A while ago me and my children decided to try holding a cake/garage sale. Halloween seemed like a good time to do this, especially seeing as this year it falls in the half term week. I have never taken the children trick or treating before but now the children are that bit older there is no possible way of avoiding it any longer.
So, we decided to embrace this first year of acknowledging Halloween by starting with a spooky theme. Pinterest came into it’s own here. This is where all our ideas stemmed from. There you can find limitless visual inspiration. I have pinned some of my favourites HERE.
Holding a cake sale is a good way to teach children about the value of money as well as giving them an idea of what charity is. The sale allowed us to donate £30 to CRISIS, a homeless charity.
At the end of the sale the children counted coins and split them three ways. They were delighted to have made some pocket money and surprisingly, it has all gone into their piggy banks. I don’t know where their restraint comes from!
In fact the only one to show a vague interest in going shopping is the 8yo and that is because she says she is running out of clothes and I never buy her any new ones. Good point.
The cakes and biscuits we made were all simple and easy to bake as well as to ice. The only slightly unusual cake I chose to make was pumpkin based. I spotted a delicious looking chocolate pumpkin cake over at Louisa of Chez Foti’s blog that I knew would keep well if made a few days ahead of time. It proved to be very popular and improved in flavour after a couple of days storage.
My other revelation was an icing that I threw together. It is so good yet so simple. It will be my go to recipe whenever I need a speedy chocolatey topping. Give it a go. Here is what you do.
Seriously Good Chocolate Icing
Melt 150g milk chocolate in a pan along with a small tub of soured cream (170ml) on a gentle heat. When it is ready take it off the heat and give it a good whisk then refrigerate until it thickens and becomes spreadable. Spoon onto any cake and enjoy a creamy smooth and rich fudge like icing.
We used the icing to top the chocolate pumpkin cake and a traditional Victoria sponge. The other cakes on sale were chocolate & vanilla fairy cakes, rice krispie squares, meringues, butter biscuits and gingerbread men. All with Halloween decorations made by the children.
We all had a great time selling our wares to neighbours and school friends and will be back next year for more of the same.
If you are celebrating this Wednesday have a
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
These cakes are so wonderful Laura! Not only do they look gorgeous, I bet they tasted amazing (a component often missing from cake sales!) I bet everyone was flocking to you as they knew the cakes would be good! It sounds like it was a very useful exercise for the children, too. Well done to you all!
Thanks Charlotte, I have to admit they did taste good. Sometimes the classics are just what you need although the chocolate pumpkin cake also sold well as we were plugging our home grown squashes being used!
those cakes all look great, well done!
Thanks Helen, we had a great time mainly because the weather was good to us!
gutted I missed this sale!!
Ha Ha, yes I should have saved you some!
What a great assortment of cakes! The chocolate icing does sound good! So glad the cake sale was such a success.
Thanks Jayne, we did have a great time and will be doing our first ever trick or treat tonight!
Your children must feel very proud of themselves (I find bake sale good fun, but very stressful). you had a very good variety of cakes, I’ve noticed that classic cakes are always a winner with this type of events but it seems that your squash cake was successful too… Great chocolate icing tip: mine always taste funny…
Thanks Rita, yes the classics are so good for a cake sale and then having one unusual cake works well for the more adventurous customers!
Love all your halloween goodies, the marshmallows on top of the pumpkin cake are such a sweet idea! That icing sounds delicious. Well done on raising the money for Crisis too, such worthy cause
Thanks Hannah, had such a good time and pleased we could make a decent donation at the end of it. The icing is yum!
All these Halloween treats look fab! And the icing sounds delicious too. My mum always used to make a Greek yoghurt and chocolate icing with us when we were little and I can imagine the soured cream gives a similar flavour and texture.
Oh yes, bet Greek yoghurt icing would have the same silky smooth result. May try that next time, have plenty of chocolate supplies left!
What a marvellous idea, and a huge effort from you and the children. No wonder it was successful all your cakes look fabulous. Happy Halloween. Jude x
Happy Halloween to you too Jude! We really enjoyed ourselves and will do it again next year!
What a lovely Half Term and Halloween activity Laura. What a lovely (and no doubt super popular) selection of Halloween treats! Isn’t Pinterest really really useful and inspiring?
Thanks Kate, yes I can certainly thank Pinterest for inspiration. We have just finished trick or treating and now feel in the full Halloween spirit!
What a lot of gorgeous wee cakes and treats! I wish I lived near you as I would have been over in a shot. Such a tremendous effort, especially when children are involved, so (witches) hat off to you, Laura. And well done for the fundraising and money lesson to your wee ones. Hope they had a fun evening.
Thanks Kellie, they had a brilliant time and have donated their money as well as spending a little bit too!
I’ve only just seen your post….so so behind and very caught up in half term. What a fab idea, holding a cake sale and a Halloween one at that!. You and the kids must have had great fun putting it all together. I’m going to remember your idea and have a think about doing my own when my littlies are a little bit older!. Glad you made some Choccie Pumpkin cake too and it sold, bet it was good with the added naughty icing!. Must bake some more soon myself, my kids love it though weirdly they’re not huge chocolate cake fans. Louisa
You are so lucky your kids aren’t that keen on chocolate. Mine love it but then so do I!!!
Wow I love all your halloween bakes! I always love spiders webs on top of cakes too, they look so effective! These are all perfect for kids too and it’s great that you raised some money for a good cause
Such a great idea. I’d like to do something similar at some point with my children. And what a lot of work you have put into those cakes! They all look amazing. X
Hi Fleur, thanks for your comment. I think your children would really enjoy the experience. It takes over a few days of your life but in a good way!