These are a real centrepiece of any Halloween party. As good for serving around drinks as they are for a kids Halloween party. Yes, you have maybe seen them before. If you’re on Pinterest, we’re absolutely certain you have.
If you’ve googled ‘Halloween food ideas’, you most definitely have see this before. The idea came from a submission on Martha Stewart’s website, for which the recipe is brilliant – and includes mulled cider! Our version takes a slightly different route. In that one, the apples are baked and mega shrivelled whilst lots of attention is given to how they’re presented; we say take the express route and follow our lead!
The apples don’t have to be perfect, lord knows our attempts at carving are nothing to write home about. But this captures the true fun and creative spirit of Halloween. Get your hands dirty and challenge yourself!
Shrunken Head Punch
- 4-6 cooking apples
- Lemon or lime juice. Fresh is best, but bottled if you must
- 1l bottle of cola
- food colouring (of your choice)
Method
The prep is the most laborious portion of this recipe, the rest is sheer fun in an almost childlike fashion. Peel the apples and half them – removing the seeds – then immediately douse all the bare halves in the citrus juice to stop quick discolouration.
If possible, keep the halves in the juice until you begin to carve each individually. When carving, let your imagination run wild. Use a small paring knife and make small incisions that you can then build upon and bore out, rather than hacking straight into the apples.
After finishing each carved half, douse again in the juice to ensure that the freshly borne bits don’t discolour. When each apple half is carved and complete, set aside and get a big glass bowl. Pour in all of the cola (or you could use concentrated squash, alcoholic cocktail or even a mocktail). You can then slightly tinge with food dyes and colourings if you like, which gives an even more menacing mirk to the shrunken head bath.
Pop the heads all in and – hey, presto! – they all float! Light some candles around them, turn the lights off and prepare to be seriously spooked!
These are fantastic served in the centre of the table, maybe served beside our Bloody Beetroot Brownies or our Guacamouldy with terrifying tortillas? Find lots more of our Halloween recipes in our menacing Halloween master post.
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