Trick or Treat?

1 batch of Meringue Girls Mixture:

300g caster sugar & 150g egg whites (from about 5 eggs)

Preheat your oven to 200C/gas 7. Line a small baking tray with baking paper, pour in the caster sugar and heat it in the oven for 7 minutes. Heating the sugar helps to create a glossy, stable mixture. Pour the egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk them slowly, allowing small stabilizing bubbles to form, then increase the speed until the egg whites form stiff peaks.

Time the sugar and the egg whites so that the sugar is hot, and the egg whites are stiff, AT THE SAME TIME.

With your mixer on full speed, very slowly spoon the hot sugar into the stiffly beaten egg whites, making sure the mixture comes back up to stiff peaks after each addition of sugar. Once you have added all the sugar, continue to whisk on full speed until you have a smooth, stiff and glossy mixture. You should continue to whisk for at least 5 minutes once all the sugar has been incorporated. Feel a bit of the mixture between your fingers; if you can still feel the gritty sugar, keep whisking at full speed until it has dissolved and the mixture is smooth, stiff and glossy.

To make the pumpkins:

Make a batch on Meringue Girls Mixture (see above)

Take the sugar out of the oven and turn the oven down to 100C/gas 1/2. Line a large flat baking tray – use some of the meringue mixture to dollop on the four corners, and stick your baking paper securely in place.

Working quickly so that your meringue mixture does not deflate, turn a disposable piping bag inside out and use a paintbrush to completely cover the inside of the bag from tip to midway with orange food colouring.

Now turn the piping bag right side out and carefully spoon in your stiff meringue mixture. You need to pack the mixture in tightly – give it a good shake so there are no air bubbles. With sharp scissors, cut a hole the size of a 50p coin in the tip of the piping bag.

Hold the piping bag with two hands, using your lower hand to guide and your top hand to apply pressure, and pipe out little kisses. For the pumpkins, you want to make the bases a bit batter than our standard kisses. You want to pipe with at least a 3cm gap from the tray to the tip of your piping bag to get the perfect shape. The best way to do this is to squeeze your piping bag from the top, let go with your top hand, then pull the bag up to get the perfect little kisses with peaks.

Bake in the oven for 35-45 minutes, or until the bases come off the baking paper intact.

Melt the dark chocolate in a heatproff bowl either in the microwave on a very low setting or over a saucepen of simmering water, stirring frequently. Dab the end of a toothpick into your melted chocolate and draw on spooky pumpkin faces. Leave to dry, then package them up.

To make the ghosts:

Make a batch of Meringue Girls Mixture (see top)

Take the sugar out of the oven and turn the oven down to 100C/gas 1/2. Line a large flat baking tray – use some of the meringue mixture to dollop on the four corners, and stick your baking paper securely in place.

Spoon your stiff meringue mixture into the piping bag. You need to pack the mixture in lightly – give it a good shake so there are no air bubbles. With sharp scissors, cut a hole the size of a 50p coin in the tip of the piping bag.

Hold the piping bag with two hands, using your lower hand to guide and your top hand to apply pressure, and pipe out little kisses or droplets. You want to pipe with at least a 3cm gap from the tray to the top of your piping bag to get the perfect shape. To give your ghosts a rippled belly effect, start piping a kiss as normal but don't lift the piping bag away, Instead, lift the bag only a tiny amout and then lower it back down again as your squeeze one final time. Stop squeezing and lift the bag to give your ghosts a lovely peak.

Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes, or until the bases come off the baking paper intact, then set aside to cool.

While they cool, melt the chocolate in a heatproof bow either in the microwave on a very low setting or over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring frequently. Draw on your scary ghost faces with the melted chocolate, using the handle of your paintbrush or a toothpick. Let them dry, then package them up.

Trick or treat? (Obvs treat!)