Food_Heaven_-_October_2019

Recipe by Lakeland (blog.lakeland.co.uk)

WWW.FOODHEAVENMAG.COM OCTOBER baking heaven 79

Halloween

marzipan bites

MAKES ABOUT 14

500g (1lb 1oz) Renshaw white

marzipan

400g (14oz) Renshaw royal icing

orange food colouring

black edible food pen

icing sugar

cocoa powder

water, boiled and cooled

Preparation

1 On a clean, dry surface, knead two-

thirds of the white marzipan until pliable.

Add a small amount of orange food

colouring and knead until combined.

Repeat until the desired colour is

reached. Reserve a small amount of

orange marzipan and colour it a deep

orange. Colour the remaining third of

mar zipan with cocoa powder to turn it

brown in colour. Take the orange

coloured mar zipan and roll it into evenly

sized, smooth bite - sized balls.

For the pumpkins

2 Using the back of the knife, score lines

across the middle of the ball, score

another line across the ball to form a

cross, then 2 more diagonal lines to form a

pumpkin shape. Once the pumpkins have

set completely, draw eyes and a mouth

using the black edible food pen. Roll a tiny

sausage shape using the cocoa coloured

marzipan and attach it to the top of the

pumpkin with a small amount of water.

For the chicks

3 Roll the ball into a pear shape for the

body. Take a small amount of orange

mar zipan and roll it into a cone shape,

then flatten and attach it to the side of

the body using a little water, if needed,

for the wings. Repeat for the other

side. Using the cocoa coloured

marzipan, make a hat by forming a

cone shape and flattening the base.

Take a pinch of the deep coloured

orange marzipan and roll a thin

sausage, then flatten the sausage with

your fingers and attach it around the

hat using a little water. Using the

deeper coloured orange marzipan, roll

a tiny ball and flatten for the beak, then

at tach it to the centre of the body,

flattening it slightly. For the eyes, roll

two tiny balls of the cocoa marzipan

and attach above the beak using a little

water. Attach the hat onto the top of

the body using a little water. Once the

marzipan has dried completely, draw

feet towards the bottom of the body

and nostrils and a smile onto the beak.

For the spider web

4 Royal icing preparation: Fit a

piping bag with a No.0 nozzle. ‘Let

down’ a small amount of royal icing to a

soft piping consistency by mixing in a

couple of drops of water. Fill the piping

bag no more than half way

and fold the top to secure. Pipe

4 overlapping lines across the marzipan

ball, then pipe interconnecting lines to

create a spider web effect.

3 If the mixture is too stiff you can add a
little bit of milk at a time to get a smooth,
light consistency (full-fat will prevent the
mix from splitting), but a good beating
will do the trick.
4 Spoon the mix into the cupcake
cases evenly and bake in the oven for
15-20 minutes, or until a skewer poked
into one of the cakes comes out clean
and they are springy to touch – leave
them to cool fully on a wire rack.

For the Italian meringue ghosts
1 Pour the sugar and the water into a
heavy-based saucepan and bring to the
boil, stirring occasionally with a wooden
spoon. When the mixture starts to boil,
monitor the temperature until it reaches
120°C/248°F (firm ball stage) with a
sugar thermometer.
2 When the mixture is heating up and
boiling, if any sugar splashes up the side
of the pan, brush the sides with a pastry
brush and cold water to get rid of it – this
will stop the mixture from crystallising.
3 While the mixture is starting to get
towards the temperature, whisk the
egg whites in an electric stand mixer.
When the sugar syrup has reached the
temperature and the egg whites are at
stiff peaks, start to pour the sugar syrup
onto the egg whites at the edge of the
bowl while still whisking – make sure
you do this slowly so it’s a constant
trickle of sugar syrup so that the egg
whites stay smooth.
4 Continue to whisk throughout while
the sugar syrup is pouring in and, after
it’s all whisked in, continue to whisk the
mixture fast and on a high speed for
5-7 minutes until the mixture is smooth,
and has cooled down.
5 Transfer the meringue to a large
disposable piping bag with a large round
nozzle and pipe onto the cupcakes in
little ghost shapes. It’s sometimes best
to practice a couple separately first!
I pipe the meringue on by pointing the
nozzle downwards until it creates a
bottom, then lift slightly. Then I repeat
again with a slightly smaller blob and lift
to create a thin top.
6 Pipe on the tiniest amount of dark
chocolate to create eyes and a mouth,
or you can use fondant if you wish.

HALLOWEEN