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1
Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.
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2
Sift all the dry ingredients into a bowl and mix together.
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3
Melt chocolate and butter together carefully over a low heat and pour into the dry ingredients.
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4
Stir well and then using just the tips of your fingers, rub together the ingredients until the mixture comes together.
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5
Stop as soon as a ball can be formed.
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6
Place the dough onto your clean worktop.
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7
Divide into two and squash the dough into two even-sized flat discs.
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8
Cover and chill until ready to use, or roll out immediately and cut into pumpkin/bat/ghost shapes.
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9
Bake for 14-18 minutes, depending on how thick you've rolled the dough.
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10
For the pumpkin: Use green writing icing to make stalk detail.
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11
Pipe orange line around edge of pumpkin and add eye and mouth details.
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12
Allow to dry for 5 minutes.
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13
Flood with orange (for how to make royal icing, see below, steps 8-10).
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14
Allow to dry.
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15
Add orange lines for stripes to finish, if wished.
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16
For the ghost: Outline the body of ghost in white.
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17
Outline the eyes and mouth in orange.
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18
Allow to dry for 5 minutes.
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19
Flood with white runny icing and allow to dry.
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20
For the big bat: Ice around wing outline in black and pipe a little oval line for the tummy.
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21
Allow to dry for 5 minutes.
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22
Flood the wings and head with black.
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23
After 1 minute, sprinkle on silver glitter and flood the tummy with black.
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24
Allow to dry.
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25
Brush off excess glitter and add two yellow eyes.
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26
How to make royal icing: combine the water, icing sugar and egg white powder, starting with the liquids first.
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27
Add the dry ingredients and whisk or beat for about 5 minutes if using an electric beater or whisk, or for longer if using a wooden spoon.
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28
Whisk slowly to start with to avoid clouds of icing sugar covering you and your kitchen.
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29
Continue whisking until the ingredients form a thick, smooth paste that is bright white in colour and has the consistency of toothpaste.
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30
Add colour (optional) a little at a time until you get the desired shade.
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31
If you are not using immediately, cover the surface of the icing with clingfilm to stop it drying out and refrigerate.
