Halloween Recipes From Hey Pesto

Yvonne Carty, from Hey Pesto has been brewing up some tasty Halloween treats. 

Halloween Toffee Apples

Makes   4

What you need:

• 4 apples
• 4 lollipop sticks or skewers
• 200g caster sugar
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp golden syrup
• Black food colouring

What to do:

• Put the sticks into the stalk end of the apples. Put the apples on a baking tray or plate lined with baking parchment
• Put the sugar into a large saucepan with the lemon juice and 50 ml water. Bring to a simmer and let the sugar dissolve – don’t stir it!
• Carefully add the golden syrup and let the mixture bubble until it looks like toffee. To test if it’s done take out a little on a spoon and drop it into a cup of cold water – it should harden straight away. If it doesn’t continue to boil for another few minutes and test it again.
• Add a few drops of food colouring and take the pan off the heat.
• Dip the apple into the toffee, you may have to tip the pan to cover all the skin. (BE CAREFUL) Let any excess toffee drip off and put on the baking parchment to harden
• Repeat with the other apples.

Spooky Forest

What you need:

• For the mousse:
  • 150g marshmallows
  • 50g butter
  • 250g dark chocolate
  • 60ml boiled water
  • 250 ml cream
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • Good splash Cointreau (adults only!)
  • Zest of 1 orange
• Trees:
  • White chocolate, melted
  • Googly eyes
  • Soil: Blitzed Oreo cookies

What to do:

• To make the mousse:
  • Put marshmallows, butter and chocolate and water in a bowl over a pot of simmering water. Stir occasionally until melted. Add in orange zest.
  • Whip the cream and add vanilla extract and Cointreau
  • Take chocolate mix off heat. Fold cream into chocolate until smooth.
  • Pour into glasses
  • Leave to set in fridge
• For the trees:
  • Trace some scary trees onto baking parchment (you’ll find lots of templates online). Then melt some white chocolate and pipe/brush onto the shape
  • Attach eyes and leave to set
• To Assemble
  • Top the mousse with the crushed cookies
  • Then carefully peel the trees of the parchment and stick into the mousse
  • Decorate with mini pumpkins etc.

Marshmallow Zombies

What you need:

• Marshmallows
• White chocolate, melted
• Lollipop sticks
• Icing pens
• Googly eyes

What you do:

• Put each marshmallow on a lollipop stick and dip into white chocolate
• Allow chocolate to set – standing in a glass is the easiest
• Then decorate the marshmallow with eyes and drawing on a mouth

You’ll also find recipes for a Graveyard Cake and Sammy the Spider on HeyPesto.ie