Spooky Recipes

Halloween Barmbrack

Makes 900g loaf Dough Left Overnight

Ingredients

225g plain flour
2 tsps of baking powder
375g packet of fruit mix
250ml cold tea
50ml of whiskey
125g light brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp of mixed spice
A ring/ €2 coin to

place inside

Equipment

900g loaf tin
Large mixing bowl
Ring/ €2
Wooden Spoon
Weighing Scales
Sieve
Greaseproof Paper

Method

Place the fruit mix in a bowl and pour over the whiskey and cold tea. Allow to soak up the liquid overnight.

Preheat the oven to 170˚C/150˚C Fan/Gas Mark 3 and grease and line a 900g loaf tin. Combine the flour, baking powder, sugar and mixed spice in a mixing bowl. Make a well and break in the egg, using a wooden spoon, mix the egg with the dry ingredients. Add a little bit of the liquid the fruit mix is sitting in and mix it through. You may not need all the liquid, you are looking for a wet dough. Then stir through the fruit mix until everything is thoroughly combined.

Wrap the ring/coin in greaseproof paper, add it, and stir through. Spoon the wet dough into the lined loaf tin and place in the oven on the middle shelf and bake for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before removing from the loaf tin and placing on wire rack.

Serve in slices spread with a little butter and good cuppa!

By Eva Graham

Cinnamon Apple Blondies with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

FOR THE BLONDIES

1 cup unsalted butter melted and slightly browned

290 grams all-purpose flour - spoon into a measuring cup and level off, DO NOT PACK. This will change the consistency of your dough.

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

330g brown sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

FOR THE APPLES

3 peeled and chopped apples

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 tbsp butter

FOR THE MAPLE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

110g cream cheese softened and room temp (take out of the fridge a few hours before using)

55g butter, unsalted softened - take out of the fridge a few hours before using

60g confectioners sugar

30ml cup maple syrup

1/4 tsp cinnamon

Method

Preheat your oven to 180℃. In a large pan on LOW heat, melt 250g.

In a medium sized bowl, add the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Whisk together until combined and set aside.

Once your butter is melted, turn the heat up slightly (low - medium) and get the butter slightly browned. This should just be a few minutes - stir frequently to avoid burning.

While your butter is browning, peel 3 apples and chop into small pieces. Saute in a large pan with 1 tbsp of butter for 10 minutes. This is to cook the apples slightly before baking. Add in 1/4 tsp of cinnamon and stir well. Remove from heat.

Add melted butter, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla to a large bowl and mix well with a hand mixer. It should be sort of a caramel consistency. Add in your dry ingredients and fold together with a spatula.

Add in your cinnamon apples and fold in. Line a 9x13 baking dish with parchment paper and bake for 35-45 minutes (keep an eye on this as every oven is different). The tops should be golden brown and the centre should be firm (not jiggly).

While your blondies are baking, make your cream cheese frosting. In a large bowl add your SOFTENED cream cheese and butter. Use a hand mixer to fully combine. Add in your powdered sugar and maple syrup, mix again. Place in the fridge.

Remove pan from oven and let cool for 1 hour before removing. After 1 hour, lift from the parchment paper and transfer to a cooling rack, let cool for another 1-2 hours. You want this fully cooled because your frosting will melt (from the butter) if placed on too warm of blondies.

Spread your frosting on your blondies, top with cinnamon, and cut into squares and enjoy!

By Aisha O'Hara Boyle

Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients

For the dough:

¾ cup warm milk (whole milk or 2% preferred) (110 degrees F)
2 ¼ teaspoons quick rise or active yeast (1/4-ounce package yeast)
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
¼ cup butter, melted (I prefer salted, but unsalted works, too)
3 cups plain flour, plus more for dusting
3/4 teaspoon salt

For the filling:

2/3 cup dark brown sugar (light brown sugar also works)
1 ½ tablespoons ground cinnamon
¼ cup butter, softened
For the cream cheese frosting:
4 oz cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons butter, softened
¾ cup powdered sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

Warm milk to around 110 degrees F. I like to do this by placing milk in a microwave safe bowl and microwaving it for 40-45 seconds. It should be like warm bath water. Transfer warm milk to the bowl of an electric mixer and sprinkle yeast on top. Add in sugar, egg, egg yolk and melted butter. Mix until well combined. Next stir in flour and salt with a wooden spoon until a dough begins to form.
Place dough hook on stand mixer and knead dough on medium speed for 8 minutes. Dough should form into a nice ball and be slightly sticky. If it's TOO sticky (meaning it's sticking to the bottom of the mixer, add in 2 tablespoons more bread flour.) If you don’t want to use an electric mixer, you can use your hands to knead the dough for 8-10 minutes on a well-floured surface.
Transfer dough ball to a well-oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and a warm towel. Allow dough to rise for 1 hour to 1 ½ hours, or until doubled in size. This may more or less time depending the humidity and temperature in your home.
After dough has doubled in size, transfer dough to a well-floured surface and roll out into a 14x9 inch rectangle. Spread softened butter over dough, leaving a ¼ inch margin at the far side of the dough.
In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar and cinnamon. Use your hands to sprinkle mixture over the buttered dough, then rub the brown sugar mixture into the butter.
Tightly roll dough up, starting from the 9-inch side and place seam side down making sure to seal the edges of the dough as best you can. You will probably need to cut off about an inch off the ends of the dough as the ends won’t be as full of cinnamon sugar as we’d want it to be.
Cut into 1 inch sections with a serrated knife or floss. You should get 9 large pieces.
Place cinnamon rolls in a greased 9x9 inch baking pan or round 9 inch cake pan. (I also recommend lining the pan with parchment paper as well, in case any of the filling ends up leaking out.) Cover with plastic wrap and a warm towel and let rise again for 30-45 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Remove plastic wrap and towel and bake cinnamon rolls for 20-25 minutes or until just slightly golden brown on the edges. You want to underbake them a little so they stay soft in the middle, that’s why we want them just slightly golden brown. Allow them to cool for 5-10 minutes before frosting. Makes 9 cinnamon rolls.
To make the frosting: In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Beat until smooth and fluffy. Spread over cinnamon rolls and serve immediately. Enjoy!

By Naomi Malon

Cinnamon and Apple Muffins

Ingredients for the muffins:

2 large apples

250 g of wheat flour

2 spoons of baking powder

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

100 g light brown sugar (fine)

125 ml of liquid honey

60 ml of natural yogurt

125 ml rapeseed or sunflower oil

2 large eggs

30 g Nuts of choice (walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, e.t.c roughly chopped)

All ingredients should be at room temperature.

Method:

Peel the apples, remove the seeds and cut into 1 cm cubes.

Mix eggs, oil, sugar, yogurt, honey in one bowl - until combined, e.g. with a whisk. Sift wheat flour, baking powder and cinnamon directly into them and mix with a whisk or spatula until the ingredients are combined. Add almonds or hazelnuts and chopped apples - mix until combined.

Pour the dough into 12 muffin cups, dividing it evenly between the cups. Sprinkle with nut and sugar sprinkles.

Bake muffins with apples and cinnamon at 175ºC, without convection, for about 20 - 25 minutes or until the so-called dry stick. Remove and cool on a rack.

Ingredients for the topping:

40 g almonds or hazelnuts, skinless, roughly chopped

4 teaspoons light brown sugar (fine)

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

Mix the ingredients for the topping.

By Naomi Malon

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