NewsBite

Advertisement

Halloween

Spiced pumpkin loaf cake with brown-sugar cream cheese icing.

So, you’ve carved your Halloween pumpkin, now here’s 10 smashing ways to use its guts

Make the most of those pumpkin leftovers with these pies, pastas, purees and cakes that the whole crew will love.

Halloween brownies.

10 spooky but sweet Halloween recipes for the little devils in your life

Celebrate Halloween on Thursday with these delicious treats with added spook factor.

Halloween brownies.
EASY

Halloween brownies with chocolate ganache

A frightfully fun dessert with bonus decorating ideas for meringue ghosts, Frankenstein icing, spider web feathering and more.

  • 1-2 hrs
  • Helen Goh
Spooky soup: Slow-roasted pumpkin soup with ginger and curry powder.
EASY

Roast pumpkin soup

The sweetness of pumpkin works so well with the gentle warmth of ginger and subtle hint of curry. Roasting it first also deepens and enriches the flavour while reducing the water content, making for a more intense and hearty soup. You can serve this as is, but a dollop of yoghurt or a swirl of cream is a nice touch, and plenty of well-buttered bread is always more than welcome.

  • 1-2 hrs
  • Karen Martini
Neil Perry's blueberry brown butter tart.

Blueberry tart recipe with almond pastry

While this blueberry tart is at its most delicious served with lightly whipped cream, vanilla ice-cream is pretty tasty, too.

  • 2 hrs +
  • Neil Perry
Advertisement
The medieval English ritual of 'souling' involved children going door to door, offering a prayer for the departed in return for a sweet soul cake.

Helen Goh's soul cakes

More biscuit than cake, these aromatic, delicately sweet crumbly baked treats, stemming from the medieval English ritual of ‘souling’, have a timeless appeal.

  • 2 hrs +
  • Helen Goh
Sweet and savoury: Pumpkin spice pancakes.
EASY

Helen Goh's pumpkin spice pancakes with bacon and maple syrup

These pancakes straddle the divide between sweet and savoury in the most delicious way. Top with avocado, sour cream, coriander and chilli if in a savoury mood, or with candied pecans and whipped cream if veering towards the sweet side. Or, for the ultimate in both, serve, as I do here, with bacon and maple syrup. Any type of pumpkin will work here, though the sweeter flesh of the butternut is ideal.

  • 30 mins - 1 hr
  • Helen Goh
Halloween cats, bats and witches’ hats.

Halloween cats, bats and witches’ hats

Dutch-process cocoa powder refers to a treatment invented in the 19th century by a Dutch chemist and chocolatier to neutralise the acids and astringent notes in cocoa in order to smooth out its flavour. It also darkens the colour of the powder – perfect for our spooky biscuits!

  • 30 mins - 1 hr
  • Helen Goh
Spiced sweet potato cake with 'marshmallow' topping.

Sweet potato 'marshmallow' cake

I baulked at eating a marshmallow-topped sweet potato casserole with the turkey an American friend served at her Thanksgiving dinner, but the combination did set off a light bulb in my head. Inevitably, my mind turned to cakes, and here is the result. I've added spices to temper this cake's sweetness, and topped it with an icing that has the sticky chewiness of marshmallow. This cake benefits from a bit of time, so make it a day or two before serving, and ice it on the day.

  • 1-2 hrs
  • Helen Goh
'Bones of the dead' biscuits.

Ossi dei morti (bones of the dead) biscuits

Variations of these crunchy, brittle biscuits – said to resemble human bones – are baked all over Italy to commemorate Tutti Morti, the Day of the Dead, on November 2. If you are not celebrating Tutti Morti, these biscuits are also great for Halloween. Substitute the hazelnuts with blanched almonds if you prefer, or use a combination of the two.

  • 30 mins - 1 hr
  • Helen Goh

Original URL: https://www.theage.com.au/goodfood/topic/halloween-1m1w