best halloween recipes 2019 how make toffee apples pumpkin pie

Pumpkins carved, costumes bought and decorations artfully draped around the house – the sun is going down, and Halloween is nigh. Originating from the Gaelic Samhain Festival or 'Feast of the Dead', Halloween is now a date synonymous with ghosts, ghouls and, often the case for smaller members of the family, obscene amounts of sweets and chocolate.

But it's not all about the treats –  with the glorious variety of gourds on offer at the moment, it's also the perfect excuse to make a little more than a lantern from your pumpkin, and turn it into a delicious dinner to counter the sugar rush.

So whip up a batch of warming pumpkin and chipotle soup or a colourful autumnal panzanella, and fill the house with the smell of spice with a pumpkin and pecan loaf cake – not forgetting (it is Halloween, after all) sticky toffee apples.

Make sure to stock up on sweets, too, because once you've tasted how good they are, you won't want to give these goodies away to trick-or-treaters.

Toffee apples

Prep time: 15 minutes | Cooking time: 10 minutes

SERVES

Four

INGREDIENTS

• 4 large eating apples

• 240g caster sugar

• 2 tbsp water

• 2 tbsp golden syrup

• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste

• ½ tsp ground cinnamon

• Sea salt flakes and sesame seeds to sprinkle, if you like

METHOD

1. Place the apples in a bowl of boiling water and allow them to sit for one minute. Remove and drain, then dry thoroughly. This takes off any waxy coating.

2. Remove any apple stalks and insert a wooden skewer or lolly-pop stick into the stalk end of each apple. Prepare a tray lined with greaseproof paper and sit the apples on it ready for dunking.

3. Place the sugar in a pan with the water, golden syrup, vanilla bean paste and cinnamon. Bring to a boil, gently stirring to dissolve the sugar. Once boiling do not touch the pan. Either using a sugar thermometer or judging by sight, heat the sugar to 150C or until it has reached a rich golden brown colour.

4. Working very quickly, remove the pan from the heat, take an apple by its skewer and dunk the apple in the hot caramel until covered. Lift out and twist to let any excess caramel drip away, then return to the lined tray. Repeat with the other apples.

5. Sprinkle with a little sea salt or sesame seeds over the caramel before it sets, if you like.

Pumpkin and chipotle soup with spiced pumpkin seeds and lime crème fraîche

Prep time: 15 minutes | Cooking time: 40 minutes

SERVES

Six

INGREDIENTS

For the soup

• 1kg pumpkin, peeled, deseeded (reserve the seeds) and cut into large chunks (prepared weight)

• 2 ½ tbsp olive oil or groundnut oil

• 15g butter

• 2 medium onions, finely chopped

• 1 tsp ground ginger

• ½ tsp chilli flakes

• 1 tbsp chipotle paste

• 1 litre chicken or vegetable stock, or as needed

• Juice of ½ -1 lime (optional)

For the pumpkin seeds

• 4 tbsp pumpkin seeds

• ¼ tsp ground cumin

• ¼ tsp ground cayenne

• 2 tsp groundnut oil

• Flaked sea salt

For the crème fraîche

• 150g crème fraîche

• Zest of 1 lime, finely grated

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 190C/ 180C fan*/gas mark 5.

2. Put the pumpkin chunks in a roasting tin. Toss in the oil and season. Roast for 15-20 minutes, or until the flesh is completely tender and golden.

3. Put the pumpkin seeds in a small bowl with the cumin, cayenne and oil and turn them over. Spread them out in a roasting tin or an oven tray, scatter with salt and roast in the oven for 3 minutes (after that they start to pop all over the inside of the oven). Spread out on kitchen paper and allow to cool.

4. Melt the butter in a heavy, broad-bottomed saucepan, add the onion, season and sauté over a gentle heat until soft and golden. Add the ginger, chilli and chipotle paste and cook for another couple of minutes, then add the roast pumpkin. Pour in the stock, season and bring to the boil. Simmer for 15 minutes, then let the soup cool. Purée in a blender until smooth. Add more stock if the soup is too thick.

5. Mix the crème fraîche with the lime zest.

6. Heat the soup and check the seasoning. Add the lime juice if you think it needs it – it’s good for heightening flavour. Serve each bowlful with the lime crème fraîche and some pumpkin seeds scattered on top.

*Diana's conversion may differ from the standard

Roast butternut squash and beetroot panzanella

Prep time: 20 minutes | Cooking time: 45 minutes

SERVES

Four

INGREDIENTS

• 2-3 large beetroot

• ½ large butternut squash

• 6 tbsp olive oil, plus 6 tbsp for the dressing

• 4 thick slices stale bread (sourdough is best)

• 3 tbsp sesame seeds

• 1 tsp fennel seeds

• 1 tbsp poppy seeds

• 2 tbsp lemon juice

• 2 tsp honey

• 1 tsp cider vinegar

• Several handfuls of mixed leaves, such as radicchio, watercress and herbs

• 50g Parmesan to serve (optional)

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/Gas 6.

2. Scrub the beetroot then wrap each one in tin foil. Set on a baking tray and roast until tender to a skewer or tip of a knife. The time will depend on the size of the beetroot.

3. Peel, deseed and slice the butternut squash into crescent moon shapes. Coat in some oil and place in the oven alongside the beetroot. Roast for 20 minutes or until beginning to colour on the edges. Keep checking the beetroot and remove when done. Remove the skin and cut into wedges when cool enough.

4. Heat a frying pan until almost smoking. Add the bread slices and char them lightly on each side. Allow to cool.

5. Take the pan off the heat, add all the seeds and move them around. Keep mixing until fragrant and popping slightly. If they aren’t toasting, return the pan to the hob.

6. Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, honey, vinegar and some seasoning in a large bowl. Tip in the roasted veg and tear in the bread. Toss to coat then add the leaves and seeds (if making ahead keep the leaves separate until serving). Shave some parmesan over the top if you like.

Pumpkin and pecan loaf

Prep time: 10 minutes | Cooking time: 40 minutes

MAKES

One loaf

INGREDIENTS

• 150g pumpkin purée

• 100ml vegetable oil

• 150g caster sugar

• 2 eggs

• 50g plain yogurt

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

• A little grated nutmeg

• 175g self raising flour

• 50g pecan nuts, chopped, plus some toasted to decorate (optional)

• Icing sugar (optional)

• Orange zest, to decorate (optional)

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/Gas 4. Line a 900g loaf tin with greaseproof paper.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin purée, oil, caster sugar and eggs. Once smooth, stir in the yogurt, vanilla extract, spices, flour and nuts. Beat until smooth.

3. Pour into the tin and bake for 40 minutes or until a skewer comes out of the centre clean.

4. Serve as is or make a water icing to drizzle over the top before scattering with some toasted pecan nuts and orange zest.

Chocolate covered honeycomb

Prep time: 20 minutes, plus one hour setting time | Cooking time: 15 minutes

SERVES

Eight to 10

INGREDIENTS

• Flavourless oil or melted butter, for greasing

• 130g caster sugar

• 20g runny honey

• 20ml water

• 50g liquid glucose

• 4g bicarbonate of soda

• 100g dark chocolate (with at least 60% cocoa solids), chopped

METHOD

1. Lightly grease a 20cm square cake tin.

2. Put the sugar, honey, water and liquid glucose into a heavy-based pan and set over medium heat. Give the mixture a quick stir, then let the sugar dissolve slowly, swirling it in the pan now and again. Once all the sugar has dissolved, increase the heat to high and boil the syrup vigorously until it begins to turn to an amber-coloured caramel.

3. As soon as the mixture has started to caramelise, take the pan off the heat and tip in the bicarbonate of soda. Immediately beat the soda into the caramel using a heatproof spatula until the mixture is foaming.

4. Quickly pour and scrape the honeycomb mixture into the greased tin, taking care not to get any of the piping hot mixture on your hands. Gently tilt the tin from side to side to even out the honeycomb, then leave to cool and set for about an hour. Once the honeycomb has hardened, use the tip of a knife to break it into large pieces.

5. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water, stirring until smooth. Remove from the heat. Coat the honeycomb pieces in the melted chocolate (dip them in, or hold over the bowl of chocolate and spoon it over them), then set them on a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat and leave to set.

6. When the chocolate has hardened, store the honeycomb in an airtight container, with sheets of baking parchment between each layer.

7. To serve, I like to cut the chocolate-covered pieces in half to show off the honeycomb.

Recipe from Social Sweets, by Jason Atherton (Absolute Press, £25). Order your copy from books.telegraph.co.uk