WHILE I might not have settled on a Halloween costume for this week’s festivities, the snacks are covered (priorities, people!).
Bestselling family cookbook author, Annabel Karmel, has come up trumps with these little-monster-friendly recipes.
Her Mummy Pizzas would make a super-cute addition to any lunchbox if you’re off on your pumpkin-picking adventures this weekend.
Planning a party? Pair Annabel’s easy recipes for Monster Burgers and the Spiderweb Cake for the ultimate feast.
Once the trick or treating hauls have been devoured, it’s good to have something savoury up your sleeve to counteract the sugar crash.
And if, between the face paints and costume creation, you crash and burn, follow my lead and just add edible eyes to anything for fangtastic results!
Mummy Pizzas
Makes: 4
Prep time: 15 mins
Cooking time: 15 mins
Cals: 388
Sat fat: 13g
*325g packet ready-rolled puff pastry
*2tsp green pesto
*4 cherry tomatoes, sliced
*4 slices salami, halved
*1 egg, beaten
*4 mini mozzarella balls
*2 black olives, pitted
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan/gas mark 7. Line a baking tray with baking paper, unroll the pastry and divide in half widthways to make four 13cm x 8cm rectangles.
2. Place the pastry rectangles on to the baking paper, then spread pesto over each one. Top with tomato and salami and brush the edges with beaten egg.
3. Slice 1cm strips from the leftover pastry and use these to overlap on top of the pizzas to resemble mummy bandages. Brush with beaten egg, then bake in the oven for 15-18 mins or until lightly golden and crisp.
4. Slice each mozzarella ball in half and place at the top of each pizza. Slice the olives and place on top of the mozzarella to look like eyeballs.
Spiderweb Cake
Serves: 16
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 35 minutes
Cals: 831
Sat fat: 28g
For the cake:
*300g butter
*5 large eggs
*40g cocoa powder
*275g self-raising flour
*300g caster sugar
*2tsp baking powder
*2tbsp plain yoghurt
*100g plain chocolate, melted
For the icing:
*1kg icing sugar
*3tbsp milk
*500g soft unsalted butter
*2tsp orange extract
For the decoration:
*Black food colouring paste or gel
*Orange food colouring paste or gel
*Black sprinkles
*White icing pen
*Edible eyes
*Black licorice
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas mark 4. Grease and line 2 x 20cm-deep cake tins. Put three muffin cases into a 12-hole mini muffin tin.
2. Beat all the cake ingredients in a large bowl using an electric hand blender until light and fluffy. Spoon into the three mini muffin cases, then spoon the remaining into the two tins and level the surface. Bake in the oven. The mini muffins will take 10-12 minutes and the cakes about 35 minutes, or until well-risen and firm in the centre. Remove from the tins and leave to cool on a wire rack. Once cool, remove the paper and slice each cake in half through the middle to make four layers of sponge.
3. Next, make the icing. In a bowl, add the milk and half the icing sugar to the butter. Whisk until smooth, then add the remaining icing sugar. Beat until light and pale. Add the orange extract. Measure 400g of icing into a small bowl. Add black food colouring and mix, then add orange colouring to the big bowl.
4. Put one layer of sponge on a cake stand. Spread over some orange icing, then repeat twice more, topping the cake with the fourth sponge. You should have four layers of sponge and three layers of icing.
5. Spoon the remaining orange icing into a piping bag. Pipe half of the orange icing around the bottom of the cake, followed by a layer of black on the next tier, with black sprinkles. Repeat with the other two layers and finish with the black on top, reserving some for the spiders. Sprinkle with black sprinkles. Using a white icing pen, draw a spider’s web all over.
6. Remove the paper from the mini muffins. Trim the cakes to make a neat round. Cover the cupcake spiders with black icing and sprinkles. Add eyes and liquorice for the legs and stick them on to the cake with some of the remaining orange icing.
Monster Burgers
Serves: 6
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 6 minutes
Cals: 289
Sat fat: 3g
Ingredients:
*30g pecan nuts
*3 spring onions, sliced
*75g courgette, grated
*75g butternut squash, grated
*50g red pepper, diced
*3tbsp tinned sweetcorn
*200g extra-firm tofu, grated
*100g Panko breadcrumbs
*1tbsp soy sauce
*2tsp sundried tomato paste
*2tbsp basil, chopped
*30g Parmesan, grated
*Flour, for dusting
*2tbsp olive oil
To serve:
*Buns, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, mini gherkins, olives
Method:
1. Put the pecans into a processor and blitz until finely chopped. Add the remaining ingredients except the flour and blitz until fine. Season and shape into 6 burgers. Coat in the flour.
2. Heat a little oil in a frying pan. Add the burgers and fry for 3-4 minutes each side until cooked through. Serve in buns with the lettuce, tomato, cheese, gherkins and olives.
Inside Kate Middleton’s love of Halloween
IN 2019, Kate Middleton was spotted at the self-service checkout in her local Hardwick brand of Sainsbury’s buying fancy dress costumes for George and Charlotte.
Resident Kate Carter told OK Magazine back in 2020: “She was with the children, and she looked lovely. She is absolutely beautiful, and the children were beautiful. They were so well behaved.”
Royal commentator Katie Nicholl, author of The New Royals, added: “The kids love Halloween and Kate very much gets in the spirit and takes them out trick or treating.”
Kate is known for her down to earth nature and being a hands-on mum, and some of her favourite things to do with the children during the holidays is baking, painting pottery and arts and crafts.
“It’s very important to Kate for her children to have a childhood that is similar to her own,” Katie said.
