Unlock a Wickes Kitchen

Hallowe'en pancakes & bat's blood fizz

Pumpkin pancakes, perfect for the spooky season. Kids will love helping make these delicious pancakes in all different shapes and sizes. Why not try a ghost or a bat shape pancake? And wash the whole thing down with a really simple but fun mocktail.

Ingredients: Home-made pumpkin purée

  • 1 large cooking pumpkin

If you want to make your own pumpkin purée - buy a cooking pumpkin, peel it, deseed it and cut it into thumb-sized chunks.

Hob method: put the pumpkin pieces into a small saucepan, cover with water and simmer until the pumpkin is soft.

Microwave method: put the pumpkin chunks into a large microwaveable bowl, add 1 tbsp water, cover the bowl tightly with clingfilm and microwave at around 800-900W for about 6-8 minutes or until the pumpkin is very soft.

Drain the pumpkin in a sieve, let it cool, then blitz it in a food processor until it is puréed (you can put it in a freezer bag and freeze it in portions for other bakes if you like).

Ingredients: Pumpkin pancakes

  • 300g pumpkin purée (canned or home-made)
  • 3 medium eggs
  • 3 tbsp golden caster sugar
  • 30g melted butter
  • 150ml buttermilk
  • 220g plain flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 2 tsp allspice
  • ½ tsp salt

When you are ready to make the pancake batter, put the pumpkin purée in a food processor with all the other ingredients and blitz until you have a smooth thick batter that will pour slowly from the jug.

You can also put the batter into a piping bag for more control when making the pumpkin shape in the frying pan.

Set a large frying pan to medium heat and add a knob of butter and a dash of oil.

When the butter and oil has melted, pour a fairly large pumpkin-shaped pancake onto the frying pan base.

When the pancake has set at the edges, make some rough eye holes and a fairly large mouth in the batter.

When bubbles appear at the surface, the pancake can be flipped over to cook the other side.

Once cooked, place the pancake on a serving plate, add some fruit coulis in the eye holes and spread the mixture of fruit and coulis from the mouth onto the plate as if the pumpkin has been sick!

Ingredients: Fruit gunk (pumpkin puke!)

  • 200g fresh strawberries, cut into small chunks
  • Handful of pomegranate seeds
  • 150g raspberry or mango & passionfruit coulis (shop-bought)

Gently warm the coulis in a small saucepan on a low heat on the hob.

When you are ready to serve, gently mix the chopped fruit into the coulis and spread the mixture of fruit and coulis from the mouth onto the plate, as if the pumpkin has been sick!

Ingredients: Bat's blood fizz

  • Lemonade, Sprite or elderflower pressé
  • Raspberry coulis (shop-bought)
  • Ice

Add some ice to a tall glass or tumbler.

Pour in the carbonated drink of your choice. Clear drinks like lemonade work best!

Fill a 30ml syringe (available online) with the raspberry coulis and place into the glass.

Inject the 'bat's blood' into the drink and watch it swirl around.

Mix the drink fully, if you want to, or enjoy as it is.

If you don't want to use a syringe, put the raspberry coulis into a shot glass and add that to the drink.