Thrill the kids with these Halloween treats.
Thrill the kids with these Halloween treats
Scary Spaghetti with Eyeballs
Prep 25 mins • Cook 15 mins • Serves 4
• 500 g chicken mince
• cup dry breadcrumbs
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 2 tbsps chives, chopped
• ½ cup pitted kalamata olives, sliced
• 250 g spaghetti
PUTRID PESTO
• 1 cup basil leaves, firmly packed
• ½ cup parsley leaves, firmly packed
• cup Parmesan, finely grated
• 2 tbsps almond meal
• ½ lemon, juice
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped • ½ cup olive oil
1 Preheat oven to moderate 180 C. Line an oven tray with baking paper.
2 In a bowl, combine mince, breadcrumbs, eggs and chives. Season to taste and mix well. Roll heaped teaspoons of mixture into “eyeballs”. Press an olive slice into each. Arrange on tray and spray with oil. Bake 10 to 12 mins, until golden and cooked through.
3 PUTRID PESTO In a food processor, combine herbs, Parmesan, almond meal, juice and garlic. Process until well chopped. Gradually add oil, until mixture forms a loose, smooth paste. Season with pepper.
4 Meanwhile, cook pasta following packet instructions. Drain well, reserving ¼ cup cooking water.
5 Return hot pasta to saucepan with pesto. Toss well, adding enough reserved cooking water to loosen sauce. Gently toss through meatballs and serve with eyeballs facing up.
TIP: Serve with Dracula’s Fizz – dip rims of chilled glasses into strawberry topping, place a scoop of strawberry sorbet into each glass and top with lemonade.
Spooky Spider Truffle Pops
Prep 30 mins (plus chilling) • Cook 5 mins • Makes 12
• 1/3 cup cream
• 225 g dark chocolate, chopped
• ¼ cup black sprinkles
• Silver cachous, for the eyes
• 24 x 4 cm pieces licorice straps
• 12 cake pop sticks
• Dried beans, lentils or rice, to serve
1 In a small saucepan, heat cream over low heat until simmering. Remove from heat. Add chocolate. Set aside 2 mins. Gently stir until melted and smooth. Transfer to bowl. Cool, then chill until firm.
2 Roll level tablespoons of mixture into balls. Coat in sprinkles. Arrange on tray.
3 Push 2 cachous into each truffle for eyes. Cut each piece of licorice into 4 thin strips. Insert 4 strips on either sides of truffle for legs. Chill 2 hours, until firm.
4 Push a cake pop stick through base of each spider. Fill a pail, glass or vase with beans, lentils or rice. Push pops into bucket to stand upright.
Mischievous Mice
Prep 30 mins • Cook 50 mins • Makes 30
• 2 egg whites
• ½ cup caster sugar
• 1 tbsp cornflour
• 240 g licorice strap
• ¼ cup natural flaked almonds
• 60 coloured cachous, for eyes
• 20 g white chocolate, melted
1 Preheat oven to slow, 150 C. Line 4 oven trays with baking paper.
2 In a small bowl, using an electric mixer, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, beat to dissolve. Beat in cornflour.
3 Spoon mixture into piping bag fitted with 1.5 cm plain nozzle. Pipe 4 cm oval mice shapes on trays.
4 Cut licorice into 2 mm x 5 cm “tails”, attach to rounded end of each mouse. Bake 45 to 50 mins, until firm. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
5 Using the tip of a small knife, carefully cut two small slits on top of their head for ears. Insert an almond flake for ears. Use melted chocolate to secure cachous eyes.
Ghoulish Pizzas
Prep 15 mins • Cook 10 mins • Makes 12
• 2 pack rectangular pizza bases
• ½ cup tomato passata
• 12 thin slices (200 g) salami
• 12 tasty cheese slices, halved
• 24 peppercorns, for eyes
1 Preheat oven to moderate, 180 C. Line an oven tray with baking paper.
2 Using a 9 cm cutter, cut pizza bases into 12 rounds. Spread each base with passata. Arrange on tray. Bake 5 mins.
3 Using scissors (or a ghost-cutter), cut ghost shape from each cheese slice. Top each pizza with a slice of salami and a ghost. Season to taste. Bake 5 to 7 mins until cheese melts.
4 Press 2 peppercorn eyes onto each ghost. Serve hot.
TIP: You need a 250 g pack of cheese slices. Use leftovers in toasted sandwiches.
Haunted Castle
Prep 2 hrs • Cook 50 mins • Serves 16
• 3 x 340 g packets buttercake mix
• 250 g white fondant icing
• Food colouring, orange
• 240 g licorice strap
• 3 domed white marshmallows
• 1 waffle cone, base trimmed flat
• 500 g prepared honey sponge roll
• 500 g packet licorice allsorts (squares and logs)
• 100 g Lindt dark chocolate squares, halved
• 1 Haribo Fruit-Wheel, yellow, for moon
• 7 cake decorating wires
BUTTERCREAM
• 250 g butter
• 3 cups icing sugar
• 1- 2 tbsps milk
• Food colouring, violet, orange, black
1 Preheat oven to moderate, 180 C. Lightly grease and line 23-cm and 13-cm round cake pans.
2 Prepare packet cakes. Pour 2 mixes in 23-cm pan and 1 mixture in 13-cm pan. Bake 45 to 50 mins, until cooked when tested. Cool in pans, 5 mins, before turning onto a wire rack to cool completely.
3 Using a serrated bread knife, trim top of cakes to create even surface.
4 Tint fondant orange by kneading in colouring. Roll out one quarter between 2 sheets baking paper to 0.5 cm thick. Cut a 6 x 5 cm door. Using a skewer to mark panels.
5 Shape remaining orange fondant into different sized pumpkins. Press a skewer around sides for grooves. Cut licorice strap into stalk, eyes, nose and mouth, securing with water. Press small licorice eyes into marshmallows to make ghosts.
6 BUTTERCREAM In a bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter until very pale. Gradually add half icing sugar until combined. Beat in milk and remaining icing sugar until smooth. Using food colouring, tint one-third violet, one-third black and one-third orange.
7 Fix one large round cake on board using a little butter cream. Spread over violet icing. On a separate board, spread black butter cream over small round cake and cone. Spread orange butter cream all over sponge roll.
8 Using spatula, carefully lift small round cake onto left side of large cake. Position sponge as shown and top with cone.
9 Position door as shown. Thinly slice 2 licorice logs and arrange as pebble path in front of door. Press whole licorice logs around the top edge of purple cake. Press halved licorice logs around base of cone tower. Slice orange layer from licorice allsorts squares. Halve to form triangles and arrange as border on black cake.
10 Push chocolate steps into front side of purple cake, as shown. Cut licorice strap into bat shapes and curved tower windows. Press windows into orange tower.
11 Secure bat, ghosts and Fruit-Wheel onto cake wire. Position on cake, with pumpkin, as shown.
Cranky Cat Cookies
Prep 30 mins • Makes 27
• 240 g licorice strap
• 1½ cups icing sugar
• 1 tbsp hot water
• Food colouring, orange, violet
• 250 g packet Marie Biscuit (or plain round biscuits of choice)
• 54 mint leaves lollies
• 27 Cadbury mini drops
• Small tube, black writing icing
• Smarties, orange, purple, 54 each
1 Using scissors, cut 27 pieces of licorice strap, 2 cm each. Cut each one into 6 thin strips, for whiskers.
2 Sift icing sugar into a bowl. Add water, stirring to make a smooth paste. Divide water into 2 bowls. Tint one orange and the other one violet.
3 Spread icing over flat side of each biscuit. Place iced side up on a tray. Arrange two mint leaves for the eyes, mini drop for nose and licorice whiskers on either side.
4 Use black writing icing to secure Smarties to mint leaves and draw black lines on Smarties for pupils. Allow to set.
Cheesy Pumpkin Tombs
Prep 20 mins • Cook 10 mins • Serves 4 to 6
• 3 small (150 - 200 g each) golden nugget pumpkins
• 125 g cream cheese, softened
• ½ cup sour cream
• 1 cup grated tasty cheese
• 125 g can cream corn
• 2 tbsps chives, finely sliced
• 1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
• 2 tbsps nut and seed mix, toasted
• Corn chip gravestones, to serve
1 Cut a top from each pumpkin. Scoop out seeds. Then scoop out flesh, leaving a 1 cm-thick shell. Chop flesh, place in microwavesafe bowl, cook on high 3 to 4 mins, until tender. Drain well. Mash and cool.
2 In a bowl, using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sour cream together until smooth. Add pumpkin, cheese, corn, chives and sauce. Mix well. Season to taste.
3 Spoon dip into hollowed-out pumpkins. Sprinkle with nut and seed mix. Serve with corn chip gravestones (see tip).
TIP: Using scissors, cut 4 tortillas into even rectangles. Stack together. Trim one short end into a curved shape. Spread in single layer on a lined oven tray. Spray with oil and season to taste. Bake in a moderate oven, 180 C, 6 to 8 mins, until crisp and golden.
Melting Witch Cakes
Prep 1 hr • Cook 20 mins • Serves 12
• 125 g butter, softened
• ¾ cup caster sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup self-raising flour
• cup cocoa powder
• ½ cup milk
• cup chocolate chips
• 24 red jube lollies, for feet
• 6 decorative paper straws, halved
• 12 mini waffle cones, trimmed
• 12 mint sliced biscuits
• 24 red mini M&M’s
BUTTER CREAM
• 250 g butter, softened
• 3 cups icing sugar
• 1- 2 tbsps milk
• Food colouring, green, brown
1 Preheat oven to moderate, 180 C. Line a 12-hole muffin pan with paper patty cases.
2 In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar and vanilla together until pale and creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
3 Sift flour and cocoa together. Fold into creamed mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour. Fold choc chips through.
4 Spoon mixture into patty cases until two-thirds full. Bake 15 to 20 mins until cooked when tested. Cool in pan 5 mins, before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
5 BUTTER CREAM In a bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter until very pale. Gradually add half icing sugar until combined. Beat in milk and remaining icing sugar until smooth. Tint twothirds green and one-third brown. Spoon green frosting into piping bag fitted with a 1.5 cm plain nozzle. Pipe swirls of frosting onto cakes.
6 Press red jube onto each straw for shoes. Bend in half and push open end into cakes.
7 Dip open end of each cone into brown butter cream. Place on top of biscuits. Spoon remaining brown icing onto piping bag fitted with a writing nozzle. Pipe around the base of the cone. Press on M&M’s. Position “hat” on one side of each cupcake, as shown.
