Use dessert fillings to
fill customers with
the right kind of fear this Halloween
Baking has long been associated with Halloween in the UK, dating back to medieval soul cakes. The small round spiced cakes were given out to “soulers,” the medieval equivalent of Trick-or-Treaters, to commemorate the dead following Christian tradition.
In 2021, we have far more options for creating the perfect haunted bake, and Zeelandia UK is encouraging craft and wholesale bakers to utilise different fillings to unleash their spooky side this Halloween.
Zeelandia UK, which is renowned for providing the highest quality bakery ingredients to the industrial, craft and in-store bakery sectors, acquired Flemings in 2017 - a leading UK producer of fillings including mincemeat, jams, jellies, and caramel for use in industrial baking.
For Flemings Zeelandia Production Manager John Madden, the secret to transforming a regular dessert into a haunted sensation is all in the filling.
John said: “At Zeelandia we work with our clients to create flavours profiles that inspire innovation, and there’s no better time to stand out from the crowd than Halloween. Fillings lend themselves perfectly to a bold Halloween decoration, from raspberry jam for blood to vanilla icing for cobwebs.”
As part of their advice, Zeelandia have suggested different ways to utilise fillings for added taste and scare factor.
Phantom Fine cream – Zeelandia’s latest ready-to-use water-based filling has the look, smell, and touch of artisan custard cream. Experiment with piping the colourful vanilla, real chocolate, dairy and raspberry flavours for different effects – how about piping a blob of fresh dairy with a face piped on in chocolate to make a little ghost?
Caramel, a spooky classic – Zeelandia caramels are versatile with a soft, smooth and creamy texture. Why not branch out from the traditional Halloween caramel apple, and make a delicious caramel apple tart?
Gory Jams – Take inspiration from the Sweet Bun Monster and use raspberry jam to create horrifyingly scrumptious blood and gore cakes! You could also dot jam as red eyes for a spider or vampire character.
Cauldron Crepa – This water-based filling’s higher solids content lends itself well to injecting. Available in vanilla, chocolate, crema catalana and yoghurt, the crema catalana flavour is recommended for a pumpkin-inspired centre surprise!
Opened in 2019, Zeelandia’s Colchester Technical Centre is used as a base to develop new concepts, utilising the innovation at the heart of Zeelandia’s mission.
The site’s customer marketing suite allows Zeelandia to work with customers to develop and test innovative new bakery ideas together and explore trends from across the globe.
The team have created some “Sweet Bun Monsters” using Zeelandia caramels and jams in the hopes they will spark inspiration in bakers.
