Spooky Bakes for Halloween 2022

If you've noticed an abundance of pumpkins, cobwebs, witches hats and bats suddenly adorning your neighbours' houses and gardens, don't be alarmed, they're just getting in the mood for Halloween.

Although some people wish the celebrations accompanying October 31st were still mostly confined to America, there are some things for even the most resolute Halloween haters to enjoy at the spookiest time of year… and a lot of them are edible!

With that in mind, here are a few of our favourite Halloween bakes for you to try at home.

Halloween rocky road

Easy to make, easy to eat. Dare you give any away to trick-or-treaters?

Ingredients

To make 16 pieces of Halloween rocky road, you will need:

• Sunflower oil, for greasing

• 100g unsalted butter, cubed

• 1 tbsp golden syrup

• 300g milk chocolate, broken into pieces

• 150g dark chocolate, broken into pieces

• 30g popcorn

• 80g jelly sweets

• 50g mini marshmallows

• 16 large chocolate buttons

• 1 tbsp milk chocolate chips

• Edible eyes, to decorate

• White writing icing, to decorate

• Strawberry laces, to decorate

First, oil a 23cm square non-stick cake tin and line with baking parchment. Next, gently melt the butter, syrup and chocolate in a large saucepan over a low heat, stirring until combined. Once combined, remove from the heat and leave to cool for 10 minutes, then stir in the popcorn, sweets and marshmallows. Spoon the mix into the tin, then evenly arrange the chocolate buttons on top, adding two small chocolate chips to each button to make ears. Cool, then cover and chill in the fridge for at least 3 hours until set.

Once set, remove from the tin and use the writing icing to pipe two dots on each chocolate button (to secure the eyes) and two small fangs. Position the edible eyes on the dots, then press 1cm lengths of strawberry lace over the fangs to create a mouth. Cut into squares and serve.

Gingerbread zombies

Not even the undead can resist these crunchy classics!

Ingredients

To make 14 gingerbread zombies, you will need:

• 350g plain flour

• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

• 2 tsp ground ginger

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

• 125g butter, cubed

• 175g light muscovado sugar

• 1 egg

• 4 tbsp golden syrup

• decorations, such as writing icing, chocolate chips and strawberry jam

Begin by preheating your oven to gas mark 4/180°C/160°C fan. Line two baking trays with nonstick baking paper. In a food processor, mix the flour, bicarbonate of soda, ginger, cinnamon and butter, then pulse until all incorporated. Add the sugar and pulse 3-4 more times.

In a bowl, whisk together the egg and golden syrup, then pour into the food processor and whizz until the mixture comes together in sticky clumps. Shape the dough into a ball, wrap in clingfilm and chill for 30 minutes.

On a large sheet of lightly floured, nonstick baking paper, roll out half the dough to roughly 3mm thick. Using a 14cm gingerbread man cutter, cut out 7 shapes, arrange on one of the prepared trays and bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, then repeat with the remaining dough.

Once the biscuits have cooled, decorate however you wish (we like to use the writing icing to draw skeletons, then use chocolate chips for eyes and use blobs of jam as fake blood). Leave to set before serving.

Ghost cupcakes

These spooky treats are as tasty as they are terrifying!

Ingredients

To make nine ghost cupcakes, you will need:

• 335g pack of chocolate chunk muffin mix

• 1 tbsp oil

• 1 medium egg

• Semi-skimmed milk or water (depending on the muffin mix brand)

• 200ml double cream

• 100g dark chocolate chips

First, preheat your oven to gas mark 6/200°C/180°C fan and place 9 muffin cases in a muffin tin.

Prepare the muffin mix, oil, egg and milk as per the pack instructions, then divide between the 9 cases. Bake for 15 minutes, then remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Whisk the cream until it holds its shape, then place in a piping bag with a 1cm nozzle. Pipe the cream into a peak on the cakes to create ghost shapes, then use the chocolate chips to make eyes.

Happy Halloween!

Whether you're hosting a party or heading out trick-or-treating, we've got all your hot drink needs covered this Halloween - we've even introduced a range of spooktacular pumpkin-spiced coffees and hot chocolates especially for the occasion! 

Contact your nearest Cafe2U van here to find out more and arrange a delivery.

Top Halloween Bakes

Halloween has become one of the UK's most eagerly anticipated days, one which is as beloved among kids eager to go trick-or-treating as it is with horror movie fans.

But if you aren't into witches or the occult, fear not - October 31st is about more than just scares; there's a whole host of hideously good, Halloween-themed recipes for you to make at home and either enjoy yourself or share with others. Here's how to make some of our favourites.

Toffee apples

The perfect Halloween treat, toffee apples are a guaranteed hit among kids and adults alike. Although they're easy to make, the use of hot toffee means this is a recipe for adults only!

Ingredients

To make 8 toffee apples, you will need:

• 8 red apples

• 400g caster sugar

• 1 tsp lemon juice

• 4 tbsp golden syrup

• red or black food colouring

• 8 lolly sticks

Begin by inserting the lolly sticks into the stalk-end of each apple until they're firmly in place, then put a large piece of parchment paper onto a chopping board.

Tip the sugar, lemon juice and 100ml of water into a large saucepan, bring to a simmer and cook until the sugar dissolves, being careful not to stir the mixture - instead, gently swirl the pan to move the sugar around.

Next, add the golden syrup and bubble the mixture, without allowing it to boil over, until it reaches 'hard crack' stage (when there is almost no water left in the pan) or reaches 150℃ on a sugar thermometer (if you're using one). To test if the mixture is ready, drop a small amount of the toffee into cold water. If it hardens instantly and is brittle when removed, it's ready; if it's soft, continue to boil.

When the toffee is ready, add some drops of food colouring, swirl to combine and turn off the heat.

Finally, quickly dip each apple into the toffee, tipping the pan to cover each one. Lift out, allow any excess to drip off, place on the parchment paper until cool and you're done! Ideally, these fiendish fruits should be eaten the same day.

Eyeball pops

Decorate these mini chocolate cake balls to look like eyes and you'll have a spooky Halloween treat nobody will say 'Boo' to!

Ingredients

To make 10 pops, you will need:

• 100g/4oz madeira cake

• 100g Oreo cookie

• 100g bar milk chocolate, melted

• 200g bar white chocolate, melted

• Smarties and icing pens to decorate

• 10 wooden skewers

• A small pumpkin - or similar - to stand the pops in

Start by breaking the Madeira cake and cookies into the bowl of a food processor, then pour in the melted milk chocolate and blend until combined. Tip the mixture into a bowl then divide into 10 balls and put them in the fridge for 2 hours until solid.

Next, push a skewer into each ball and spoon the white chocolate over the balls until covered. Stand the pops in the pumpkin, place a Smartie on each one while still wet and return to the fridge until the chocolate sets. Before serving, use the icing pens to draw a pupil on each Smartie and wiggly red veins on each eyeball. 

Halloween cupcakes

Your little terrors will love these sweet, spooky snacks which can be decorated to look like black cats, monsters or skeletons. As long as you don't eat them all yourself!

Ingredients

To makes 22 cupcakes, you will need:

• 200g butter, softened

• 300g golden caster sugar

• 200g dark chocolate, melted

• 2 eggs

• 250g self raising flour

• ¼ tsp baking powder mixed with 100ml boiling water

• 50g cocoa powder

• 200ml milk

• 1-2 tsp black food colouring (optional)

For the buttercream, you will need:

• 300g unsalted butter , softened

• 500g icing sugar

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• black food colouring

For the decorations, you will need:

• a pack of Smarties

• black icing pen

• 1 pack mixed coloured fondant icing (you'll need pink, green, blue and white)

• liquorice and strawberry laces and other sweets such as jelly fangs and liquorice allsorts

• icing eyes

First, heat your oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4, then line two 12-hole cupcake tins with cases. Beat the butter and sugar until creamy, then beat in the chocolate and eggs until combined. Stir in the flour, baking powder, cocoa powder, milk and food colouring. Spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases and level the tops. Bake for 20 mins or until the cakes have risen. Leave to cool for 5 mins in the tin, then lift out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Next, make the buttercream. Beat the butter until soft, then stir in the icing sugar a little bit at a time. Beat in the vanilla and black food colouring, then transfer to a piping bag with a plain nozzle.

To make icing eyes, mix up a batch of fondant icing and pipe rounded blobs (for the eyeballs) onto parchment paper and leave to dry. Add pupils to the eyes with a small brush and black food colouring.

To make black cat cupcakes, pipe some black buttercream onto a cupcake and smooth with a palette knife. Pipe two ears by making a blob for each and pulling the icing bag upwards to form a point. Add two Smarties for eyes and use the black icing pen to draw a pupil on each, then add a triangle nose made of pink fondant icing and use strawberry laces to create whiskers.

To make monster cupcakes, cut circles of green or blue fondant to fit the tops of the cupcake and fix them in place with buttercream. Add eyes, noses and mouths made of sweets or use icing eyes.

To make skeleton cupcakes, cut out a skull shape with white fondant and fix in place with the buttercream.

Edible fake blood

The perfect addition to any Halloween recipe - including those listed above - edible fake blood looks disgustingly realistic and kids will love adding it to their scary treats.

Ingredients

To make edible fake blood, you will need:

• 1 tbsp cornflour

• 45ml cherry juice

• 250g glucose syrup

• red, blue and yellow food colouring gel

Start by mixing the cornflour with 1 tbsp cherry juice, then tip the mixture into a small pan with the glucose syrup and remaining cherry juice. Heat gently over a low heat, whisking well to combine, then remove from the heat.

Squeeze in a good amount of the red food colouring gel and stir well, then add a very small drop each of the blue and yellow food colouring gels and stir again. Continue to add little drops of food colouring, stirring well between each addition, until you reach your desired colour.

This recipe makes thick, gooey blood; if you want it thinner, simply stir in a little more cherry juice.

Happy Halloween!

If you're hosting a Halloween party this year or just want a hot drink to take with you trick-or-treating, we've got you covered - contact your nearest Cafe2U van here and we can provide all your coffee needs.

Cafe2U’s Pumpkin Spice Special!

For many people, autumn is their favourite time of year, with the colder weather giving them the ideal excuse to stay indoors and keep toasty, or to head out and enjoy a warming coffee on the go.

But even if you prefer the hot days of summer, autumn still has plenty to offer, thanks to the incredible amount of tasty treats you can make from the season's unofficial mascot, the humble pumpkin.

We've picked out some of the best recipes for you to try yourself.

Pumpkin spice latte

You didn't think we were only talking about food recipes, did you?!

Alongside gingerbread lattes, pumpkin spice lattes are one of the UK's favourite seasonal hot drinks and what better time to enjoy one than over autumn?

Ingredients

To make pumpkin spice lattes, you will need:

• 750g pumpkin

• ground cinnamon

• ground ginger

• ground nutmeg

• 30ml espresso or strong coffee

• 250ml milk (any variety)

To begin, you will need to make some pumpkin puree. Peel and seed your pumpkin, then cut into evenly sized cubes. Place the cubes in a steamer or colander over a pan of simmering water for 10-15 minutes or until soft, then mash and leave to cool.

Once cool, put two teaspoons of puree into a large heatproof glass or mug and stir in the spices and coffee. Next, heat the milk in a saucepan over a low heat until steaming and frothy. Pour into the glass or mug and spoon over the froth. Stir to combine, dust with more cinnamon and voila - the perfect warming, aromatic drink to enjoy on a cold autumn evening.

Pumpkin cake

If you thought the only autumnal treat worth shouting about was toffee apples, think again - this pumpkin cake recipe is a guaranteed showstopper. 

Ingredients

To make the pumpkin cake, you will need:

• 300g self-raising flour

• 330g light muscovado sugar

• 3 tsp mixed spice

• 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

• 175g sultanas

• ½ tsp salt

• 4 eggs, beaten

• 200g butter, melted

• the zest of 1 orange

• 1 tbsp orange juice

• 500g (peeled weight) pumpkin flesh, grated

For the frosting, you will need:

• 200g pack of soft cheese

• 85g butter, softened

• 100g icing sugar, sifted

• the zest of 1 orange

• the juice of half an orange

First, preheat your oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4, then butter and line a 30 x 20cm baking tin with parchment paper. Put the flour, sugar, spice, bicarbonate of soda, sultanas and salt into a large bowl and stir to combine. Next, beat the eggs into the melted butter, stir in the orange zest and juice, then mix with the dry ingredients until combined. Stir in the pumpkin, then pour the batter into the tin and bake for 30 minutes or until golden and springy to the touch.

To make the frosting, beat together the cheese, butter, icing sugar, orange zest and 1 tsp of the juice until smooth and creamy, then set aside in the fridge. When the cake is done, cool for 5 mins then turn it onto a cooling rack. Prick it all over with a skewer and drizzle with the rest of the orange juice while still warm. Leave to cool completely.

Quickly beat the frosting to loosen it, then, using a palette knife, spread over the top of the cake. If you’re making the cake ahead of time, keep it in the fridge then take out as many pieces as you want 30 mins before serving - the cake should make approximately 15 portions.

Pumpkin spice cookies

If you don't manage to lay your hands on a pumpkin this autumn, or your kids use it as a jack-o'-lantern, don't worry - this cookie recipe uses an easy-to-make spice mix instead of pumpkin. And you'd never know the difference!

Ingredients

To make pumpkin spice cookies, you will need:

• 300g plain flour

• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

• ½ tsp salt

• 1 tbsp cornflour

• 1-2 tsps pumpkin spice mix

• 115g unsalted butter

• 100g brown sugar

• 100g granulated sugar

• 1 large egg

• ½ tsp vanilla extract

• 200g white chocolate chunks or chips

• 100g orange M&Ms

To make the spice mix, you will need:

• 3 tbsps ground cinnamon

• 2 tsps ground ginger

• 2 tsps ground nutmeg

• 1.5 tsps all spice

• 1.5 tsps ground cloves

Preheat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4, line two large baking trays with parchment paper, then prepare the spice mix by adding the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, all spice and cloves to a bowl and whisk until even. Add the plain flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt and cornflour and whisk until combined.

Next, carefully melt the butter and add to a bowl, then add the sugars and whisk for two minutes. Add the vanilla and the egg and whisk again until combined. Add in the flour mixture, M&Ms and chocolate and beat well until the mixture resembles cookie dough.

Finally, using a cookie dough or batter scoop, scoop the dough out in even portions, roll them into balls, place on the baking trays and cook in the oven for 10-13 minutes. Once cooked, leave the cookies to cool for five minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely and serve.

Check out our new autumn drinks range

We're big fans of autumn at Cafe2U, as it's the perfect opportunity to beat the cold with a steaming hot cup of coffee. And that's why we've launched a limited edition range of autumn drinks! To find out what your local Cafe2U van has to offer, get in touch with them here.