Halloween is a couple of weeks away. I have been preparing a Halloween menu for the local school fete and doing some trials. I know some of you may be curious to get a few ideas to get the children involved in the kitchen or to be able to bring something topical for a party.
I will now share with you some of the Halloween specific menu items.
The witch’s hat
The concept:
A large cupcake, preferably
in a shiny casing,
a strongly coloured icing and a chocolate glaze painted ice cream cone!
Tips for the making:
- Use a chocolate cupcake. As a recipe take any good moist chocolate cake. I
like to use the reine de Saba but there would be other nice options. - The ice cream cone is painted, using a kitchen brush, with a mix of dutch cocoa (darker than the normal one), icing sugar and a little hot water. It dries out and remains stable for a while. As a base mix 2 tbsp of cocoa, 1 cup icing sugar and 2 tbsp of hot water. Make it darker adding more cocoa if required. Some recipes add 2 tbsp of butter or margarine.
- For the hat buckle, use for rolling icing. Add a few drops of food colouring to change the colour and if it becomes to wet, add corn flour. Similarly, use corn flour to prevent it to stick to the surface and rolling-pin, you can later brush off the excess corn flour. Use a drop of water to attach together pieces of fondant.
The ghosts
The concept:
I used individual brioches drapped with white fondant, just add then the eyes!
Tips for the making
- Use the brioche recipe in here. This will make 20 individual brioches. Bake them in a muffin tray. Make sure you butter and flour well your tray.
- To drape the ghost esthetically, it is best to rise the height of the draping. Use a lollipop, place fondant around the ball then plant the stick in the brioche. Place the ghost draping over the lollipop.
- For the eyes, you can use melted chocolate or some of the decorative pens sold in food sections of supermarkets.
The not so creepy bugs
The concept:
This one is easy. I love it, it is very cute. Just a madeleine covered in coloured white chocolate partly on one side. Eyes are made using chocolate cupcake decoration balls and the antennas are pieces of pretzels.
Tips for the making
The white chocolate must be coloured using powder food colours, those are found in specialty stores. The liquid food colours will make the white chocolate seize. You may manage to get it again nice and smooth (by warming it again) but it may not fully dry out (like on the photos here, my prototypes).
The fairy wands
The concept:
Very easy again. Buy some grissini (those long narrow bread sticks). Melt some white chocolate. Brush it on one end and roll the grissini in hundreds and thousands! My 4 y.o had a great time making them!
Tips for the making
Just be careful not to burn the white chocolate. Melting it in a bain marie is safer.
