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Halloween-inspired treats for all the family

Halloween isn't only for the kids - we serve up some sweet and savoury treats, all with a spooky twist, that will appeal as much to grown ups as the children.

Spicy Ghost Pizza
This pizza takes just minutes to prepare and is topped with glossy red chilli slices. Leave off the chilli if you're serving this to children, and scatter with olive slices instead.

Ingredients
1 x 210g garlic and parsley flatbread
1 teaspoon sundried tomato pesto
100g mozzarella cheese
half a small red chilli, sliced
1 black pitted olive

Method
Lay the flatbread out on a baking tray and preheat the oven to 220ºC. Spread the pesto over the flatbread (don't be tempted to use any more than 1 teaspoon) and grate the mozzarella. Scatter the grated mozzarella in a thin layer over the pizza, forming the shape of a ghost. Scatter the chilli slices around the ghost shape and make the ghost's face by slicing the olive into three - arrange two for the eyes and one for the mouth. Bake for 10 minutes, until the mozzarella has melted and serve straight away.

Spooky Halloween Jellies
These are a slightly more grown-up version of the kids' jellies that contain sweetie worms and jelly spiders. They are incredibly simple to make and the strawberry syrup around the glass is a ghoulish (but tasty) touch.

Ingredients
135g pack lime jelly cubes
50ml single cream
strawberry syrup (look in the ice cream aisle of the supermarket)

Method
Make up the jelly as per the instructions on the pack and pour the mixture into six small wine goblets. Leave to set in the fridge overnight. Just before serving, pour a thin layer of cream onto each of the jellies. Finally, squeeze a line of strawberry syrup around the rim of the glass, letting it drip down in places. Serve straight away.

Double cheese monster burgers
Both children and adults love these burgers, with a monster Halloween twist. We've used slightly spicy peppadew peppers stuffed with cheese to make the eyes, and you can use whatever burgers you prefer. Try them with vegetarian burgers, and use giant stuffed olives instead of the peppers if you prefer.

Ingredients:
(per burger)
1 sesame seed burger bun
2 small burgers
1 slice of American-style cheese
2 leaves from a little gem lettuce
mayonnaise and ketchup
1 pitted black olive
1 stuffed peppadew pepper from a jar

Method:
Heat the burgers in a 180ºC oven or medium grill for 15-18 minutes or until fully cooked. Meanwhile, split the burger bun in half and spread the bottom with ketchup and the top with mayonnaise. Place one cooked burger on the bottom half of the bun, top with the cheese slice and arrange so one of the corners is placed at the front, to look like a tongue. Place the other burger on top of the cheese and then slice the lettuce and arrange on top. Replace the other half of the bun. Finally, cut the peppadew pepper in half and slice the black olive. Push a slice of black olive into each of the cut sides of the cheese-stuffed pepper and then arrange in the burger to look like spooky eyes.

Pumpkin pie with crunchy pecan topping
Halloween means pumpkins, and you'll find the canned variety in some supermarkets. This pumpkin pie is spiced with cinnamon and topped with crunchy pecans. If you're worried about serving the nuts to young children, you can always leave the topping off. Serve with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream or a drizzle of maple syrup.

Ingredients
9" ready-made sweet pastry case
425g can pumpkin
3 eggs
100ml whipping cream
50g light brown sugar
quarter teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
quarter teaspoon salt

For the topping:
100g pecan nuts, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
half teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of salt

Method
Heat the oven to 180ºC and place the pastry case onto a baking tray. In a bowl, mix together the pumpkin, eggs, whipping cream, sugar, vanilla extract and the cinnamon. Whisk until smooth and pour into the pastry case. Bake for 35 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the topping. Mix the pecans, sugar, cinnamon and salt in a bowl. When the pie has had its 35 minutes, sprinkle the nut mixture on top and return to the oven for another 10 minutes. Take out and leave to cool, before cutting into wedges and serving with whipped cream or maple syrup.

What will you be serving up this Halloween?