This Marmite Old Fashioned mixes homemade maple & Marmite syrup for a spooky, salty-sweet tipple. Serve up with some snakey Marmite pastry twists for a ghoulish-ly good pairing!

Marmite Old Fashioned Recipe

Ingredients (Makes 1) 

• ¼ teaspoon of Marmite
• 3 teaspoons of maple syrup
• 50ml  of bourbon
• Twist of orange peel and ice to serve

Method

Step 1:  In a small bowl mix together the Marmite and maple syrup with 3 tbsp boiling water.  Stir together until the Marmite has dissolved.  This is your maple Marmite syrup.

Step 2:  Fill the glass with large ice cubes, 1 tbsp of the maple Marmite syrup and the bourbon.  Gently stir to combine, pour and serve with a twist of orange peel.

Spooky Marmite Snakes with ‘Bloody’ Tomato Sauce Recipe

Ingredients (Serves 4-6)

• 200g strong white bread flour
• 4g fast action yeast
• ½ tsp sugar
• 2 tbsp Marmite
• 2-3 tbsp chopped thyme leaves
• 1 red pepper
• 200g tin chopped tomatoes
• 1 red chilli (optional)
• Handful black olives
• 2 tbsp black sesame seeds
• Bamboo skewers

Method (1 hour + 1 hour prove time)

Make the Marmite snakes

Step 1 Dissolve the Marmite into a jug of 125ml lukewarm water.

Step 2 Add the bread flour, sugar, thyme leaves and yeast to a large bowl then gradually add the Marmite water while using your hands to bring the mixture together to form a dough.

Step 3 Knead the dough on a clean worktop for 5-10 min or until smooth and elastic (if your dough is sticking, add a sprinkle of flour to the surface).

Step 4 Once smooth, add the dough back into the bowl and cover with a piece of lightly oiled clingfilm. Leave in a warm place to rise for 45 min-1 hour or until doubled in size.

Step 5 Meanwhile, deseed the red pepper and cut out some small slivers to use for the snakes’ tongues – keep these aside for later.

Step 6 Chop the black olives into small pieces for the snakes’ eyes and line 2 large baking trays with non-stick baking paper.

Step 7 Pre-heat the oven to 190ºC  (170ºC fan)

Step 8 Once the bread dough has doubled in size, knock out the air, knead until smooth and take the dough out of the bowl.  Divide the dough into 20g balls – you should have around 15.

Step 9 Use your hands to lightly oil a bamboo skewer. Take one ball of dough and use your fingers to gently roll the ball out into a rope. Twist the rope around the bamboo skewer to create a snake shape, pressing down one end with your thumb to make a round snake’s head.

Step 10 To decorate, firmly press in two pieces of olive for the eyes, then use the pointy end of another skewer to make a small hole for the mouth and press in a pepper sliver for the tongue. Once decorated, transfer them onto a baking tray.

Step 11 Continue until you have made all your snakes then brush with olive oil, and sprinkle with black sesame seeds and a pinch of salt.

Step 12 Bake for 18-20 min or until golden brown, puffed up and crispy. Then remove from the oven, let cool for 2-3 min then carefully remove the bamboo skewers (if they feel stuck, give them a gentle twist and they should loosen)

Make the tomato ‘blood’ dipping sauce

Step 1 Chop the rest of the pepper into bite-sized pieces. If using, finely chop the red chilli.

Step 2 Heat a saucepan over medium heat with a drizzle of olive oil. Once hot, add the chopped pepper and chopped chilli with a pinch of salt and black pepper. Cook for 5-6 min or until starting to soften then add in the chopped tomatoes and continue to cook for a further 8-10 min or until thickened.

Step 3 Turn off the heat and let the mixture cool.  Once cooled, add your sauce to a food processor and blitz until smooth.

Step 4 Serve the Marmite snakes with the tomato ‘blood’ dip, and why not try a the Marmite Old Fashioned