Bread Testing

I am one of the testers for Peter Reinhart's new French Bread recipe. I enjoy being a tester because I like to see how the recipe turns out knowing that it's in its first stage. The dough is made ahead of time and put into the fridge. I made the bread after 3 days and I think it turned out quite well though I need some practice on forming the loaf.

Halloween Eyeball Cupcakes

They are only just starting to sell Halloween stuff here - mostly children's costumes and some decorations, so there aren't any Halloween themed or coloured food items in the stores.

I've made muffins before but I don't remember if I've ever made iced cupcakes. Sweet and Simple Bakes' October challenge was to make Halloween cupcakes. I adapted their recipe to make it eggless and found a milkless frosting to cover them with. I used margarine in the frosting, so it turned out yellowy. I used a black liquorice candy for the pupil and puréed a few strawberries through a strainer and mixed in some icing sugar for the red lines. They certainly look homemade but that didn't stop us eating them all!