Sunday 27 October 2013

Hallow's End Sweets Halloween Candy Recipes

   This week's WoW Crafting Challenge piece is a bit late, but I got there in the end. I decided to make the four sweets that can be obtained within the game during the Hallow's End world event - those are Soothing Spearmint Candy, Pyroblast Cinnamon Balls, Chewy Fel Taffy and G.N.E.R.D.S. I actually made them all, so they're totally edible! I'm really pleased with the overall outcome, eventhough I did have trouble with the G.N.E.R.D.S - but I shan't waste your time. For full info, read the original blog post on The Wyvern's Tail, or continue reading here for just the recipes.




How to Make Hard Candy


You Will Need: 250ml water; 500g sugar; colouring; flavouring.
Method: Spray a mould or tin with non-stick spray. Mix the water and sugar together in a medium saucepan over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. Add the candy thermometer and bring to a boil and increase the heat, letting it cook to 150C - just under 'Crack'. It will cook fast until about 100C, then it'll slow down to a crawl. It will speed up a lot between 140 and 150, though, so keep your eye on it. Between 140 and 145C, add a dash of colour and flavour, but don't stir it. The boiling mixture will do a remarkable job of this itself. As soon as it hits 150C, take it off the heat and pour it into a tray. Alternatively, if you're using moulds like I was, transfer it into a heat-proof Pyrex measuring jug - it'll stop it cooking and it will give you a more precise pour. Let the mixture set for a few hours and then pop them out of their moulds. I used half-ball moulds, but found that they stuck together just fine. I then rolled them in sherbet because, well, frankly they were a little messy and I wanted to cover it up. To clean the pans and jugs, just soak them in hot water. The sugar mix will dissolve away. Store the sweets in an air-tight container.


How to Make White Chocolate Fudge / Spearmint Fudge


You Will Need: 120g white chocolate; 60g unsalted, cubed butter; 1 cup sugar; 1/3 cup of evaporated milk; colouring; flavour
Method: Line an 8x8 tin with baking paper. Combine broken white chocolate and butter in a bowl and set aside. Mix sugar and evaporated milk in a medium saucepan and heat to a boil, stirring constantly. Stop stirring so often and continue cooking until 113C on a candy thermometer. Once it hits 113, empty it into bowl of butter and chocolate and stir until butter and chocolate has melted, then add a dash of colour and flavour. Mix it together and pour it into the lined tin. Let it set at room temperature for a few hours until firm, then cut it into pieces.


How to Make Taffy with Kool-Aid


You Will Need: 2 1/2 cups sugar; 3 tablespoons cornstarch; 1 cup light corn syrup (light meaning clear in colour); 1/13 cups of water; 2 tablespoons butter; 1 teaspoon salt; packet of Kool-Aid drink mix (standard 6g packet)
Method: Butter a large pan. Stir sugar and cornstarch in a large pan and then add the corn syrup, water, butter and salt and stir over a medium heat until all has melted and combined together. Bring to a boil at medium heat and stop stirring, letting it reach 120C, 'Hard Ball' on a candy thermometer. It heats up really quickly between 115 and 120 so keep a close eye on it the whole time. When it reaches 120C, remove it from the heat immediately and stir in the Kool-Aid. Add additional food colouring if you wish to mix the colour. I used a blue drink mix and added yellow colouring to make it green. Pour the mixture into the buttered tin and leave for about half an hour. When you come back to it it should be touchable, and it should be soft but not runny. Butter a large plate, then butter your hands like crazy. Seriously, treat it like soap. Gather the taffy mix out of the pan with your gross, buttery hands and start pulling it about above the plate. If any drops on the plate, the buttered surface will stop it sticking. Rebutter your hands as often as you feel you need to and keep pulling the taffy about until it stiffens. The colour will change. It was quite dark and looked a bit watery/translucent in the tin, but after pulling it about, it became lighter in colour, and very opaque. When it's been pulled about enough, leave it in strands and cut apart. If you didn't pull it enough, like me, then keep it in the fridge, it will help firm it up. I used waxed paper to wrap all of these sweets.


How to Make Fondant Candy


You Will Need: a packet of fondant; powder colouring; flavouring
Method: For the fondant pieces, just use powdered colour with store-bought fondant, mix until colour is even, then press into moulds. Pre-heat your oven at a low temperature for about 5-10 minutes, then turn it off and put the moulds inside. The dry heat will remove the moisture from the fondant and make it harden a lot faster. Otherwise, you're looking at an overnight setting time, and the possibility of it not setting anyway if your home happens to be humid.





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