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Spooky Halloween Fruit Platter Recipe
Ash Tyrrell

Spooky Halloween Fruit Platter Recipe

I first put this halloween fruit platter together when I got tired of my kitchen counter turning into a candy wrapper graveyard every October. I grabbed whatever fruit I had, a few toothpicks, and some melted chocolate, and within thirty minutes I had a tray that looked like it belonged in a spooky bakery window.
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Servings: 8
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 6 whole mandarin oranges peeled and left whole for carving jack-o-lantern faces
  • 4 ripe bananas halved crosswise, for the ghost shapes
  • 1/2 pound green grapes used whole for spooky monster eyeballs
  • 1 large red apple cored and thinly sliced, so it wont brown too fast on the tray
  • 2 tablespoons white chocolate chips melted for piping eyeball details
  • 2 teaspoons mini dark chocolate chips pressed on for pupils and ghost faces
  • 1 black edible food marker for drawing jack-o-lantern faces on the oranges
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice tossed with apple and banana to slow browning
  • 3 tablespoons caramel sauce drizzled over the apple slices for extra flavor
  • 2 tablespoons chopped roasted peanuts sprinkled on for crunch

Method
 

  1. I start by washing every piece of fruit under cool water and patting it completely dry. Then I peel the oranges, slice the apple thinly, and halve the bananas crosswise. Tossing the apple and banana pieces in lemon juice right away keeps them looking fresh on the platter.
  2. Next, I heat the white chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl in 20-second bursts, stirring between each one. Once it is smooth and glossy, I transfer it into a zip-top bag and snip a tiny corner off to use as a piping tool.
  3. I pipe small white chocolate dots onto the grapes to form the base of each eyeball, then press a mini dark chocolate chip into the center of each dot. I let these sit for a few minutes so the chocolate can firm up completely.
  4. Using the black edible marker, I draw simple triangle eyes and a jagged smile straight onto the orange peels. This step takes seconds per orange but makes the biggest visual impact on the whole platter.
  5. I press two mini chocolate chips into the rounded end of each banana half to create little ghost faces. The natural curve of the banana does most of the spooky work for me here.
  6. Finally, I arrange the apple slices as the base, drizzle them with caramel sauce, and sprinkle on the chopped peanuts. Then I place my ghost bananas, eyeball grapes, and jack-o-lantern oranges around the tray and chill it for ten minutes before serving.

Notes

  • I always toss my apple and banana pieces in lemon juice first, since skipping this step leaves me with sad, brown fruit within the hour.
  • I like to pick fruit that is ripe but still firm, because overripe bananas and grapes tend to fall apart when I am trying to decorate them.
  • I prep my chocolate details a full hour ahead of time so they are completely set before I need to assemble everything.
  • I keep my platter in the fridge until just before guests arrive, which keeps every piece looking crisp and vibrant.
  • I always make a couple of extra eyeball grapes, because they are the first thing to disappear before the platter even hits the table