Last Minute Halloween Bites
26-10-2014
A Halloween party is a great excuse to gather up some friends, complete with the little ones, with everyone involved dressing up and eating some weird and wonderful treats. Why not try the following:
Cake Pops
For ease and speed when making our toffee apple cake pops we’d suggest using shop-bought Madeira cake.
You will need:
- 30 Lollipop Sticks
- Hundred and thousands
- Crushed almonds
- Popping candy
For the buttercream:
- 175g unsalted butter, softened
- 225g icing sugar, sifted
For the toffee covering:
- 160g white caster sugar
- 200ml double cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Method:
- To make the buttercream, in an electric mixer or in a bowl using a hand-held whisk, beat the butter until really pale and fluffy. Add the icing sugar and beat for at least five minutes more.
- To make the pops, crumble the cake into a large bowl, removing any crusty bits. Mix in enough buttercream to hold the crumbs together. You may not need all the buttercream, but this is the quantity I used. Roll the mixture into about 30 balls. Place the balls on a tray lined with baking parchment and chill for several hours, or overnight.
- Meanwhile, make the toffee covering. Place the sugar and 60ml water in a small, scrupulously clean, heavy-based pan over a gentle heat. Ensure all the sugar has dissolved, then increase the heat and bring to a boil. Watch all the time until it turns a beautiful golden caramel colour and thickens. Remove from the heat, stand back and add the cream and vanilla. It will splutter and seize, but keep stirring until you have a smooth shiny caramel.
- Allow to cool for a minute or two. Place each lollypop stick into the caramel, then insert into each cake and dip into the caramel, covering it completely. Place on a tray and return to the fridge to set. Re-shape the pop if it’s cracked slightly. When ready to serve, roll each in your choice of topping to cover.
Sausage Mummy Fingers
Ingredients:
- oil (for greasing)
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp ketchup
- 2 tsp French's yellow mustard, plus a little extra to decorate
- 12 chipolatas
- tube of 6 ready-to-roll croissant (look in the chiller cabinets near the pastry in the supermarkets)
Method:
- Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and brush 2 baking trays with a little oil. Mix the honey, ketchup and mustard together in a bowl, then brush over the chipolata sausages.
- Unroll the croissant dough and divide into 3 rectangles. Pinch together the diagonal perforated seams, then cut into long thin strips – you should get about 16 per rectangle.
- Wind the little croissant strips around the chipolatas, leaving a little gap at one end to make a slit for the eyes. Place on baking trays and bake for 20 mins. Cool a little, then, using the mustard, dot a pair of little yellow eyes on to each mummy. Serve warm with glow-in-the-dark goo (see goes well with, below) and/or your favourite dip.
Slimey Bug Cups
Beyond the layer of chocolate biscuit dirt, spooky sweets, spiders, snakes and worms lies a layer of slime-like lime jelly.
Ingredients:
- 4 x 135g packs lime jelly
- a selection of animal and bug sweets
- 2 x 154g packs Oreo biscuits
Method:
- Make up the jelly following pack instructions. Pour a third of the mixture into 12 small glasses or plastic pots. Add a couple of bugs to each pot, then leave to set in the fridge, keeping remaining jelly at room temperature.Once set, add more bugs to each container (lean some against edges, so they stick out the top). Pour over a third of the jelly and leave to set in the fridge. Repeat with remaining bugs and jelly.
- For the soil topping, place cookies in a plastic bag and, using a rolling pin, bash into crumbs, then tip onto a plate.
- Just before serving, sprinkle a layer of soil over each set jelly, then top with a mushroom, a slug and some ants or your choice of creepy crawlies.
