Halloween entertaining |

Tag Archives: Halloween entertaining

by kkregel | October 12, 2011 · 8:32 am

Chocolate Blackberry Witch Stockings

For our spooky Halloween dessert from our entertaining guest blog over at Eat Wisconsin Cheese blog, we made these mini chocolate brownie stacks, inspired by striped witch stockings. The whimsical presentation and perfect combination of rich chocolate, creamy mascarpone and tangy berry jam makes for a dessert that will leave guests, ahem, spellbound.

As a bonus, you can use the extra brownie bits leftover from your circle cutouts to top ice cream sundaes!

Chocolate Blackberry Witch Stockings
1 box German chocolate cake mix
½ C butter, melted
1/3 C milk
4 oz mascarpone cheese
2 pints blackberries and/or raspberries (or premade preserves*)
¼ C sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp cornstarch
1 C chocolate chips*

Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl, whisk together cake mix, melted butter and milk until batter is thick but fully moistened. Press batter into a 13×9 cake pan or spread across a cookie sheet. Top with chocolate chips if you are using them. Bake for 20-23 minutes. Cool completely.

Meanwhile, add berries to a small sauce pan and smash them with a potato masher. Heat berries over medium heat and whisk in sugar, lemon juice and cornstarch. Continue cooking, whisking occasionally, for about 20-25 minutes until jam has reduced by about 1/3 and is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and cool completely in the refrigerator.

Use a small cookie or biscuit cutter (preferable 1 ½” diameter) to cut circles from the brownie. Depending on the thickness of your brownie, slice each circle in half horizontally (note: if your brownie is quite thin you can skip this step). Lay out the bottom halves and top halves separately on a cutting board. Spread a thin layer of mascarpone and a small dollop of blackberry preserves on the bottom halves. Next, carefully stack one layered bottom half on top of another and complete your stocking by topping off with a top half. Continue repeating until you have used all your slices.

*optional: Save time by substituting pre-made blackberry preserves for the homemade preserves. Chocolate chips are optional as well.

Cauldron Beer Cheese Fondue

Double, double toil and trouble
Fire burn and cauldron bubble
Easy crafts to make and be seen
Whip up some treats, it’s Halloween!

Halloween is such a fun time of the year, so why not dress up your party like you would yourself? We put together a Double Double Toil and Trouble witch-themed Halloween party for our stint as featured bloggers for the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board’s Halloween Entertaining segment. We used just a few simple store-bought and/or DIY props and paired them with a few delicious fall treats featuring Wisconsin cheeses.

We kicked off our party with a creamy Beer Cheese Fondue, served in a cauldron-like casserole dish with thin Italian breadsticks and sliced baguettes for dipping.

Cauldron Beer Cheese Fondue
3 Tbsp butter
1 C milk
2 Tbsp flour
2/3 C Oktoberfest or amber beer
1 1/2 C Smoked Gouda, shredded
1 1/2 C Sharp Cheddar, shredded
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp Worchestershire
1/4 – 1/2 tsp cayenne, to taste
salt & pepper, to taste

In a large sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour to thicken, taking care not to burn, and then gradually whisk in milk until mixture is semi-thick and smooth. Continue whisking while adding beer. Next, gradually whisk in cheeses allowing each addition of cheese to melt before adding the next. Once cheese is melted, whisk in mustard, Worchestershire and cayenne. Add salt and pepper to taste to bring out flavors.

Serve warm with thin Italian breadsticks and slices of French baguette for dipping. Stick breadsticks into the sliced bread to create “broomsticks”.