Halloween and Bake Off Final
The theme of October's meeting was, of course, Halloween. Our bakers were tasked with creating their favourite Halloween treats and they did not disappoint - there was a great mix of both savoury and sweet options as well as many ghoulish creations.
Below, is a snapshot of some of the bakes that our members produced....
Madeline's Halloween Cookie Bars
Makes 16-36 depending on the size - Cooking time 20 minutes - Prep 20 minutes
115g unsalted butter
55g granulated sugar
135g light brown sugar
1/2 tsp black food colouring
200g plain flour
50g cocoa
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp cornflour
1 medium egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
200-300g Halloween M&Ms (yellow/orange/brown/green)
Preheat oven to 190 Celsius and line a 9 by 9 inch brownie tine with greaseproof paper
In a jug, melt the butter in the microwave
Mix the 2 sugars into the butter and whisk until the mixture is smooth and combined
Add black food colouring and whisk again (make sure this is very black as it will lighten when the dry ingredients are added)
Add the egg and vanilla and whisk until smooth
Add the bicarb, plain flour, cocoa, salt, cornflour and the M&Ms (leave a handful aside) and mix with a wooden spoon until combined (will look like a thick cookie dough)
Press the dough into the prepared tin with the back of a spoon and press remaining M&Ms on top
Bake for 17-20 minutes (depending on how gooey you want them) until the top of the cookie looks dry
Leave the cookie bake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then leave to cool completely on a wire rack
When cool, cut the bars into 6 by 6 squares for cookie bites or 4 by 4/ 5 by 5 for bigger squares
Holly's 'Scary Eye' Date and Walnut Muffins
Makes 12
For the muffins
290ml boiling water
170g dried stoned dates
280g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarb of soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
85-110g light brown soft sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
85g walnuts, chopped
65g butter, melted
For the icing
Icing sugar
Boiling water
Glace cherries
Chopped raisins
Red food colouring
Pour measured hot water over chopped dates. Set aside to soak and cool for about 20 minutes. Do not discard water
Prepare muffin tins. Preheat oven to 190-200 Celsius
In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, bicarb of soda and salt
In a separate bowl, beat egg with a fork. Stir in sugar, vanilla, cooled dates and water, walnuts and butter
Pour all liquid mixtures into dry. Stir lightly just until combined and no dry flour is visible
Fill muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake for 20 minutes until tops spring back when pressed gently
Mix icing sugar and water until it forms a thick liquid. Spread over the top of the muffins, when cool, and add red food colouring to the rest of the mixture
Paint the red mixture on top, stick a glace cherry on top and a raisin on top of that
Gypsy Creams
225g butter 125g White Sugar 75g cornflakes 2 tsp Golden Syrup 225g flour 2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda 6 tsp boiling water
Cream butter and White Sugar
Mix together the water, soda and Golden Syrup
Mix into butter mixture
Add flour and baking powder
Add cornflakes last and mix well. Put a teaspoon of mixture onto a greased tray or use baking paper, and press down. Cook in a moderate oven at 180°C for 20 minutes. Put together with mock cream when cool
Alexis' Zombie Fingers
225g (8 oz) butter, softened
125g (4 1/2 oz) icing sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
350g (12 oz) plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
100g (4 oz) whole almonds
1 tube red decorating icing
Combine the butter, sugar, egg, almond extract and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl. Beat together with an electric mixer; gradually add the flour, baking powder and salt, continually beating; chill for 20 to 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 160 C / Gas mark 3. Lightly grease baking trays.
Remove dough from fridge in small amounts. Scoop 1 heaping teaspoon at a time onto a piece of greaseproof paper. Use the paper to roll the dough into a thin finger-shaped biscuit. Press one almond into one end of each biscuit to give the appearance of a long fingernail. Squeeze biscuit near the tip and again near the centre of each to give the impression of knuckles. You can also cut into the dough with a sharp knife at the same points to help give a more finger-like appearance. Arrange the shaped biscuits on the baking trays.
Bake in the preheated oven until the biscuits are slightly golden in colour, 20 to 25 minutes.
Remove the almond from the end of each biscuit; squeeze a small amount of red icing into the cavity; replace the almond to cause the icing to ooze out around the tip of the biscuit.
Sausage Roll and Pastry Mummies
375 g pack Sainsbury’s Ready Rolled Light Puff Pastry
1 tbsp flour, to sprinkle
350 g pack Sainsbury’s Frankfurters
1 egg, lightly beaten
4 tsp soft cheese, to decorate
1 tsp chopped black olives, to decorate
Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan 180°C/gas mark 6.
Lightly roll out the pastry to 0.5cm thick over a floured surface, and cut vertically into long thin strips, about 0.5cm wide. You’ll need 1-2 strips per frankfurter, so leave the leftover pastry wrapped up in the fridge for another dish.
Wrap the pastry strips around each frankfurter to create a mummy-wrap effect. Brush with the beaten egg, then put on a lined baking tray.
Bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes, until the pastry is puffed and golden, and the sausages cooked through. Use blobs of soft cheese for the eyes, then top with a small piece of black olive.
Kathy's Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes
For the cupcakes:
15g Stork tub (or Stork with Butter)
115g caster sugar
2 eggs, medium
115g self-raising flour
½ level teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
Pinch nutmeg
50g pumpkin or butternut squash, grated
2 teaspoons coffee essence or strong expresso
For the icing:
325g icing sugar, sieved
50g Stork with Butter
125g cream cheese
Caramel sauce, optional
Ground cinnamon to dust
Preheat oven to 180°C, 160°C fan, Gas mark 4.
Place all the cake ingredients in a mixing bowl and beat with a wooden spoon 2 – 3 minutes until well mixed. Place dessertspoons of the mixture in 10-12 paper cases or greased bun tins.
Bake for around 20 minutes until soft and springy to touch. Cool on a wire tray.
Mix frosting ingredients together and pipe over the cakes. Decorate with a drizzle of caramel if using, a dusting of cinnamon and finish with a green straw
Our Star Baker
Our star baker of the evening went to one of our committee members - Mathilde! She made some pretzels from scratch!
Mathilde's Soft Pretzels with pumpkin seeds
For pretzels:
360ml warm (lukewarm) water
2 1/4 tsp active dry/instant yeast
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp unsalted butter (melted)
500 g strong white flour (Tesco)
coarse seat salt
For soda bath:
100g baking soda
2000ml water
Whisk yeast in water
After 1 minute, add butter, sugar and salt. Then add the flour slowly and mix with a wooden spoon
When dough bounces back when poked, it is ready for 10 minutes kneading
After kneading, rest for 20-30 minutes in a bowl covered with a wet tea towel
For the soda bath, boil water and add baking soda
Preheat oven to 200 Celsius
Cut dough with sharp knife in 12 pieces
Role in a rope and bring the ends towards each other, twist and fold back
Boil the pretzel for 1 minute in the soda water. Turn after 30 seconds
Sprinkle the pretzels with salt and pumpkin seeds
Bake for 12-15 minutes (until they are darken brown)
For inspiration, here are some of the other fabulous bakes of the evening....
Alongside our Halloween baking, we also watched the Great British Bake Off Final as part of our meeting. Personally, I thought it was great fun watching everyone react to the challenges and bakes created on the show. It also made the final reveal of the winner much more tense!
Very Important Side Note
Some of our committee members attended the Good Food Show in Glasgow at the end of November! They managed to gain back stage access to speak to Paul Hollywood and capture some photos with him. How exciting!!
Can't wait to see all our members at the next meeting!