16 Awesome Aprons for Colorful Cooks

What Is Vanilla Bean Paste?

Vanilla bean paste is essentially a more concentrated version of vanilla. Because it’s a paste, it has a thicker consistency than vanilla extract, which is a liquid. When you use vanilla bean paste you can see specks of a dark color — those are vanilla bean seeds. This allows for a more intense flavor of vanilla in your baked goods.

Why You Should Use Vanilla Bean Paste In Cupcakes

Vanilla acts as an enhancer in many baker kitchens because it allows for floral notes and a sweet aroma to come through the dessert. Due to the fact that vanilla bean paste has a more concentrated flavor, it offers your baked goods a much more robust taste — exactly what you want for your desserts! Instead of a muted flavor, you're sure to get better, bolder cupcakes with this trick!

Trust us, it’s a game changer — especially for vanilla cupcakes, which don’t rely on many other ingredients for flavor other than, well, vanilla. Cake loafs, cheesecakes, cookies, and cinnamon rolls are all examples of recipes that would benefit from using the paste instead. Vanilla bean paste can easily be substituted in any baked good that calls for vanilla extract with a one to one ratio.

Despite it not being used as frequently in recipes as vanilla extract is, vanilla bean paste is not hard to track down. You can easily find it in your local grocery store or certain online retailers (and, in some cases, it’s actually more affordable than the vanilla extract version). When you switch to vanilla bean paste you’ll never go back — and neither will your friends, because they will never stop asking you to bake them something.

Shop Vanilla Bean Paste Here!

Nielsen-Massey Pure Vanilla Bean Paste

If you're not of trick-or-treating age anymore, and also don't have little ones of your own yet to rack up a pumpkin full of candy for the whole family, you might be wondering how to get your sweet tooth fix this holiday season. We've curated some truly next-level Halloween cake recipes you can create to get your spooky season off to a chilling start.

The best part about the Halloween cakes ahead? They are the *perfect* conversation starter for any parties you might attend, plus you can also leverage these ideas for October birthdays or for your friends who embody spooky vibes all year long.

Keep scrolling for all of the iconic Halloween themes in edible form, from Jack-o'-lanterns and graveyard dirt cakes, to desserts with spiderwebs, bats, creepy eyeballs, blood, gore, and more! And don't worry – we have some picture-perfect holiday cake recipes in the mix as well for the scaredy cats out there. Bon appetit!

Moist Black Velvet Cake

Red velvet cake is a staple during birthdays and holidays, but have you ever tried its darker sister? She still has the same moist feel and taste you love, but the black cocoa, buttercream, and white food coloring add to her appearance. Top it off with flying bats and your guests will love staring at it at your party.

Bloody Broken Glass Cupcakes

Someone wasn't careful while baking and ended up cutting their fingers on the broken glass sticking out of these cupcakes. The horror!

All jokes aside, this dessert is perfectly spooky and edible because it features ganache, sugar glass, and 'blood' you can feast on. It'll be a good idea to dress up as a sexy vampire who has fangs to really spook your guests!

Effortless No-Bake Mummy Sponge Cake

Sponge cakes aren't usually this spooky, but there's no reason they can't be! Between us, mummies aren't always talked about during Halloween so this dessert gives you a reason to celebrate them.

You'll need ingredients like powdered sugar, baking powder, vanilla extract, salted butter, and flour to create the cake. Next, you'll combine white vanilla frosting and large candy eyeballs for the mummy design. Put it all together and you have the spongiest Halloween cake ever!

Meringue Bone Palace Halloween Cake

Not to be attempted by the faint of heart (meringue is known to be one of the trickiest substances to work with), this creative cake is completely inspired by skeleton bones. Oh, and by the way, underneath all those bones, you'll find a decadent (and equally visually stunning) bright red velvet cake.

Neon Confetti Cake

Light up any darkened room with a *shockingly* bright Halloween dessert. Treat guests to this neon cake, and throw in some other glow-in-the-dark decorations to really make it shine.

Spooky Cake Balls

Here's an easy cake recipe to whip up in a hot minute when you don't feel like making an entire cake. Your guests won't be able to resist the spooky eyeballs and mini mummies.

Oreo Brownie Trifle

Turn this simple trifle into something spooky: layer brownies, chocolate pudding, whipped topping, and crushed Oreo cookies in a cake pan. Top the stack with *extra* crushed Oreos and write on the Milano cookie “tombstones” with homemade icing. Add some gummy worms to amp up the creep factor!

Forbidden Forest Chocolate Butterbeer Cake

Pretend it's the Halloween feast at Hogwarts and serve up a cake that's inspired by the intriguing and terrifying Forbidden Forest. After an adventure in there, you definitely deserve chocolate.

Black Cocoa Halloween Layer Cake

Wow your guests with this black cocoa Halloween cake that's covered in black cocoa buttercream, marshmallow spiderwebs, and ghost meringues! It's delicious *and* spectacular looking.

Stenciled Halloween Sprinkle Cake

What better way to incorporate a fun gradient into your Halloween cake than with this absolutely stunning dessert? It features ombre-toned buttercream frosting and a delicious vanilla yellow cake. You can *also* easily repurpose this recipe throughout the year by switching out the stencil design color theme.

Monochrome Cake

Channel your inner Beetlejuice when you decorate this monochrome black-and-white cake – just don't look too long at those spirals, or you might find yourself hypnotized! This elegant Halloween cake uses melted dark chocolate and vanilla for contrasting colors, plus an extra black gel food coloring to provide the rich dark shade.

Pink and Gold Pumpkin Cakes

If you've got a bright, pastel aesthetic to uphold, these pumpkin spice cakes draped with pastel-colored fondant and edible gold offer a fancy fall treat.

Halloween Cookies and Cream Cake

Oreo-filled vanilla cake, cookies and cream frosting, dark chocolate ganache, and a heap of seasonal candies make this one decadent dessert you simply can't pass on making. To decorate the layers, you'll make a chocolate ganache with heavy cream, chocolate chips, and corn syrup. Then, add some Oreo pieces, sprinkles, candy corn, Peeps, and the whole she-bang.

No-Bake Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake

Pumpkin-flavored cheesecakes are one of the main dessert staples of the fall season. The best part about this recipe? It's no-bake! Plus, with a prep time and cook time of 10 minutes each, you can have a delicious treat ready to set in the fridge in 20 minutes. This pumpkin spice cheesecake features all the classic fall flavors like cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and ground cloves.

Salted Caramel Apple Snickers Cake

This is one of our favorite Halloween cakes to bake and serve with a side of apple-bobbing games and spiked apple cider. It's perfected with applesauce to make it *sort of* healthy... but you'll still you dump some ooey-gooey salted caramel sauce all over the cake and apples.

Nightmare Before Christmas Cake

If you're a Tim Burton fan, you *have* to try this. What better way to celebrate one of the coolest movies ever than by showcasing your fandom with this artsy and spooky Halloween cake idea? And best of all, it'll only take you 45 minutes to tackle this spook-tacular sweet.

Unicorn Halloween Jack-o'-Lantern Cake

If you have younger kids, rockin' with traditional Halloween cake themes can be pretty scary. Shake things up by offering this sweet unicorn instead of the usual creepy fare. Bonus points if you match your Halloween unicorn costume to this treat!

Candy Corn Tuxedo Cake

The creepy exterior of this cake cuts away to a whimsically colorful surprise on the inside. Inspired by s'mores-flavored candy corn, this Halloween cake is one no one can turn down. The harvest colors definitely bring an autumn feel to the recipe that you can break out long past Halloween, and this one reads more cute-spooky instead of scary-spooky, if that's your preferred vibe.

Pumpkin Spice Latte Cake

Halloween doesn't have to just be about darkness and ghouls. It's also perfectly fine to celebrate with a bright autumnal vibe, as with this beautiful pumpkin spice cake!

Slime Cake

This dark chocolate cake has a shocking contrast in color, thanks to its lime green buttercream frosting. Here's the secret to the dramatic combo: the chocolate is made extra-dark with black food coloring. On the inside, there's layered neon green pudding to provide an ooey-gooey texture that makes perfect sense for the slime factor.

Skeleton Piñata Cake

Fill your Halloween cake with almond bark-based bones for a scary (and delicious) surprise. Start with a succulent red velvet cake base for the inside, then use ready-made fondant for the skeleton design on top.

Orange Cream Cake with Chocolate Ganache

Layer cakes always feel special, especially when they're made with bright orange and dark black cake and frosting for Halloween! Cutting that first slice is bound to make you smile.

Melted Witch Cake

Uh-oh — it looks like Dorothy came to visit this melting witch! The secret to the dripping look is whipping up some dark chocolate ganache. (via The First Year)

Halloween Candy Mug Cake

Once your kids go to bed, sneak some of their Halloween candy for yourself. You'll be on your way to whipping up a fast and tasty mug cake for one!

Boo Surprise Inside Cake

Surprise your guests with a secret message inside their dessert. It sounds complicated, but this one is actually quite easy to make when you follow the notes.

Black Velvet Cake

This ghoulish Halloween cake gets topped with little white chocolate ghosties that can be equally creepy or cute, depending how you make them at home.

Pumpkin Patch Dirt Cake

How adorable is this? Create your very own pumpkin patch with instant pudding, Oreo crumbs, and mini pumpkin candies.

Salted Caramel Upside Down Cake

Caramel apples may no longer be acceptable as a trick-or-treating sweet, but you can enjoy the flavors of this classic autumnal treat in cake form instead.

Halloween Witch Hat Cupcakes

Though these individual treats don't make a full cake, they are perfect for serving a crowd at your Halloween get-togethers.

Spiderweb S'mores Cheesecake Brownies

Repeat after us: there is no such thing as too much of a good thing. Smash together all of your favorite desserts and you get an elaborate concoction that is alone worth celebrating during Halloween.

Vegan Zombie Cupcakes

These freaky bites will turn out so impressive, you won't want to sink your teeth into them.

1996 — Kate and Leo meet on the set of Titanic.

We all know and love the friends-to-lovers trope, but Winslet and DiCaprio are the poster children for the lovers-to-friends trope. The actors met while playing love interests in Titanic. Although their onscreen relationship has never come to fruition offscreen, Winslet says the pair immediately clicked as friends.

“He was just very free with himself, and he had this effervescent energy that was really magnetic,” she said in a 2023 Titanic re-release featurette. “And I remember thinking, 'Oh, this is gonna be fun. We're definitely gonna get along.' And we just really did. We just really did.”

1998 — They walk the red carpet together at the Golden Globes.

If you Google “young Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet,” there’s a 99 percent chance the first pictures will be from this red carpet, mostly because Winslet’s look is sooo ’90s. In an interview with ET, DiCaprio says they absolutely came together, but clarifies that they’re “good buddies.”

2008 — They join forces on screen again.

The first movie Winslet and DiCaprio did together post-Titanic was Revolutionary Road, where they play another couple who doesn’t work out because one of them dies by the end of the movie (quite a specific niche to fall into, no?). Unlike Jack and Rose, their characters in Revolutionary Road have a tense relationship, which Winslet said made working on the film “an immensely emotionally challenging experience” for both of them.

“There’s just a trust factor there. We both know that we have the best intentions for each other, but we also know that we can push each other’s limits,” DiCaprio said in an interview for the film. “There’s probably no other actress out there that I would feel as comfortable attacking, and I know she can give every bit of it right back to me.”

2009 — Kate shouts Leo out in her Golden Globes acceptance speech.

Winslet won a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture — Drama for her role in Revolutionary Road. She gave a heartfelt speech that included some very kind words for her costar and best friend.

“Leo, I’m so happy I can stand here and tell you how much I love you and how much I’ve loved you for 13 years. Your performance in this film is nothing short of spectacular. I love you with all my heart, I really do,” Winslet said. DiCaprio blew her multiple kisses as she spoke. Feel free to join in the audience’s aww-ing; this moment is just too sweet.

2012 — Leo walks Kate down the aisle.

A source told Us Weekly that DiCaprio walked Winslet down the aisle at her wedding to Ned Rocknroll (whose real name is Edward Abel Smith, in case you were worried) in December 2012.

2016 — Kate Winslet cries at Leonardo DiCaprio’s Oscar speech.

When Leo finally won his first Oscar in 2016 for The Revenant, the camera cut to Kate tearing up and clasping her hands in front of her face during his speech. She was also spotted giving him a quick, friendly kiss on the cheek during a commercial break.

2017 — They have dinner in Saint-Tropez.

Pictures blew up over the internet of DiCaprio and Winslet “vacationing” together in Saint-Tropez, but Winslet later revealed that they were there on business. “Leo did his annual fundraiser for the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation. He and I went together and we auctioned off dinner with Jack and Rose and actually raised $1.35 million. It was extraordinary,” she told E!.

2021 — They reunite for the first time since the pandemic hit.

Winslet revealed that she cried the first time she saw DiCaprio after the pandemic began. “I’ve known him for half my life! It’s not as if I’ve found myself in New York or he’s been in London and there’s been a chance to have dinner or grab a coffee and a catch up,” she told The Guardian. “We haven’t been able to leave our countries. Like so many friendships globally, we’ve missed each other.”

2023 — Winslet reflects on her friendship with DiCaprio on Titanic’s re-release featurette.

Kate Winslet revealed that when she and Leonardo DiCaprio call each other, they pick up the phone right away. “There’s no like, ‘Hang on, I’ll call you tomorrow.’ It's instant,” she told ET Online. Think about that next time your bestie gives you an impromptu ring.

The actress also got a bit more sentimental about her long-standing friendship with Leo. “You know, if you think about it, in the world that we live in now, to have friendships that bind you, and that shared history, it’s really something,” she said.

One thing’s for sure: if the Titanic had actually gone down in 1997, Kate would have definitely made room for Leo on that dang door.

November 4, 2024 — Kate Winslet Praises Leonardo DiCaprio and Revolutionary Road

In an interview with Vanity Fair, Kate Winslet recalls just how difficult it was bringing Revolutionary Road to life. The story follows Frank and April Wheeler as they struggle with both the cracks in their marriage and their 1950s suburban reality.

"The thing that people say is, 'You got to work with Leo again.' Then they go off on the whole Leo tangent, which I totally understand," she says. "But Revolutionary Road — f—king hell, it just knocked us all sideways. Unbelievably difficult material. I was very proud of that film and what Leo and I were able to create as Frank and April. It was so brutal."

November 19, 2024 — Leonardo DiCaprio Supports Kate Winslet's Lee

Leo made a special screening of Kate Winslet's Lee even more special by showing up to support her! The two were photographed hugging in front of the poster and it's truly the push I needed to get through the week :').