Playful yummy bakes for modern home bakers
Halloween sandwich cookies. These cheeky monsters are more cute than creepy but with their bright colours and googly eyes are perfect for a spooky treat. Rich dark chocolate biscuits sandwiched with buttercream. A simple biscuit to make but a gorgeous little show stopper for a …
White chocolate Halloween fudge is so simple to make. With just a handful of ingredients you’ve got a super colourful treat that everyone will love. This is also an easy-peasy cheats fudge. No need for sugar thermometers, which really takes the stress out of things …
Themed bakes for special occasions, much like costume parties, always get my vote. I just love the theatricality and fun you can have with baking like this and halloween cupcakes are a brilliant way to get in the ghoulish party spirit.
The Matcha Mash Halloween cupcakes are a complete joy to make and eat. Matcha powder provides the natural colouring here, to add a ghoulish green to the classic vanilla sponge. The chocolate icing adds satisfying richness and sprinkles and goggly eyes complete the spooky vibe.
The happy consequence of these simple cupcakes is that they come with their own pun based song borrowed from the Halloween classic Monster Mash – Give into the tune as you bake 🙂
She did the matcha mash
(The matcha mash) It was a green tea smash
(The matcha mash) all you need is a dash
(The matcha mash) to do the matcha mash
Looking for more halloween food-spiration? Why not try my Monster cookie cups – a Halloween must have or my Devilishly dark chocolate liquorice truffles – perfect for Halloween
170g self rising flour
170g caster sugar
170g softened unsalted butter
3 eggs
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp baking powder
3 tbsp matcha powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp milk
100g halloween sprinkles (optional)
400g sifted icing sugar
200g softened unsalted butter
50g sifted cocoa powder
75g melted dark chocolate (I like to use Lindt chocolate, works so well)
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp instant coffee powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
Choice of halloween sprinkles and royal icing eyes for decoration
Makes 12 cupcakes
Preheat the oven to 170°C, GM3.
Line a muffin tin with 12 cases and leave aside while you make the mixture.
Weigh out all of your ingredients.
In a separate bowl, sift the self rising flour, baking powder, matcha powder and salt.
Using a food mixer, or free standing whisk, combine the sugar and butter together until it forms a light, creamy consistency. This will only take a few minutes with a food mixer.
Then gradually add one egg at a time, leaving plenty of time for the egg to incorporate into the mixture before adding the next and keep the mixer running at a fairly high speed while doing this; this will help the mixture from curdling. You can also add a tablespoon of flour after each egg at this stage to help prevent curdling too.
Once the eggs have all been added, add in the dry ingredients and on a slow speed mix until they have only just combined. Then add the vanilla extract and halloween sprinkles (optional) and fold into the cake mixture.
Using a medium ice cream scoop or two spoons, portion the mixture out amongst the cake cases. Take care not to overfill the cases as the mixture will rise more as it bakes. Half fill each case with batter.
Bake in the middle shelf of the oven, turning the pan ¾ way through cooking time to help the cakes cook evenly. This should take between 17-20 minutes.
To test if the cakes are cooked, use a cake skewer and insert into the middle of one of the cakes and if it comes away clean then they are cooked. The cakes should also spring back when touched.
Transfer the cakes to a wire rack to cool completely before icing. Cupcakes cool down really quickly so this will take less than 30 minutes.
While you wait, you can prepare the icing.
To make the icing add the butter to a food mixer and cream it for a few minutes to make sure everything is very smooth before gradually starting to add the icing sugar and cocoa powder (and coffee) mixture.
Once the mixture is combined and everything is light and fluffy (the longer you mix, the fluffier the mixture will get) add the vanilla extract and salt and mix for a final time. Add milk to the icing if you think it needs to have a looser, more spreadable consistency.
Using a small palette knife, swirl the chocolate buttercream onto each green cupcake and then decorate as you like. Have fun with the positioning of the eyes and the sprinkles to create different spooky effects. Dust with cocoa powder.
The cakes should keep well in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
For baking, make sure that all of your ingredients are at room temperature, including the eggs, it will help all of the ingredients combine together well.
An ice cream scoop is a great tool to help ensure that your cupcakes are the same size when they are baked.
Weigh out all of your ingredients in advance; yes this means more bowls and more washing up, but the positive is that you have everything ready before you start, so you only have to think about the process of making the cake, instead of rushing to find the next ingredient and weigh it out while the mixer is running.
Halloween splatter cookies. Trick or treat definitely comes to mind here. Splatter is the optimal word for these little terrors…the process rather than the product is the true demon here. To look at them you’d think, wow, Halloween chic; Jackson Pollock meets baking, fab but …
Monster cookie cups – more googly than gruesome, these monster cookies are certainly the friendly cousins to their sinister Halloween relatives. How could you not fall in love with their darling little faces? The deeply dark chocolate cookie base is perfect with the intense flavours …
Dark chocolate liquorice truffles. This chic yet demonly dark and indulgent treat is perfect as part of a Halloween table. One for the adults perhaps but why should we miss out on all the fun? Liquorice powder, alongside vanilla and coffee, work to bring out the intense chocolate flavour. A word of reassurance for liquorice loathers; don’t worry it isn’t overwhelming, it just makes the chocolate so much richer. If you’re a big fan of the anise flavoured treacly treat, add to the intensity and increase the amount, why not?
I love making truffles. It is a process and a little fiddly at times, but once you get the hang of it, they are so rewarding to make and one of the most impressive to share. A chocoholic’s dream.
These are seriously addictive; one will never be enough. Chocolate on chocolate, oh so ghoulishly good.
500g chocolate (I divide this between 300g of dark chocolate and 200g of milk chocolate)
200ml double cream
10g liquorice powder
¼ tsp salt
3 tbsp freshly brewed strong coffee
½ tsp vanilla extract
300g chocolate (200g dark chocolate and 100g milk chocolate)
3 liquorice twists, chopped into very small pieces
Coarse sea salt (to sprinkle over each truffle)
This will make about 30 truffles. Once made, they will keep for about a week in the fridge.
Make a cup of strongly brewed coffee and leave to one side to cool slightly.
Finely chop the chocolate. Add to a glass or metal bowl (something that is heat proof).
Add the double cream to the bowl. Place the bowl on top of a pan with gently simmering water on a low heat. This will melt the chocolate gently and is a good way to avoid the mixture getting too hot and splitting or burning. (A very sad end to a promising food adventure).
Stir the chocolate and cream occasionally. If it looks like the bowl is getting too hot, lift it out of the saucepan and stir the mixture. Then return to the heat until the chocolate has completely melted into the cream. It will look luxuriously smooth and glossy. It should take about 10 minutes.
Take 3 tbsp of the coffee and add to a small bowl. Add the liquorice powder, vanilla extract and salt to the coffee and stir to combine.
Add the coffee/liquorice mixture to the chocolate ganache (chocolate and cream mixture) and stir to combine.
Dampen a sheet of parchment paper, scrunch and remove excess water. Place the paper right on top of the ganache. This will help the mixture forming a firm layer when refrigerated.
Place in the fridge and cool for about 2 hours.
Take the truffles out of the fridge and using a melon baller or teaspoon, take small amounts of the chilled ganache and gently roll into a ball and place on a lined baking sheet. (This is a bit of a messy affair so keep a bowl of soapy water and towel nearby).
Put the truffles into the fridge to set a little. Approx. 10-15 minutes.
While this is happening, melt the chocolate for the coating. The easiest way to temper chocolate without a thermometer is to use the microwave. Break the chocolate into small chunks. Put about 2/3 of the chocolate into a heat-proof bowl and melt the chocolate in short bursts. Every 30 secs check the mixture and stir occasionally.
When the chocolate has just melted, add in the remaining 1/3 of the chocolate and stir to combine until the chocolate pieces melt into the rest of the mixture. By doing this it will reduce the temperature of the chocolate and make it better to work with.
Prepare a sheet pan/or wire rack with some non-stick parchment paper on the top. Take the truffles out of the fridge.
One by one, balance a truffle on a fork and with your other hand spoon some of the melted chocolate over the truffle, ensuring that you cover the whole thing. Tap off the excess chocolate and place on the parchment paper. Repeat.
The chocolate dries very quickly, so do a few then add some of the finely chopped liquorice pieces. Then after another minute or so add on the sea salt. (If you do this too early, the salt will just disintegrate into the chocolate. This won’t change the taste, but it will alter the finished look of the truffle and also will lose the crunchy texture).
Looking for more Halloween inspiration? Try my Halloween cupcakes – matcha mash
On the look out for other liquorice recipes? Try Nigella’s liquorice pudding or maybe try BBC Good Food’s recommendations