Catacomb Crumble Topping

It was a picture on Instagram wherein I was tagged by my daughter-in-law that sent me to the GhoulatHeart website where I first saw this clever catacomb crumble topping. Things like this really intrigue me, and I knew that I had to make it. There was no time, at this late date of discovery to shop around for small skull molds, so I used what I had that’s a little bigger. I actually prefer the look of mine (the kind that you see on old gravestones), to the more modern version.

Making the streusel skulls.

I’m not going to lie this was labor-intensive. Because my mold was bigger, it took longer in the freezer (more like 30 minutes) than author’s 10 minutes, so my process dragged out quite a long time. I also had only an eight-well mold, so I had to do it four times. Not every time was successful. Gradually I learned to pack the streusel as tightly as I possibly could, and made use of the smaller end of a tart tamper that worked quite well. I also learned that when I went to pop it out of the mold, in my case anyway, to start with the small end and work my way up to the top of the skull.

Ready for the oven.

 I absolutely love the look, it made my pumpkin bread look perfect for Halloween, it cut like a dream, and it is delicious! This crumble topping can be used on anything you like from coffee cakes, tarts, quick breads, to cupcakes. Just cover a cupcake with a light topping of crumbly streusel and press a streusel skull in the top. They hold up quite well in the oven (one of my fears was they wouldn’t), and as you can see, it’s quite eye-catching.

Right out of the oven.

Use your favorite pumpkin bread recipe add this for the topping.
 

Catacomb Crumble Topping
As seen on ghoulatheart.com

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Make skull streusel ahead of time and keep refrigerated.

Add streusel ingredients to a medium bowl and use a fork to cut in butter until combined. Transfer 1/2 teaspoon of the streusel mixture into each skull cavity of the skull mold and use the back of a teaspoon to pack the mixture tightly. Place mold into the freezer for about 10 minutes to set the skulls and tap to remove skulls onto parchment paper. Stores skulls in a plastic container and pop back in the fridge. Repeat until you have about 60 skulls. Reserve the remaining streusel mixture.

Make your favorite pumpkin bread. Sprinkle the crumbly streusel topping over the batter. Add about half the skulls to the top of the loaf. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove loaf from oven and top it with the remaining skull streusel, filling in where the bread has expanded. Return the loaf back to the oven and allow to bake 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool 10 minutes, then remove from pan to cool completely. Wrap and store at room temperature for up to four days, or 10 days in the refrigerator.

Note from Olla-Podrida: I rarely bother with the cut-in method. I placed all ingredients into the work bowl of a food processor and processed until large crumbs formed. Because my skulls were larger, each one took a tablespoon of mixture in order to make a full skull. I tamped it tightly into the mold using a tart tamper. Unlike the originator of this recipe, I placed the crumbly streusel onto the pumpkin loaf, jammed all of the skulls on top, and baked it just once for 60 minutes at 350°. As you can see, it worked perfectly.

Something of major importance that the originator failed to mention is that your baking pan needs to be lined with either foil or parchment so that you can lift the loaf directly out of the pan. You don’t want to attempt to take it out on its side or invert it.

Have fun on Halloween. Bake something scary!

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