The sweet puff pastry cake made for Halloween is a playful and tasty idea to present at the table during this season. Especially great for kids, but also for those who enjoy preparing themed parties at home and playing with imagination and colors. This dessert is made with homemade puff pastry but, if you don’t have time, the usual ready-made rolls from the supermarket will do. To give it the shape of the typical carved Halloween pumpkin (Jack O’ Lantern), simply cut out parts of the pastry for the eyes, nose and mouth. Have fun carving one of the many expressions and, if you want to be more precise, use a drawing on cardboard or an A4 sheet as a guide. Once you’ve created your spookiest pumpkin, it’s time to assemble the cake. Between the two layers of puff pastry there’s a real filling — in this case, a rich mix of apples and raisins with a thin layer of jam and ladyfingers at the base. What I propose today is just one of many variations. You can, in fact, fill your cake as you like or, depending on the occasion, even with savory ingredients. Below, let’s see together how to prepare this fantastic puff pastry dessert for Halloween:
More recipes for Halloween :
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 6
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Seasonality: Halloween
Ingredients
- 18 oz puff pastry (or 2 ready-to-use rolls)
- 4 apples
- 1/3 cup raisins
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- 3 tbsp granulated sugar
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- as needed apricot jam
- 4.6 oz ladyfingers (savoiardi)
- one egg yolk
- as needed milk
Steps
Prepare the puff pastry as usual, divide it in half and roll it out into two thin discs. Or, unroll two ready-made sheets of puff pastry.
Peel the apples and remove the cores. Slice them very thinly using a mandoline. Put them in a bowl with the granulated sugar and brown sugar and drizzle with the lemon juice to prevent browning.
Also add a teaspoon of ground cinnamon, mix and set aside. Meanwhile, soak the raisins for a few minutes (I first soak them in warm water and then in rum).
Line the bottom and sides of a 9.5–10 inch diameter tart pan with one of the puff pastry sheets. Then arrange the ladyfingers at the base, briefly dipped in milk (they should not be soggy), and spread a thin layer of apricot jam over them.
Thoroughly drain the apples from their liquid. Drain and squeeze the raisins well and add them to the bowl with the apples.
Pour the mixture into the tart pan, level it with the back of a spoon and proceed to decorate with the second puff pastry sheet. Cut out the eyes, nose and mouth of your “scary pumpkin” from this top sheet.
Place the cut pastry over the filling, sealing the edges well. Brush the surface with the beaten egg yolk and sprinkle with brown sugar.
Transfer to a preheated oven at 392°F and bake for 25-30 minutes, until evenly golden. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
The sweet puff pastry cake for Halloween is ready to be served!
Bon appétit — see you next recipe!
If you try this recipe, be sure to tag #ipasticcinidinina on Instagram so I can see it and share it with the community.
