Haunted Mansion Dessert Table

I'm all for a big Halloween blowout with lots of dancing and a keg, but this year, all I wanted was a smaller, classy, fancy-food-and-drinks cocktail party. The piece de resistance was my haunted mansion dessert table, resplendent with dripping blood candles, ravens, and a big skull. I went entirely overboard with, well, everything, like I do. I started cooking literally a month before the party because I was so excited. My awesome friend Sean (SeaFog Photo) took these amazing pictures after a moderate amount of dessert devastation had already taken place.

I made those silhouettes several years ago and just get them out every year. Easy, effective decor that totally goes with the haunted mansion theme. The bones in the jar on the right I made 2 years ago when Martha Stewart's Halloween theme was something like "Cabinet of Curiosities". They're made of that plaster stuff doctors use for casts. The sticks are from my yarn, the skull is from Walmart, and I made the table runners for a wedding several years ago.

I've made lollipops before, but they always looked like a 5-year-old made them because I had no mold. Now I have a mold, and my lollipops rock. Next time I'll make non-"bloody" ones so that people acually eat them.

My cake pops improved dramtically after I bought a meatballer maker to make nice little balls. Seeing a theme here? Proper equipment makes nicer baked goods. Wish I knew this years ago.

These, though... without thinking, I put the hot candy-coated apples down onto wax paper. So each apple had a wax paper bottom. Oops.

Made these skulls with a mold I got for my awesome and un-blogged Zombie birthday party. I think it was an ice-cube tray originally.

First time making French macarons. They're tricky.

And of course, cupcakes. It's a compulsion by this point.

Overall, great success. But really, dessert tables are a TON of work. I'm really happy with how this one turned out- I think it's my best yet. Maybe another one for New Year's? Could be fun!