Saturday, October 26, 2013


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Don’t be afraid to cook up a banquet this Hallowe’en


FULL OF GOODNESS: Pumpkins ready to carve - and eat


PUMPKINS - the favourite of children and celebrity chefs alike, a food with more to it than a perfect lantern. While their colour might connote horror, this is actu- ally a giveaway that they are loaded with an important an- tioxidant, beta-carotene, as well as being rich in vitamin C and folate. With benefits such as reducing the risk of heart disease and cancer through containing Carote- noids, such as beta-carotene, it’s no wonder it’s popular. So why not try and make classic pumpkin dishes such as pumpkin pie, soup, bread or go the whole hog and just roast it? Chef at the King’s Arms Hotel. Abergavenny, Jim Hamilton has the perfect recipe for pumpkin and coconut soup Ingredients 1 large pumpkin, peeled, de-seeded, diced (reserve the seeds) 2 onions, diced 4 sticks of celery, diced 4 carrots 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 tin coconut cream 1 ltr vegetable stock 1 red chilli Salt and pepper


Roast the pumpkin and


vegetables with the olive oil, until tender. Place the seeds in to a pan,


and roast them until golden coloured. Heat the vegetable stock


in a large sauce pan, add the chilli and the coconut cream. Add the roasted vegetables,


GIVE yourself a ghoulish treat in the kitchen this Hallowe’en. SOPHIE BROWNSONhas some top tips from bakers and chefs.


and stir together. Place a few ladles at a time


into a food processor or liq- uidiser, until smooth. Season to taste. Reheat gently in a pan


when ready to serve, scatter some of the toasted seeds over the top. Stephen Terry of The Hardwick in Abergavenny, has loads of ideas for Hal- loween cooking. Mr Terry suggested using pumpkin puree to create pumpkin cheese cake, or pumpkin creme brule. He also recommended trying classics such as pumpkin squash and soup as well as a good old fashioned pumpkin roast- with a twist. Mr Terry said: “Why not roast the whole thing in the oven with some vinegar and raisins to create a sweet and sour taste? “At the end of the day it is about inspiring people who lack confidence to experi- ment in cooking.” For those with a sweet tooth cake is always the best. Get the kids involved with some icing fun, by having them create a variety of spooky designs on cup cakes. Andi Silcox, owner of


Cake and Jam Designs, near Abergavenny, recommends creating witch hats cup- cakes along with the kids. “Making these cakes is really good as a family orien-


tated activity. “Kids love it because they


have made it themselves, and parents love it because they know all of the ingredi- ents in it.” Andi suggests baking pumpkin cupcakes using pumpkin puree before mak- ing butter cream icing or using store-bought fondant icing, cut in a circle or piped from a piping bag to cover the cake. These can be bought in a variety of col- ours, however white is most commonly available. Next create a cone shape


out of some black icing to create a witches hat, using a strip of orange icing to decorate the hat. “If you want to take it a


step further you can add a buckle,” she said. Witches’ Hat Cupcakes Ingredients 60g unsalted butter 210g caster sugar 180g plain flour 2tsp baking powder 2 eggs 180ml full fat milk 1tsp vanilla extract 12 cupcake cases Decoration 250g unsalted butter softened 500g icing sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract Packets of fondant icing in black and white Sugarflair food colourings


of choice Edible glue, food safe paint- brush, rolling pin, non- stick board Pop your cupcake cases into


the tray ready for baking. Set the oven at 180C/170C fan/350F/Gas Mark 4 Mix together the sugar and softened butter (pop it in the microwave for a quick blast) until it resembles wet sand. Mix in the flour and bak-


ing powder. Careful not to overbeat this, just so the large lumps have gone and it looks similar to breadcrumbs. Whisk together the milk,


eggs and vanilla. Stop the mixer and pour this batter into the “breadcrumb” mix. Using a spatula mix thorough- ly by hand until it is smooth. You will notice the consist-


ency is quite runny. This is an American-type batter. There is nothing wrong with using the traditional method but this recipe is very good. Using a small ice-cream scoop careful scoop up the mixture and release it into the cases. Try not to get the batter down the sides of the case but if you do use a small food paintbrush to brush away the spills. If you don’t they will brown up in the oven and spoil your lovely cakes. Cook for 18 minutes, then


turn the tray around and cook for a further 2 minutes. Each oven is different so you may find you need a little more or less cooking time. Leave the cakes in their


tray for about 5 minutes then place on a cooling rack for the temperature to drop enough


SWEET TOOTH: Witches’ hat cup cakes TIPS: Stephen Terry of The Hardwick, Abergavenny


for decorating. Mix together the butter and icing sugar until fluffy, add the vanilla and mix in well. Cover until needed. Use food colours if you wish. You can either cover your


cakes in a buttercream swirl, using a piping bag and noz- zle of choice or cover the cakes with fondant. To cover with fondant: Spoon a teaspoon size of buttercream onto the cooled cupcake. Roll out the fondant icing (you may wish to col- our it first) to approximate 1cm thick. Using a circle cutter just bigger than your cupcake cut a disc out and smooth gently on top of the cupcake. Take a small piece of black icing about the size of a 50p


and roll it into a cone shape. Make the thinner end quite pointy and bend the point a little. Taking another small piece


of black icing roll it out on a non-stick board to approx. 1 pound coin thickness. Using a round cutter cut out a base for the hat. Dab a small amount of edible glue onto the base and place the cone on top. Colour a small amount of


white icing (I use green or orange) and roll out thinner than a pound coin this time. Cut thin ribbon strips and wrap around the base of the hat to cover the join, secur- ing with the glue. Place on top of the fondant dome, again with some more glue.


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