3 homemade Halloween treats using coffee
Planning a ghoulish yet gourmet Halloween gathering? Try these grown-up, sweet treat recipes made with deliciously rich coffee
Image: Lavazza
Trick or treating is hungry work and there’s nothing better than a Halloween-inspired treat to come home to. Whether you’re hosting a Halloween party, or just fancy some ghoulish homemade treats, Lavazza has collaborated with celebrated pastry chef Loretta Fanella to create some spooktacular recipes for the scariest season of the year, all featuring either its popular Qualità Oro or Qualità Rossa range as a key ingredient.
Chestnut and chocolate cake balls
This spookily silky chocolate mousse and coffee-caramel filled pastry entitled ‘chestnut gold’ are similar to a profiterole and make a great elevenses or mid-afternoon treat to revive tired souls.
Image: Lavazza
Ingredients
For the chocolate mousse
- 225g milk
- 45g egg yolk
- 22g sugar
- 1 pinch salt
- 3g gelatine + 15g water to soak
- 425g dark chocolate
- 430g whipped cream
For the chestnut cake
- 260g egg yolks
- 250g egg whites
- 250g sugar
- 225g sweet chestnut flour
- 2.5g salt
- 250g butter
- 15g baking powder
For the caramel
- 100g caster sugar
- 50g butter
- 80g fresh cream
- 10g powdered Qualità Oro or Qualità Rossa coffee
- 2g salt
For decoration
- Edible gold glitter or spray
Method
- Start by making the chocolate mousse by mixing the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl.
- Boil the milk in a small saucepan and add the egg mix.
- Stir with a whisk, add the salt and heat to 85° C, then remove from the heat. You will now have a hot custard cream.
- Add the chocolate and rehydrated gelatine to the hot custard cream; emulsify for a few minutes and, when the mix reaches 38° C, add the whipped cream.
- Now use a pastry bag to fill the silicone moulds and put in the freezer.
- To make the cake, combine all the cake ingredients, mix all the ingredients in a mixer and cook in a plum cake tin in an oven heated to 170° C for around 25 minutes. Leave to cool and put in the fridge. Cut into rectangles.
- To make the caramel, caramelise the sugar to a deep golden colour, then add the softened butter, mix well and add the cream at 32° C. Bring to the boil and add the salt. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.
- Assemble the chestnut gold cakes by sandwiching the cake slices with caramel and chocolate mousse and dust with edible gold glitter or spray.
Pumpkin sandwich biscuits
Loretta’s ‘Waiting for Midnight’ biscuits are filled with a naughty-but-nice chocolate ganache mixed with chesnut – your guests will never know the sorcery behind this secret ingredient!
Image: Lavazza
Ingredients
For the almond shortbread
- 300g butter
- 200g sugar
- 75g egg yolk
- 250g plain flour
- 100g cornflour
- 100g almond flour
- 0.5g vanilla (or use equivalent in vanilla extract)
- 10g ground Qualità Oro or Qualità Rossa coffee
For the chestnut ganache
- 250g milk chocolate
- 200g fresh cream
- 65g boiled sweet chestnuts (peeled)
- 1g salt
Method
- Start by making the biscuits. In the mixer, use the paddle to work the soft butter with the sugar and vanilla and then add the egg yolks and lastly the flours sieved with the vanilla and ground coffee. Work fast and pour the mix into a pastry bag and fill the mould. Cook at 170° C for around 10 minutes.
- To make the ganache, heat the cream and pour it over the chocolate. Leave for a couple of minutes, add the chestnuts and work with a hand blender for 3 minutes or until the cream is silky smooth. Leave for at least 12 hours.
- To assemble, sandwich the ganache between two pieces of shortbread.
Cubic white chocolate and pumpkin coffee dunkers
Put down the biscotti and instead, nail these dashing dunkers. Just like bobbing for apples, these macaron-coated cubes take a deep dive into your piping-hot brew.
Image: Lavazza
Ingredients
For the coffee cream
- 340g cream
- 112g milk
- 135g egg yolks
- 90g caster sugar
- 200g milk chocolate
- 30g Lavazza Qualità Oro or Qualità Rossa coffee (made in the ristretto manner)
- 3.5g gelatine
For the candied pumpkin
- 200g fresh pumpkin
- 500g water
- 500g sugar
For the mascarpone cream
- 250g cream
- 60g egg yolk
- 40g sugar
- 1 pinch salt
- 6g gelatine
- 250g mascarpone
For the cubes
- 50g crushed macarons
For the orange chocolate coating
- 200g white chocolate
- 1g orange food colouring for chocolate
To decorate
- Edible bronze lustre spray (optional)
Method
- Start by making the coffee cream by cooking the egg yolks with the sugar, milk and cream for 10 minutes in a double saucepan. Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate and coffee. Blend in a mixer and keep in the fridge at 4°C. As soon as it solidifies, use a pastry bag to put blobs on the bottom of the cube mould and place in the freezer.
- Next, make the candied pumpkin by gently boil the water and sugar for a couple of minutes. Into the resulting syrup put the pumpkin cut into small squares and cook slowly for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave to cool in the saucepan. The next day, remove from the syrup and leave to drain off the excess sugar and dry.
- To make the mascarpone cream, cook the yolks, sugar, salt and cream in a double saucepan at 80° C. Remove from the heat and add the gelatine. Mix well and add the mascarpone. Leave in the fridge for 24 hours and whip in a mixer for around 5 minutes.
- Top up the cube mould containing the coffee cream blobs with the mascarpone cream, alternating with bits of candied pumpkin and macaroon. Put in the freezer.
- Finally, to create the chocolate orange coating, melt the chocolate and tinge with the orange colouring. Mix well for a couple of minutes. Quickly dip each still frozen cube of cream in the coating.
- To decorate, spray the cubes with the edible spray, if using.
Will you be hosting a party this Halloween? Tweet your culinary creations to @goodhomesmag, tag us in your Instagram posts, using the hashtag #thisgoodhome for your chance to be featured on our Instagram feed or share your feedback on our Facebook page.