Charm City Cakes frontman Duff Goldman knows a thing or two about baking over-the-top treats. As a matter of fact, his creations are among some of the most imaginative desserts we've ever seen. So it's only fitting that he hosted the Halloween [1] dessert party at this year's New York City Wine and Food Festival. The event featured all kinds of spellbinding confections, from a downright creepy piñata to "bloody" vampire parfaits.

POPSUGAR caught up with Duff and discovered his hack for whipping up a delicious cake even when pressed for time. "Cake mix," he confessed. "No shame in that game." How can you not love that relatable ingenuity? Keep reading for a peek at the craziest treats from that night and let them inspire your Halloween baking.

Cake in a Jar

Duff's team served up pumpkin chocolate chip cake with creamy frosting in a jar [5], an easy recipe to re-create at home.

Graveyard Pudding Cups

How cute are those cookie tombstones?! Bake cut-out cookies [6], write RIP in chocolate frosting, and prop them up on a bed of chocolate pudding with Oreo cookie crumbles.

Little Monster Cake Pops

These little cake pops [7] are more adorable than they are scary.

Bloody Piñata

This is a sight we can't unsee. The "guts" of the piñata are Twinkies [8] and macerated berries (aka strawberries mashed up with some sugar).

Vampire's Bite

Things got gory with yogurt, red currant coulis, and red chips with elderflower.

Cotton-Candy-Topped Ice Cream

Caramelized apple ice cream with candied pecans, salted caramel, and a cotton candy wig is the most festive sundae we've seen yet. It's a take on the soft-serve trend [9] we've been seeing all over Instagram.