Halloween is almost here, and if you’re looking for ideas of colorful treats to make, then we’ve got a few recipes for you. So refill your baking pantry, get your food coloring ready, get the kids to help, and most of all have fun decorating!
Pumpkin Rice Krispies
We all love a Rice Krispies treat! These are super cute and very easy to make, and you can get the kids to help decorate them for a bit of quality time baking together.
You will need:
- ¼ cup butter
- 1 bag large marshmallows
- 6 cups Rice Krispies
- Chefmaster Orange Liqua-Gel Food Coloring
- Tootsie Rolls
- Edible gel icing pens (black and green)
- Spray cooking oil
To make them:
- Melt the butter over low heat, then add the marshmallows and stir until they are melted and combined with the butter.
- Remove from the heat and add a drop or two of Chefmaster Liqua-Gel orange coloring. Mix until the color is well combined, then repeat until you reach the desired shade.
- Add the Rice Krispies and stir to combine.
- Spray a generous amount of cooking oil on both your hands and roll the Rice Krispie mixture into small balls, then set aside on baking paper. Add oil to your hands after each ball as this will prevent the mixture from sticking to them.
- Gently press a Tootsie Roll into the top of each pumpkin. It is easier to do that while they are still warm.
- Once the pumpkins have cooled down, draw the eyes and mouth using the black gel icing pen, and then draw some leaves next to the Tootsie Roll using the green gel icing pen.
Witch Finger Cookies
These cookies are so creepy looking but so unexpectedly delicious tasting that they are sure to be a hit!
You will need:
- 240g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 125g icing sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp Almond extract
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup whole almonds
- Chefmaster Green Liqua-Gel Food Coloring
- Edible gel icing pen, red
These quantities are for about 25-28 cookies.
To make the cookies:
- Preheat oven to 165C
- Add butter, sugar, egg, almond extract and vanilla extract into a bowl and beat together. Add flour, baking powder and salt and mix well.
- Add a drop or two of Chefmaster Liqua-Gel green coloring, mix well until the color blends in, then repeat until you reach the desired shade.
- Wrap and refrigerate for 30 mins
- Once the dough has rested, scoop a tablespoon and roll into a finger shape. Use a toothpick to create the knuckles.
- Press an almond into one end of the finger
- Bake for 20-25 mins on baking paper or until the cookies turn pale golden, then let them cool for a few minutes
- Lift up the almond, squeeze some red edible gel onto the nail bed, then press the almond back in its socket.
Witches’ Hats Cupcake
How cute are these witches’ hats cupcakes? You can make them using one or the 3 colors of icing. We will go through the recipe for making one batch all of one color, but for making the same amount of cupcakes with 2 or 3 different colors, all you have to do is divide the icing into 2 or 3 parts and color it differently.
You will need:
For the cupcakes
- 120g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 150g caster sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 225g plain/all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 175g milk chocolate chips
- 100ml milk
- Chefmaster Black Liqua-Gel Food Coloring
For the buttercream frosting
- 225g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 300g icing sugar
- 1-2 tbsp milk, as needed
- Chefmaster Liqua-Gel food colouring – orange and/or green and/or purple
For the witch’s hat decorations
- 250g black fondant icing
- 50g white fondant icing
- Chefmaster Liqua-Gel food coloring – orange and/or green and/or purple
- Edible glue
*These quantities are for 12 cupcakes.
To bake the cupcakes:
- Preheat the oven to 180C and line a 12 cupcake tray with liners.
- Add butter and sugar in a bowl and beat on medium speed for about 2-3 minutes until the mixture is light and fluffy.
- Add eggs and vanilla and continue mixing until well combined.
- Mix all dry ingredients in separate bowl and stir until all the chocolate chips are coated in flour, then add to the egg mixture.
- Add milk and continue to mix until well combined.
- Add one or two drops of Chefmaster Liqua-Gel black food colouring, mix until the color is well combined with the cake batter, and repeat until you reach the desired shade of black.
- Divide the batter between the 12 cupcake liners.
- Bake for about 20 minutes, or until an inserted skewer into the centre comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool down.
To make the witches’ hats:
- Take ¾ of the black fondant icing and split it into 12 pieces. Roll each of them into a cone, stand it upright on the work surface, press it down and shape it up until it looks like a slightly bent pointy hat.
- Take the rest of the black fondant, roll it into a thin layer and cut 12 circles of about 2cm diameter
- Add a little edible glue to the base of each cone and stick it in the centre of the circle.
- Place the white fondant in a small bowl and add a drop of Chefmaster Liqua-Gel coloring. Choose the color of your choice, this fondant icing will be used to make the thin strips that go around the base of the cone. Mix and knead well until the color is incorporated into the fondant, and then repeat until you get the desired shade.
- Roll the colored fondant and cut 12 long 5mm strips.
- Add a little edible glue to the base of the cone, place the colored strip around the base and pinch gently to close.
- Leave an hour to set
To make the buttercream frostings
- Add butter and icing sugar into a bowl and beat together until smooth
- Add a ½ tbsp of milk and a drop of Chefmaster Liqua-Gel coloring. Choose the color of your choice, mix well and then repeat until you reach the desired shade.
- Add more milk if needed, a ½ tbsp at a time, and mix until you reach a light and fluffy frosting mixture.
To assemble:
- Using a piping bag equipped with a star nozzle, pipe a swirl of frosting onto each cupcake.
- Place a witch hat on top of the frosting
Marshmallow Monster Pops
These monster pops are really fun and very simple to make! No baking involved, as the base is actually marshmallows, so you’ll spend your time decorating instead.
What you’ll need (to make 5-7 of each monster pop):
- 1 bag large marshmallows
- Cake Pop sticks
- 250g milk chocolate melts
- 500g white chocolate melts
- Chefmaster Oil-Based Food Coloring (orange and green)
- 200g white fondant icing
- 100g black fondant icing
- Chefmaster Liqua-Gel Food Coloring (orange and purple)
- Edible gel icing pens (black and white)
- Edible glue
- A piece of Styrofoam to stick your monster pops in to dry
- Ribbons for decoration (green, orange and brown)
These are the ingredients to make all 3 pictures monster pops, but if you would like to make just one type, or if you have a different design in mind, then you can get the food color accordingly. Just remember that the Chefmaster Oil-Based coloring is used to color the chocolate, and the Chefmaster Liqua-Gel coloring is used to color fondant.
Now onto the decoration!
Let’s make our orange monster pop first.
- Melt half of the white chocolate melts in a mug using a microwave, or in a bowl using the bain-marie method over the stove top
- Once melted, add Chefmaster Oil-Based orange coloring. Add 1 drop at a time and mix well until you reach the desired intensity. Make sure you used oil-based coloring for this step as water-based colors cause the chocolate to harden and become clumpy
- Insert the cake pop stick on one end of a marshmallow and dip into the orange chocolate mix. Make sure you cover the whole marshmallow, then let any excess chocolate drip
- Gently poke the end of the stick into the Styrofoam allowing the monster pop to stand upright and dry
- Repeat for the number of desired marshmallow pops
- As the chocolate is drying, take a third of the white fondant icing (about 100g), roll out a small amount into a thin layer and cut small circles for the eye balls. You’ll need 2 eyeballs for each monster, and they don’t have to all be the exact same size or even perfect circles!
- Once you’re done, take the rest of that fondant (you should have about 80g left), knead it well and put it in a bowl. Add a drop of purple Chefmaster Liqua-Gel purple coloring, mix and knead well, then add another drop if needed until you get the desired shade. Once ready, roll it out and cut large circles, double the diameter of the marshmallow top. Then using a knife, cut out the edge of the circle forming zigzag shapes, some longer than others, which will become the dripping hair of the monster. Keep the centre intact as that will form the hair on top of the monster’s head
- Repeat for the number of marshmallow pops
- Once the chocolate on the marshmallows is dry, it is time to finish the decoration. Starting with the purple hair, put a little bit of edible glue on the reverse side of the fondant, then carefully place it on top of your monster pop, making sure you bend all the ringlets of hair along the side of the marshmallow.
- Repeat for the rest of the marshmallows, then with the white eyeballs
- Draw the mouth and the pupil using the black edible gel icing pen
- Set aside in Styrofoam for fondant to dry
- Add an orange bow tie around the stick if desired for decoration
Note: You can prepare all the fondant bits ahead of time, just make sure you keep them in an airtight container so that they don’t dry out! You can store them in layers with sheets of baking paper in between.
To make the green monster pop:
Repeat all the steps for creating the orange monster, however:
- Use Chefmaster Oil-Based green coloring for the chocolate
- Use the black fondant icing
- Draw the pupils using the white edible gel icing pen
To make the brown monster pop:
Repeat all the steps for creating the orange monster, however:
- Use the milk chocolate melts without any food coloring
- Cut the eyeballs in a leaf shape instead of a circle shape
- Color the remaining 80g of white fondant using Chefmaster Liqua-Gel orange coloring
- Draw the pupils using the black edible gel icing pen, and the mouth using the white edible gel icing pen
Frankenstein Cake
If you’re looking at making something a little more substantial, this cake is simple and very easy to decorate. The inside is a simple sponge cake, decorated with buttercream and ganache dripping.
You will need:
For the sponge cake
- 225g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 225g caster sugar
- 225g self-raising flour
- 4 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the buttercream
- 500g icing sugar
- 250g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1-2 tbsp milk
- Chefmaster Liqua-Gel food coloring, green
For the chocolate ganache
- 200g dark chocolate
- 200ml whipping cream
For decoration
- 2 white chocolate buttons
- Edible gel icing pen, brown
To make the cookies:
- Preheat oven to 180C and grease two 20cm cake tins
- Add butter and sugar in a bowl and mix together, then add the eggs one at a time and mix in between. Finally add the flour and vanilla extract and mix until well combined and smooth.
- Divide the batter between the two tins and bake for about 20 minutes or until the cakes are golden in color and spring back when pressed gently with a finger
- Let the cakes cool down in the tin for 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack
To make the buttercream:
- Add butter and icing sugar into a bowl and beat together until smooth
- Add a ½ tbsp of milk and a drop of Chefmaster Liqua-Gel green coloring. Mix well and then repeat with the food coloring until you reach the desired shade.
- Add more milk if needed, a ½ tbsp at a time, and mix until you reach a light and fluffy frosting mixture.
To assemble:
- Slice any raised areas off the sponge cakes
- Place one onto your turntable, spread a layer of buttercream evenly on top, then add the other sponge cake on top with the flat side facing up
- Cover the cake with buttercream, coat it evenly using a palette knife then smooth it out
- Place the cake in the fridge to chill until the chocolate ganache is ready
To make the Ganache:
- Bring whipping cream to boil in a pan over medium heat, then remove from heat and stir in the chocolate until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
To decorate:
- Pour the chocolate ganache over the centre of cake, and use a palette knife to push it toward the edge, letting it drip down the sides
- Place the cake back in the fridge for 30 mins to let it set
- Place the two chocolate buttons on the side to make the eyes, then draw the mouth and pupils using the brown icing pen