The Easiest, Yummiest Halloween Cupcakes EVER!

Halloween has to be one of my favourite holidays – it’s basically just an excuse to eat sweets and watch cool movies, right? What’s not to like!

I also just love baking at this time of year; the rain and chilly evenings seem made for gorgeous cooking smells and warm goodies fresh from the oven.

I wanted this recipe to be SUPER simple, because, let’s face it, with pumpkin carving and toffee apples and apple bobbing and trick or treating, there’s enough to try to fit in to your Halloween preparations without adding a complicated cake recipe into the equation.

Now, I am not a fan of food colourings generally, I’ve known some additives do TERRIBLE things to otherwise charming children, but if there’s one time of year when brightly coloured icing is obligatory, surely it’s Halloween?

For the colour, I used Dr Oetker’s Extra Strong green gel, orange would be super fun as well though! I found one 15ml tube split gave plenty of colour for both cake and icing. It can be ordered on Amazon if your local shops don’t stock it:

https://amzn.to/37ZjsHM

Don’t be tempted to use colour from a bottle – they’re nowhere near as strong and don’t give such a consistant colour.

The eyes were from Poundland and have been stuck in my baking cupboard for ages. Another fun idea would be to use some strawberry lips with the eyes to create faces on the cupcakes.

The Stawberry Zombie Mummy Eyeballs (which look SUPERBLY disgusting) were from our local Cooperative supermarket.

I piped my icing using a set from Lakeland because I’m fancy, but you could just use a strong plastic food bag with a little bit snipped off a corner.

Make sure the cakes are completely cool before adding the icing!

The cakes are just my basic vanilla cupcake recipe with half a tube of colouring added, topped with green vanilla icing.

Let’s get down to the recipe!

Makes 12
Ingredients

For the cakes

Half a tube of Dr Oetker’s Extra Strong green gel

125g butter (soft, I usually pop it on low in the microwave for a few seconds)

125g caster sugar

125g self raising flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 large free-range eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

a dash of milk

For The Icing

Half a tube of Dr Oetker’s Extra Strong green gel

80g softened butter

Half a teaspoon of vanilla extract

250g icing sugar

A couple of tablesoons of milk

Method

1: Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius and put 12 cupcake cases ready in a cupcake tin.

2: Cream the butter and sugar together until pale and creamy.

3: Sift in the flour and baking powder. Add the vanilla essence and mix together.

4: Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix in before adding the milk and food colouring. Continue mixing until all combined.

5: Divide the mixture equally between the 12 cases and put in the oven for 12-15 minutes until golden brown.

6: Leave to cool for 10 minutes and then remove from tin and put on a cooling rack.

7: Make the icing by beating the butter and sugar together with an electric hand whisk or a good old wooden spoon and some elbow grease! Next, add the vanilla extract and milk and mix for at least 5 minutes. The longer you mix it for, the softer and fluffier it will be. Add the colouring and mix until combined.

8: Ice your cakes with the aid of a a piping bag or just plop a good old dollop on each cake! Add googly eyes and any other decorations and you’re done! See, I said they were easy!

Variations:

To make these gluten free, just substitute in gluten free self-raising flour for the regular self-raising flour. Oh, and don’t forget to check your baking powder is gluten free!

Pancakes

My pancake recipe actually comes from a Winnie the Pooh cookery book I was given many, many moons ago. What I love about it is that the kiddies can mix the batter by themselves as the measurements are just so simple!
Makes about 8 pancakes.
Ingredients:
4 rounded tablespoons of plain flour
A pinch of salt
1 egg
½ pint of milk
Butter for frying
Extras for serving: favourites in our house are jam, maple syrup and Nutella, as well as good old-fashioned sugar and lemon!
Method:
1: Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl. Make a hollow in the centre and crack the egg into it.
2: Add about a third of the milk and mix gently together.
3: Gradually add the rest of the milk and beat in.
4: Heat up a frying pan and add some butter. Once hot, add 2 tablespoons of batter. Tip the pan so the batter runs all over the base of the pan to make a pancake.
5: Fry until the underside is brown and then turn over with a knife or flip if you’re feeling fancy (your children will think you’re the coolest thing ever if you can successfully flip!).
6: When the second side is cooked, slide the pancake out of the pan onto a plate (Warning: the first pancake of a batch is inevitably a bit rubbish!), add whatever yummies you like and eat up!
7: If you want to serve a pile of pancakes, pop each pancake as it’s ready onto a tray in the oven on a low heat to keep warm until needed.

Fish Pie

With the weather turning cold I begin to crave ‘proper’ warming food. This fish pie ticks all the boxes for me – it’s really comforting, can be made early and popped in the oven half an hour so so before you want to eat, and fish is great for little brains!
If your Picky Pickers aren’t great fish fans, just serve a very small amount the first time you make this and fill up their plate with other things they like so they don’t feel too overwhelmed. Hopefully it won’t be long before they’re enjoying a full portion and begging for more!
Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
1kg potatoes for mashing
a knob of butter
a splash of milk
75g grated cheddar cheese – maybe start off with mild and build up to mature for Picky Pickers
a pinch of salt
400g mixed fish – I use a frozen fish mix, there’s no need to defrost, you can just pop the fish straight from the freezer into the pie dish. Smoked fish might be a little strong for Picky Pickers so perhaps stick to white fish at least to begin with.
25g butter
25g plain flour
400ml milk
1 teaspoon of English mustard
Optional: a handful of frozen petit pois and/or sweetcorn, chives
Method:
1: Peel and chop the potatoes into small pieces. Boil until soft (about 20 minutes depending on size).
2: Mash the potatoes until smooth and add the knob of butter, the splash of milk and about a third of the cheddar cheese and a pinch of salt. Mix together until creamy.
3: Make a white sauce by melting 25g of butter over a low heat then adding the flour. Mix and cook gently for 2 minutes. Slowly add the milk, little by little, and stirring constantly to avoid lumps! Bring to the boil and cook for a further 3-4 minutes. Mix in another third of the cheese, a teaspoon of mustard and the chives, sweetcorn and/petis pois if using. Take off the heat.
4: Place the fish in a large oven proof dish and pour over the white sauce.
5: Next spoon on the mashed potato and smooth with a fork. Sprinkle over the remaining cheese.
6: The dish can be put in the fridge overnight if you like or popped straight in the oven at 200 degrees celsius until bubbling and golden on the top (about 30 mins, or 40 from chilled).

Super Quick Suppers

Nobody can be perfect all the time. Modern life is busy and often stressful. There will be days when even someone who absolutely loves cooking will get home and think “I really can’t be bothered to make supper for everyone.” The great Nigella Lawson herself readily admits to ordering in the odd pizza when she’s too tired to chop! With children taking part in so many after-school activities, it can also sometimes be tricky to physically find the time to cook a meal and get little ones to eat up before everyone has to go out again!
If your child has school dinners this needn’t be such a problem. If they’ve had a proper hot lunch, you can get away with what I’d call a party tea (little bits like sandwiches, popcorn, yogurt, fruit) or something warm but quick on toast, such as scrambled eggs or baked beans. Houmous, pitta bread and some cut up veggies usually go down pretty well and only takes a few minutes to get together.
But if your little one has just had a packed lunch, they’ll probably need something more substantial for their tea. Quick cook pasta can be a lifesaver here, as can baked spuds done in the microwave. I usually try to cook extra if I’m making something like lasagne or fish pie and pop leftovers in the freezer to be defrosted and heated up another day.
No harm will come to any child who has the occasional tea consisting of fish fingers, waffles and baked beans or even a sausage and chips from the local chippy. They’ll love it and there is nothing to feel guilty about. It might not be a great idea to serve this every evening, but once in a while it’s fine. Add some ready prepared fruit salad and count the ketchup as a veg if it makes you happier! Use the time you save to have a cuddle and read your little ones an extra long bedtime story, or watch a film together and everyone will be fed and happy!

Tomato Soup

I think Heinz Tomato Soup is just about every child’s favourite soup. Every child except me! I still don’t like the stuff, but I do love this homemade version with plenty of garlic and basil. It must be very well blitzed though… I don’t do lumpy tomato soup!

Feeds 4 Picky Pickers or 2 adults

1 very finely chopped small onion

1 crushed garlic clove

a drizzle of olive oil

1 400g tin of tomatoes

600ml vegetable stock – I usually use Marigold bouillon.

1 tablespoon tomato puree

fresh basil

a pinch of salt

 

Ingredients:

1: Gently fry the onion and garlic in the oil until soft.

2: Add the remaining ingredients and bring to the boil.

3: Turn down the heat and allow to simmer gently for 20 minutes.

4: Blend the soup until smooth and then reheat to serve with lots of bread and butter.

Eating Out

A while ago I read an article about a family who try to fit as many activities in after the children finish school and before they go to bed. They call it the ‘5 to 9’ (5pm to 9pm).
Having a look at the blog they write, they’re very keen on eating outside. They pack up a camping stove, a saucepan and some ingredients, and cook their meal in the fresh air in all sorts of different locations. Their exploits can be followed on: http://www.dotrythisathome.com/
I thought this all sounded like great fun, so we’ve been ‘eating out’ about once a week since the summer. I must admit it takes us a while to get everything together, and then to put it all away again afterwards, but we’re getting better at it! Sometimes we take a little gas camping stove, other times we cook on an open fire.

 

We’ve tried lots of different settings for our meals: the seaside (sand EVERYWHERE!), woods and hills… Our favourites usually contain lots of interesting climby things for the boys to explore and are very peaceful and quiet. An added bonus is if you can park the car close to where you’re going to cook so you don’t have to lug everything for miles!
The food can be as simple as hotdogs or pasta with pesto, but we usually try to make something a little more complicated, like a goulash or a chilli con carne. The different setting might be a good chance to try your Picky Picker on something new, but make sure you take plenty of bread, apples and biscuits to fill them up if they’re still a little unsure of what you create!
Whatever you choose to make, the whole process of cooking and eating outside is great fun, and the fresh air really seems to increase little appetites!

Home-made Granola

Why pay a fortune at the supermarket when you can make granola so easily yourself and customise it for your Picky Picker?

Ingredients:

500g porridge oats

4 heaped tablespoons of runny honey

4 heaped tablespoons of golden syrup

2 tablespoons of sunflower or vegetable oil

Method:

1: Preheat the oven to 170 degrees celsius.

2: Gently melt the honey, golden syrup and oil in a pan.

3: Pour the oats into a large bowl and add the honey and oil mixture. Stir well.

4: Spread your mixture evenly onto a large baking tray and bake for 15-20 minutes. Keep checking to ensure none of the mixture burns.

5: When the oats are golden brown, remove from the oven and leave to dry on the tray.

6: Add any extras you like. Some of our favourites are banana chips, raisins, cranberries, dried apricots, desiccated coconut and pumpkin or sesame seeds.

7: The granola should keep for about a month in a airtight jar. Serve with milk or yogurt or sprinkle some over ice cream for some extra crunch!

Fruit loaf

This is lovely toasted for breakfast, or great just sliced and buttered for an afternoon snack. It’s so simple, remembering to put the fruit to soak is probably the hardest bit!

For Picky Pickers who are a bit funny about dried fruit, make it plain first, then perhaps with just raisins and gradually introduce the mixed fruit.

Ingredients:

225g dried mixed fruit

225g self-raising flour

1 teaspoon mixed spice

120g caster sugar

250ml cold black tea

2 tablespoons orange marmalade

1 egg

Method:

1: Measure the dried fruit into a bowl, pour in the tea and leave to soak for at least a couple of hours. I tend to leave it in the fridge overnight.

2: Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius and grease a loaf tin.

3: Measure all the other ingredients into a large bowl, add the soaked fruit and remaining liquid and stir gently until combined.

4: Pop in the oven for about an hour until the top has browned and a skewer comes out clean when you stick it in the cake.

5: Leave to stand for 15 mins and then turn out of the tin and onto a wire rack to cool.

Houmous

Oh boy, do we get through A LOT of houmous in our house! Generally with pitta bread and veggies, but also in wraps, the kids adore it.

Ingredients:

1 400g tin of chickpeas

1 or 2 crushed cloves of garlic

Juice from 1 lemon

1 tablespoon tahini

a pinch of salt

2-3 tablespoons of water

2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

Paprika to sprinkle on top (optional)

 

Method:

1; Drain the chickpeas into a bowl.

2: Add the garlic, lemon juice, tahini and salt.

3: Add the water and either blitz in a blender or mash with the back of a fork.

4: Put in a serving bowl, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with paprika is using.

Honey Roasted Parsnips

Sticky and sweet, these make a lovely accompaniment to roast lamb.

Serves 6

Ingredients:

6 medium sized parsnips

2 tablespoons of olive oil

2 tablespoons of runny honey

a sprinkling of sea salt

sesame seeds (optional)

Method:

1: Preheat the oven to 230 degrees celsius.

2: Peel and cut the parsnips into quarters. Remove any tough stuff from the middle. Slice the parsnips into roughtly even sized pieces of about 6cm by 1cm.

3: Place the parsnip pieces in a bowl with the sea salt, honey and olive oil until all the parsnip is well coated in the mixture.

4: Put in a roasting tin and roast for about 20 minutes until soft and golden brown.

5: If using sesame seeds,  fry them in a dry pan for 1 minute until light brown and sprinkle on the parsnips before serving.