Aldi's Banana Ghosts

500g Greek Yogurt

100g Desiccated Coconut

25g Milk Chocolate Chips

4 Large Bananas (firm, not overly ripe)

Method

Peel the bananas and cut in half.

Place on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper.

Push a lolly stick into each piece of banana from the cut end.

Using a teaspoon, cover the bananas in the yogurt.

Sprinkle with the desiccated coconut.

Add two chocolate chips per banana for eyes.

Chill for around one hour, until set.

Aldi's Frankenstein Cake Pops

1 x 280g slab Madeira Cake

200g White Chocolate

2 x tsp Green Food Colouring

4 tsp Milk

50g Dark Chocolate

 

12 pop sticks or lollipop sticks

Method

Trim and cut the madeira cake into 12 oblong shapes.

Carefully put a stick into each.

Put onto a tray lined with some non-stick paper and freeze for 30 minutes.

Break up the white chocolate and put into a heatproof bowl.

Put the bowl over a pan of simmering water and melt the chocolate, make sure the bottom of the pan does not touch the water.

Once the chocolate has melted, add the green food colouring while the bowl is still over the pan of hot water.

Add the milk if the mixture is too thick, then stir well.

Dip each cake pop into the green chocolate to cover (keep them upright as they cool, you can make some holes in a potato and stand them in there while they cool and to decorate).

Allow to cool and harden then melt the dark chocolate the same way as you did the white chocolate.

Dip the tops of each cake pop in the chocolate to give Frank some hair.

Using the end of a toothpick, make some eyes and a stitched mouth. Allow to cool.

Aldi's Strawberrie Ghosts

12 Large Strawberries, rinsed and dried

150g White Chocolate

50g Dark Chocolate

Method

1. Melt the dark chocolate either in a glass bowl over a pan of hot water or in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds to ensure it doesn’t get too hot.

2. Using a spoon, drizzle the melted dark chocolate on greaseproof paper to create drops and lines which can be the ghosts' eyes and mouths.

3. Leave to harden.

4. Melt the white chocolate using the same method and dip the strawberries in, then place on greaseproof paper, dragging them a little to create the ghosts’ tails.

5. Carefully place the eyes and mouth on the ghosts before the chocolate hardens.

6. Leave the strawberries in the fridge until ready to serve.

Aldi's 10 minute spider cookies

1 packet Specially Selected White Chocolate Chunk Cookies

12 Moser Roth Salted Caramel Truffles

150g Dark Chocolate

24 White Chocolate Chips

Method

1. Melt the chocolate either in a glass bowl over a pan of hot water or in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds to ensure it doesn’t get too hot.

2. Pour half of the chocolate into a piping bag and pipe 8 legs onto each cookie.

3. Dip the truffles into the remaining dark chocolate using a fork, then place them onto the cookies as the spiders’ bodies.

4. Place the white chocolate chips onto the spiders as the eyes.

Aldi's crispy pumpkins 🎃

180g Mini Marshmallows

45g Unsalted Butter

3-4 drops Orange Food Colouring

120g Crisp Rice

6 Chocolate Fingers, broken in half

12 Fizzy Rainbow Belts

50g Choceur Dark Chocolate

Method

Microwave the marshmallows and butter in 30 second blasts until melted, then stir in the food colouring.

Add the Crisp Rice and mix until fully coated. Once the mixture is cool enough to handle, form 12 balls, flatten slightly and push the end of a chocolate finger into the top of each as the stalk. 

Next, melt the chocolate and decorate the pumpkins with faces.

Pull the green strip off each Fizzy Rainbow to use as vines on the pumpkins. Chill until ready to serve.

Gingerbread and berry trifle

 

Ingredients

 

130g Caster Sugar

130g Self Raising Flour

130g Perfect for Baking Spread

2 Medium Free Range Eggs

8g Ground Ginger

60g Raspberry Jam

500g Ready to Serve Custard

500g Four Seasons Frozen Mixed Fruits, thawed

70ml Amaretto

300ml Double Cream

15g Flaked Almonds

Pomegranate optional

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4.

Put the flour, caster sugar, spread and ginger into a food processor. Break in the eggs and blitz for a few minutes until you have a smooth batter.

Pour into a lined baking dish and bake for 20 minutes until risen and golden.

Allow to cool (the sponge can be made ahead of time and kept in an airtight tin until ready to make the trifle).

Slice the cake into strips, sandwich them together with some jam and cut into chunks. Put half in the bottom of a glass bowl.

Drizzle over half the Amaretto and top with half the fruits.

Drizzle half the custard over the fruit, then top this with the remaining sponge.

Drizzle the remaining Amaretto over and top with the remaining fruits. Drizzle the custard over the top.

Lightly whip the cream and swirl this over the custard.

Toast the almond flakes – allow to cool and scatter over the top.

For an added festive touch, add pomegranate seeds over the top.

3 cheese puff pastry stars

 

Ingredients

 

1 Sheet Ready Rolled Puff Pastry

30g Cheddar Cheese, grated

20g Emmental Cheese, grated

10g Parmesan, grated

½ tsp Ground Black Pepper

1 Egg, beaten

Black Pepper

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas Mark 4.

Unroll the pastry sheet and cut out 18 star shapes using a cutter.

Brush each star with a little beaten egg and sprinkle a little of each cheese over the tops.

Season with black pepper before baking in the oven for 10-12 minutes.

Serve warm or store in an airtight container and consume within 3 days.

Easy Poultry Gravy

1 medium Carrot

1 Stick Celery

1 medium Onion

50g Butter

½ tsp White Pepper

25ml Dark Soy Sauce

30g Plain Flour

800ml Water

200ml Red or White Wine

1 Chicken Stock Pot

Method

Peel the carrot and onion and chop finely along with the celery.

Melt 30g of butter in a medium saucepan and sauté the vegetables until lightly browned. Add the water, wine, pepper and chicken stock pot.

Bring to the boil, stirring as you cook.

Cover and cook for 25 minutes then liquidise the vegetables.

Melt the remaining butter in another medium saucepan, gradually add the flour and cook for a couple of minutes on a low heat.

Gradually add the stock mixture and cook until thickened.

Add the soy sauce, stir through and serve.

Turkey Cooked with Citrus Butter and Sage and Onion Stuffing

1 Large Fresh British Whole Turkey

Zest of 1 Lemon, finely grated

Zest of 1 Clementine, finely grated

140g Greenvale Salted Butter, softened

8-10 Fresh Sage Leaves

1 Onion, peeled and cut into quarters

 

For the Stuffing:

 

50g Greenvale Salted Butter

1 tbsp Specially Selected Rapeseed Oil

1 large Onion, finely chopped

100g Specially Selected Multigrain Bread, made into crumbs

1 tbsp Sage Leaves, freshly chopped

A little Olive Oil

Method

Pre-heat oven to 180oC/160oC Fan/Gas Mark 4.

 

Prepare the butter by mixing the lemon and clementine zest into the softened butter. Add a few twists of black pepper.

 

To prepare the turkey, using scrubbed hands, gradually release the skin from the meat. To do this start at the neck end (where the flap of skin is) and carefully push your fingers under the flap and gradually loosen the skin, taking care not to break the skin. You should be able to slowly work your way over the entire breast. Next, take small nuggets of citrus butter and work them over the breast meat under the loosened skin. Finally, take individual fresh sage leaves and arrange under the skin, smoothing back the skin as you work. 

 

Removing the wishbone makes carving easier so do this now, if desired, by sliding a small knife along either side of the bone (you should be able to feel an upside down V shape) and then twist out. 

 

Halve the zested lemon and clementine and place in the large cavity along with the onion wedges.

 

To prepare the Stuffing, heat the butter and oil and cook the chopped onion until softened but not coloured. Remove from the heat and stir in the breadcrumbs and chopped sage. Use this mixture to stuff the neck end of the turkey and then tuck the flap of skin under the turkey to enclose the stuffing. Any leftover stuffing can be rolled into balls and cooked separately.

 

Weigh the turkey and calculate the cooking time: 40 mins per kg.

 

Place the turkey in a roasting tin, rub all over with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Cover with a tent of foil. Roast according to the calculated cooking time.

 

Thirty minutes before the end of cooking, remove the foil tent and increase the oven temperature to 200oC/180oC Fan/Gas Mark 6. Continue to cook the turkey for 30 more minutes until golden. To test, insert a skewer into the thickest part of the thigh and the juices should run clear, not pink. If still a little pink, return to the oven and check every 10 minutes until clear.

Pomegranate and Orange Stuffed Turkey

1 medium Fresh Turkey (approx. 4-4.3kg)

300ml Del Rivo Orange Juice with Bits

1 Quixo Chicken Stock Cube, dissolved in 150ml boiling water

Sea Salt and Black Pepper

1 punnet Pomegranate Seeds

Quixo Chicken Gravy Granules Stuffing

2 punnets Pomegranate Seeds

Grated Rind of 2 Oranges

Juice of 1 Orange

100g The Pantry Flaked Almonds

1 Stick Celery, finely chopped

1 Bunch Spring Onions, finely chopped

1 Large Egg

Salt and White Pepper

8 slices White or Brown Bread, torn into pieces

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas Mark 5.

Stuffing: Put the bread, rind, celery, spring onions and almonds into a food processor and pulse until combined.

Add the orange juice, pomegranate seeds and egg, then season with some salt and white pepper.

Pulse again for a minute to mix.

Roasting times: Roast for 20 minutes per kg plus 90 minutes. So, for a 4kg bird the cooking time would be 170 minutes.

Remove the neck and giblets from the turkey.

Stuff the stuffing mixture into the neck of the turkey or place in an ovenproof dish and cook for 20 minutes, towards the end of the turkey cooking time, if preferred.

Put the turkey in a large roasting dish, pour over the chicken stock and orange juice and then season with sea salt and black pepper.

Baste the turkey frequently and loosely cover the breast with foil if getting too brown.

Check the bird is cooked by inserting a metal skewer into the thigh – if the juices run clear then the bird is cooked. If they are still pink, return to the oven and cook for a further 20 minutes then check again.

Allow the bird to rest by covering in tin foil for 20 minutes, to allow the juices to settle.

To make the gravy Skim any fat off the cooking juices and thicken with some gravy granules.

Serve garnished with some pomegranate seeds and fresh orange – great served on a bed of buttered leeks.

Maple Carrots

750g Carrots

50ml Maple Syrup

50g Butter

Sea Salt and Black Pepper

20g Pistachio Nuts, chopped finely

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 200°C/Gas Mark 6.

Peel the carrots, cut into batons and place in a roasting dish.

Melt the butter, combine with the maple syrup and pour over the carrots.

Season with some sea salt and black pepper.

Roast for 40 minutes, turning the carrots a couple of times.

Sprinkle the pistachio nuts over the carrots and serve.