The spookiest date on the calendar is just around the corner, and to help celebrate, Callebaut Ambassador, Kirsten Tibballs, has put together some seriously creepy (but delicious) Halloween recipes for North Shore Mums to try!
Halloween is almost here, which means heaps of fun Sydney Halloween Events for kids, and the chance to try your luck on the best streets for ‘Trick or Treating’ on the North Shore. So, whether you want to whip something up for costumed visitors, or just want a fun experience in the kitchen, these delicious creations are guaranteed to be as equally scrumptious as they are ghoulish!
Kirsten has fool proofed your celebrations and taken a much more delectable approach to conventional packaged candy and sweets. Check out these spooky Halloween recipes.
Halloween Party Food
Chocolate Eyeballs
Makes: approximately 30 truffles
Milk Chocolate Honey Ganache
- 87g Bulla Pure Cream
- 20g Honey
- ½ tsp vanilla bean paste
- 150g Callebaut 823 Milk Couverture
- 300g Callebaut W2 White Chocolate, for dipping
- Callebaut white chocolate truffle shell.
- Place the cream and honey in a saucepan, add in the vanilla bean paste and bring to a boil.
- Place the milk couverture in a bowl and pour the boiling cream over it. Whisk by hand until all the chocolate is melted and combined with the cream to create a ganache.
- Cover with plastic wrap touching the surface of the ganache. Leave at room temperature until it cools.
- Transfer the prepared ganache into a piping bag and pipe it into each of the truffle shells, filling to the top.
- Temper the white chocolate and transfer some of the chocolate to a paper piping cone and pipe a small amount of the chocolate on top to seal the truffle shells.
- Once the chocolate sets, place a toothpick into the base of each truffle and dip the shell into the tempered white chocolate.
- Tap the shell off the surface of the chocolate to create surface tension and remove any excess chocolate.
- Wipe the base of the truffle on the side of the bowl and carefully place the shell onto a sheet of baking paper, twisting the toothpick to remove it. Allow to set.
Chocolate Eyes
- 50g Callebaut W2 White Chocolate
- 50g Callebaut 2815 Dark Couverture
- 3g green oil soluble colour
- 3g blue oil soluble colour
Method
- Temper the white chocolate and divide the chocolate between 2 bowls. Add the green colour to the chocolate in one bowl and mix together to combine. Repeat this process with the blue colour so in total you will have 2 colours of chocolate: green and blue.
- Temper the dark couverture and transfer to a paper piping cone. Create the pupil of the eye by piping a small quantity of the dark chocolate into a half sphere chocolate mould. Tap the mould against the bench and allow to set. Once set, pipe the tempered green chocolate on top of the dark couverture. Tap the mould against the bench and leave to set. Repeat this process with the tempered blue chocolate to create the blue eyes.
To assemble
- 50g Callebaut W2 White Chocolate
- 5g red oil soluble colour
- 10g Callebaut cocoa butter, melted
- Temper the white chocolate. Remove the blue and green eyes from the chocolate mould once they’re set. Secure the chocolate eyes onto the truffle shells with some of the tempered chocolate.
- Create the blood by adding the red colour to the chocolate and mixing together to ensure it is fully incorporated.
- Melt the cocoa butter to 29-30˚C and add it to the red chocolate to make it more fluid.
- Use a teaspoon to randomly place drops of the chocolate blood over the truffle shells. Allow to set fully before handling.
Ghost Lollipops
Plastic Chocolate
- 500g Callebaut W2 white chocolate, melted
- 100g Callebaut cocoa butter, melted
- 150g glucose
- 20g white oil soluble colour (titanium dioxide)
- 50g water
- Callebaut white chocolate truffle shells
- Place the chocolate, cocoa butter, glucose and white colour in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the mixture reaches an even consistency. Add the water and emulsify again.
- Pour the mixture onto a tray lined with plastic wrap and cover with a second sheet of plastic wrap. Allow the mixture to crystallise at 16˚C for 24 hours.
- To use the plastic chocolate, knead it with your hand to get an even consistency and softness. Store the plastic chocolate at room temperature, wrapped in plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out.
Milk Chocolate Honey Ganache
- 87g Bulla Pure Cream
- 20g Honey
- ½ tsp vanilla bean paste
- 150g Callebaut 823 Milk Couverture
- 300g Callebaut white chocolate W2, for dipping
- Place the cream and honey in a saucepan, add in the vanilla bean paste and bring to a boil. Place the milk couverture in a bowl and pour the boiling cream over it. Whisk by hand until all the chocolate is melted and combined with the cream to create a ganache.
- Cover with plastic wrap touching the surface of the ganache. Leave at room temperature until it cools. Transfer the prepared ganache into a piping bag and pipe it into each of the truffle shells, filling to the top.
- Temper the white chocolate and add in the titanium dioxide, mixing together until fully incorporated. Transfer some of the chocolate to a paper piping cone and pipe a small amount of the chocolate on top to seal the truffle shells.
- Stick the lollipop sticks into the base of the truffles immediately before the chocolate sets. Once the chocolate sets, dip each truffle shell into the tempered white chocolate and place onto a lollipop stand or stick into a polystyrene base.
Ghost Eyes and Mouth
- 50g Callebaut 2815 Dark Couverture
Temper the dark chocolate and transfer to a paper piping cone. Pipe a small amount of the chocolate in the shape of eyes and a mouth onto a piece of baking paper or a guitar sheet on top of a baking tray. Allow to cool.
To Assemble
- QS cornflour or corn starch, for dusting
- 50g Callebaut W2 White Chocolate
- Lightly dust the top of the bench with cornflour. Roll out the plastic chocolate to a round shape 10-13cm and 2-3mm thickness.
- Temper the white chocolate and transfer some to a paper piping cone. Pipe a small amount of the chocolate on top of the truffle shells to ensure the plastic chocolate sticks to the shell.
- Cover the outside of the truffle shell with the plastic chocolate and create the desire ghost shape by immediately curving it with your hand.
- Finally stick the eyes and the mouth onto the body of the ghost, securing with the tempered chocolate. Leave the plastic chocolate until it sets completely.
Shortbread Fingers
Easy recipe that serves 10 or more; prep time under one hour.
This Halloween biscuits recipe is sure to both delight and terrify at the same time.
Ingredients: Shortbread pastry
-
150g unsalted butter
-
100g icing sugar
-
50g whole eggs
-
260g plain flour
-
½ teaspoon baking powder
-
pinch of salt
Ingredients: Chocolate ganache
-
150g Bulla Pure Cream
-
225g Callebaut chocolate
To assemble
-
30g seedless strawberry jam
-
2 drops red food colouring
-
18 flaked almonds
- Preheat oven to 160°C. Beat the butter into a thick, smooth paste with an electric beater or in a food processor. When smooth add the icing sugar and the eggs and combine. Add the flour, baking powder and finally the salt and mix until it comes together as a dough.
- Dress the dough into a neat flat square, wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to firm up.
- Roll the dough on a bench lightly dusted with flour and cut finger shapes 7cm x 1.5cm. Place the biscuits onto a lined tray and make impressions for the knuckles with a small knife and press a flat butter knife on the tip where the fingernail will go.
- Bake for approximately 12-14 minutes or until golden brown. Cool the biscuits on the tray and store in an airtight container until you are ready to assemble.
- For the ganache, boil the cream in a saucepan. Pour it over the milk chocolate which has been placed in a bowl and whisk together until combined.
- Cover with plastic wrap touching the surface of the ganache and allow to sit at room temperature for approximately 2 hours.
- To assemble, place the ganache into a piping bag with a round piping tip or into a zip lock bag and cut the corner off. Turn over every second biscuit and pipe ganache onto the base. Sandwich it together with a second biscuit.
- Add the red colouring to the jam and mix it through. Spoon a small amount on the top finger where the nail goes and place an almond (pointy end out) on top. Only assemble the biscuits the same day they are eaten.
Spider Peanut Cookies Halloween Treats
Kirsten Tibball’s cookies are a challenging Halloween recipe
This is a challenging Halloween recipe designed to serve more than 10 people, and will require more than an hour’s work. If you’re after spooky cookies that will both terrify and impress, then these are worth the effort. Check out the Halloween biscuit recipe below.
Ingredients: Biscuit base
-
240g unsalted butter
-
80g caster sugar
-
300g brown sugar
-
2 whole eggs
-
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
-
130g crunchy peanut butter
-
400g plain flour
-
1 teaspoon baking powder
-
200g Callebaut milk chocolate chips
Milk chocolate honey ganache (Makes 30 truffles)
-
87g Bulla Pure Cream
-
20g honey
-
½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste
-
150g Callebaut 823 Milk Couverture
-
300g Callebaut 823 Milk Couverture, for dipping
-
Callebaut milk chocolate truffle shells
Spider eyes
-
50g Callebaut 2815 Dark Couverture
-
50g Callebaut W2 White Chocolate
-
5g white oil soluble colour (titanium dioxide)
To assemble
-
100g Callebaut 823 Milk Couverture
-
50g Callebaut W2 White Chocolate
-
5g red oil soluble colour
-
10g Callebaut cocoa butter
Cookies:
- Preheat the oven to 170˚C. Mix the butter, caster sugar and brown sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until the butter is fully incorporated. Add the eggs, vanilla and peanut butter and continue mixing. Sieve the flour and baking powder together into a bowl. Add the sieved dry ingredients to the mixture and lastly add the chopped chocolate chips. Remove from the stand mixer.
- For each cookie, weigh out 40g of the dough and roll into balls. Place each ball onto a baking tray lined with baking paper, leaving space between each cookie to allow for spreading. Lightly press down on each ball. Bake at 170˚C for 10 minutes.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and using a teaspoon, make a small dent in the middle of each cookie while they’re still warm. This will allow the spider to sit on top of the cookie. Cool the cookies at room temperature.
Milk chocolate honey ganache:
- Place the cream and honey in a saucepan, add in the vanilla bean paste and bring to a boil. Place the milk couverture in a bowl and pour the boiling cream over it.
- Whisk by hand until all the chocolate is melted and combined with the cream to create a ganache. Cover with plastic wrap touching the surface of the ganache.
- Leave at room temperature until it cools. Transfer the prepared ganache into a piping bag and pipe it into each of the truffle shells, filling to the top.
- Temper the milk chocolate and transfer to a paper piping cone. Pipe some of the chocolate on top of the truffle shells to seal them. Once the chocolate sets, place a toothpick into the base of each truffle and dip the shell into the tempered milk chocolate. Tap the shell on the surface of the chocolate to create surface tension and remove any excess chocolate. Wipe the base of the truffle on the side of the bowl and carefully place the shell onto a sheet of baking paper on a baking tray, twisting the toothpick to remove it. Allow to set.
Spider eyes:
- Temper the dark couverture and add in the titanium dioxide, mixing together until fully incorporated. Transfer some of the dark chocolate to a paper piping cone and pipe a small amount of the chocolate into a half sphere mould. Allow to set.
- Temper the white chocolate and add in the titanium dioxide, mixing together until fully incorporated. Transfer some of the white chocolate to a paper piping cone and pipe a small amount of the chocolate on top of the dark chocolate, covering it. Allow to set.
Assembly:
- Temper the milk couverture. Transfer to a paper piping cone and pipe a small amount of the chocolate onto the middle of each cookie. Place a truffle shell on top of the cookie and pipe lines of chocolate on each side to create 8 spider legs (4 legs on each side). Remove the chocolate eyes from the moulds and secure them to the truffle using the tempered chocolate.
- Temper the white chocolate. Create the blood by adding the titanium to the tempered chocolate. Mix together to combine then add the red colour and mix again to ensure it is fully incorporated. Melt the cocoa butter to 29-30˚C and add it to the red chocolate to make it more fluid. Use a paper piping cone to randomly place drops of the chocolate blood around the spiders and cookies. Allow to set fully before handling.
Image and Halloween recipes courtesy of Kirsten Tibballs, owner and director of Savour Chocolate and Patisseries School.
