5 Halloween Recipes for the Whole Family
‘Friendly ghost’ meringues in a death-by-chocolate mousse graveyard with peanut butter tombstones
INGREDIENTS
MERINGUE GHOSTS
• 2 large egg whites
• 110g castor sugar
• drop vanilla extract
DEATH-BY-CHOCOLATE MOUSSE
• 300ml water
• 60ml (¼ cup) espresso/strong coffee
• 460g good-quality dark chocolate,
• finely chopped
• 500g ice cubes
• 500ml (2 cups) fresh cream,
• whipped to stiff peaks
• 1 x 175g packet dark chocolate
• biscuits, crushed
PEANUT BUTTER TOMBSTONES
• 250g smooth/crunchy peanut butter
• 175g brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1 large egg
• 5ml (1 tsp) bicarbonate of soda
• 50g dark chocolate, melted, to pipe
Credit: Imka Webb
INSTRUCTIONS
STEP 1
Preheat the oven to 120°C and line a large baking sheet.
STEP 2
For the meringues, place the 2 egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer and whip to stiff peaks. Gradually start adding the castor sugar, little by little, continuing to whip, until the meringue is very thick and glossy. Whisk in the vanilla then place the mixture in a piping bag. Snip off the end and pipe ghostly blobs onto the baking sheet. Place in the oven to dry (wedge a wooden spoon between the oven and the oven door to keep it ajar) and the meringues are crisp but still soft in the middle, 1 – 2 hours.
STEP 3
For the chocolate mousse, place the water, coffee and 460g dark chocolate in a saucepan and heat gently over medium-low heat, while stirring, until melted.
STEP 4
Once smooth, pour the coffee chocolate into a glass or metal bowl, which fits over another bowl. Fill the bottom bowl with the ice cubes and place the other on top. Using an electric hand mixer, beat the mixture until it starts to thicken and forms soft peaks. Gently fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture and pour the mousse into a serving dish or individual bowls and refrigerate until set.
STEP 5
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
STEP 6
For the tombstones, cream together the peanut butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and bicarbonate of soda and mix for another 2 minutes. Roll teaspoonfuls of mixture into 7cm logs then flatten and place on the lined baking sheet, allowing enough space for spreading. Bake in the oven until lightly browned, about 10 minutes.
STEP 7
Remove from oven and allow to cool. Pipe ‘RIP’ onto each biscuit using the melted 50g dark chocolate.
STEP 8
To assemble the dish, sprinkle the biscuit crumbs on top of the mousse for the soil, then insert the tombstones and position the meringue ghosts.
Easy Halloween cookies
INGREDIENTS
• 150g butter, softened
• 50g caster sugar
• 100g light brown soft sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 250g plain flour
• ¼ tsp baking powder
• 100g milk or dark chocolate chips
TO DECORATE
• 60g dark chocolate, melted
• 60g royal icing sugar mixed with 2 tsp water
• 20 Maltesers
• 5 cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies (oreos are perfect)
• 10 caramel-filled chocolates
INSTRUCTIONS
STEP 1
Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4, and line two baking sheets with baking parchment. Beat the butter and sugars together with an electric whisk until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and egg and beat again to combine. Stir in the flour and baking powder with a wooden spoon until you have a stiff dough, then fold in the chocolate chips.
STEP 2
Divide the dough into 20 pieces and roll into balls. Arrange on the prepared baking sheets, well spaced out so there’s space for spreading (you may need to bake them in batches). Press the tops of the cookies down very slightly using the palm of your hand or the bottom of a glass. Bake the cookies for 10-12 mins until golden around the edges, then leave to cool on the baking sheets for 10 mins. Transfer to wire racks and leave to cool completely.
STEP 3
To make the spider cookies, lay 10 of the cooled cookies out in front of you. Spoon the melted chocolate into a piping bag and the royal icing into another, then snip off the ends using scissors. Pipe a dot of royal icing onto the back of two Maltesers, and arrange these onto one of the cookies to create the head and body of the spider. Repeat with the remaining nine cookies and the rest of the Maltesers. Pipe eight spider legs around the bodies of the spiders using the chocolate. Pipe two small dots of royal icing onto the heads to create eyes, then pipe very small dots of chocolate over the eyes to create pupils. If you like, decorate the bodies with the royal icing.
STEP 4
To make the bat cookies, lay the remaining 10 cookies out in front of you. Separate the cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies, and carefully scrape the cream filling off the chocolate cookie pieces. Cut the chocolate cookie pieces into semicircles using a small serrated knife. Stick a caramel-filled chocolate onto the middle of each cooled cookie using the royal icing, then use a little more to stick a chocolate cookie semicircle on either side of the chocolates to make the bat wings. Pipe eyes onto the chocolates using the royal icing and melted chocolate.
Halloween mocktail
INGREDIENTS
• 425g canned litchies
• 225g jar cocktail cherries
• 15 raisins
• 1 litre blueberry, blackberry or purple grape juice, chilled
• 1 litre cherry or cranberry juice, chilled
• 1litre sparkling water, chilled
YOU’LL ALSO NEED
2 pairs powder-free disposable gloves
INSTRUCTIONS
STEP 1
Rinse the disposable gloves and fill each with water. Tie a knot in the top of each as you would a balloon, or use a tight bag clip to hold the opening closed. Freeze overnight.
STEP 2
Drain the litchies and cocktail cherries, reserving the juices in a jug. Push a raisin into one end of each cherry, then push the cherries into the lychees to make ‘eyeballs’.
STEP 3
Pour all of the juices, plus the reserved lychee and cherry juices, into a large bowl with the ‘eyeballs’. Carefully peel the gloves from the ice hands, add to the punch, then top up with the sparkling water.
NOTES: this mocktail can be transformed into a full-blown cocktail by adding your spirit of choice (suggested alcohol quantity – 10% by volume, but the strength of the cocktails is completely up to you)
Witch’s Fingers
INGREDIENTS
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup whole almonds or almond flakes for a more nail-like appearance.
30g strawberry jam
INSTRUCTIONS
STEP1
Place softened butter, sugar, egg, almond extract, and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl; beat together with an electric mixer until smooth. Gradually add flour, baking powder, and salt, continually beating until combined; refrigerate dough for 20 to 30 minutes.
STEP 2
Preheat the oven to 165 degrees C. Lightly grease baking sheets.
STEP 3
Remove dough from refrigerator in small amounts. Scoop 1 heaping teaspoon at a time onto a piece of waxed paper. Use the waxed paper to roll the dough into a thin finger-shaped cookie. Press one almond/almond flake into one end of each cookie to give the appearance of a long fingernail. Squeeze cookie near the tip and again near the centre of each to give the impression of knuckles. You can also cut into the dough with a sharp knife at the same points to help give a more finger-like appearance. Arrange the shaped cookies on the baking sheets.
STEP 4
Remove the almond from the end of each cookie; squeeze a small amount of strawberry jam into the cavity; replace the almond to cause the jam to ooze out around the tip of the cookie.
STEP 5
Bake in the preheated oven until the cookies are slightly golden in colour, 20 to 25 minutes.
STEP 6
Dip the end of the cookie that does not have the almond into the strawberry jam, to give it a severed finger appearance.
Notes: If you want the jam to look more blood-like, you can add 2-4 drops of red food colouring to the jam.
Halloween cake pops
INGREDIENTS
• 100g madeira cake
• 100g oreos
• 100g milk chocolate, melted
• 200g white chocolate, melted
• A few smarties and icing pens/piping bags, to decorate
YOU WILL ALSO NEED
- 10 sosatie stick
- ½ small pumpkin or butternut squash, deseeded, to stand pops in
INSTRUCTIONS
STEP 1
Break the Madeira cake and oreos into the bowl of a food processor, pour in the melted milk chocolate and combine.
STEP 2
Tip the mixture into a bowl, then use your hands to roll into about 10 walnut-sized balls. Chill for 2 hrs until really firm.
STEP 3
Push a sosatie stick into each ball, then carefully spoon the white chocolate over the cake balls to completely cover. Stand the cake pops in the pumpkin, then press a smartie onto the surface while wet. Chill again until the chocolate has set. Before serving, using the icing pens/piping bag, add a pupil to each smartie and wiggly red veins to the eyeballs.
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