Three complete Halloween party dessert recipes: candy-coated donut ghosts, yellow-orange-white cheesecake cups and crisp piped ghost meringues. Choose one recipe or make the collection. Full quantities and methods come first, with the preparation order below. All times are estimates.
1. Ghost Donut Holes
12 ghosts · estimated 30 minutes
Ingredients
- 12 plain cake donut holes
- 200 g white candy melts
- 25 g semisweet chocolate, chopped
Method
- Line a tray with parchment. Melt the white candy coating according to its package directions, using a dry bowl and utensils.
- Lower each donut hole into the coating with a fork. Lift out, let excess drip off and place on the tray; let a little coating spread around the base like a ghost skirt. Chill for 10 minutes, until firm.
- Melt the semisweet chocolate in 20-second microwave bursts, stirring between bursts. Use a piping bag with a tiny opening to draw two eyes and an open mouth on each ghost. Chill for 5 minutes to set.
Assembly notes
Use plain cake donut holes rather than filled donuts. The white coating is candy melts, prepared according to its packet, while the dark eyes and mouths use the separate semisweet chocolate. Keep the melting bowl and utensils dry.
Let the excess coating drip off the fork before setting each ghost on the lined tray. A small pool at the bottom makes the skirt. Give the white coating its ten-minute chill before adding the face, then allow the final five-minute chill for the dark details. The pin shows four of the twelve ghosts.
2. Candy Corn Cheesecake Cups
6 small cups · estimated 140 minutes
Ingredients
- 225 g cream cheese, softened
- 50 g icing sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup (240 ml) double cream, cold
- 1/8 tsp yellow gel food coloring
- 1/8 tsp orange gel food coloring
- 1 tbsp candy corn, for decorating
Method
- Beat the cream cheese, icing sugar and vanilla until smooth. In a separate bowl, whip the cold cream to firm peaks, then fold it into the cream cheese mixture.
- Divide the mixture equally between three bowls. Color one portion yellow and one orange, leaving the third white.
- Pipe or spoon equal portions into six small clear cups, layering yellow at the bottom, orange in the middle and white on top.
- Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Add a little candy corn just before serving; you may not need all of it. Keep refrigerated until serving.
Assembly notes
These cups use candy-corn colours in the filling: yellow at the bottom, orange in the middle and white at the top. The candy itself is only the finishing decoration. Beat the cream cheese mixture smooth before folding in the separately whipped cold double cream.
Divide the mixture equally into three bowls before colouring. Then divide each colour between six clear cups, keeping the three bands distinct. The two-hour refrigeration step is part of the recipe, not optional preparation time. Keep the cups refrigerated until serving and add the candy corn just before they go out. Three of six cups are pictured.
3. Ghost Meringues
24 small ghosts · estimated 150 minutes
Ingredients
- 90 g egg whites (about 3 large egg whites)
- 180 g caster sugar
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp mini semisweet chocolate chips
Method
- Heat the oven to 100°C / 210°F. Line two baking trays with parchment. In a clean grease-free bowl, whisk egg whites with cream of tartar until soft peaks form.
- Add the sugar one spoonful at a time while whisking, then continue until thick, glossy and stiff, with no gritty sugar felt between your fingers. Whisk in vanilla.
- Pipe 24 small ghost shapes, about 4 cm tall, using a large round piping tip. Bake for 75 minutes, until dry to the touch and easy to lift from the paper. Turn off the oven and let cool inside for 1 hour.
- Melt the chocolate chips gently in short microwave bursts. Dot eyes and little mouths onto the cooled ghosts with a skewer. Let set and store airtight in a dry place.
Assembly notes
The egg whites are measured by weight: ninety grams is the recipe quantity, with three large whites given only as an approximation. Start with a grease-free bowl and add the sugar a spoonful at a time. Continue whisking until the mixture is glossy and stiff and the sugar no longer feels gritty.
Pipe twenty-four small ghosts around four centimetres tall. Their dry finish comes from seventy-five minutes in the low oven followed by one hour cooling inside with the oven off. Decorate only after cooling, using melted mini chocolate chips and a skewer. Let those small chocolate details set before storing airtight in a dry place. Five of the twenty-four ghosts are pictured.
A practical preparation order
Start the meringues first: they need a long low bake and an hour cooling inside the switched-off oven. The cheesecake cups need at least two hours in the refrigerator, so make and layer them while the meringues are in progress. The donut ghosts use shorter refrigerator sets and can be the last decorating project.
Keep the meringues dry and airtight after their chocolate details have set. Keep the cheesecake cups refrigerated until serving; add the candy corn at the last moment. Use the specified candy melts for the donut coating and the separate semisweet chocolate for faces. Each photo is a portion of its written batch, as the labels on the pin show.
