1 puff pastry
10 cocktail sausages
10 sliced or whole almonds for the nails
1 egg yolk (for glazing)
Ketchup or tomato sauce (for the bloody effect)
Mustard (optional, to vary the flavors)
1. Preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F).
2. Prepare the fingers: Cut the puff pastry into strips about 2 cm wide and wrap each sausage in a strip of pastry, leaving a small end sticking out to mimic the tip of a finger.
3. Create the witch's nails: Insert a sliced or whole almond at the tip of each sausage (where the free end is). This represents the witch's fingernail.
4. Make joints: Using a knife, make a few cuts on the pastry around the sausage to imitate the creases of a finger joint.
5. Glaze: Brush the wrapped sausages with egg yolk to give them a nice golden color when baked.
6. Baking: Place everything in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until the pastry is golden and fully cooked.
7. Bloody effect: Once the fingers are baked, add ketchup or tomato sauce to the tip of each finger to simulate blood.
1 small pumpkin (or squash)
300 g of ground meat (beef, chicken, or pork, according to your preference)
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
150 g of mushrooms
200 g of grated cheese (Gruyère, cheddar, or a mix of cheeses)
100 g of rice (cooked)
1 tablespoon of olive oil
100 ml of fresh cream
Salt, pepper, herbs de Provence (or spices of your choice)
Optional: a few chili peppers for a "spooky" and spicy touch
1. Preparing the pumpkin:
- Preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F).
Cut the "lid" off the pumpkin and scoop out the seeds and fibers (keep the flesh if you want to add it to the filling).
- Brush the inside of the pumpkin with olive oil, and lightly season with salt and pepper. Bake it (with the lid) for 20 minutes to soften.
2. Preparing the filling:
- In a skillet, sauté the chopped onion and crushed garlic in olive oil until golden.
- Add the ground meat and cook, breaking it up well.
- Stir in the mushrooms chopped into small pieces (and the pumpkin flesh if you saved it).
- Season with salt, pepper, herbs de Provence (or other spices to your taste).
- Cook for a few minutes, then add the cooked rice and mix well.
- Add the fresh cream and half of the grated cheese to make the filling creamy.
3. Stuffing the pumpkin:
- Remove the pre-cooked pumpkin from the oven.
- Fill it with the meat, rice, and mushroom filling.
- Generously sprinkle grated cheese on top.
4. Final baking:
- Return the stuffed pumpkin to the oven for about 25 to 30 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbly, and the pumpkin is tender.
5. Serving:
Serve the whole pumpkin on a Halloween-decorated table.
- You can slice it so that everyone gets a piece of pumpkin and filling.
- For a Halloween touch, you can carve scary eyes and a mouth on the pumpkin before baking it!
200 g of sugar
200 g of flour
4 eggs
1 packet of baking powder
100 g of melted butter
100 ml of milk
1 packet of vanilla sugar or 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Orange food coloring (optional for a Halloween touch)
1. Preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F).
2. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs with the sugar and vanilla sugar until you get a frothy mixture.
3. Then add the melted butter and milk, and mix well.
4. Incorporate the flour and baking powder, and mix until the batter is smooth. You can add a few drops of orange food coloring for a Halloween touch.
5. Pour the batter into a rectangular mold (greased and floured if necessary) and bake for about 25-30 minutes.
6. Check the doneness with a knife: the blade should come out clean.
7. Let it cool completely before decorating.
Rectangular cookies (like Petit Beurre or speculoos) to make tombstones
Gummy worms or spider-shaped candies
Cocoa powder or crushed chocolate cookies to mimic dirt
Whipped cream or icing (chocolate, vanilla, or colored)
Food markers or melted chocolate for writing on the cookies
Optional: a bit of strawberry jam for a "bloody" effect
1. Cover the top of the cake with whipped cream or icing (chocolate for a earthy effect, or other flavors according to your preferences).
2. Crumble chocolate cookies or sprinkle cocoa powder to mimic dirt.
3. Take rectangular cookies and write little inscriptions on them with a food marker or melted chocolate to turn them into tombstones.
4. Place the "tombstone" cookies on the cake, like in a graveyard.
5. Add gummy worms, spider candies, or other spooky creatures around the tombstones.
6. You can also add touches of strawberry jam to simulate blood.