Easy Halloween Party Food Recipes

Halloween is surely one of the most enjoyable occasions to cater for. At no other time of year could you realistically get away with serving your guests a variety of dishes that resemble ghosts, zombies and any other variation of disgusting creature.

It is the perfect excuse to embrace your inner monster. No creation is too revolting, no combination is too gory – go to town on it and get your horrible on!

As long as they are not stick in the muds, your guests will be in the Halloween spirit too, so one look at your menu and they are likely to be impressed and repelled in equal measure.

Here are some devilish dishes to get you thinking before party time:

ZOMBIE FINGERS

Mix 250g stoned dates, 100g chopped dark chocolate, 3tbsp smooth peanut butter and 3tbsp porridge oats in a food processor until you have a crumbly mixture.

Grab a baking tray and cover with baking paper. Then take your mixture and mold into finger like shapes on the tray.

Press an almond into the end of each finger to act like a fingernail! Pop them in them in the fridge for an hour and they’re done!

FROZEN BANANA GHOSTS

Start off by melting 200g of white chocolate in the microwave, its best to do this in short bursts as it can burn!

Then peel the bananas, cut them in half, and push a lolly stick into the middle of each one. Grab a baking tray and line it with baking paper. Ensure you have enough room in your freezer also

Using a pastry brush, cover the banana in chocolate letting excess drip away. For an added extra you could then sprinkle with coconut. Place your coated bananas on the tray and add two chocolate eyes and a mouth. Freeze the lollies for at least 4 hours and they’re ready.

CHOCOLATE BAT BISCUITS

Pre-heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and cover two baking trays with baking paper. Mix 125g softened butter and 85g icing sugar together until creamy and pale, then add one large egg yolk, the 1tsp vanilla extract and 1tsp milk. Then sift the 175g plain flour, 1tsp espresso-style coffee, 50g cocoa and ¼ tsp salt into the bowl. This all this together to form a soft dough.  Shape the dough into a round shape, wrap and chill for 15 mins.

Dust the dough all over with some flour, roll to the thickness of a £1 coin. Either use a bat shaped cookie cutter or trace the shape carefully lift and place on the tray. Re-roll the trimmings. Bake for 10 mins or until the biscuits smell rich and chocolaty then leave them to cool for 20 mins.

To decorate, melt 100g chocolate  in the microwave. One biscuit at a time, brush chocolate on the bat ears and wings then cover with chocolate sprinkles. Pipe faces and fangs onto your bats with coloured writing icing, then leave to dry.

SCARY HALLOWEEN JELLY

Grab the two packs of strawberry or raspberry jelly and break them into cubes in a large bowl, then add 400ml boiling water and stir continuously until dissolved.

Drain the tin of lychees in syrup, put keep the juice! Put the juice in a measuring jug and make up to 400ml with cold water. Add to the dissolved jelly.

Pour about a quarter of the jelly mix into a clear glass dish and place in the fridge to set.

In order to make some fruity eyeballs, take a dark coloured jelly bean and push it into a grape, using the hole where the stalk was Then gently push the grape into a lychee. And hey presto fruity eyeballs!

To make the spooky fingers, split 80g of white marzipan into 6 finger like shapes. Pipe a little red gel at one end and attach an almond as a fingernail. Using a small knife mark three or four lines half way down the finger to make the knuckle.

When the jelly is set, pop some eyeballs over the surface, then add more jelly and return to the fridge.

When this has set, arrange the remaining eyeballs and the fingers against the side of the bowl. Pour over the remaining jelly and place in the fridge to set.

FRANKENSTEIN CUPCAKES

Pre-heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and pop 12 cupcake cases in a muffin tray. Mix 200g soft butter with 175g golden caster sugar until fluffy and pale. Add 250g self-raising flour, 1tsp baking powder, ¼ tsp salt, 3 large eggs at room temperature, ½ tsp vanilla extract and 100ml milk at room temperature, and mix until smooth.

Spoon into the muffin cases and bake for 20 mins. To check if they are fully cooked insert a skewer into one of the middle cakes. If the skewer comes out clean, you’re all good. Cool for 5 mins in the tin, then completely on a wire rack.

Using a small knife, cut a semi-circle piece of cake from the left and right of each cake. Next, make a width ways cut about 3cm from the top of the cake, about 1cm deep. Slice a 5mm piece off the surface of the cake to meet this cut, to make a flat, raised face and prominent forehead. Chill for 10 mins to firm the crumbs.

Mix the 300g icing sugar, 2-3 tbsp milk, and green colouring paste to make a very thick icing. Spoon 1 tbsp onto a cake and let it begin to spread itself over the cut shape. Add 36 mini-marshmallow neck bolts and eyes (12 having been snipped in half for the eyes). Repeat for each cupcake. Leave to set, then pipe on the faces and hair.

 Recipes courtesy of BBC Good Food Magazine

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/