Recipes For Halloween Food
Source: Google.com.pk
Halloween is known and loved today as a time to wear costumes, go door to door asking for candy, and watch monster movies. But the holiday's origins go back centuries to the enactment of All Saints' Day, a Christian holiday. Along the way, it has also picked up traditions from Samhain, a Celtic festival celebrating the start of winter.
All Saints' Day
The name "Halloween" began as "All Hallows Eve." This became "All Hallow E'en," leading to "Hallowe'en," or Halloween. It was the evening before All Hallows Day, which was later called All Saints' Day. (In this case, "hallows" meant "saints.")
All Saints' Day, a feast for all martyrs and saints, was celebrated on November 1st for the first time during the 8th century, but customs varied regarding its observance. This date was officially established for all Catholic churches in 837 by Pope Gregory IV.
Starting in the 10th century, this feast was the eve of All Souls' Day, which soon came to overshadow it.
All Souls' Day
Taking place on November 2, All Souls' Day was a day of prayer for the dead. It was believed that the prayers of those still living could comfort dead souls, or elevate them from Purgatory. The observances began the previous evening with prayers and the ringing of church bells.
A more likely explanation may be that the turn of autumn—with the harvest finished, the days getting colder, the nights getting longer, and everybody getting ready to face the winter—naturally leads to thoughts of death and the unknowable. Much as many different cultures mark the start of spring with light-hearted holidays and celebrations of fertility and renewal, autumn may attract holidays in which people focus on the other side of the life cycle.
On the other hand, it hardly matters whether the Christian and pagan holidays were originally related to one another; the two have been intermingled in the popular imagination for a long time.
Coming to America
The modern observances of Halloween are more recent than one might expect. The holiday had a rebirth in North America between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, probably through an influx of Irish immigrants. They brought with them traditions that combined features of the Celtic and Christian holidays, and celebrated with feasting, divinations, and mischief making.
Jack-o'-lanterns and trick-or-treating in costume both became Halloween fixtures in North America, and have since been exported back to Europe.
For more on modern Halloween observances, see Halloween Traditions.
Backlash
There has been a backlash against Halloween by several groups in recent years. Some Christians object to its allegedly pagan origins, or to what they see as its celebration of witches and other "evil powers." Some neo-pagans object to the alleged Christian takeover of their holiday, or to what they see as a distorted, negative view of witches and magic. And some simply don't think it's safe for children to go out after dark taking candy from strangers. (The last of those groups often proposes safer celebrations.)
Terrify and delight this Halloween with a dramatic chocolate red velvet cake, sandwiched with an easy cream cheese frosting
Ingredients
For the red velvet cake
175g soft butter, plus extra for greasing
225g white caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tbsp red food colouring paste (we used Christmas red from Sugarflair)
200g plain flour
50g cocoa powder (we used Green & Black's)
1½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
150g pot low-fat plain yogurt, loosened with 2 tbsp milk
For the fingers and frosting
about 3 x 114g boxes white chocolate fingers (we found them in Tesco)
140g icing sugar
2 tsp milk
small blob of red food colouring paste
100g soft butter
300g full-fat cream cheese, fridge cold (we used Philadelphia as it has the firmest texture)
zest 1 orange (optional)
Method
Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. For the cake, grease 2 x 20cm sandwich tins and line the bases with baking parchment. Cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla, then add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each egg, until fluffy and light. Beat in the colouring.
Mix the dry ingredients for the cake, and sift half onto the creamed mix. Fold
in with a spatula, followed by half of the thinned yogurt. Repeat, then spoon the smooth batter into the tins and level.
Bake for 25 mins or until risen and springy when pressed lightly in the centre. Cool for 10 mins, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.
For the fingers, line a baking tray with parchment. Cut one end from each chocolate finger. Mix 50g icing sugar, the milk and a small blob of colouring to make a thick, red icing. The icing needs to be thick to stay put; add a little more sugar if you need to. Dip the severed biscuit ends into the icing, let the excess drip off, then paint a red fingernail on the other end, using a small paintbrush. Leave to dry on the parchment.
For the frosting, use an electric mixer to beat the butter well until very smooth, then beat in the cream cheese and the zest (if using) until even. Sift in the remaining icing sugar, then fold it into the cheese mixture using a spatula until smooth. Don’t overbeat. Chill until needed.
Sandwich and cover the top and sides
of the cake with the frosting – you will only need a thin layer on the sides of the cake to stick on the chocolate fingers. Stand the severed fingers around the cake in a neat collar, pressing them lightly into the frosting. You’ll have a few left over to put on the top. Keep the cake in the fridge but enjoy it at room temperature.
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Recipes For Halloween Food Recipes for Halloween Cupcakes Cookies Punch Cakes with Pictures Party Food Jello Shots Cake Party Deviled Eggs Photos
Recipes For Halloween Food Recipes for Halloween Cupcakes Cookies Punch Cakes with Pictures Party Food Jello Shots Cake Party Deviled Eggs Photos
Recipes For Halloween Food Recipes for Halloween Cupcakes Cookies Punch Cakes with Pictures Party Food Jello Shots Cake Party Deviled Eggs Photos
Recipes For Halloween Food Recipes for Halloween Cupcakes Cookies Punch Cakes with Pictures Party Food Jello Shots Cake Party Deviled Eggs Photos
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