Baking ingredients
- 250 g unsalted butter
- 300 g golden caster sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs
- 200 g self-raising flour
- 50 g cocoa
- 1 pinch salt
- 100 g milk chocolate drops
- 125 g butter or margarine
- 55 g caster sugar
- 180 g plain flour – sieved
Decorating ingredients
- 400 g Renshaw Chocolate Frosting
- Chocolate sugar strands
- Apricot jam – boiled
- 250 g Renshaw Grey Ready to Roll Icing
- White writing icing
- 200 g milk chocolate
- 165 g Renshaw Multi-Coloured Hundreds and Thousands
- Halloween jelly sweets
Renshaw products used
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Instructions
Baking Instructions:
Step 1
For the chocolate tray bake, grease and line a 20cm x 34cm baking tray.
Step 2
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4.
Step 3
Gently melt the unsalted butter in a large saucepan. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, before adding the golden caster sugar, vanilla extract and eggs. Beat until smooth with a wooden spoon.
Step 4
Stir in the self-raising flour, cocoa and salt, before adding and mixing through the milk chocolate drops.
Step 5
Bake for 35 minutes until risen and springy to the touch.
Step 6
Leave to cool on a wire rack.
Step 7
For the shortbread, heat the oven to 190°C/375°F/gas mark 5.
Step 8
Cream together the butter and sugar until it's nice and smooth then gradually stir in the flour to form a smooth paste
Step 9
Wrap the shortbread in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Step 10
Gently press the mixture into a baking tray, prick the surface of the mixture with a fork, and bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes until pale-golden brown
Step 11
Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a cooling rack for 30 minutes.
Step 12
Place in the fridge to cool and then cut into rectangles to serve.
Step 13
Briefly knead the dough on a floured surface and roll out to a thickness of 0.5cm.
Step 14
Cut out six gravestone shaped biscuits measuring 5cm x 9cm and six coffin biscuits measuring 4cm x 9cm.
Step 15
Bake on a baking tray lined with baking parchment for 12 to 14 minutes, until golden brown at the edges.
Step 16
Leave to cool on a wire rack.
Decorating Instructions:
Step 17
To decorate the chocolate tray bake, spread the top of the sponge with Renshaw Chocolate Frosting, and sprinkle with chocolate sugar strands.
Step 18
To decorate the gravestone and coffin biscuits, cover each shortbread biscuit with a thin layer of apricot jam.
Step 19
Knead the pack of Renshaw Grey Ready to Roll Icing on a work surface lightly dusted with icing sugar.
Step 20
Place the gravestone biscuits, jam side down, on top of the grey icing and cut around the icing.
Step 21
Using the white writing icing, pipe around the edge of the grey icing on each gravestone biscuit. On the coffin biscuits, write RIP on two biscuits, pipe a cross on two other biscuits and a ghost shape on the final two biscuits.
Step 22
For the chocolate trees, melt the milk chocolate over a bowl of boiling water.
Step 23
Drizzle or pipe the milk chocolate onto silicone paper in the shape of trees. Whilst still warm, sprinkle with Renshaw Multi-Coloured Hundreds and Thousands and leave to set.
Step 24
Once cool, carefully peel the chocolate trees off the silicone and push into the tray bake icing.
Step 25
Push three gravestone biscuits and two coffin biscuits into the chocolate tray bake icing.
Step 26
Place the Halloween jelly sweets around the gravestone and coffin biscuits to decorate.
