How To: Carve ghost lanterns and bake pumpkin pie

Pumpkin Crafting, the latest book from Brampton’s Jen Rich, is filled not only with cool and clever craft projects, but also with sweet and savoury recipes. Velvet gets crafting and cooking. . .

Topsy-Turvy Ghosts

By turning a pumpkin on its head, you have an instant ghostly form that just needs a lick of white paint and some minimal carved features. Simple yet effective, these ghosts take relatively little time to prepare and look great grouped together or dotted outside in unexpected places. Look for pale-skinned pumpkin varieties that won’t even need painting.

Tools:

Marker pen

Sharp knife

Scoop or spoon

Carving tools

White paint and paintbrush

Black paint (optional)

What to do:

1 Choose a pumpkin that is relatively tall and narrow, rather than a wide, flat one; you want them to resemble a ghostly shape once turned upside down. A white pumpkin would be perfect, but any colour will work if you paint the skin.

2 Turn the pumpkin upside down and draw guidelines for the zigzag effect at the bottom of the ghostly form. Ensure that these are wide and level enough to keep the ghost stable. Use a sharp knife to carve along the zigzag and set aside the lid.

3 Scoop out all of the seeds and hollow out the insides. Continue to scoop the flesh from the inside of the pumpkin until it is about 1-1.5cm thick.

4 Draw a face onto the pumpkin with a marker, using the photo here as inspiration. Start with a round shape for the mouth and then place two eyes above. Carve the features, cutting all the way through.

5 Paint the entire surface of the pumpkin with white paint. Let it dry and add another layer of paint if necessary - the whiter the spookier. If you prefer not to carve your pumpkin, you can simply paint the face shapes onto the white with black paint.

6 Stand the pumpkin on its zigzag base to display it, placing a candle or LED lights inside to add a glow after dark.

Tip: This project is ideal for young children who can paint the surface and add their own designs with black paint or marker pens rather than carving.

Pumpkin Pie with Meringue Topping

Serves: 6

Prep time: 30 minutes, plus cooling

Cooking time: 1 hour 5 minutes, plus cooling

This recipe will show you how to make your pumpkin pie filling from scratch, as well as adding a luxurious meringue topping for an extra special finish.

Ingredients:

470g sweet shortcrust pastry

500g pumpkin, peeled, seeded and diced

150ml double cream

75g light muscovado sugar

2 tbsps honey

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp mixed spice

1 egg

3 egg yolks

For the meringue:

3 egg whites

50g light muscovado sugar

50g caster sugar

½ tsp ground ginger

Method:

1 Cook the pumpkin for 12-15 minutes in a pan of boiling water, until tender. Drain and set aside to cool completely. Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan), Gas Mark 4.

2 Grease a 20cm loose-bottomed tart pan, line with the shortcrust pastry and trim. Line with baking parchment and fill with baking beans. Bake for 15 minutes, remove the paper and beans and bake for another 10 minutes.

3 Blitz the cooled pumpkin in a food processor until smooth. Add the cream, sugar, honey and spices, then the whole egg and egg yolks. Pour the mix into the pie case, level the surface, then bake for 40 minutes, or until the filling is just firm.

4 To make the topping, whisk the egg whites until you have stiff peaks, then gradually whisk in the sugars, a teaspoonful at a time, until all the sugar has been added. Add the ginger and whisk for a minute or two more until very thick and glossy. Spoon over the hot pie and swirl with the back of a spoon.

5 Bake for another 15 minutes until lightly browned and the meringue is crisp. Leave to cool for 30 minutes, then serve.

Pumpkin Crafting: Decorating Projects and Seasonal Recipes by Jen Rich is out now, priced £12.99. For your chance to win a copy, click HERE.