Just like my April gnome, my October gnome has the added fun of being a mystery gnome, which I made as part of a separate knitalong, also run by Schira. This knitalong has now finished: the mystery has been unveiled and the full pattern has been released (you can find it here), so you can make the gnome(s) at your leisure!

There were two options for this mystery gnome: Gnumpkin (a pumpkin-inspired gnome) or Gnettle (a witch-inspired gnome). I opted to make Gnumpkin, because I am not fond of spooky witches (I was traumatised by both the Wicked Witch of the West from the Wizard of Oz and the Hag from Snow White as a child), but I am a very big fan of pumpkins. In other words, it was a no-brainer.

Anyway, here is my October gnome… Gnumpkin!

Gnumpkin recently tried to enter himself into the local garden show, in the ‘Best Gourd’ category (obviously). He figured he was a shoo-in for ‘Best in Show’, considering he is both sentient and excellently formed. Alas, he was very miffed to be beaten out by a particularly obnoxious butternut squash. Worse still, he didn’t even place in the competition: his stalk was deemed ‘disproportionate to his body’ and his legs were labelled ‘disturbing’. Instead of coming away with the grand prize (a jar of Gnectar’s homemade blackberry jam), he came away with an unfortunate identity crisis. Poor Gnumpkin.

Table of Contents

• The Yarn
• Thoughts on the Pattern
• Things I Loved!
• Things I Didn’t Quite Love…
• Final Thoughts

The Yarn

Last time I participated in a MKAL (mystery knitalong), I went a little… rogue with my colour choices (which is why I ended up with a blue and red mushroom gnome and discovered that actions do, indeed, have consequences). Don’t get me wrong, I love my Professor Fungi gnome, but I figured I should go more by the book this time around!

Because of this, I opted to stick to a super pumpkin-y colour palette, just as suggested in the pattern. Luckily, I had some fingering weight yarn leftover from my Pumpkin Strange Brew Sweater, in the perfect, gourd-y colours! For my Gnumpkin then, I used the following yarn:

• Orange: Scheepjes Metropolis in the shade Liverpool 65.
• Brown: Yarnsmiths Merino Sock in the shade Rich Brown 2K079.
• Cream: King Cole Anti-Tickle Merino Blend 4ply in the shade Aran 46.

I was really happy with these colour choices (though I did see some AMAZING Gnumpkins made with tweed yarns on Ravelry too, which I’m very tempted to try!). The only problem I ran into was that I did have two instances of the Scheepjes yarn breaking while I was trying to tighten up the indents on the pumpkin body— pretty disastrous, but I managed to fudge my way through it! Nevertheless, I think a slightly stronger yarn would be a better fit for this project.

Thoughts on the Pattern

I’ve mentioned before that I tend to find the patterns from the book, The Gnomes of Grimblewood, significantly easier to follow than Schira’s individual patterns (particularly the ones that start out life as MKALs, i.e. mystery knitalongs). However, I actually found Gnumpkin really straightforward and easy to work up! He’s a deceptively simple design, with just a few specific techniques that work to give such a fun, effective finish. Admittedly, there’s quite a lot of knitting in Gnumpkin, but most of it is pretty plain, so it takes more time than effort, if that makes sense?

Actually, my Pumpkin Patch project from last year set me up really well for this project, because I was already familiar with the process of knitting the purl channels and using the yarn to create the indentations of Gnumpkin‘s pumpkin body.

The technique used in the hat to ‘scrunch’ it up and make it look kind of crumpled and organic was new to me, but Schira’s instructions were so clear and the whole thing worked out really well!

Things I Loved!

There is so much to love about Gnumpkin!

• His pumpkin body.

I mean, this is kind of Gnumpkin‘s whole thing, but his little pumpkin body is just so perfectly pumpkin-y. I love it!

• The fact that his hat is the pumpkin stalk.

I was baffled and bemused while I was knitting this hat: it really felt like a witch’s hat, so I could see how it would work for Gnettle, but not necessarily for Gnumpkin. Once I got a bit further through the clues, things started to make more sense and I was so impressed by Schira’s creativity!

• The ‘pinches’ in the hat.

The hat is intentionally crumpled up a little bit on one side, which gives it a nice curved shape AND makes it look more witchy and organic. The method used for this is so simple and easy to do, but so clever: I really enjoyed it.

• The legs.

The legs were the first pieces that I made (as per the order of the clues) and I realised pretty quickly what they were. I’ve never actually made a gnome with legs before Gnumpkin and I have to say, I was a little worried about it? Not because it was tricky— the legs were actually super straightforward to make— but because I just wasn’t sure how they would look. I have to say though, I absolutely love them: they’re so cute and stripe-y and fun! I think they give Gnumpkin a lot of personality.

Things I Didn’t Quite Love…

Of course, there were a few things I wasn’t quite so crazy on. As always, these observations are completely personal preference and nothing against the original design! I love Schira’s patterns, but I also love adapting things to make them fit my needs/preferences, which is what the musings in this section are all about!

• The size of Gnumpkin‘s nose.

I feel that Gnumpkin‘s nose is slightly disproportionate to the rest of him: it’s pretty big (especially compared to most of the other gnomes in my ever-growing collection) and I just don’t think it sits right on his little body? I’d like to try using the ‘large nose’ pattern from The Gnomes of Grimblewood and see how that looks!

• Gnumpkin’s beard.

I was SO excited when I saw that this was another beard featuring twisted rib, because that’s a feature of my all-time favourite beard pattern by Schira (the one from Here We Gnome Again). I do like the texture of this beard, but the shape is a bit off for me: it’s quite thin and pointy, which I don’t love paired with Gnumpkin‘s squat, bulbous body. I think I’d maybe prefer one of the wider (maybe even curlier?), beards here?

• The brim of Gnumpkin‘s hat.

This, I know, is very much a me problem, because all of the other Gnumpkins on Ravelry do NOT seem to have this problem, but the brim of my hat refused to lie flat to Gnumpkin‘s body? It was very intent on flipping up, which I thought might be part of the pattern, but, alas, it is not. I’m thinking this probably had something to do with my tension? Nonetheless, I had to stitch it down in a few places around to get it to sit right, so, in the future, I’d like to find a way to get it right first go!

Final Thoughts

Overall, I really like Gnumpkin, and I enjoyed participating in this MKAL even more than the Professor Fungi one back in April (perhaps because Gnumpkin‘s a slightly more straightforward pattern? Or maybe because I’m happier with my colour choices? Who knows!). I really like the fact that he won me over when it came to his stripe-y legs, because I was so not on board with them at the start, but I think they really give him a little extra pizzazz.

I’m not entirely won over by the beard + nose combo: if I made Gnumpkin again I’d definitely be tempted to try something a little different in that department. I’d also be tempted to try giving Gnumpkin some arms as well as legs, just because I think that could be fun!

Despite my deep-rooted fear of witches, I have seen some super cute Gnettles on Ravelry, which has very nearly inspired me to make one of those too. Maybe next spooky season? I don’t think I can bring myself to make her nose and beard green though: that would be a step too far.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about my October gnome! I really enjoyed making Gnumpkin: he was a perfect, spooky-season project.

If you're interested...

You can find the pattern for Gnumpkin and Gnettle on Ravelry here.

You can find my Ravelry project page for Gnumpkin here.

Gemma

xxx

Also, a slight disclosure: I actually haven’t blocked this jumper before taking these photos (I just gave it a heavy steaming), because I wanted to get this post out before we get into the festive posts! Please rest assured that I will be blocking it (and, if you see any bumpiness… no you don’t).

Table of Contents

• The Pattern
  • Adapted Charts for Size L
    • Chart 3
    • Chart 5 & 6 (combined)
    • Chart 7
• The Yarn
• The Knitting Process
  • Neckline
  • Short Rows
  • Colourwork
  • Hem/Cuffs
  • Sleeves
• New Techniques
• Final Thoughts

The Pattern

I was inspired to make this sweater after seeing the pumpkin sweater made by Tiny Human Knits, which was itself inspired by a commercial sweater. Just like Tiny Human Knits (or THK, as I’ll be referring to her for the rest of the post), I used the Strange Brew pattern by Tin Can Knits for the actual jumper construction. This pattern is kind of a build-your-own sweater recipe: it contains lots of different puzzle-piece instructions that you can join together to make the perfect jumper for you. I also relied heavily on the notes on THK’s Ravelry project page for her sweater, which include LOADS of information & tips for making the sweater.

Using the Strange Brew pattern, I followed the instructions for the top-down sweater in size L (which is significant, because THK’s sweater was made in size M/L, so the charts were made to suit the stitch counts for that size and I did have to adapt a couple of them for the larger size). I adapted the ribbed neckline to created a folded-over neckline (because I thought it would look cool). I also added German short rows (following THK’s instructions) underneath the neckline, on the back.

This was actually my first time making a yoked sweater (or any fitted sweater really, my jumper experience before this was limited to two, boxy Weasley jumpers…). Of course, being me, I decided to go all out with a pretty complicated colourwork situation for my first foray into sweater-making. As recommended by THK, I used the Ladderback Jacquard Technique for most of the colourwork sections (which I had practised a lot while making the two hat swatches!).

Adapted Charts for Size L

As I mentioned I had to adapt some of THK’s colourwork charts to suit the stitch count of the size I was making (L). Charts 1, 2 & 4 were all absolutely fine, so I just followed them directly from THK’s Ravelry page. For the other charts though, I did have to make a few alterations to get them to work. You can find them here (I’ve given the basic chart for each one first, then the one with red lines to indicate where I placed my ladderback stitches, for reference):

Chart 3

Chart 5 & 6 (combined)

Chart 7

The Yarn

After copious testing of various different colours and combinations (you can read more about that here), I finally settled on the following yarns/shades:

• Yarnsmiths Merino Sock, in the shade Rich Brown (2K079)
• Scheepjes Metropolis, in the shade Liverpool (065)
• King Cole Merino Blend 4 Ply, in the shades Aran (046) and Willow (3942)

I wasn’t quite sure how much yarn I’d need of each colour, so I played it safe and ordered more than I thought I would need… I guess there’s some more pumpkin hats in my future, because I now have quite a lot of leftover yarn! I kept track of how much yarn I used throughout the process, so, to give you a rough idea, if you want to make your own Pumpkin Strange Brew Sweater, I used the following amounts of each yarn:

Yarnsmiths Merino Sock, Rich Brown (2K079):

• 235g (3 skeins, with about 2/3 of a ball remaining).

Scheepjes Metropolis, Liverpool (065):

• 55g (2 skeins, with most of the second ball remaining).

King Cole Merino Blend 4 Ply, Aran (046):

• 81g (2 skeins, with just under half of the second ball remaining)

King Cole Merino Blend 4 Ply, Willow (3942):

• 8g (1 skein, with most of the ball remaining).

The Knitting Process

This project was a big challenge for me, being my first time knitting both a yoked and a colourwork sweater. It involved a lot of planning and intense thinking beforehand, but the actual knitting process went pretty smoothly, which was a relief! I did make some adaptations along the way (and, inevitably, ran into a couple of problems here and there), which I’ll talk about now:

Neckline

The original Strange Brew neckline is just a simple ribbed situation. I was 100% thinking that I would work my neckline according to the pattern when I started out, so I wanted to make sure my cast-on edge was nice and neat (and suitably stretchy). To achieve this, I opted to use the Alternating Cable Cast-On and, though it is a bit moot now, I really liked the slight picot effect it gave!

About halfway through the ribbed section, I decided to make a folded neckline instead (hence the moot-ness of my pretty picot cast-on…). I just thought that a folded neckline would make the jumper look that little bit more neat and professional, so I decided to go for it!

To make the folded neckline, I just knit double the length of rib the pattern called for (i.e. 2.5 inches instead of 1.25 inches). When I’d finished knitting the jumper, I went back with some brown yarn and used a whip stitch to secure the cast on edge to the base of the rib on the inside of the jumper (I used the first row of purl bumps as a guide). I made sure to keep my stitching loose, but neat, to preserve the stretch.

Short Rows

Like THK, I included German Short Rows in my sweater, to help it sit better. The Strange Brew pattern does contain instructions for adding opitional short rows, but they are worked after the yoke, which I didn’t really want. Instead, I opted to follow THK’s instructions and worked my short rows right after I finished the neckline (before starting the colourwork yoke), on the back of the garment.

I did, however, skip the ‘knit 1 row, purl 1 row, knit 1 row’ section from THK’s notes, just because I didn’t really want a visible purl ridge on the yoke.

Colourwork

As recommended by THK, I used the Ladderback Jacquard technique for the majority of the colourwork sections (basically anywhere where there were gaps of more than 5 stitches between a single colour). To set up my ladderback stitches, I followed this tutorial from knitdarling.com. I found that I preferred setting up the stitches by working a M1L increase purl-wise, as opposed to a backwards loop cast-on, which I also (accidentally) tried out when making my hat swatches. I purled all of my ladderback stitches throughout, to make the inside of the sweater extra neat (because, that way, all of the ladderbacks appear as knit stitches from the back).

I did run into a little bit of trouble with the increase rounds of the yoke distorting my colourwork, so I did have to do a little bit of trial and error to work out the best places to work those rows. In the end, I worked the increase rounds on the following rounds:

• Increase round 1: Row 1 of Chart 1
• Increase round 2: Row 2 of Chart 2
• Increase round 3: Row 18 of Chart 2
• Increase round 4: Row 3 of Chart 5

I also added 2 more rows of plain brown before starting the colourwork (on row 6) in Chart 1, just to suit the size L a little better.

The one real problem I ran into with this pattern was The Jog, where the colourwork is slightly offset at the beginning of the round (on mine, this was at the centre back in the yoke, then under one arm after splitting for the sleeves). The Strange Brew pattern talks about this in depth, so I was fully prepared for it, but I did get myself into a bit of a pickle with it, where I thought I’d made a mistake, so dropped down, ‘fixed’ it and then couldn’t for the life of me figure out why my colourwork wasn’t working. I stared at it for ages, trying to find the problem, then gave it to my mum, who also stared at it for ages, before she was eventually able to work out what I’d done (spoiler alert: I hadn’t made a mistake— The Jog tricked me…)! Phew.

Hem/Cuffs

The Strange Brew pattern recommends going down to the smaller needle size (2.75mm, instead of 3.50mm) for the ribbed hem/cuffs. I opted to use 3.00mm needles for my rib, instead, just so they didn’t pull in too much. 2 inches of rib ended up being about 21 rows at my gauge.

To cast off both the hem and the cuffs after the ribbed sections, I used HiyaHiya Grandma’s Stretchy Bind Off, making sure not to do it too tightly (which is a longstanding, unfortunate habit of mine). I like this cast off for rib, because it looks nice and keeps everything nice and stretchy.

Sleeves

To make sure that my charts fit the sleeves, I opted to pick up a handful more stitches than the pattern called for at the underarms: 11 and 12, respectively (before and after the centre marker), for a total of 96 stitches for each sleeve (instead of 92). I made sure to pick up the 4 extra stitches at the beginning and end of my underarm cast-on stitches, because that’s usually where you get a bit of a gap anyway. Actually, this method ended up reducing the gaps, which I meant I had less darning to do at the end of the project, so it all worked out for the best!

I worked the setup round in the white yarn, then, once that was done, continued on in colourwork, following Chart 5/6.

Things got a little trickier when it came to the sleeve decreases— there was a lot of trying on and measuring and calculating. To get sleeves that fit me, without the decreases warping the colourwork, and ending up with the right amount of stitches for the colourwork at the cuffs, I did the following, all in brown yarn:

• [Decrease round, 4 plain rounds] 7 times.
• [Decrease round, 3 plain rounds] 10 times.
• [Decrease round, 1 plain round] 1 time.

So, this gave me a total of 18 decrease rounds, which took me from 96 to 60 stitches, just as I needed. They’re more condensed than the decrease rounds in the Strange Brew pattern, but the sleeves fit me, so all is well. After the sleeve decreases were done, I worked Chart 7, before knitting the ribbed cuffs in brown, again.

New Techniques

• Alternating Cable Cast-On
• HiyaHiya Grandma’s Stretchy Bind-Off*
• Ladderback Jacquard colourwork technique*
• Following a colourwork chart*
• Colourwork in the round*
• Folded neckline (stitched down)
• German short rows*
• Knitting a yoke
• Sleeve decreases*

Final Thoughts

Oh. My. Goodness. I kind of can’t believe I made this?! It was so far out of my comfort zone and felt like such a mountain to climb, but it was actually a really fun project to make. I was very much overwhelmed initially by using the Strange Brew ‘recipe’ instead of a regular pattern that you can just follow to the letter, but it did make it super easy to customise the jumper and make sure it fit me perfectly (which is good, because it was a lot of work and I would hate to not be able to wear it after all that!). I’m proud of myself for persevering, though, and, actually, I just took things one step at a time, making adjustments when needed, following the pattern/THK’s instructions when needed (and, of course, taking a break every now and then!) and it all worked out.

While I don’t think I’ll be jumping into another colourwork sweater straight away, I really did enjoy working on this project— I think I may just have got super used to working the Ladderback Jacquard technique after the double-hat-swatch-situation, but I honestly found that the colourwork sections went faster than the plain brown sections!

This was definitely my most ambitious Project Knitwear so far, but I also think it might be the most successful: it turned out exactly how I imagined it, which makes me so unbelievably proud!

Also…. a special thank you to Tiny Human Knits for providing such extensive notes on her Ravelry project page for her jumper: it has truly been my Pumpkin Sweater Bible over the last couple of months!

If you're interested...

You can find the Strange Brew Sweater pattern by Tin Can Knits here.

You can find the project page for the Strange Brew Pumpkin by Tiny Human Knits on Ravelry here.

You can find the project page for my Pumpkin Strange Brew Sweater on Ravelry here.

Gemma

xxx

I thought this project would be a great way of trialling some of the amazing, free patterns out there for knitted/crocheted pumpkins. I wanted my pumpkins to have a variety of textures, colours and patterns, so it gave me the perfect opportunity to try out lots of different methods and styles. In total, I made 5 different pumpkins. In this post, I’ll go through all of the details for each pumpkin, link the patterns I used & share any amendments/changes I made.

I think it’s time for some pumpkins, don’t you?

Table of Contents

• Pumpkin #1: Wee Pumpkin by Susan Rainey
  • Thoughts on Pumpkin #1
• Pumpkin #2: (Fluffy) Pepo Pumpkin Patch by Sandra Magalhães
  • Thoughts on Pumpkin #2
• Pumpkin #3: Darlin’ Plaid Pumpkin by Stitchberry
  • Thoughts on Pumpkin #3
• Pumpkin #4: Vertical Stripe Pumpkin by Sara Myers
  • Thoughts on Pumpkin #4
• Pumpkin #5: Handsome Cable Pumpkin by Sara Kiesel
  • Thoughts on Pumpkin #5
• Final Thoughts

Pumpkin #1: Wee Pumpkin by Susan Rainey

Craft: Knitting

Pattern: Wee Pumpkins by Susan Rainey.

Yarn: King Cole Merino Blend 4 Ply, in the shade Cinnamon (leftover from my Anthology Pumpkin Hat).

Needles: 2.75mm DPNs.

Stem Details: 5-stitch i-cord, made using King Cole Merino Blend 4 Ply in Chocolate (023) on 2.75mm DPNs. I knitted 5 rows of i-cord, then pulled the yarn through the stitches to ‘cast off’.

Adaptations:

• Used fingering weight yarn instead of sport.

You can find the link to my Ravelry project page for Pumpkin #1 here!

Thoughts on Pumpkin #1

• This makes a super small pumpkin. It’s SO cute, but a little flat.
• It’s quite easy to make the pumpkin ‘segments’ uneven by accident (I did).
• Pattern used BLCO for increases (not my fave method) and K2tog for decreases (a classic). This pattern, unlike some of the others, does include shaping, which gives the pumpkin a nice appearance.

Pumpkin #2: (Fluffy) Pepo Pumpkin Patch by Sandra Magalhães

Craft: Knitting

Pattern: Pepo Pumpkin Patch by Sandra Magalhães (large size, in-the-round version).

Yarn: Scheepjes Sweetheart Soft, in the shade 06 (leftover from a spontaneous mammoth amigurumi, made a while back for my soon-to-be sister-in-law).

Needles: 4.5mm circular needles (40cm).

Stem details: I followed a similar method to the stem of Pumpkin #5, using the same Scheepjes Metropolis in Valencia (062), but made the stem a bit wider (24 stitches, as opposed to 12) to suit the larger pumpkin. Because of the larger stitch count, I worked an extra round of k2togs before finishing off.

Adaptations:

• Used fluffy, chunky weight yarn instead of worsted.
• I added stitch markers to mark where the purl stitches went on every round. This was super helpful, particularly at first, because the fluffy yarn is quite difficult to see/work with! It also made the knitting process much quicker/easier, because I didn’t have to keep double checking where I was in the round.
• I knitted the main piece until it measured 25cm.

You can find the link to my Ravelry project page for Pumpkin #2 here!

Thoughts on Pumpkin #2

• I had planned to crochet a pumpkin using this yarn, but my GOODNESS it was hard to work with— it was a real struggle to feel where the stitches were! I decided to use it for a knitted pumpkin instead and it was MUCH easier.
• This particular pattern gave some very helpful information on the ratio between the length of the knitted piece and the height of the finished pumpkin (0.4 ish), which I was able to apply to all of my subsequent pumpkin-making endeavours.
• I LOVED the use of purl stitches as a guide in this pattern— it made dividing the pumpkin up evenly SO simple and easy.

Pumpkin #3: Darlin’ Plaid Pumpkin by Stitchberry

Craft: Crochet

Pattern: Darlin’ Plaid Pumpkin by Stitchberry (regular size).

Yarn: Stylecraft Special DK, in the shades Cream (1005) and Gingerbread (1806) (from my excessive stash of Stylecraft Special DK).

Hook: 5.0mm

Stem details: I made a basic, crochet stem for this one using a single strand of the Gingerbread yarn and a 3.0mm hook. The pattern is as follows (as always, UK terminology is used):

Round 1: Work 6 dc into a magic loop (6)

Round 2: 2 dc in each stitch around (12)

Rounds 3-7: dc in each stitch around

Fasten off yarn, leaving long end for attaching to pumpkin.

Adaptations:

• Used DK weight yarn held double, instead of worsted (obviously, this is not equivalent, so my pumpkin is a bit chunkier than it should be!).
• For the surface crochet, I worked all of the horizontal stripes on the right side, leaving 4 stitches between each one. For the vertical stripes, I alternated between working them on the right and wrong side (to add a bit of interest) and left 5 1/2 rows between each right-side, vertical row.
• I didn’t darn in the Gingerbread ends from the surface crochet, just used a needle to carry them right to the edge of the work, in the same chain pattern, then tied them off and caught them behind the work with the ‘cinching’ yarn (though I don’t actually think the pattern calls for darning in the ends either!).
• I used a few extra stitches as well as the ‘cinching’ method to close the pumpkin shut (because my fabric was so chunky!).
• I used the MC yarn (Cream), not the CC yarn (Gingerbread) to define the pumpkin ‘segments’. I think this looks a little more seamless.

You can find the link to my Ravelry project page for Pumpkin #3 here!

Thoughts on Pumpkin #3

• Using DK held double was probably a bit thick— it worked perfectly everywhere except the top and the bottom, where there was a bit too much stiff material to gather it in properly.
• I really liked the effect and colour combo of this pattern!

Pumpkin #4: Vertical Stripe Pumpkin by Sara Myers

Craft: Knitting

Pattern: Trio of Pumpkins by Sara Myers (Pumpkin #1 (Maroon & Beige Vertical Stripe)).

Yarn: Cascade Cantata, in the shades Cocoa (15) and Sand (16) (leftover from my Atlantis Sweater).

Needles: 5.0mm circular needles (40cm).

Stem details: Using the darker shade (Cocoa), I made a 4-stitch i-cord that was about 10cm long, then twisted it back on itself and secured it in that shape with a few stitches before attaching it to the pumpkin.

Adaptations:

• I used smaller needles than suggested (even though I actually used the right yarn weight with this one!) because I was worried about the stuffing poking through. I’m actually glad I did this— I think I could have gone even smaller because this pumpkin definitely has the loosest gauge of all of them!

You can find the link to my Ravelry project page for Pumpkin #4 here!

Thoughts on Pumpkin #4

• I was a bit disappointed that my pumpkin wasn’t as ‘swirly’ looking as the pumpkin in the pattern photo? I’m not entirely sure how you could achieve that, and I do like the stripes, but it’s just not quite what I was hoping for.
• As I mentioned, I think I would use slightly smaller needles if I were to make this again— perhaps 4.0 or 4.5mm?

Pumpkin #5: Handsome Cable Pumpkin by Sara Kiesel

Craft: Knitting

Pattern: Handsome Cable Pumpkin by Sara Kiesel.

Yarn: Fyberspates CoopKnits Socks Yeah!, in the shade Citrine (118) (leftover from a project that I will be sharing soon!).

Needles: 2.75mm (DPNs and circular (40cm)).

Stem details: I followed the instructions for the stem from the pattern, but made it separately (as opposed to directly on from the pumpkin itself) and stitched it on after stuffing because I knew my pumpkin was a little more sparse at that end (because of my reduced row count) and wanted to stitch it together first! Like Pumpkin #2, I used Scheepjes Metropolis in Valencia (062).

Adaptations:

• Used fingering weight yarn instead of worsted.
• After round 62, I jumped straight to round 103 to decrease the height of the finished pumpkin.
• I intended to follow the pattern from there as written, but I was playing yarn chicken, so, I ended up working rounds 103-108, then only worked rounds 110, 112, 115, 117, 119, 121, 124 and 126-134 (i.e. the ones with shaping/cables, plus a few extra rows, just until I was confident I had enough yarn!). I don’t recommend doing this, because (obviously) the top of my pumpkin was a little sparse, but it was nothing a little darning couldn’t disguise.
• I made the stem separately (so that I could fix the problems caused by my above fudging more easily).

You can find the link to my Ravelry project page for Pumpkin #5 here!

Thoughts on Pumpkin #5

• I ran into SO MUCH trouble with this one at first, because I just couldn’t work out the increases vs the stitch count! Turns out you absolutely NEED to use an increase that doesn’t use an existing stitch (i.e. not KFB), otherwise the stitch count won’t add up right. I ended up using a combo of lifted increases and M1Ls.
• This pattern is a little bit fiddly to work up at the beginning and the end (when you’re on the DPNs), but becomes much more fluid on the circular needles.
• This definitely took the longest of all of my pumpkins— it involves a lot more knitting than the rest!
• If knitted as instructed (using worsted weight yarn/ and working the whole pattern), this pumpkin would be absolutely huge. Like, HUGE. If you want a massive pumpkin, this pattern is your friend.
• I absolutely LOVE the cable pattern and yarn colour.
• I’m also a big fan of the slip knot/crochet starting technique used in this pattern! It’s not a technique I’ve come across before, but I thought it was very neat and super snazzy.

Final Thoughts

I have to say, I really LOVE my yarn-y pumpkin patch. I think each pumpkin has so much character— they’re all so different and individual, but still all very pumpkin-y. I think that they make the perfect, autumnal decorations!

Overall, I think my favourite pumpkin is probably Pumpkin #5 (the Handsome Cable Pumpkin), which is funny because it was definitely the one that caused me the most grief as I was making it! I don’t think the written pattern is perfect, but the cable pattern is just so gorgeous, and the Fyberspates yarn is such a pretty shade of orange, I think it all came together really nicely (even with all of my fudging).

Sadly, I do think Pumpkin #4 (the Vertical Stripe Pumpkin) is my least favourite of the quintet. It just doesn’t have the same neatness (dare I say, elegance?) as the other pumpkins, and I was disappointed not to achieve the same swirly effect that the pumpkin from the pattern seems to have. I also think I could have knitted this pumpkin on even smaller needles, because it has a slightly more open fabric than I would have liked for a stuffed object.

Having said all that, I love all the pumpkins together and think they make a lovely, autumnal cluster! What do you think? Which pumpkin is your favourite?

Gemma

xxx

Table of Contents

• Equipment
• Cover + Quote Page
• Monthly Calendar
• Project + Post Planning
• Weeklies
• October Review
• Final Thoughts

Equipment

To create this spooky bullet journal setup, I used the following materials:

• Sakura Pigma Micron black fineliners: 05, 08 and 10.
• Tombow ABT Dual Brush Pen, N15 Black.
• Sakura Gelly Roll, 10 Bold, white.
• Sakura Quickie Glue pen.
• Alphabet stamps.
• Black paper.
• Ink pad, black.
• Hole punch.
• Ruler.
• Scissors.
• Pencil.
• Eraser.

Cover + Quote Page

I kept things super minimal for my Cover + Quote Page this month- I used my alphabet stamps to create the ‘October’ heading, then added some quick bat doodles alongside it using my Tombow N15 pen. For the Quote Page, I tore two rectangles of black paper and stuck them onto the page using my Sakura Quickie Glue pen (I love using this pen for glueing smaller pieces of paper- it’s so much less messy!). I used my white Sakura Gelly Roll to write ‘HAPPY’ and ‘SEASON’ on the rectangles, in simple block capitals, then used the alphabet stamps again to write ‘spooky’ in the space between- giving me a simple, yet striking, quote (though is it even really a quote? I’m not sure…) page that reads: ‘Happy Spooky Season’.

Monthly Calendar

I recently saw a super cool bullet journal spread on Pinterest that had used this black and white cobweb design, so I thought my Monthly Calendar spread would be the perfect place to give it a go myself! I stuck pieces of torn black paper into two of the corners, then used my white Sakura Gelly Roll to draw the cobweb pattern on top of them. I then used my size 10, black Sakura Pigma Micron to extend the cobwebs past the black paper, like in the original design.

For the calendar itself, I used my size 08 Pigma Micron to draw a simple grid (following the dot grid of the journal, each individual box was 6×6). I then used a hole punch to cut lots of little circles from the black paper, which I stuck in using the Quickie Glue pen and wrote the dates on using the white Gelly Roll. To help the calendar stand out from the cobweb decoration, I outlined the whole grid with a thick, black line using my Tombow N15. Finally, to finish off the spread, I used my alphabet stamps again to make the ‘October’ heading, then added a couple more bat doodles in the bottom left-hand corner for good measure.

Project + Post Planning

Last month, I introduced a new spread to my monthly setup for keeping track of my Projects + Posts. I really loved using that spread throughout September and found it really useful for keeping on top of all my various creative endeavours, so I decided to keep that spread in my monthly setup this time around. This time, though, I’ve split the spread into 4 sections (as opposed to just 2): one for keeping track of my Projects, one for my Posts, one for any Blogmas Posts I’ve been working on and, finally, one for any notes. Each of the post/project trackers is set out in a simple table format: for larger subheadings, I used a torn strip of black paper. For smaller subheadings, I used hole-punched paper circles.

In my Project table, the far-left column is labelled ‘c’ for the type of craft (e.g. knitting, crochet, baking etc.). Then, there’s a space to write the name of the project itself, followed by columns for the start and end date, before the final ‘checklist’ column that I will place a tick in when I’ve finished each project.

Both of the Post tables have the exact same format, but I did want to keep my current posts separate from the posts I’m working on in advance for Blogmas At Home 2024, just to help me keep things straight in my head! For both tables then, there’s a larger column for the post title, followed by 7 ‘checklist’ columns, for when I’ve made the item (M), taken photos of the item (P), written the post (W), edited the post (E), edited the photos (EP), proofread the post (P) and, finally, for when the post is all done and ready to go live.

I didn’t have much room in this spread for any extra decoration, but I did manage to squeeze a couple more bat doodles into the ‘Notes’ section in the bottom left!

Weeklies

I decided to try something a little new with my Weeklies this month, because I’ve been struggling recently with my weekly task lists. I LOVE having a ‘master’ task list within my weeklies, because it allows me to keep track of the tasks that I need to do without having to assign them to a particular day or keep carrying them over in my daily logs. However, over the past couple of months, I’ve been finding that tasks have been slipping through the cracks when I start a new week. This month, then, I opted to trim down my weekly spread pages and use the blank space on the far-left and right of the whole weekly section for my ‘master task lists’, so that, no matter which weekly I’m on, I can see my task lists and keep them going throughout the month. I’ll see how this works for me as the month goes on.

I set up each weekly spread in the exact same way by dividing each spread into a 4×2 ‘grid’ of boxes, using seven boxes for the daily logs and one for the weekly subheading. I used my size 08 Pigma Micron pen to draw the boxes, leaving the tops open and sticking in a small, torn rectangle of black paper for the headers.

In the eighth space, I used my alphabet stamps to write out the weekly subheading and added some more bat doodles for decoration.

To decorate the pages even more, I added a strip of black paper to the edge of the first and last spreads, next to the task sections. I kept the side of the paper closest to the weekly section straight and tore the other side, to tie it into the torn paper accents I’d used throughout the setup..

I also added thinner strips of paper (not torn, this time) to the cut edges of each of the weeklies, both to add some decoration and to soften up (quite literally) the edges (to help prevent paper cuts!). To make these, I cut strips of paper that were double the width of the ‘stripe’ that I wanted on each spread, then folded them lengthwise and stuck them over the edge of the paper, so they covered the sharp cut edge but still added a bit of decoration to both sides of the paper. This was a little time consuming and finicky to do, but I’m really happy with the finished result!

October Review

Finally, we have my October Review page. The content of this spread is exactly the same as my usual, monthly review spreads: on the left-hand page, I have space to note down the ATP & WTA Top 10, my #1 memory and my 6 favourite songs from the month. On the right-hand page, I have the ‘October Review’ heading and space to stick in a polaroid of my favourite photo from the month.

I switched up the layout of the left-hand page ever so slightly, cutting down the size of my playlist section so that I had room for a few final bat doodles (and a super spooky ‘boo.’). Like the rest of the setup, I used my size 08 Pigma Micron to draw the boxes, then made the subheadings using torn black paper and my white Gelly Roll. For the ‘Playlist’ section, I added the smaller squares (for the album covers) and lines using the size 05 Pigma Micron.

For the right-hand page, I opted to create another black-and-white cobweb design, instead of a frame. If I stick the polaroid on the page centrally, I should still be able to see lots of cobweb peeking out from behind it, giving the page some decoration. I stamped in the word ‘October’ using my alphabet stamps, then wrote ‘REVIEW’ using my Gelly Roll on another torn piece of paper, just to tie in all of the design elements that I’ve used throughout this setup.

Final Thoughts

I really love how this spread turned out- I did struggle a bit with inspiration for this month, so this setup was very much born out of a combination of desperation and necessity, which I find doesn’t usually yield the best results, but seemed to work out for me this time around! I love the simple, minimal vibe of the setup, paired with the occasional, rather un-minimal cobweb design (which I had so much fun recreating after seeing on Pinterest!), and I really like the classic, black-and-white colour scheme. I was also super happy to return to my paper-ripping roots, after a long time away from the style in favour of quicker, more doodle-y spreads.

Overall, I think this spread is going to be perfect for the spooky month ahead, without feeling overly garish- I feel like it’s Halloween-y, but not too Halloween-y, if that makes sense! As always, though, I’d love to hear what you think in the comments below!

Gemma

xxx

Table of Contents

• Bakery-Style vs Regular Muffins
• Muffins: 101
• Making the Streusel Topping
  • Ingredients
  • Method
• Making the Pumpkin & Coffee Muffins
  • Ingredients
  • Method
• Making the Maple Glaze
  • Ingredients
  • Method
• Recipe

Bakery-Style vs Regular Muffins

If you missed my last muffin post, I did a deep dive into how to make the perfect, bakery-style muffins. Bakery-style muffins are big– they have super domed muffin-tops and that perfect, fresh-from-an-artisanal-bakery look. When I bake bakery-style muffins, I like to use tulip muffin cases, because a) they’re bigger, so there’s more room for all of the extra batter and b) they look fancy. You can make bakery-style muffins from any muffin recipe, including this one!

However, I realise that, sometimes, home-bakers would rather just make standard-sized muffins. Not only does baking regular-sized muffins help with portion control (who is she? I definitely don’t know her), but it also means that you can bake more muffins at once- when baking bakery-style muffins, you can only bake 6 muffins at a time (instead of 12), because bigger muffins need extra space to grow and puff up! So, with that in mind, I’ve written this post with instructions for both muffin styles!

For this recipe then, here’s a rundown of the two muffin types:

I found that the bake time was pretty much the same for both muffin styles. While you might expect the bakery-style muffins to take longer, you’ll always be baking fewer at a time, so the heat can circulate more easily, which evens out the times.

All of this to say that, with a few little changes here and there, you can make these muffins in whichever way you want!

Muffins: 101

Whether you are making bakery-style or standard muffins, there are some rules in the muffin-verse that you should always follow:

• Don’t over-mix the muffin batter.

Over-mixed muffin batters produce tough, dense muffins. Don’t worry if you’ve got a few lumps/streaks of flour left in your batter- just go with it!

• Use the fan setting on your oven to bake the muffins.

Muffins are best baked quickly and at a high heat (at least, to begin with- more on that in a sec!), so the fan setting is your friend.

• Bake the muffins at a higher temperature for the first 5 minutes.

Bake the muffins at a high temperature (200°C fan, in this recipe) for 5 minutes. Then, turn the oven down (to 150°C fan, in this recipe) for the remaining time, to finish off the baking process. The initial high temperature helps to activate the raising agent in the muffins, which helps them to rise up and become big and fluffy, then the lower temperature helps to ensure that the muffins are fully and evenly cooked through.

Making the Streusel Topping

This cinnamon & pecan streusel topping is super quick and easy to make, but adds great texture and flavour to the finished muffins. If you just want plain muffins, you can absolutely leave it off, but I think it’s a really great addition (plus, it makes these muffins feel even more autumnal, which is a definite plus in my book!). The topping isn’t overly sweet, but, when paired with the super-sweet maple glaze, the flavours balance out perfectly.

Ingredients

To make the streusel topping, you’ll need the following ingredients:

• Plain flour

Don’t use self-raising flour, or your streusel won’t be crisp and crunchy.

• Granulated sugar

I usually use caster sugar in my baked goods, but granulated sugar is preferable here for its crunchier texture.

• Light brown soft sugar

Brown sugar adds a caramel-y depth of flavour to the streusel.

• Ground cinnamon

A small amount of ground cinnamon gives the streusel a warm, autumnal flavour, which compliments the spices in the muffins perfectly.

• Salt

Just a little pinch of salt is added to the streusel to balance the flavours and make it extra tasty.

• Unsalted butter

I prefer to use unsalted butter, so that I can be in control of how much salt goes into my baked goods, but if you only have salted butter, you can just omit the salt.

• Toasted pecans

Chopped pecans are tossed through the streusel topping to add even more crunch and nutty flavour. To get the most flavour out of the nuts, toast (or roast) them first and allow them to cool before mixing into the streusel. I do this in the airfryer (about 5 minutes at 180°C should be perfect), but you could also do it in a dry pan on the stove, or in the oven.

Method

To make the streusel, start by whisking together the flour, both sugars, the cinnamon and the salt, just until everything is nicely combined.

Next, melt the butter and add it to the dry ingredients.

Use a fork to mix everything together. The mixture should form little clumps and crumbles.

Finally, tip in the chopped, toasted pecans and mix until the nuts are evenly distributed throughout the streusel.

That’s it! Now your streusel is ready, you can set it aside while you make the muffin batter.

Making the Pumpkin & Coffee Muffins

This muffin batter is super easy to whip up- you don’t even need a mixer!

Ingredients

To make the pumpkin & coffee muffin batter, you will need the following ingredients:

• Plain flour

Make sure to use plain flour, not self-raising, otherwise the raising agent ratios will be off!

• Baking powder

One of the two raising agents in the muffin batter, this helps the muffins to puff up and be extra fluffy.

• Baking soda

The second raising agent in the muffin batter, baking soda is used alongside baking powder because of the acidic ingredients in the batter.

• Salt

A small pinch of salt helps to balance all of the flavours in the muffins.

• Spices

I’ve used a traditional combination of ‘pumpkin pie’ spices in these muffins: ground cinnamon, ginger, cloves and freshly grated nutmeg. These spices give the muffins a lovely, warming flavour.

• Caster sugar

Back to caster sugar for the batter- I prefer baking with caster sugar because it is finer and so dissolves more easily into batters than granulated sugar.

• Light brown soft sugar

Brown sugar adds depth of flavour and extra moisture to the muffins.

• Sunflower oil

Oil is used instead of butter in this batter to make the muffins extra moist.

• Pumpkin purée

You can buy pumpkin purée in cans in most supermarkets, or you can use homemade purée, if you prefer. If you use the canned stuff (like I did), just make sure it is 100% pumpkin (and no other flavourings/ingredients)!

• Eggs

I always use large eggs.

• Greek yoghurt

Greek yoghurt adds extra moisture to the muffins. If you don’t have greek yoghurt, you can use sour cream instead.

• Vanilla extract

Just a small amount of vanilla extract helps to bring all of the other flavours together.

• Instant coffee granules

Instant coffee granules are used to make these muffins into Pumpkin Spice Latte Muffins! Dissolve the granules in hot water before mixing into the rest of the wet ingredients, to ensure the coffee flavour is evenly distributed throughout the muffin batter.

Method

Start by preheating the oven to 200°C fan. Line your muffin tin(s) with cases and set aside. Remember- if you’re baking regular-sized muffins, you can go ahead and line every cavity in the tin with a muffin case, giving you a total of 12 muffins. If you’re planning to make bigger, bakery-style muffins, you’ll need to space 8 muffin cases out over 2 x 12-hole muffin tins, to give them plenty of room to puff up! You’ll have to bake the trays one at a time, but the muffins will be extra big and fluffy for it.

To make the muffin batter, start by placing all of the dry ingredients (the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices) into a bowl.

Whisk the dry ingredients together to combine them, then set aside.

Place the remaining ingredients (the ‘wet’ ingredients) into another, large bowl.

Whisk well until a smooth mixture has formed.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, then fold together, being careful not to over-mix the batter (it’s okay if there are a few streaks/lumps of flour left!).

And that’s it! The batter is now ready to be baked.

Divide the batter between the muffin cases. The muffin cases will be pretty full- for regular-sized muffins, I fill each case with 1 heaped, regular-sized ice cream scoop’s worth of batter. For bakery-style muffins, I fill each case with 2 level regular-sized ice cream scoop’s worth of batter!

Crumble a generous layer of the streusel topping over each muffin, making sure to get some pecan pieces on each muffin. It will seem like a lot of streusel topping, but the muffins will expand a lot, so it will look a little more sparse on the finished bakes!

Place the muffins into the preheated oven and bake for 5 minutes at that initial, high temperature, then turn the temperature down to 150°C fan and bake for a further 20 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the muffins comes out clean, or with only a few moist crumbs.

If you’re making bakery-style muffins, remember to turn the temperature back up to 200°C fan and wait until the oven has heated back up after baking the first tray of muffins! Then you just need to bake the second tray in exactly the same way.

I like to remove the muffins from the baking tin as soon as they come out of the oven, to prevent the bottoms of the cases from becoming greasy. The tulip cases make this super easy to do, because you can hold onto the papers and not have to worry about burning yourself on the hot muffins! Transfer the muffins to a wire rack to cool completely before icing.

Making the Maple Glaze

This maple glaze is only 3 ingredients and is so quick to make! It adds an extra hit of autumnal sweetness to these cupcakes and helps to balance the flavour of the streusel topping.

Ingredients

All you need to make this sweet, maple glaze is:

• Icing sugar

You need to use icing sugar, or powdered sugar, for this- caster sugar isn’t fine enough!

• Maple syrup

Maple syrup adds a lovely flavour and texture to the icing.

• Water

Water is used to thin out the icing slightly, so it can be drizzled onto the muffins. You could use milk instead, if you prefer.

Method

To make the glaze, start by sifting the icing sugar into a small bowl.

Add the maple syrup, along with a splash of water, and stir to combine.

Check the consistency of the icing- you’re looking for a thin(ish) glaze that you can drizzle over the muffins, but that won’t all run off immediately! To make the glaze thinner, add a little more water. To make it thicker, add more sifted icing sugar.

Once the glaze is ready, you can drizzle it over the cooled muffins. The muffins can be enjoyed at room temperature, but they’re extra lovely if you warm them slightly in the microwave, before serving!

As with all muffins, these are best enjoyed the day you make them, but leftovers can be stored in an airtight container for a day or so at room temperature.

Recipe

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Pumpkin Spice Latte Muffins

Spiced pumpkin and coffee muffins, topped with a cinnamon & pecan streusel and drizzled with a maple glaze. The perfect autumnal treat!

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword Cinnamon, Cloves, Ginger, Maple Syrup, Muffin, Nutmeg, Pecans, Pumpkin, Streusel

Prep Time 45 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Servings 12 muffins (or 8 bigger bakery-style muffins)

Ingredients

For the cinnamon & pecan streusel topping:

• 90 tbsp plain flour
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• 2 tbsp light brown soft sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch salt
• 60 g unsalted butter, melted.
• 40 g pecans, toasted and roughly chopped.

For the pumpkin & coffee muffin batter:

• 190 g plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg, freshly grated.
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• 135 g caster sugar
• 135 g light brown soft sugar
• 120 ml sunflower oil
• 340 g pumpkin purée (see Note 1).
• 2 eggs
• 60 g Greek yoghurt
• 1 splash vanilla extract
• 4 tsp instant coffee granules, dissolved in 2 tbsp hot water and cooled.

For the maple glaze:

• 60 g icing sugar, sifted.
• 2 tsp maple syrup

Instructions

Make the streusel topping:

• In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, both sugars, cinnamon and salt. Add the melted butter and stir together until the mixture forms crumbles. Stir in the chopped, toasted pecans and set aside for later.

Make the muffins:

• Preheat the oven to 200°C fan. Line muffin tin(s) with muffin cases (12 cases in 1 x 12-hole tin for regular-sized muffins, or 8 spaced out over 2 tins for bigger, bakery-style muffins) and set aside.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves until well combined.
• In a separate, larger bowl, whisk both sugars together with the oil, pumpkin purée, eggs, yoghurt, vanilla extract and the dissolved instant coffee granules, until you have a smooth mixture.
• Fold the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture, being careful not to over-mix the batter.
• Divide the batter between the prepared muffin cases (about 1 heaped regular-sized ice cream scoop's worth for regular-sized muffins, or 2 level scoops for bakery-style). Sprinkle each muffin with a generous layer of the streusel topping, then bake one tray of muffins at a time in the preheated oven for 5 minutes, before turning the temperature down to 150°C fan and baking for a further 23-27 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the muffins comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs.
• Once the muffins are baked, remove them from the tins and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before icing.

Make the maple glaze:

• In a small bowl, mix the sifted icing sugar and the maple syrup, along with 1 tbsp of water until a smooth icing has formed. The icing should be thin enough to drizzle over the muffins, but not so thin that it runs off immediately. If the icing is too thin, add a little more sifted icing sugar. If the icing is too thick, add a little more water.
• Drizzle the icing over the cooled muffins, then serve. The muffins are best eaten the same day that they are baked, but leftovers will keep for a day or two, if stored in an airtight container at room temperature.

Notes

1. You can buy ready-made pumpkin purée in cans from the supermarket- just make sure you get one that is 100% pumpkin (i.e. not pumpkin pie filling).

 

Muffin recipe adapted from https://www.brownedbutterblondie.com/pumpkin-muffins-recipe/

Streusel topping recipe adapted from https://celebratingsweets.com/pumpkin-crumb-muffins-with-cinnamon-icing/#recipe

When I tell you that this recipe has been years in the making, I truly mean it. I literally have a document on my laptop called ‘Honeycomb Diaries’ that is just an extensive list of notes and records of different attempts and alterations, as well the super scientific inferences that I have drawn from those experiments (e.g. the extremely accurate ‘too shatter-y’), from the past 3 years (does that mean that mastering the art of honeycomb was my lockdown project? The banana breads of this world must feel very slighted). I just couldn’t seem to get honeycomb right. I have tried different recipes, different sugars, different tins, different methods, different EVERYTHING (at least it feels that way). Now, 3 years later, I have finally developed a honeycomb recipe that I am happy with- one that works reliably and isn’t insanely complicated.

Today, I’m sharing my hard-earned honeycomb expertise with you. I hope your blood sugar is ready.

Table of Contents

• Ingredients
• Equipment
• Making the Honeycomb
• Storing the Honeycomb
• Recipe

Ingredients

For this honeycomb, you only need 4 ingredients (5, admittedly, if you intend to dip your honeycomb in chocolate, like I have done):

• Caster sugar

Don’t use granulated sugar, because it will take longer to dissolve, which could throw off the whole process. If you’re in the US, I would recommend using superfine sugar. Don’t use brown sugar- it has too much moisture and will affect the flavour of the finished honeycomb. You can use either white or golden caster sugar for this recipe (I used golden here).

• Golden syrup

One of the two liquid sugar ingredients in this recipe, golden syrup helps to give the honeycomb a deeper colour and its characteristic caramel-y flavour.

• Glucose syrup

While some recipes use all golden syrup, I like to use half golden syrup, half glucose syrup. Using all golden syrup can make the finished product a little sticky, so substituting half of it for glucose syrup makes for a more stable honeycomb. Using half glucose syrup will make the honeycomb a little paler- it will look a little anaemic at first, but it does darken up a little as it sets- you’ll basically end up with a similar internal colour to a Cadbury’s Crunchie, which I feel is the ultimate goal for all honeycomb, right?

These days, you can purchase glucose syrup at most supermarkets (usually in the baking aisle). Because I have been making so much honeycomb recently (see aforementioned Honeycomb Diaries), I like to buy mine in larger quantities online- I purchased this 325g tub of PME liquid glucose from The Cake Decorating Company (my go-to for specialist baking equipment/ingredients).

• Bicarbonate of soda

Bicarbonate of soda is what gives the honeycomb its characteristic spongey texture and appearance- the bicarb reacts with the hot sugar to form lots of air bubbles.

Equipment

You will need the following equipment for this recipe:

• Large, heavy-bottomed saucepan

The hot sugar will bubble up significantly once you’ve added the bicarbonate of soda. Make sure you use a large pan so that the sugar doesn’t bubble over the top and burn you.

It’s important to use a heavy-bottomed saucepan when working with sugar/caramel to ensure that everything heats up evenly- otherwise you might burn some spots before others have melted!

• Sugar thermometer

While you can get specially-made candy thermometers that clip onto the side of your saucepan, I prefer to use a handheld probe thermometer, like the one above, because I often make small quantities of toffee and find it easier to accurately read the temperature with them. Use whichever you prefer, but you do need some sort of sugar thermometer for this recipe, because you need to be super precise. You can find thermometers relatively cheaply online and you can use them for a number of recipes, so they are definitely a worthwhile investment.

• Sieve

I like to sieve the bicarbonate of soda after I have measured it out, to make sure it incorporates into the sugar properly. You want to avoid pockets of bicarbonate of soda, if you can, because they will be unpleasant to eat- sieving the bicarb and whisking it in really well helps to prevent those pockets.

• Heatproof whisk

I like to use a whisk to mix the bicarbonate of soda into the sugar, to make sure that it is thoroughly combined. The toffee will be very hot, though, so the whisk must be heatproof- either a metal or silicon whisk will be fine.

• Heatproof spatula

The toffee can get a bit sticky, so you’ll want to work quickly and have a good spatula at the ready for transferring it from the pan to the baking tin. Like the whisk, make sure your spatula can withstand the hot temperature of the toffee.

• 20cm square baking tin, lined with greaseproof paper

I like to use a tin for my toffee because I think it helps it to retain some height (though the toffee will always collapse a little bit as it cools- this is normal). Some recipes call for pouring the hot toffee onto a lined baking tray to cool, but I find my toffee ends up super thin if I do this. You want to make sure you use the right size tin though, because it’s important that the toffee fills the tin, but isn’t too deep, or it might be more likely to collapse. For the quantities listed in this recipe, I find a 20cm square tin is the perfect size. If you were to halve the recipe, I would recommend using a regular loaf tin (about half the size of a 20cm square tin), to achieve the same results.

It’s very important that you line the tin completely– sugar is inherently very sticky, and you don’t want your honeycomb to get stuck in the pan.

Making the Honeycomb

Honeycomb is one of those recipes where everything happens very quickly at the end of the process. Because of this, it’s important to get all of your ingredients and equipment laid out and ready before you start.

To start with, set the lined baking tin near the hob, so that it is easily accessible when it comes to pouring out the hot toffee.

Sift the bicarbonate of soda into a small bowl/measuring cup. Set that near the hob as well, so that it is at hand to tip into the hot sugar later.

Make sure your thermometer, whisk and spatula are all at hand, then place the caster sugar, golden syrup and glucose syrup into the saucepan. Put the saucepan over a medium-low heat and allow to melt. You can give it a brief mix if needed, to help it melt evenly, but try not to stir too much, to prevent any crystallisation.

Keep the pan over the heat as the sugar begins to bubble. Once the caster sugar has dissolved, make sure to keep an eye on the temperature of the toffee. When the syrup reaches 153°C (it won’t be overly dark at this stage, so it’s important to go by the temperature, rather than the appearance of the syrup), take the pan off the heat and quickly add the sifted bicarbonate of soda- whisking vigorously to incorporate it.

The toffee will bubble up aggressively, so be careful. Once the bicarbonate of soda is incorporated stop whisking and immediately pour the toffee into your lined tin, using a spatula to scrape down the saucepan as best as you can (though the toffee will already be setting, so you won’t be able to salvage every last bit).

Allow the honeycomb to cool in the tin- it might collapse slightly (this is normal!), but it should still retain some height and fluffiness.

Once it’s just about cool (about 10-15 minutes), remove it from the tin and break it up into chunks, using either your hands or a sharp knife.

If you let the toffee cool completely before doing this, it will be more prone to shattering- leaving you with a messy rubble of honeycomb, as opposed to tasty chunks. If you don’t let it cool enough, the toffee will bend rather than break. Once the toffee has cooled enough to touch, gently press the surface in a few places- if there are any soft areas, the toffee is not cool enough yet.

Storing the Honeycomb

Honeycomb is exceptionally sensitive to moisture so it’s very important to store it properly. It will start absorbing moisture from the air pretty much as soon as it cools down, so you need to work quickly (and try not to make they honeycomb in a humid kitchen- don’t be boiling some pasta at the same time or anything!). There are two things you can do to help your homemade honeycomb keep for longer:

• Store it in an airtight container

As soon as you’ve broken up the honeycomb, transfer it to an airtight container, lined with greaseproof paper. Like this, the honeycomb should last for a few days (more if you are super careful), as long as it is stored in a cool, dry place (not the fridge!). If any moisture gets in, or your container is not completely airtight, the honeycomb will gradually start melting, which is not what you want.

• Dip the honeycomb pieces in chocolate

Dipping your honeycomb pieces in chocolate will seal the sugar off from the air, meaning that the moisture cannot get in and melt the toffee. If done correctly, this method is much more effective than storing the pieces in an airtight container and your toffee will keep for significantly longer. If you do this, make sure you cover the entire piece of honeycomb in a layer of chocolate- any exposed toffee and it will still be able to absorb moisture. Also, don’t put the chocolate-dipped honeycomb into the fridge to set, just dip the honeycomb (ideally with tempered chocolate- I didn’t temper mine and, while they did set at room temperature eventually, they took a while and the chocolate has bloomed, so this is definitely a case of do as I say not as I do. You can find my guide to tempering here). Once you’ve dipped the honeycomb, leave the pieces to set at room temperature.

I like to use two forks to dip the honeycomb pieces, tapping the fork on the side of the container to remove any excess chocolate before transferring the dipped honeycomb to a baking sheet to harden. Once dipped, the honeycomb should last at room temperature, but it’s better to store it in an airtight container, just in case.

I hope you’ll try making some honeycomb for yourself- it looks super fancy and complicated, but, if you have the right ingredients/equipment, it’s really not too tricky and comes together super quickly. Let me know if you give this recipe a go- I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Gemma

xxx

Recipe

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Honeycomb

Also known as Cinder Toffee or Hokey Pokey, this 4-ingredient, crispy-crunchy toffee can be left plain or dipped in chocolate for extra deliciousness (and easier storage).

Course Snack

Keyword Chocolate, Cinder Toffee, Glucose syrup, Golden syrup, Hokey Pokey, Honeycomb, Sponge Toffee, Sugarpaste daisy

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 1 20cm square tin

Equipment

• 20cm square tin, fully lined with greaseproof paper
• Large, heavy-bottomed saucepan
• candy thermometer (see Note 1).
• Heatproof whisk
• Heatproof spatula
• Sieve

Ingredients

• 160 g caster sugar
• 80 g golden syrup
• 80 g liquid glucose
• 2 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

To dip (optional):

• 400 g chocolate (I used milk chocolate, but you could use dark if you prefer).

Instructions

• Begin by setting out all of your equipment, so that everything is at hand for when thing start happening quickly towards the end of the process- make sure the lined tin, thermometer, whisk and spatula are all at hand, near the hob.
• Sieve the bicarbonate of soda into a small bowl or measuring cup. Set it near the hob, so it is easily accessible. Add the sugar, golden syrup and glucose syrup to the saucepan and set over medium-low heat.
• Allow the sugar to melt, giving it a gentle stir, if needed, to help it melt evenly. Try not to stir too much, though, or it might crystallise. Once the sugar has melted, keep an eye on the temperature using the candy thermometer and allow the mixture to bubble away until it reaches 153°C.
• At this point, you need to work very quickly. Remove the pan from the heat and immediately add the bicarbonate of soda. Vigorously whisk in the bicarb- the sugar will froth up violently, so be very careful. Once all of the bicarb has been mixed in, quickly tip the mixture into the lined tin, using a spatula to scrape the sides (don't worry if you can't get it all- just try to get most of it). Leave the honeycomb until it is just about cool, about 10-15 minutes, (see Note 2)- it should be hard to the touch- then break up into pieces using your hands.
• At this point, the honeycomb can either be eaten immediately or transferred to an airtight container, where it should keep for a few days (as long as it is not exposed to any moisture). To prolong the shelf-life of the honeycomb (and make it extra tasty), you can dip it into chocolate. Melt and temper the chocolate, then use 2 forks to dip each piece of honeycomb into it, making sure that the honeycomb is completely covered. Transfer the dipped toffee to a baking tray, lined with greaseproof paper and allow to set at room temperature until the chocolate has hardened. Store in an airtight container until ready to eat.

Notes

1. I like to use a digital probe thermometer, for a more accurate reading and because it is easier to use for smaller quantities, but you could also use a more traditional candy thermometer, which clips onto the side of the saucepan, if you prefer.
2. It is easier to get proper chunks (as opposed to a messy rubble) of honeycomb if you break it up when it is just about cool- not completely cold yet. Obviously, do not touch the toffee if it is still hot, but, once you can touch it in a few places and it is hard, take it out of the tin, peel off the greaseproof paper and start breaking it up, working from the outside in (the centre will take the longest to firm up). If the toffee bends, rather than breaks, give it a little bit longer to set. As a bonus, it will be easier to remove the greaseproof paper when the toffee is not quite cold yet, so you shouldn’t have any trouble with the paper sticking to the toffee if you use this method. 

To mark the end of Spooky Season, I thought I would share a recipe for the most autumnal, innately Halloween-y (even though in the US I feel it’s probably more Thanksgiving-y, but I digress) treat: Pumpkin Pie. This sweet treat was always a staple in my house growing up, so it’s a really nostalgic dessert for me. Also, it’s super tasty, so there’s that too!

We’ve always used the same recipe for pumpkin pie, namely, the recipe from Delia Smith’s How To Cook: Book One. However, as seems to be the case with all family recipes, we (read: my dad, who usually makes this- and who helped me make the one pictured!) have adapted, altered, changed (and sometimes changed back) the ingredients & method quite a bit, over time. This recipe is the result of all that tweaking (ironically, it’s not even that different- what can I say, Delia knows best).

This pumpkin pie has a slightly sweet and super nutty pastry, which you can make super quickly in the food processor! The pastry shell is then filled with a silky-smooth, spiced pumpkin custard. It can be served warm or chilled, so it’s easy to make ahead. As a bonus, it is pretty easy to make (especially for a pie!), so it makes for a great, stress-free dessert option for this time of year.

Table of Contents

• Ingredients
• Equipment
• Making the Pastry
• Baking the Pastry Case
• Making the Pumpkin Filling
• Baking the Pie
• Recipe

Ingredients

This pie is made up of two elements: the nutty pastry and the rich pumpkin filling. You start by making the pastry, then you make the filling as the pastry bakes (we LOVE a time-saving recipe here!).

For the pastry, you will need:

• Pecans

A slightly unusual addition, but mixing finely chopped, toasted pecans into the pastry really elevates this pie. Not only does it give the pie a lovely, warm and nutty flavour, but it also adds another texture to the pie. I like to toast the pecans on the hob, in a dry pan over a medium heat, but you can toast them in the oven if you prefer.

• Plain flour

Don’t use self-raising flour here, or your pastry will puff up and not be crisp and flaky.

• Icing sugar

It’s only a small amount of icing sugar, but you just need the slightest hint of sweetness in the pastry, to complement the filling.

• Salt

Just a pinch, to bring out the other flavours.

• Unsalted butter

You want the butter to be very cold when you make this pastry, so that the finished pastry case is super flaky and delicious! Keep it in the fridge right until you are ready to use it, to ensure it stays as cold as possible. You’ll also want to cut it into cubes, to help incorporate it into the dry ingredients more easily.

• Egg yolk

The egg yolk adds richness to the pastry. You will need a small amount of egg white later, to seal the pastry case, so you can save the white from this egg (you’ll need another yolk later on though, so you’ll have one leftover white whatever you do- you can use it straightaway in another recipe or freeze it for another day).

• Cold water

Like the butter, it’s important that the water is very cold to ensure you get the best pastry possible.

For the pumpkin filling, you will need:

• Eggs

For the filling, you’ll need 2 whole eggs, plus an extra yolk. Use the extra white in another recipe, or freeze it for another day.

• Double cream

The cream works together with the eggs to create a silky-smooth, thick custard. If you’re in the US, use heavy cream.

• Soft dark brown sugar

Using dark brown sugar lends a deep, treacle-y flavour and colour to the filling, which really complements the pumpkin flavour.

• Maple syrup

The original recipe called for molasses, but we prefer this pie made with maple syrup. The molasses can make everything a little bitter, while maple syrup adds a gentle, smoky sweetness that goes perfectly with the other flavours.

• Spices

A variety of spices go into the filling to really give this pie that classic ‘pumpkin pie’ flavour. We use ground cinnamon, nutmeg (which is always better when freshly grated, if possible!), allspice, cloves and ginger, which are all very traditional pumpkin pie spices.

• Canned pumpkin

In the original recipe, Delia (very impressively) roasts and purées her own pumpkin. I have very vivid memories of my dad spending a looooong time pushing roasted pumpkin chunks through a sieve and, honestly, I think we unanimously decided that it just wasn’t worth it. If you have a pumpkin you want to use, and you don’t mind the excessive elbow grease required, then, by all means, go for it! But, if, like us, you prefer your pumpkin pie to be a bit less labour-intensive, canned pumpkin makes for a super smooth filling with much less effort on your part. I’d call that a win.

Equipment

Aside from the standard baking equipment you probably already have in your kitchen, you will need a couple of (slightly more) specialist equipment for this recipe.

• 9 inch (23cm) fluted tart tin, with a removable base

We’ve always made this in a fluted tart tin, but that’s kind of optional- you could have a pie with straight sides if you wanted! Having a removable base makes it SO much easier to get the pie out of the tin, so I would definitely recommend that. I believe that in the US, pumpkin pies are usually made and served in pie dishes, which would mean you don’t need to worry about removing the baked pie from the dish. I’ve never tried baking this recipe in a pie dish, but I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t work!

• Food processor

I like to use a food processor to a) finely chop the pecans and b) make the pastry. Strictly speaking, using the processor isn’t wholly necessary- you could chop the pecans finely by hand, using a large, sharp knife, and you could make the pastry by hand, rubbing the butter into the dry ingredients with your fingertips and mixing the pastry together with a blunt knife. However, using a food processor really speeds up the process (and is a lot less messy!).

I recommend fitting the processor with a metal blade to chop the nuts, then a plastic blade to make the pastry (the plastic blade helps to prevent you from overworking the pastry, which is the reason many people worry about making pastry in a food processor. Overworking pastry can make for a tough pastry case after baking, but this particular pastry recipe is pretty hard-wearing, so I wouldn’t worry too much!).

Making the Pastry

Before you start making the pastry, you need to chop the pecans. They need to be very finely chopped (hence why it is so much easier to use the food processor!), otherwise they will prevent you from rolling out the pastry thinly enough. However, make sure you don’t go too far when processing them, or they will release their oils and end up as pecan butter- not what you’re looking for! Aim for a fine rubble, like this:

Once you have your pecan rubble, remove it from the processor and set aside. Switch the metal processor blade out for a plastic one (to prevent overworking the pastry). Then, sift together the flour, icing sugar and salt and add the dry ingredients to the processor, along with the cold, cubed butter.

Pulse until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. If you prefer/do not have a food processor, you can do this by hand in a large bowl- just rub the butter into the dry ingredients using your fingertips.

Now, you can add the finely chopped pecans, egg yolk (reserve the white for later) and cold water. Pulse until the pastry comes together into a slightly crumbly dough (you may need to add a little more cold water- just to bring it together, until it resembles the photo below).

Remove the pastry from the processor and shape it into a flat disk. Wrap the pastry disk tightly in clingfilm, then place it into the fridge to rest for 30 minutes. This will make it easier to work with later, while also helping to prevent it from shrinking too much during baking.

Baking the Pastry Case

Once the pastry has rested, preheat the oven to 180°C (conventional oven). Unwrap the pastry and place it onto a lightly floured surface. Roll it out into a circle about 30cm in diameter- it might be a little crumbly, but that’s okay- it’s a very forgiving pastry that you can patch up later if needed!

Carefully transfer your pastry circle to your fluted tart tin (lightly grease the tin beforehand to help get the pie out later) and press it into the base and sides- patching any gaps as needed. You’re looking for an even layer of pastry all over the base and sides, with a little extra sitting just above the top of the tart tin, to account for any shrinkage.

Prick the pastry all over with a fork (try not to go all the way through to the bottom of the tin- just prick the surface), then brush lightly with the reserved egg white. Bake in the centre of the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, until the pastry is golden.

If you notice that the pastry is puffing up during the baking process, just remove it from the oven, give it a few extra pricks to release the air, then return it to the oven for the remaining time.

Making the Pumpkin Filling

While the pastry case is baking, you can make the pumpkin custard filling. Place the eggs and extra egg yolk into a large bowl and whisk to combine, before setting aside.

Put the cream, sugar, maple syrup and all of the spices into a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Allow it to warm, whisking gently, until the sugar has melted and the mixture has come to just below a simmer.

Remove the pan from the heat and add to the beaten eggs in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly to prevent the eggs from scrambling. Add the canned pumpkin and mix well, until you have a thick, smooth custard.

Baking the Pie

Once you have your filling made and pastry case baked, you can add the filling to the case. I find it is easiest to add the filling while the case is still in the oven- just pull the shelf the case is on halfway out using one (oven-gloved!) hand, then pour in the filling with the other hand. This way, you won’t spill any filling trying to get the pie from your countertop to the oven, which could lead to, at best, a mess and, at worst, a soggy bottom! Paul Hollywood would be QUaKinG!

Bake the filled pie at the same temperature as the pastry case (180°C) for 35-40 minutes, until the filling has puffed slightly around the edges, but is still slightly wobbly in the centre.

Allow the pie to cool slightly in the tin, before carefully removing it, then transfer to a serving plate. The pie can be eaten warm, but is equally delicious when served chilled- just store it in the fridge until you are ready to eat it.

Admittedly, as pies go, this one is a little rustic, but that’s mainly because of the pecans in the pastry. The added nuts are a real game-changer in terms of taste and texture, but they do make the pie a little less neat and perfect-looking. I kind of like that homemade, rough-and-ready kind of look, though- particularly this time of year! Besides, it tastes so good, it could look like a complete mess and I would still make it over and over again!

Recipe

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Pumpkin Pie

A traditional Pumpkin Pie with a twist: rich and nutty shortcrust pastry, filled with a velvety and spiced pumpkin filling.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword Pie, Pumpkin, Pumpkin Pie, Shortcrust pastry

Prep Time 40 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Chill Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 2 hours hours 10 minutes minutes

Servings 10

Equipment

• 1 23cm diameter fluted tart tin, with a removable base, lightly greased with butter.

Ingredients

For the pastry:

• 40 g pecans, toasted (see Note 1).
• 175 g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 10 g icing sugar
• pinch of salt
• 75 g unsalted butter, cold from the fridge and cubed.
• 1 tbsp cold water
• 1 egg yolk (reserve the white).

For the filling:

• 2 eggs + 1 yolk
• 275 ml double cream
• 75 g soft dark brown sugar
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg, freshly grated
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 x 425g can canned pumpkin

Instructions

Make the pastry case:

• Place the toasted pecans into a food processor, fitted with a metal blade, and pulse until they are very fine- be careful not to go too far, or they will release their oils.
• Sift together the flour, icing sugar and salt. Remove the pecans from the processor, switch the metal blade with a plastic one (see Note 2) and tip in the sifted dry ingredients. Add the cubed butter, then pulse until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
• Add the pecans back to the processor, along with the water and the egg yolk. Pulse until the pastry comes together into a slightly crumbly dough (you may need to add a little more water to achieve this).
• Take the pastry out of the processor and form it into a flat disk. Wrap the disk tightly in clingfilm and place in the fridge to rest for at least 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 180°C. When the pastry has finished resting, unwrap it and place it onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the pastry into a circle about 30cm in diameter. The pastry will be a little crumbly- don't worry, you can patch it later. Transfer the pastry circle to your greased tin and press it firmly into the base and sides, patching any gaps, so that you have an even layer of pastry all over the base and sides. Make sure that the pastry sits a little above the rim of the tin all the way around, to account for any shrinkage. Prick the base of the pastry all over with a fork, then brush it lightly with the reserved egg white. Place the tin on the middle shelf of the preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden.

Make the pumpkin filling:

• While the pastry case is baking, make the filling. Place the eggs and extra yolk into a large bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
• Put the cream, sugar, maple syrup and all of the spices into a medium-sized saucepan. Place the pan over medium heat and allow to warm, whisking gently to combine, until the sugar has melted and the mixture is just below a simmer.
• Remove the hot cream mixture from the heat and pour into the eggs, in a slow and steady stream, whisking constantly. Add the pumpkin and whisk well until you have a smooth custard.
• When the pastry case is ready, you can fill it with the pumpkin mixture. Pull the oven shelf, with the pastry case still on it, half out, so that you can pour the filling directly into the case, before pushing the shelf all the way back in and baking the pie for 35-40 minutes, until the filling has puffed a little around the edges, but is slightly wobbly in the centre. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack. Once cool, place in the fridge to chill, before serving, though you can also eat it warm, if you can't wait!

Notes

1. I like to toast the pecans in a dry skillet over a medium-high heat on the hob- this takes just a few minutes. Alternatively, you can toast them for about 8 minutes at the same temperature that the pie bakes at (180°C). 
2. I find that using a plastic blade in the food processor helps to make the pastry less tough. You will want to use a metal blade to chop the nuts, though, because the plastic blade will not be strong enough to break them up. 

 

This recipe is adapted from Delia Smith’s ‘How to Cook: Book One’. 

As I mentioned in that post, the whole setup was inspired by this Halloween Ghost Cat Amigurumi crochet pattern, by Imelda Liputri (@medaami). I think it is truly one of the most adorable things I have EVER seen and it definitely made for a super cute, super spooky setup. I did say that I might give the crochet pattern a try at some point during October and… I did! I made my very own Halloween Ghost Cat Amigurumi, and I thought I would share my experience working with this pattern and making my cat with you today.

A little disclaimer to begin: obviously, this post does NOT include the pattern for the cat. If you want to make your own cat, you will need to buy the original pattern yourself. You can purchase the pattern from Ravelry (which is what I did!) or from Etsy. I purchased this pattern independently for my own, personal use and this post is just me sharing my experience of it and attempting to shine a light on this super-talented creator! 

With that out of the way, let’s get into my cat-making adventure!

Table of Contents

• Materials
  • Yarn
  • Additional Equipment
• The Process
  • Head
  • Body
  • Tail
  • Sheet
  • Ears
  • Arms
  • Pumpkin Bag
• Final Thoughts

Materials

Yarn

I just used odds and ends from my stash for this project- you don’t need very much. For the majority of the yarn, I used Stylecraft Special DK. To the best of my knowledge, I used the following shades:

• Black (1002), for the body and the embroidery on the pumpkin.
• Powder Pink (1843), for the nose and ear details.
• Warm Grey (1805), for the whiskers
• Camel (1420), for the eye details.
• Spice (1711), for the pumpkin bag.
• Walnut (1054), for the handle of the pumpkin bag.

I didn’t have any white acrylic yarn on hand, so I used some cotton yarn instead. I have absolutely no idea what brand it is, but it is a DK weight yarn, just like the Stylecraft.

Additional Equipment

• 3.5mm crochet hook
• Locking stitch marker (I use these ones).
• Tapestry needle
• 2x12mm safety eyes (a little bigger than the ones listed in the pattern, but it’s what I had- I figure bigger eyes can only make amigurumi cuter anyway, right?)
• Scissors
• Stuffing

The Process

For this pattern, like most amigurumi patterns, you make most of the elements separately and sew them all together at the end. It doesn’t really matter what order you make them in, but I did find it helpful to make the head (top left) before I made the sheet (top centre) that goes over the top, so I could ensure it fit (which it did, pretty perfectly, which I was very impressed by- the pattern was so precise!). Along with those two pieces, you have 2x ears, 2x arms, 1x tail, 1x pumpkin basket and 1x body (which includes the two legs- more on this later). For the most part, I just followed the pattern for each body part, but I did make a couple of adaptations, here and there. I’ll talk through those adaptations in a second.

The original pattern suggests using a dark grey yarn for the body of the cat. This works really well, because you can then embroider the facial details on with a black yarn- the whole thing still ends up looking like a black cat, but you get a bit more dimension. I think it looks great! I, unfortunately, did not have a dark grey yarn on hand, so I opted to use black for the whole thing. I do feel I lost a little dimension by doing this, even though I managed to keep the nose/whisker details by replacing the black embroidery with pink/grey embroidery, respectively.

Head

For the construction of the head, I followed the pattern exactly. The pattern makes for a really cute head (that sounds weird, I know, but it’s true!)- the cat has little chubby cheeks that are super easy to make but have a real impact on the finished cat- you might not be able to see it so clearly on my cat, because of the colour, but it’s definitely there!

The only thing I did differently for the head was that I embroidered the face (i.e. the pink nose and the grey whiskers) when I added the safety eyes- just before you finish off the head. I did this just to make the process a little easier for myself- embroidering onto a toy that has already been stuffed is a little trickier than embroidering onto an unstuffed piece of crochet because it’s a little harder to secure the ends. Having said that, the placement of the embroidery is easier to visualise when the head is stuffed, so do whatever you find easiest! I didn’t add a mouth, like the cat in the pattern has, because I thought a pink/grey mouth would look a little… strange? I also didn’t add the optional ‘eyeliner’ because, unless my cat wanted to go full 80s blue with its eye makeup, the little wings wouldn’t have shown up against the black body…

A couple of notes here:

• My whiskers looked super cute at this stage, but, when I put the sheet over the head, it completely covered them! Having looked at the original pattern’s photos, I think this was the case for that cat too- which seems a little pointless to me- I wanted to see the whiskers! I went back later and extended them out a little- they’re still a little obscured, but they are at least visible now. If you want your whiskers to be seen, I recommend taking them much closer to the eye- about a stitch away.
• I am OBSESSED with the technique this pattern used to enhance the safety eyes! It was so simple, but SO effective- genuinely, if you’re looking to up your toy eye game, I would recommend buying this pattern just for that! I’m not sure if it’s an original technique, but I’ve definitely never seen it before.

Body

For the body, I followed the pattern exactly as it was.

When I first started following amigurumi patterns, I would make one body piece and two leg pieces, all separately. Either I was using the wrong patterns, or the collective hatred of the amigurumi world for darning in ends and sewing things up has inspired a more seamless approach to bodies: an all-in-one method, where the legs are made separately, then worked together into a single body piece. This pattern uses that all-in-one technique! I’ve made a few patterns that utilise this kind of approach and I am completely, utterly IN LOVE. Not only does it mean that there’s less sewing up, but I think it gives a really professional, seamless look. The technique can feel a little awkward when you start out, but the pattern is so clear- just follow the instructions and you’ll get there!

Tail

When I first made the tail, my first thought was: “Tail, why are you so LONG?” Everything else about the pattern seemed so proportional and right, that this tail just felt a little weird. Admittedly, in the photo of all the body parts, it doesn’t even look that long, but it just seemed very long when I was making it, you know? Anyway, having assembled the whole cat, I have since discovered that the long tail is vital to this design. The legs are quite small, so the tail really helps balance the cat so that it can stand up by itself. I often find that my amigurumi makes don’t stand up so well on their own, so the fact that this cat does (and so well!) is a real win for me. Tail, I’m sorry- I misjudged you!

Sheet

Ah, the sheet. Honestly, the sheet was one of the main selling points of this pattern to me- I use a lot of amigurumi patterns, but I was really intrigued by the construction of this sheet- specifically, the hole around the face. It was really interesting to see how this unusual shape was constructed and I was super impressed by how perfectly it fitted over the cat. The problem, however, is that, for someone like me who despises sewing in ends, the technique suggested in this pattern is absolutely hellish. Essentially, to get that hole in the front, you have to leave a gap in your rounds of crochet- the pattern achieves this by cutting the yarn at the end of every row and re-joining it at the beginning. All fun and games, but this goes on for a good number of rows- when every row has 2 ends to sew in, I’m sure you can see why I was so aghast.

I honestly could not bring myself to do that. Instead, I opted to form the rows by crocheting back-and-forth over the area. It takes a little bit of working out, but it is much easier (and much less soul-destroying) than sewing in all those ends- just remember that the shaping is always at the start/end of the row and work out the number of regular stitches from the pattern accordingly. However, you can see a difference in the texture of the stitches. If you look in the photo above, you can see that my crochet is a little more open where I have gone back and forth (around the centre portion) and is slightly more ridged than the crochet worked in rounds. Obviously, the pattern was designed to avoid this- but I just couldn’t face all the ends (I’ve seen a lot of other people who made this pattern who felt the same way!), so I decided that the slightly less neat sheet was the lesser of two evils.

While the sheet did fit very well over the cat’s head, it does have a tendency to slip about a little, making it look a little less like the perfect fit it is! In the end, I decided to use some more of the white yarn to add a few little stitches to keep it in place. I didn’t want to stitch all around the face hole because I thought that might look a bit funny, so I opted to make 8 little stitches, evenly space around the perimeter of the face hole, making sure to make each stitch as invisible as possible. Honestly, I think this made a huge difference- my little cat always looks his best now and the whole thing is much more secure!

Ears

In the original pattern, you crochet the black ears, then you crochet two teeny-tiny triangles of pink, which you then stitch onto the black ears. I won’t lie, it seemed like a lot of effort- sewing in ends on tiny things is the WORST, especially when they really have to look nice and neat. Again, I let my laziness win. Instead of the extra crochet details, I opted to do a little bit of freehand embroidery to add the ear details. I cut a length of pink yarn, threaded it onto my needle and looped it through one side of the black ear piece, over and over, going through the same point near the top of the ear each time, to get a triangle. When I was done, because I was really embracing the whole lazy vibe at this point, I tied the two ends in a double knot and tucked it inside the ear, never to be seen again. Truth be told, I actually… love how this turned out? The embroidery gives the ears a slightly puffy look, which I think makes the cat even cuter!

The embroidery did make it slightly trickier to attach the ears to the cat- it is quite loopy, so it’s not the best for stitching into. However, I found that if I stitched very solidly along the back and sides of the ears, they were secure enough anyway. I also wrapped the black thread once around the base of the ear, at the front, before darning in the end, to add a line of black in-between the pink of the ear and the white of the sheet, which made a HUGE difference in how put-together my little cat looked. Such a simple trick, but so effective.

Arms

I am undecided about the arms on this cat. I think they are very proportional to the cat body, which is great, but I would almost like them to be just a little bit longer (maybe a single row?). I think that would make it easier to position the pumpkin bag on the right-hand one, because I just feel that the bag doesn’t quite have enough room to sit right?

The pattern suggests stuffing the arms lightly, before sewing them to the body. I was a little worried about attaching the arms to the body (you have to attach them through the sheet and onto the body), so I opted to stuff only the paws, then stitch across the opening of the arms so that I had a flat edge to attach to the body. After that, the process really wasn’t as bad as I thought! I sewed the arm fully onto the sheet, then attached it to the body underneath with a stitch on each end- that way, it was secure and gave the cat some dimension, but the sheet wasn’t so cinched in that it looked weird. I do wonder if stuffing the whole arm and leaving the opening as it was would have given the ams a bit more structure and length though, so maybe that was on me!

Pumpkin Bag

I feel like the pumpkin bag is the thing that really makes this cat. It’s just so cute! I opted to embroider the face on, using black yarn, as opposed to the felt used in the original pattern (again, it just seemed like sooooo much work to find the felt, cut the felt, stick it on etc.). I embroidered two little upside down V’s for the eyes, then made a loose straight stitch for the mouth, which I curved into a smile by securing it at the bottom with a tiny stitch.

For the handle, the pattern suggests making a chain, sewing in the ends and glueing it to the pumpkin part. I just crocheted the chain directly onto the pumpkin and sewed in the ends afterwards- it was very quick, neat and effective.

I didn’t fill mine with scrap yarn to look like sweets, as the pattern suggests, because I figured they’d just fall out. Sorry, cat.

One final note on the pumpkin basket: the pattern suggests that you just hook the pumpkin bucket over the arm, which I felt was just an accident waiting to happen, so I decided to secure it with a single stitch, in the centre. That way, it can still be manoeuvred a little bit, but it’s not about to go missing (or be eaten by a misguided dog) anytime soon!

Final Thoughts

I’m pretty used to the techniques used in most amigurumi patterns, so I was pretty confident going into this one, which is listed as an intermediate-level pattern. Honestly, I think this rating is spot on- I didn’t struggle with it by any means, but I feel if I had less experience with amigurumi, it definitely would have been challenging in places- specifically the body piece and the sheet. Having said that, I feel like it looks a lot more challenging than it actually is (which can only be a good thing because I apparently live to impress).

I made a few little changes throughout, here and there, just to suit the pattern/finished cat to my individual needs, but the pattern itself is incredibly clear and thorough, so none of my changes were really necessary.

I still would have loved to have made this cat in a dark grey yarn, so I could really get the detail/dimension of the original pattern, but I’m still really happy with my black cat. It’s so cute and it really didn’t take me too long to make at all!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this post! Let me know if you’re crocheting anything spooky this October!

Gemma

xxx

I am… undecided on how I feel about Halloween. I LOVE a wholesome, pumpkin pie, crafty, trick-or-treating Halloween. A copious-amounts-of-chocolate Halloween. However, I do NOT vibe with things that are actually scary- I have watched a grand total of one horror film in my lifetime and, honestly, that was one too many. So, while I like some aspects of Halloween, I’m definitely not a hardcore, spooky Halloween-lover. Nevertheless, I love an occasion and I will take any opportunity for some themed creativity, so, here we are.

All this to say- my October 2023 bullet journal has a Halloween theme. Specifically, it has a cute & gentle Halloween theme, to match my preferred Halloween vibe. This month’s theme is… Trick-Or-Treating Cats, because what is more wholesome than a cartoon cat in a costume? I, for one, can’t think of anything.

This setup is very straightforward- it’s really just a lot of cat doodles and freehand lines. I coloured all my doodles in with colouring pencils, to make it feel even more playful & childlike (read: even less spooky). Honestly, I had so much fun making this setup- it’s not my usual style (I was very inspired by the more doodle-y style of AmandaRachLee!), so I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the process.

Anyway, enough chit-chat. Let’s get into the setup.

Table of Contents

• Inspiration
• Equipment
• Cover Page
• Monthly Calendar
• Blog Planning + Daily Sunshine
• Weeklies
  • Weekly 1
  • Weekly 2
  • Weekly 3
  • Weekly 4
• October Review
• Final Thoughts

Inspiration

The cat on my cover page was inspired by a crochet pattern I came across on Pinterest, by Medaami. You can find the pattern here (you can also check out my Pinterest here!). If I have time over the course of this month, I might give the crochet pattern a try, because it’s SO cute! When it came to dreaming up a theme for my October bullet journal, I just couldn’t shake the image from my head. I figured it would be pretty easy to doodle, even with my (very limited) doodling abilities, so I went for it. I’m so happy I did! I think this theme turned out so well- it’s very Halloween-y and it’s super adorable, so it ticks all my boxes for this month.

Equipment

For this setup, I used the following equipment:

• Muji 0.38mm pen, black.
• Uni-ball Eye Fine UB-157 pen, black.
• Tombow ABT Dual Brush Pens: N15 (black) and N89 (warm grey 1).
• Colouring pencils.
• Sakura Gelly Roll, 10 Bold, white.
• Black paper.
• Glue stick.
• Scissors.
• Ruler.
• Pencil.
• Eraser.

Cover Page

The right-hand side of my Cover Page for this month is super simple- it’s just a doodle of the inspiration cat (which is just a cat in a ghost costume with a pumpkin bag) and the ‘October’ heading. I drew the outline of the cat with my Muji 0.38mm black pen, then coloured it in with colouring pencils. For the heading, I used my black Uni-ball pen (which has a thicker nib than the Muji pen) and a simple, lowercase font.

On the left-hand page, I opted to include a Taylor Swift quote (because, obviously). I drew some bunting along the top, which I coloured in with the 4 main colours that will be used throughout this theme: orange, green, purple and yellow (very Halloween-y colours, no?), before writing the letters of ‘karma‘ on top with my Uni-ball pen. I found the Muji pen did not write very well on top of coloured pencils, but the Uni-ball pen worked perfectly, so I used that. I drew another cat (dressed up as a witch this time) and tried to make it look like the cat was casting a spell with the final word of the quote. It looks a little bit smudged here because I made the mistake of trying to erase my pencil sketchings after I added the coloured pencils. Don’t be like me. Erase the pencil first.

At the bottom of the left-hand page, I added some black paper, decorated with some, what I have fondly coined, cat-fetti. I used this decorated paper throughout the setup and it was very easy to make- I just took my white Sakura Gelly Roll pen and drew an assortment of confetti doodles all over a piece of black paper. To make it into cat-fetti, I added some tiny, cat-shaped confetti pieces, which were basically just large dots with two little pointy ears. Super simple, but I think it really elevated the setup!

Monthly Calendar

I think this Monthly Calendar might be my favourite spread in this whole setup- just LOOK at those little cat pumpkins :’). Again, this was a super simple spread to make- I just used the fine tip of my black Tombow to draw a grid of 6×6 boxes, rounding off the outer corners. Then, I outlined the cat pumpkins with my Muji pen, before colouring them in. I used the same 4 colours as the bunting on the previous page to draw little dots in the grid for the dates, which I wrote in with my Uni-ball pen. I used the same Uni-ball pen to write in the ‘October’ heading, then stuck in some more cat-fetti paper to fill in the space on the left-hand side.

Blog Planning + Daily Sunshine

On the left-hand page of this double-page spread, I have a space for planning my blog content. Last month, I tried out this layout of 4 boxes- 1 per blog post, in which I can write down specific to-do lists for each post. I found it very useful last month, so I’m using it again! I drew each box using my black Tombow pen, then coloured in the bars across the top, following my colour scheme. This page’s cat is dressed as a bat (a bat cat?), so I gave it bat wings and pointy fangs.

On the right-hand page, I have my Daily Sunshine page, where I write down one positive thing that happened each day. Again, I drew the box with my black Tombow pen, then drew little dots with my colouring pencils for the dates, which I wrote in using my Uni-ball pen. I also highlighted every other row with my N89 Tombow pen, just because the box felt a little empty. This page’s cat has a pumpkin hat on- I like to think it is the baby of the group.

Weeklies

Because of how October falls this year, I decided to merge the dates a little within my weeklies (so, I suppose, they aren’t even technically Weeklies…), so I wouldn’t have to set up whole spreads for weeks that just had one or two days of October in them. As always, I used tabs to separate out my weeklies. This month, I coloured in the tabs using the coloured pencils (following the colour scheme, of course), and stuck some more cat-fetti paper on the left-hand side of my first weekly and the right-hand side of my October review page, to make the tabs really stand out.

I kept the style of each weekly very consistent- the only real differences between the 4 spreads is the costume of the cat doodle and the layout of the boxes- otherwise, I drew all of the boxes using the fine tip of my black Tombow pen (just like the rest of the setup), coloured in the header bars in the colour scheme and wrote the days of the week/dates over the top, using my Uni-ball pen. As always, each weekly spread has spaces for my daily to-do lists, a master task list and some notes.

Weekly 1

My first weekly spread spans 1st-8th October. I used two square grids for my daily to-do lists, then put the boxes for notes and tasks in the top right. This weekly’s cat is dressed like a vampire, so it has a red-lined cape and, like the bat cat, some pointy fangs.

Weekly 2

The second weekly is actually a weekly because it spans 7 days: 9th-15th October. For this weekly, I placed the header across the middle of the spread and put the daily to-do list boxes along the top and bottom. I also merged my tasks and notes boxes on this spread. This weekly’s cat is a Franken-Cat (Frankenstein’s Feline Monster?), which has some green face paint, drawn-on scars and a neck bolt.

Weekly 3

For the third weekly, I went for one of my favourite layouts- 8 vertical boxes, with a horizontal space for notes at the top. This week’s cat is a Devil-cat- he has horns, a pointy tail and a pitchfork, ready for all of his devilish endeavours.

Weekly 4

The final ‘weekly’ spans 23rd-31st October- a week plus two days. I also made a little space for the first 5 days of November, which fall in the same calendar week as the last two days of October, just so I can keep better track of my dates. This weekly’s cat is an Anti-Hero-inspired Ghost Cat, with the iconic sunglasses. Unfortunately, this cat is kind of giving… chihuahua? Sigh. It’s not my favourite.

October Review

For the first time in FOREVER, I have decided to switch up the left-hand page of my October Review! I just felt like my favourites section was getting a bit stale and I was finding it particularly hard to choose just one song to write down every month. I’ve replaced the old favourites section with a larger ‘October Playlist’, with spaces for 6 of my favourite songs. I’m really looking forward to filling this in! Other than that, the three other sections: WTA Top 10, ATP Top 10 and #1 Memory, have all remained the same.

Another thing I have kept the same is the space for a polaroid on the right-hand page. This month, instead of a typical frame, I opted for another magical cat casting a spell (except here the cat is a wizard, not a witch). This time, I remembered to erase my pencil sketchings before I went in with the coloured pencils, so it was a lot neater and less smudgy!

Final Thoughts

I wasn’t sure how I would feel about this setup- it was very much a last-minute (as you can probably tell from the fact that we are already into October when I’m posting this!), quick and easy setup- much simpler than my usual themes and very different style! However, having started using it already, I really love it! I think the cats are SO cute, the colours give me such Halloween vibes and I think the functionality of the spreads will be really helpful for the month ahead. Making this setup has really put me in a Halloween-y mood, so I’m really looking forward to the rest of the month!

I’d love to hear what you think of this theme- let me know in the comments below!

Gemma

xxx

Table of Contents

• The Anti-Hero Cupcake: Explained
• Earl Grey-Infused Milk
• Making the Earl Grey Cupcakes
• Making the Earl Grey Buttercream
• Making the Chocolate Fedoras
• Decorating the Cupcakes
• Recipe

The Anti-Hero Cupcake: Explained

The Anti-Hero cupcake is made up of 3 main elements:

• Earl Grey cupcake
• Earl Grey buttercream
• Chocolate ghost decorations

I really embraced the ‘at tea-time, everybody agrees‘ lyric from the song’s chorus. This cake is tea. I went for Earl Grey, because I really love the flavour, but you could use a more classic breakfast tea, if you prefer. To get all that delicious tea flavour into both the cake and the buttercream, I used some homemade infused milk.

The chocolate decorations are what really elevate these cupcakes from tea to tea time. Anti-Hero is one of the 3 songs from Midnights that has a music video (along with Lavender Haze and Bejeweled), so I had plenty of extra inspiration for the decorating these cupcakes! In the video, there are a bunch of ‘ghosts’ (read: people wearing sheets, sunglasses and funky hats), which have become pretty iconic. I knew, almost immediately, that I wanted to decorate my cupcakes to look like the ghosts, because a) they’re so CUTE and b) they’re so iconically Anti-Hero. I singled my decorations down to a single ghost, my favourite ghost: Fedora Ghost:

To make Fedora Ghost, I use a combination of white modelling chocolate, dark chocolate chips, Rolos and giant chocolate buttons. Basically, chocolate 4 ways. What’s not to love? Ultimately, these Anti-Hero cupcakes end up as a delicious tea time treat, vaguely reminiscent of a classic Fondant Fancy, amped up with the flavours of tea and chocolate!

So, those are the basics of the Anti-Hero cupcake. Now, let’s get into some specifics.

Earl Grey-Infused Milk

To get the Earl Grey flavour into both the cupcake batter and the buttercream, we need to make some infused milk. Luckily, it’s super easy to do! All you have to do is put the milk and tea bags into a small saucepan, bring the whole thing to a simmer, then turn off the heat, cover it and allow the milk to infuse as it cools down to room temperature- about 30 minutes. Once it’s cool, you can remove the tea bags (make sure to squeeze them to get every last drop of flavour!) and discard them, leaving you with Earl Grey-infused milk. So easy, right?

Earl Grey has quite a subtle flavour, so I’ve tried to really amp up the flavour in the batter/buttercream by using 4 tea bags for 100ml of milk. It might seem like a lot, but you need to get a really concentrated flavour in the milk, because adding too much liquid to either the batter OR the buttercream can cause them to split (more on that later). I found that this ratio of tea:milk makes for the perfect hit of Earl Grey in the finished cupcakes, without any of the bitterness that you can get from over-brewing the tea bags.

Making the Earl Grey Cupcakes

Once you’ve got your infused milk, you can move on to making the cupcake batter. For this, I used my All-In-One Method (I recently made a post where I described this process in depth- you can check it out here if you want to learn more). Essentially, you just put all the ingredients, making sure to sift the dry ingredients beforehand, into the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, and whisk until it’s smooth, light and airy. SO easy! To flavour this batter, I used 3 tbsp of the Earl Grey-infused milk. I also added a few drops of vanilla extract, just to bring out the flavours in the tea even more.

As always, I like to divide my cake batter into the cupcake cases using a standard-sized ice cream scoop- I find this is the perfect size and makes scooping the cupcakes so much quicker! For these cupcakes, I opted to use dark brown cupcake cases, to match the fedoras on my ghosts. I used these ones, but they’re slightly smaller than my normal cupcake cases and not overly thick, so I’m still on the lookout for the perfect dark brown cases!

Once your cupcakes are all scooped, you just need to bake them at 170°C for 25-30 minutes, until they have risen and the tops spring back when touched lightly. This is a slightly lower baking temperature than most cupcake recipes suggest! I found that, at higher temperatures, my cupcakes were coming out with super peaked tops, almost like volcanoes- a sure sign that the oven temperature is too high! Baking the cupcakes at a lower temperature ensures they rise into perfect, even domes, making them a) prettier and b) easier to pipe onto!

I like to transfer the baked cupcakes to a wire rack as soon as they come out of the oven. The reason for this is that, if left in the baking tin as they cool, the bottom of the cupcake cases can become greasy. By taking them out of the tin immediately, you can prevent this. Do be careful though, because the cakes (and the tin!) will be very hot. Once you’ve transferred them, make sure to let the cakes cool completely before you decorate them, or the buttercream will melt.

Making the Earl Grey Buttercream

For these cupcakes, I opted to make a typical American buttercream, flavoured with the same Earl Grey-infused milk as the cake batter. American buttercream is one of the easiest icings to make, but I do have a few tips and tricks to make the process even more straightforward and produce an even more delicious buttercream.

Quick note here: when I was making my buttercream for these cakes, disaster struck! My icing… split! Only slightly and, strangely enough, it split after I’d piped it onto my cakes, by which point I was tired and decided to just go with it, knowing it would be covered up later anyway. Ah well, these things happen! It was a combination of me baking these cupcakes in a warm, humid kitchen & getting cocky and adding too much infused milk. I’ve tinkered with the recipe a little to make sure this won’t happen to you if you use this recipe, so don’t worry!

This buttercream recipe only uses 4 ingredients. To make it, you will need:

• Softened unsalted butter

When you’re making buttercream, the butter absolutely has to be softened (i.e. at room temperature). You should be able to press your finger into the butter and make an indent in it easily, but it shouldn’t be melty or liquid. Soft butter will ensure that your ingredients can incorporate fully into a smooth, creamy buttercream.

• Icing sugar

I know that sometimes sifting can feel like a super mundane job. Unfortunately, when you’re making buttercream, it’s wholly necessary. Not sifting your icing sugar can leave you with a lumpy buttercream, which is just… not the vibe. Take it from me: sift your icing sugar!

• Earl Grey-infused milk

The amount of infused milk this recipe makes is enough for both the batter and the icing. Adding the infused milk to the buttercream will get loads of delicious tea flavour into the icing, without compromising the smooth texture. Just make sure not to add too much, or else your buttercream may split (again, speaking from experience…).

• Salt

Listen, I’ve never fully got on board the whole ‘salt in baked goods’ train. I just… don’t think it makes much of a difference? However, there are some baked goods for which I will wholeheartedly embrace the addition of salt- salted caramel being the obvious choice (side note: I recently posted a recipe for salted caramel ice cream, so definitely check that out if salted caramel is your thing!). This icing, randomly, weirdly, unexpectedly, needs salt. I’m not talking loads of salt- just a little pinch. At last, I have found an instance where I can understand the famous bakers’ and chefs’ claims that ‘salt brings out the flavour of the other ingredients’, because, in this recipe, it really does. Go figure.

The best American buttercream is whipped a lot. The more you whip it, the fluffier it gets. The fluffier it gets, the less cloyingly sweet and stodgy it is. Therefore, be patient and whip the icing- you will be so glad you did! I like to start by whipping the butter, on its own, for about 2 minutes, until it’s super pale and fluffy. Then, I add half of the icing sugar, incorporate it by hand (to prevent an icing sugar cloud) and then whip it for another minute. I add the infused milk and whip again for a further minute. Finally, I add the remaining icing sugar, incorporate it by hand, then whip the whole thing for a final minute. You can do this with an electric hand whisk or a stand mixer (fitted with the paddle attachment), but I don’t recommend doing it by hand. It’s possible, yes, but only at great cost to your arm muscles. Save your arms and go electric- you’ll thank me later.

Making the Chocolate Fedoras

I said we were creating Fedora Ghost, so, obviously, we have to make some fedoras. Luckily, they’re super easy to make! You only need two ingredients, Rolos and giant chocolate buttons (I used Cadbury), as well as a small frying pan. That’s it!

Side note here: is there some Rolo-related stockist drama I don’t know about? I’ve been having real trouble finding them lately, particularly in the bigger supermarkets. The ones I used here were purchased from a corner shop, so, if you’re struggling to find Rolos too, maybe try your nearest one of those!

Anyway, if you have managed to obtain the Rolos, you can get started on making the fedoras. You’ll need 1x Rolo and 1x giant chocolate button per fedora, so 12 of each if you’re making a single batch of this recipe (the standard-sized Rolo tubes that I purchased each had 12 Rolos in, so 1 tube should be perfect. Having said that, sometimes the caramel can ooze out of Rolos, making them a little messy, so if you want perfect fedoras, it might be worth buying an extra pack to give yourself more options- you can always eat the leftovers!).

Begin by warming the frying pan over medium heat. When it’s hot, turn off the heat and use the residual heat of the pan to melt the base of a Rolo. You don’t need to melt it a lot, just enough that you can stick the Rolo to the chocolate button. To get a similar shape to the hat in the music video, I opted to stick the Rolo to the flat side of the chocolate button (so that the domed side was facing down). Repeat this process for each hat, making one for each cupcake, then set your fedoras aside for the chocolate to harden while you get on with the other decorations.

Decorating the Cupcakes

First up, you’ll need to pipe the buttercream onto the cupcakes. For this, you’ll need a piping bag fitted with a large, round piping tip (I used a #1A tip). Put the buttercream into the bag, then hold the bag vertically, so that the tip is centred above the surface of the cupcake. Apply a gentle pressure, lifting the bag as you go, to create a tall ‘dollop’ of icing in the centre of the cake- the aim is to bring the icing upwards, not outwards (i.e. the surface of the cake won’t be covered, just the very centre), like in the photo below:

Once you have iced your cupcakes, you need to chill them in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. This will firm up the buttercream, making the next stage much easier.

One quick note here: modelling chocolate, much like fondant, is hygroscopic, meaning it will absorb moisture from its surroundings. I recommend decorating these cupcakes the same day that you plan to serve them, otherwise you run the risk of your modelling chocolate ‘sweating’. This doesn’t affect the overall flavour, but will affect the texture/appearance of your cupcakes.

When you’re ready to decorate your cupcakes and the buttercream has chilled, you can start creating the modelling chocolate ‘sheets’ for your ghosts. Do this just before you want to put them on the cakes, or the modelling chocolate might dry out before you have a chance to drape it over the icing. Knead the modelling chocolate into a smooth ball, then break off a piece- about 15g. Shape it into a ball and dust your work surface with icing sugar, then use a small rolling pin (dusted with more icing sugar!) to roll it out very thinly, trying to maintain a roughly circular shape, until it’s about 12cm in diameter. If the edges are looking a bit ragged, use a small, sharp knife to cut a neater, wavy edge all around, keeping that rough, circular shape. After that, you can carefully lift up the chocolate sheet and drape it over your cupcake. Use your hands to press the chocolate around the buttercream below, allowing it to fold organically. Repeat this process for each cupcake.

Once you have all of your cupcakes covered in their modelling chocolate ‘sheets’, you can add the eyes. For this, I used 2x dark chocolate chips per cake (one for each eye). You want to press the chips into the modelling chocolate, so that they sit about half of the way down the buttercream dollop. Push them in pointy side first- not only will this look neater, but the point of the tip will pierce the modelling chocolate and help to secure the chips.

Side note: if these weren’t Taylor Swift-inspired cupcakes, I would have been tempted to leave them at this stage: they’re SO CUTE! I think these cupcakes would be perfect, left at this stage, for a fun Halloween treat.

Nevertheless, these are Taylor Swift cupcakes, so we have to turn these spooky eyes into super cool sunglasses. I used this black edible marker to draw in a bar between the two chips, but I wasn’t crazy about the result. It was quite finicky to do and doesn’t look super neat. If I were to make these again, I would probably melt a tiny bit of dark chocolate and use a cocktail stick/skewer (maybe even a piping bag with a very fine tip?) dipped into it to etch the little line across. I think that would be neater and ultimately easier, even if it requires a couple of extra steps.

The final step was to attach the chocolate fedoras that I made earlier. Modelling chocolate isn’t overly sticky, so you can’t just stick the fedora on top or it would fall off! Instead, I used the same frying pan-method that I used to make the fedoras. After I heated up the pan, I used it to melt the base of each hat (i.e. the domed part of the giant chocolate button), very slightly, then used that melted layer to stick the hat to the top of the modelling chocolate ‘sheet’. It worked really well, but do be careful not to melt the button too much, or it might ooze out as you press the hat down, making your cupcakes a little untidy!

With that, the Anti-Hero cupcakes are finished! I have to be honest, these cupcakes kind of give me more… Mafia vibes (??) than Anti-Hero, BUT they are still super cute. Also, the tea flavour is very much Anti-Hero and not at all Mafia, so I’m still counting this one as a win. I hope you’ve enjoyed my tutorial for these Anti-Hero cupcakes- let me know if you try them out!

Gemma

xxx

Recipe

Print

Anti-Hero Cupcakes

These cute cupcakes, inspired by the music video for Taylor Swift's hit song Anti-Hero, are flavoured with Earl Grey and reminiscent of classic Fondant Fancies, making them a perfect treat for tea time (everybody agrees!).

Course Dessert, Snack

Keyword Chocolate, Cupcake, Earl Grey, Halloween, Infused milk, Taylor Swift, Taylor Swift Cupcakes, Tea

Prep Time 2 hours hours

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Total Time 2 hours hours 25 minutes minutes

Servings 12

Equipment

• 1 piping bag
• 1 large round piping nozzle (I used a #1A tip).
• small rolling pin

Ingredients

For the infused milk:

• 100 ml milk
• 4 Earl Grey tea bags (see Note 1).

For the Earl Grey cupcakes:

• 150 g caster sugar
• 150 g Stork (see Note 2).
• 3 eggs
• 150 g self-raising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 pinch salt
• 3 tbsp infused milk
• 3 drops vanilla extract

For the Earl Grey buttercream:

• 100 g unsalted butter, softened
• 220 g icing sugar, sifted
• 2.5 tbsp infused milk
• 1 pinch salt

To decorate:

• 12 giant chocolate buttons (I used Cadbury)
• 12 Rolos
• 24 (about 7-8g) dark chocolate chips
• Black edible ink marker (see Note 3).
• 180 g white modelling chocolate (see Note 4).
• Icing sugar, for dusting.

Instructions

Make the infused milk:

• Put the milk and tea bags into a small saucepan. Place over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat and cover, then leave to cool down to room temperature- about 30 minutes. When the milk has cooled, remove the tea bags, squeezing out any excess milk for extra flavour, and discard.

Make the Earl Grey cupcakes:

• Preheat the oven to 170°C. Line a 12-hole cupcake tray with dark brown cupcake cases and set aside.
• Place all of the cupcake ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment. Mix on low speed until most of the flour is incorporated, then gradually increase the speed to high. Beat until light and fluffy- about 30 seconds.
• Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl and ensure everything is fully combined. Use a regular-sized ice cream scoop to divide the batter between the 12 cupcake cases, then bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until the cupcakes spring back when touched gently.
• When the cupcakes are baked, remove them from the oven and transfer immediately to a wire rack, to prevent the bottom of the cases from becoming greasy. Allow to cool completely before decorating.

Make the Earl Grey buttercream:

• Place the softened butter into a medium-sized bowl. Using an electric whisk, whip on high speed until the butter is pale and fluffy.
• Add half of the icing sugar to the whipped butter. Use a spatula to incorporate the sugar (this will prevent an icing sugar cloud), then beat with the electric whisk, on high speed, for a further minute.
• Add the infused milk, then beat for another minute. Add the remaining icing sugar, stir in with a spatula, then beat the whole thing for a final minute. Transfer the icing to a piping bag, fitted with a large, round tip, ready to decorate the cupcakes.

To decorate:

• Pipe the buttercream onto each cupcake- you are aiming for a tall-ish cone in the centre of the cupcake. To achieve this, hold the piping bag vertically in the centre of the cake, then apply gentle pressure, lifting as you go to add height. Place the iced cakes into the fridge for about 15 minutes, to allow the buttercream to firm up, while you make the other decorations.
• To make the chocolate fedoras, warm a small frying pan over medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, turn off the heat. Use the heat from the pan to melt the base of a Rolo (be careful of your fingers near the hot pan!). When the base has melted a little, stick the Rolo to the flat side of a giant chocolate button, making sure it is centred. Repeat 11 more times, for a total of 12 chocolate fedoras, then set all the chocolates aside to harden.
• When the buttercream on the cakes is firm, you can start making the 'sheets' for the ghosts. Knead your modelling chocolate to bring it back to a smooth, pliant dough, then break off a small piece (about 15g). Dust your work surface and rolling pin with icing sugar, then roll out the ball, keeping the chocolate in a roughly circular shape, very thinly (about 12cm diameter). Use a small, sharp knife to cut off any messy edges with a wavy line, then carefully lift up the chocolate and drape it over the chilled cupcake. Press it against the central buttercream dollop and arrange the folds evenly.
• Before the modelling chocolate firms up, press two dark chocolate chips into the chocolate, to act as eyes. Using the black edible marker, draw a bar connecting the two chips to create the sunglasses (see Note 3).
• Heat the same, small frying pan you used to make the fedoras back up over a medium heat. Once the pan is hot, turn off the heat and use the warmth of the pan to melt the bottom of each fedora slightly (this will allow them to stick to the top of the modelling chocolate). Press one fedora on top of each ghost cupcake. Be careful not to over-melt the chocolate, or it will ooze out when you push it down onto the cupcake.
• I recommend adding the chocolate decorations (from the modelling chocolate 'sheets' onwards) on the day you plan to serve the cakes, to prevent any 'sweating'. The iced cupcakes will keep for 2-3 days in an airtight container (or the fridge), while the fully decorated cupcakes are best eaten on the same day.

Notes

1. I like to use decaf tea when I’m baking with it, so that I can have a cake at any time of the day without worrying, but feel free to use caffeinated tea, if you prefer.
2. As always, I like to use Stork in place of butter for my cakes- I think it makes for a fluffier, moister cake. If you don’t want to use Stork, just substitute it with an equal quantity of softened, unsalted butter. 
3. I used an edible ink marker to join the two chocolate chip ‘eyes’ into sunglasses, but it was a little bit finicky and I wasn’t super happy with the result. If you want to use an edible marker, I recommend you press the chips in, then remove them and draw the bar between them, before pressing the chips back in, to make the process easier. Otherwise, you could use some melted dark chocolate, either by placing it into a piping bag fitted with a very fine tip OR by dipping a cocktail stick into it and etching a small line that way. 
4. As always, you can use any edible modelling paste for this. I’ve opted to use white modelling chocolate, because I like the taste and the colour, but you could also use fondant or marzipan, if you prefer. All of these modelling pastes will ‘sweat’ if left on the cakes for too long though, so I would still only add them to the cupcakes on the day you plan to serve them, no matter which paste you choose to use.