lord. It's a toss-up between these and the Leprechaun Cupcakes for the title of Most Delicious Thing I've Made for the Blog. The recipe is here. I highly recommend it. I used a ribbon tip to make the bandages, and chocolate chips for the eyes.

Photo credits: Kelly Garsha

     The most interesting mummy movie I've seen would have to be Bubba Ho-Tep (2002). I'm not that drawn to mummies for their own horror merit, so there has to be some comedy for me to get into it. This movie fits the bill. In it, senior citizens Elvis Presley and John F. Kennedy defend their nursing home from a mummy looking to snack on some souls. You read that correctly. There are some hilarious one-liners that I unfortunately can't repeat here. You'll just have to see it for yourself.

"Thank you. Thank you very much."

Any Bruce Campbell fans out there? You might be interested in the Evil Dead Cake I made a while back.