COOK THESE: Four devilishly good Halloween recipes to make

SKELETON GINGERBREAD MEN

THESE spooky gingerbread (or should that be ginger-dead?) men are such fun to make, and the ginger icing is a delicious accompaniment to the cinnamon, ginger and chocolate biscuits.

Make sure the icing is really thick – you don’t want it to spread too much.

Makes 10 – 15 biscuits

For the biscuits:

115g salted butter (room temperature)

100g caster sugar

2 tbsp golden syrup

1 tbsp Belvoir Ginger Cordial

175g plain flour

30g cocoa

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ginger

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

For the icing:

4-5 tbsp icing sugar

Belvoir Ginger Cordial

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 160C/gas 3 and line a baking tray with baking paper.

2. In a food processor, mix the butter and sugar until it’s light and fluffy, then beat in the golden syrup (dip the spoon in boiling water first) and the tablespoon of Belvoir Ginger Cordial.

3. In a separate bowl, sieve the flour, cocoa, cinnamon, ginger and bicarbonate of soda together and then mix it into the butter and sugar. Bring together into a firm dough.

4. Roll out the dough to about 1/2 cm thick, then cut out the shapes using a gingerbread cutter. Place the shapes on the baking paper (leave some space between them as they will spread a little) and bake for 15 minutes.

5. When cool, make a very thick icing by dribbling the ginger cordial sparingly into the icing sugar. Spoon the icing into a piping bag with a small nozzle attached, then pipe out your skeleton designs. Allow to set before serving.

To enjoy these recipes at their best, why not serve them with the same Cordial or Pressé used in the ingredients? One in five adults in the UK now claims to be teetotal and the choice of soft drink with a meal is taking on the seriousness of selecting a wine. Belvoir Fruit Farms’ drinks offer the perfect solution in all senses of the word! Made on a family farm using only fresh ingredients and natural fruit juices with no artificial sweeteners, preservatives, colourings or flavourings, Belvoir believes it’s the quality and taste of their drinks that makes them work so well with food; the fresh ingredients complementing the natural flavours of the food taste fabulous with any dish.

BLUEBERRY EYEBALL JELLY

LOOKING for spooky ideas for your Halloween party? This dessert may look gruesome, but the eyeballs are all sweet fruity bites.

Serves: 4 -6

Prep time: 20 minutes, plus setting time overnight

You’ll need:

1 tin lychee in syrup

1 blueberries

1 pack raspberry jelly

What to do:

Drain the lychees.

Gently push 1 or 2 blueberries into each lychee.

Divide the blueberry-lychee eyeballs between your serving glasses.

Cut the jelly into cubes and place the cubes in a microwaveable jug, add 100ml water and heat for approx. 1 minute (based on a 750 Watt oven).

Stir until completely dissolved and then make the jelly mix up to 570ml (1pt) with cold water.

Pour the jelly mixture into the serving glasses over the blueberry-lychee eyeballs and refrigerate to set.

HALLOWEEN BERRY CUPCAKES

SIMPLE to make cakes that make a huge impact. A trick and a treat all rolled into one!

Serves: 12

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 16 minutes

You’ll Need:

120g butter at room temperature

120g sugar

2 eggs, at room temperature

120g self-raising flour

250g icing sugar

Orange food colouring, a black gel icing tube, liquorice laces, strawberry laces,

6 blackberries, 6 raspberries, 6 blueberries

What to do:

1. Heat the oven to 170C/ 150C fan and line a muffin tin with cake cases.

2. In a mixing bowl beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and beat in.

3. Gently fold in the flour until it’s all combined and the mixture drops from the spoon with a slight tap.

4. Divide the mixture between the cake cases and bake in the oven for 16-18 minutes or until they’re golden and spring back when gently pressed on the top. Leave to cool.

5. When the cakes are cool, make the icing by combining the icing sugar with 2tbsp water to make a paste.

6. Divide the mixture into two bowls and colour one orange. Ice half the cakes in orange and half in white. Use the black icing tube to draw concentric circles onto the orange iced cakes then, drag the point of a cocktail stick or skewer from the centre of the icing out to the edge. Repeat all of the way around, like the spokes of a wheel, to create a web effect.

7. Add a blackberry as the spider in each web and create its legs with pieces of liquorice. Use a raspberry and blueberry together on the white iced cakes to make the head and body of a bug and again create red legs and antenna in the same way.

Note: If you’re short on time buy a pack of fairy cakes and decorate in the same way or ice a big spiders web onto a shop bought Victoria Sponge and cover in berry spiders.

BRITISH ASPARAGUS, SALMON & PUMPKIN RICE BOWL

THIS wholesome dish makes for a healthy and colourful lunch or dinner option that’s packed with goodness. Simply prepare the ingredients and pop them in the oven.

Serves: 2

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 40 minutes

You’ll need

500g Pumpkin, peeled and chopped into bite size pieces.

1 tbsp oil

2 tsp cumin seeds

Pinch of chilli flakes

2cm ginger grated

1 bunch British asparagus spears, trimmed

2 salmon fillets

2 tsp honey

200g cooked brown rice

1 tbsp peanuts, chopped

4 sprigs coriander

Squeeze of lemon

What to do

Heat the oven to 220C/200C Fan. Toss the pumpkin, oil, cumin, chilli and a pinch of salt in a large oven tray and roast for 25 minutes. Meanwhile rub the ginger over the salmon and drizzle with honey.

After 25 minutes add the asparagus and salmon to the pan and cook for a further 10 minutes.

Once cooked put the pumpkin, asparagus and rice in a bowl, top with a salmon fillet, the chopped peanuts and coriander. Squeeze a little lemon over everything.

TOFFEE APPLES

ALWAYS a must at Halloween...

8 apples

400g golden caster sugar

1 tsp vinegar

4 tbsp golden syrup

Fairly thick twigs

Wash the apples. Dry thoroughly and twist off any stalks. Push a twig, wooden chopstick or lolly stick into the stalk end of each apple.

Line a baking tray with baking parchment and place the apples on it. Put 100ml of water in a pan and add the sugar.

Cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes until the sugar dissolves, then stir in the vinegar and golden syrup.

If you have one, place a sugar thermometer in the pan and boil rapidly without stirring until the temperature reaches 140C.

If you don’t have a thermometer you can test the toffee by pouring a little into the bowl of cold water. It should harden instantly and when removed be brittle and easy to break. If the toffee is still slightly soft then continue to boil it. Dip the apples carefully into the hot toffee mixture, swirling them around, and allow the excess to drip away, then place on the baking parchment to harden. You may have to reheat the toffee mixture if it starts to feel too thick. Leave the toffee to cool. before eating.