This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Nottingham chapter.

Customizing your wardrobe to find the best costume doesn’t have to be the only fun aspect of Halloween – why not also customize your food? Nothing too complex; just some satisfyingly spooky-looking treats a student could easily whip up in a free evening to impress their housemates and even liven up a party! Unless you really want to gross out everyone with an insane centrepiece like this brain cake…

Okay, I’ll stop creeping you out. Give your sweet treats for the rest of October a terrifying twist with these gruesome ideas!

Creepy cupcakes

The cupcake can be the star of the show, because you can put any design on top with enough imagination. From spiders with liquorice legs (don’t worry, you don’t have to eat the liquorice…) to bloody, gouged out eyes staring into your soul, with a look that roughly translates to “are you sure you should be eating another cupcake?”, the (under)world is your oyster. Oh, and yes. Yes I should.

Spider cupcake recipe: http://damndelicious.net/2013/10/22/halloween-spider-cupcakes/

Bloody Eye Cupcake recipe: https://www.thecountrychiccottage.net/bloody-eye-cupcakes

Bloodcurdling biscuits

Sorry, but if you haven’t already noticed, Halloween is the perfect time to whip out some awful alliteration. (I didn’t even mean it that time…)

Biscuits are a fabulous way to impress (and distract) everyone with some flawless icing designs in order to get away with your sub-par baking skills. If you’re like me, you may watch Bake Off and complain about how everyone’s getting it COMPLETELY WRONG yet the only reason you know that it’s wrong is because you just listened to Paul and Prue talking about how it should look two minutes earlier. In short, most of us probably aren’t as good as we imagine we are.

But practice makes perfect! Why not give your gingerbread men a scary makeover or just straight up turn them into skeletons instead? All the while you’re honing your gingerbread-making abilities in time for Christmas!

Gingerbread Zombie Biscuit recipe: https://www.netmums.com/recipes/gingerbread-zombie-biscuits

Terrifyingly tasty toffee apples

Now, I did say that I would include ideas that aren’t too complex, and you may be thinking “toffee is way too difficult to get right!” and yes, that can be true. However, the recipe below gives good instructions on how to test your toffee to ensure it’s the right temperature (even if you don’t own a sugar thermometer), and it’s actually one of the simplest and fastest recipes out there if you’re up to the challenge.

Plus, is it really Autumn if you’re not enjoying delicious toffee apples with friends? And even better, without the inflated prices! Even after Halloween it gets us excited for Bonfire Night and Christmas – and of course Nottingham Winter Wonderland in Market Square! The churros stand there is also amazing – but I’d be inclined to leave making that particular treat to them (unless you want to invest in a deep-fryer).

Homemade Toffee Apples recipe: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/13599/homemade-toffee-apples

I’ve only mentioned some of the limitless Halloween treats you can try at home; there are thousands of recipes online for cakes, chocolate, jelly, ice cream… the list goes on.

By all means, use these ideas to get you started – get your creativity flowing and share the horror!

And if you’re not a fan of making your treats from scratch, look out for these gems in supermarkets!

12 Gruesome Gooey Cupcakes, Tesco, £6

Mr Kipling 6 Toffee Terror Whirls, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Iceland, £1

Halloween Marshmallows 275g, Lidl, 99p

Petrifying Pumpkin Smash Cake, Asda, £10

Happy Halloween and happy snacking!

Edited by Niamh Perry

Sources:

http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/gingerbread-skeletons/9de541ec-b534-4bca-a9ba-22b21116c827

http://www.sherbakes.com/2016/10/step-by-step-tutorial-on-how-to-make.html

http://damndelicious.net/2013/10/22/halloween-spider-cupcakes/