It’s that time! Not only is it spooky season, but we’re now in the heart of Halloween week! So, if you’re in need of an easy showstopper of a design to impress your favorite goblins, you’ve come to the right place.

Follow these steps to create mummy eyes that are designed to give guests the creeps, but we all know they’ll say they are “too cute to eat.”

Step 1: Pipe the Chocolate Coin Base

1. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. (Bonus points if your tray fits into your refrigerator.)

2. Melt chocolate or candy melts over a double boiler. When the chocolate is just melted, place into a piping bag.

3. Pipe 2 1/2 -inch circles on the parchment.

4. Place tray in the refrigerator until the chocolate is firm. Once the chocolate sets, carefully pop each round off of the tray.

5. Flip the chocolate coins so that the flat side is facing up.

Step 2: Flood the Chocolate Coin with Royal Icing

1. Grab your favorite royal icing recipe and choose a couple of spooky colors to serve as your mummy’s skin tone. I went with a muted purple and green, but any color will work.

2. Pipe the royal icing onto the chocolate coin to cover it. No need to complicate it - I personally just flood from the center and then spread toward the edges with a toothpick (if needed), but you could also choose to outline the circle and then flood the interior of it. Either way, leave a millimeter or 2 of a rim so that you’re able to pick up the coins and so that the royal icing doesn’t flood over the edges.

Pro tip: Place a fan near the tray to allow the royal icing to set evenly and quickly.

Step 3: Pipe Royal Icing Eyes

Now that your “mummy skin” color is set on the chocolate coin, it’s time to add the eyes (Cue the Halloween oooOOOooo sound effect.)

1. Fill a piping bag with royal icing dyed to your preferred eye color. I chose orange but I think yellow or neon green would also work well for mummies. You will also need a piping bag filled halfway with black icing, as well as a scoop of plain white royal icing in a bowl and a toothpick.

2. Pipe oval eyes with the orange icing. While the icing is still wet, pipe a dot of black icing on the eyes to create the pupil.

3. Then, dip your toothpick into the scoop of white icing. Place a tiny dot of white icing in the same spot on each pupil to create an eye-shine effect. This last step is totally optional, but I think these tiny details are what make designs seem impressive.

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Step 4: Pipe the Mummy Wrap

1. Once the eyes are completely set, you can go ahead and ask yourself if you ever feel like someone is watching you. Because you should now have a tray full of eyes staring back at you. Creepy.

2. Fill a piping bag with plain (white) royal icing. Now, this is the fun part: squeeze the icing across the chocolate coins.

Some tips to make this look like mummies:

• Work the icing in different directions to create overlapping effects

• Make sure that you pipe beyond the coin so you don’t see where the icing ends

• Try not to cover the eyes completely - especially the pupils

• Once this is set, you can go back and pipe again to add more definition to your wrap

• Have fun with it! There’s no wrong way to wrap a mummy. Kids love this part so let them be silly with it

  

Step 5: Top Your Cupcakes

Your mummies are officially done! So, let’s give them a home. Although, in this case they’ll live atop a cupcake instead of tucked away in a tomb. Afterall, these are way too cute not to be admired!

All you need to do is gather your favorite seasonal cupcakes (looking at you, pumpkin!) and place the mummy coin on top of the frosting.

The best thing about decorating on chocolate bases is these decorations will last a really long time. They are mummies, they might just last forever. So even if you’re decorating on Sunday, you could save the decor in an airtight container in a cool, dry place until Halloween - no problem.

I can’t wait to see your mummies! Please take a picture of your creations and make sure to tag me either on:

• Substack

• Instagram @abakerabroad

• Tiktok @abakerabroad

Also, if you know a foodie who would love these posts, please share it with them. It’ll help me grow - and make me do a happy dance!

To kick off this newsletter, I’m launching a recurring series of the best pastries I’ve found around the globe in the hope that they will inspire your traveling foodie bucket list. So, let’s start at the very top with the 3 pastries I have not been able to stop thinking about since they first touched my lips.

Apple Strudel in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany

The first pastry takes us to the incredibly charming Bavarian town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. This tiny town is famous for its intricate hand-painted frescoes covering the walls of colorful homes, bakeries, and inns alike.

I was clued in to how incredible the apple strudel is in Garmisch-Partenkirchen by a friend. Little did I know, it would be the best strudel I’ve had in my life. True German strudel dough is pulled so impossibly thin that you could read a newspaper through it. The layers were so pillowy and delicate, making it easy to see that what sets an amazing strudel apart from a good one is quite simply the texture.

Mixed with the comforting flavor profile we all know and love, executed to a standard I hadn’t experienced out of Bavaria: thin slices of apple slices bathing in a velvet blanket of spices (without a speck of cornstarch to be found.) Each bite was pure heaven. I’ve had strudel in Germany before, but this one takes the cake!

Matcha Tiramisu in Kyoto, Japan

Kyoto is a quick 2-hour train ride aboard Japan’s famous Shinkansen. While most call this the Bullet Train for its incredible speed, it might also be a magical portal. Going from the ultra-modern city of Tokyo, with its endless neon light displays, to Kyoto’s mix of modern meets history, feels like a whole different trip in itself. While daytime streets are bustling with city life, golden hour could lead you down narrow lanes glowing with the charm of historical buildings that give way to lantern-lit temples. It’s the kind of intriguing city that can make you feel like you’ve stepped into a traditional woodblock print.

And here, within this cultural immersion, are a plethora of worldclass pastries waiting to be discovered. But for me, there’s one flavor profile I cannot stop thinking about: the matcha tiramisu.

Instead of espresso-soaked ladyfingers, the base was comprised of a light-as-air sponge infused with ceremonial-grade Uji matcha. But the real showstopper was the sabayon-like mascarpone which balanced the earthy notes of the green tea. Altogether it was a perfect balance of umami, creaminess, and just a touch of sweetness which honored the soul of the classic dessert while delivering its own Japanese flair. It’s the reinvented take on a classic that I’ll happily devour again and again.

If Kyoto is called the Land of 1,000 Temples, then this dessert could be considered temple #1,001. Each tiramisu is nestled inside its own traditional wooden masu box, serving as a temple to preserve the deliciousness inside.

Chocolate Cake in Lisbon, Portugal

Getting around Lisbon can feel like a hike with its steep inclines and textured cobblestone streets. But when the sun soaks this city in its golden rays, it truly shines. Cream colored buildings appear golden between colorful pastels wrapped in Portugal’s famous azulejos tile artwork. It’s picture book architecture that makes up a traveler’s dreams. And hidden among this beautiful city is the best cake I’ve ever had in my life.

I was lucky enough to stumble upon a Food and Wine Magazine article before visiting Portugal, touting Landeau Chocolate’s cake as the best cake in the world. They did not lie.

This unassuming slice of chocolate cake has three simple layers: melt-in-your-mouth chocolate mousse sleeping upon a rich flourless cake base, topped with a generous dusting of bitter cocoa. This perfect blend of fudgy creaminess has kept me dreaming about the day when I can venture back to Lisbon to return to chocolate heaven. And yes, I somehow immediately strolled directly up the street to nosh on Portugal’s famous pastel de nata afterward. But that’s a story for another post.

Join the Journey

This is just the first stop on my long list of pastries you MUST try around the world. I’m already curating the next list for this series. But A Baker Abroad is so much more than just this series. It will be full of travel guides from my most unbelievable experiences, recipes inspired by my favorite destinations, step-by-step dessert design tutorials, as well as the best experiences, food, and places I find on my adventures. Make sure to hit subscribe so you never miss a sweet stop along this journey!

In the comments, I’d love to know: Have you tried any of these three? And what is the greatest pastry you’ve ever discovered on your own travels?