Costume Finder Fancy Dress Blog

Why not save cash on expensive supermarket treats and make your own? Not only will it keep the kids occupied but you can easily customise them so everyone gets their favourite flavours and ingredients.

Halloween Owl Cakes
  These cakes are fun to make and even more so to eat, kids and grown-ups will love them! 

Ingredients (Makes 12)
CAKES
280g softened butter
280g golden caster sugar
200g self raising flour
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
6 medium eggs
FOR ICING AND DECORATION
200g softened butter
280g sifter icing sugar
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
Liquorice all-sorts, various sweeties
Paper cake cases
Directions

To make the owls
Heat oven to 190C/380F/gas mark 5. Line a 12 cup cake tin with paper cake cases. Beat the butter, sugar, flour, cocoa powder and eggs to a smooth batter and spoon between the cases, almost filling them to the top. You may have some surplus.   Bake for 20-25 minutes until risen and spongy. Cool on a rack.
To decorate

Beat the icing sugar and butter together until smooth, then add the cocoa powder, being sure to mix well. Slice off the tops of the cakes and cut each piece equally in 2. Spread a generous layer of icing over each cake.

Working on one cake at a time, take a pair of the large round liquorice all sorts (the ones that are yellow or pink with black centres, see pic). Sit the eyes on top of the cake; then add the two pieces of cake cut from the top (with the curved edge up) behind the eyes but slightly slanted to make the eyebrows or owl’s ears. Finish by adding a pink, orange or yellow sweet in between the eyes to the front to make the beak.
Once done, I guarantee it won’t be long before these fly off the table!

Sweet Bones
Ingredients (Makes various)

2 large egg whites
4 ounces white sugar
Directions
Preheat oven to 250F degrees /120C degrees . Beat the egg whites until stiff, starting on a low speed and gradually on a higher speed.
Then start adding the sugar, a tablespoon at the time, keep beating until you have a thick and glossy meringue.
Line the baking trays with paper.
Using a piping bag, pipe a straight meringue line of approx 4 inch long and pipe 2 meringue balls at each end of the line.
Neaten any pointy bits of meringue on the balls with a small knife.
Bake the bones for 1 ¼ to 1-½ hours until they have dried out, let them cool on the paper.
If you like the bones to look more brittle, you could mix some chopped nuts into the egg white before baking.
The amount you end up with will depend on how large you make the bones and on the nozzle size.

Candy Apples
A traditional favourite that always goes down well.
Ingredients (Makes eight)

8 firm, medium sized apples
8 wooden skewers
3 cups of granulated sugar
1/2 cup of light corn syrup
1 cup of water
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of red food dye
You will need a thermometer

Directions
Wash, dry and polish the apples.
Remove stems and blossoms
Insert wooden skewer in stem end and set to one side.
Put the corn syrup, sugar and water into a saucepan.
Heat and stir to thoroughly to dissolve the sugar
Boil without stirring until it reaches 300F degrees on thermometer.
A bit of syrup dropped into cold water will separate into brittle threads.
Remove from heat and stir in the cinnamon and food dye.
Dip apple to cover, holding above the saucepan to drain.
Place on a greased pan or tray stick side up and quickly dip remaining apples.
Return the syrup to heat long enough to liquefy it if it firms up too much.
Let stand at least 1 hour before serving to ensure they are cooled and the syrup is set.

Popularity: 7% [?]