Halloween #Goals: Pastry Edition

Most home bakers stick to layer cakes and pies, but Christine McConnellsculpts pastries worthy of Ladure … if it were run by Tim Burton. McConnell is aphotographer anda self-trained baker, and started chronicling her bakinga few years agoon Instagram. Her moody pictures with one-of-a-kind pastrieshave earned her more than 150,000 Instagram followers(and counting). She combines prim 1950s baked goods with eerie, unexpected touches. Likea domed ivory cakewith a snake coiled atop Victorian lace, or airy lemon barscrawling with “dragon bees.”

Halloween is clearly the holiday best suited toMcConnell’s aesthetic, so we’re including some of her work for October #goals inspiration.

Earlier this fall McConnell posted a sweetplatter of treats with her signature spooky twist

(Courtesy of Christine McConnell)

Peanut butter balls dipped in chocolate that McConnell calls “Beelzebub Buckeyes”

(Courtesy of Christine McConnell/Instagram)

Halloween isn’t the only time of yearwhere McConnell embraces fangs and spiderwebs. She gives just as much care to a birthday cupcake:

Spooky can also be dainty

(Courtesy of Christine McConnell/Flickr)

Some of her projects like a raspberry gelatine and “screamberries” are almost sweet:

Raspberry gelatine

(Courtesy of Christine McConnell)

Christine McConnell’s “screamberries” started as an experiment in homemade waffle cones

(Courtesy of Christine McConnell/Flickr)

McConnell regularly takes inspiration from movies. There’s her pie pastry inspired byAlien …

An Alien-inspired “facehugger” made from pie pastry

(Courtesy of Christine McConnell)

… as well as an elaborate recreation of Gremlins:

McConnell combines her photography skills with her baking to reimagine a scene with cakes of Gremlins characters

(Courtesy of Christine McConnell)

McConnell gives behind-the-scenes photos too, showing her process to make each cake:

Caramel pecan turtle cake is stacked into a gremlin shape, then his features are sculpted from modeling chocolate

(Courtesy of Christine McConnell/Flickr)

A gremlin at large

(Courtesy of Christine McConnell)

So far, McConnell has only shared pictures of her work, but next spring she publishes a cookbook (yes, I preordered it). You can find out more on her website.

Do you have a signature Halloween creation? Tell us in the comments below.