These creepy witch fingers are strips of puff pastry shaped into bony fingers, with a blanched almond for each fingernail and raspberry jam oozing around it like blood. Piled in a black “cauldron” bowl with a warm red dipping sauce, they’re the Halloween snack guests photograph before eating. Forty minutes and eight ingredients.
It’s a party trick of mine rather than a Gordon Ramsay recipe. The one technique worth knowing is keeping the puff pastry cold, which is what gives it crisp, defined layers instead of a greasy, flat finger.
Ingredients
For the witch fingers
- 2 sheets (about 500 g) all-butter puff pastry, thawed
- 1 large egg, beaten with 1 tbsp milk (egg wash)
- 12 whole blanched almonds
- 3 tbsp seedless raspberry jam (the “blood”)
- 1 tsp dried mixed herbs
- 1/2 tsp flaky sea salt
For the dipping sauce
- 200 g marinara or tomato passata
- 1 tbsp raspberry jam
- Pinch of chilli flakes (optional)
Method
1. Cut the strips
Heat the oven to 200°C (400°F) and line two trays with parchment. Cut each pastry sheet into 6 long strips about 2 cm wide, so you have 12.
2. Shape the fingers
Roll each strip gently to lengthen it and taper one end into a rounded fingertip. Pinch the middle a little narrower, and press 3 shallow lines across the “knuckle” with the back of a knife. If the pastry gets soft and sticky while you work, chill the tray for 10 minutes.
3. Add the nails
Put a generous dab of jam on each fingertip and press an almond into it at an angle, pointed end out. The jam acts as glue and oozes around the nail. Press firmly; the pastry puffs as it bakes and can push a loosely set almond off.
4. Egg wash and season
Brush the fingers with egg wash, avoiding the almonds, and sprinkle with the herbs and flaky salt for a mottled, witchy skin.
5. Bake
Bake for 12–15 minutes, until deep golden and puffed. Let them cool on the trays for 5 minutes; they’re fragile while hot, and the jam firms as it cools.
6. Build the cauldron
Warm the marinara with the jam and chilli flakes until just simmering and pour it into a small black bowl. Stand the fingers upright in a larger bowl, drizzle with a little extra warm jam, and serve with the sauce.
Other versions
- Sweet fingers: skip the herbs and salt, dust with cinnamon sugar, and serve with warm chocolate sauce.
- Cheesy: sprinkle grated Parmesan over the egg wash.
- Green witches: stir a little green food coloring into the egg wash.
- Breadstick dough: gives chewier fingers. Bake at 190°C (375°F) for 14–16 minutes.
- Gluten-free: use gluten-free puff pastry and handle it gently, as it tears easily.
Party timing
Shape the fingers (through step 4), cover and refrigerate them for up to 24 hours, then bake from cold, adding 2 minutes. Or bake them the morning of the party, re-crisp them at 180°C (350°F) for 5 minutes before guests arrive, and add the fresh jam drizzle at the last minute. Baked fingers keep for 2 days in an airtight tin; the sauce keeps for 4 days in the fridge.
Gordon Ramsay Spooky Witch Finger Cauldron Platter
Flaky puff pastry fingers with almond fingernails and jam 'blood', piled in a cauldron-style bowl with a blood-red dipping sauce. A creepy-cute Halloween party snack ready in 40 minutes.
25 minutes
15 minutes
40 minutes
12 fingers
Ingredients
Instructions
Chef Tips
- Keep the pastry cold — if it softens while shaping, chill the tray for 10 minutes before baking so the fingers hold their shape.
- Press the almonds in firmly; they loosen as the pastry puffs, and the jam needs full contact to hold them.
- For extra gore, warm a spoonful of jam and flick it over the baked fingers just before serving.
- Blanched almonds look most like nails; skin-on almonds work but read darker.
For a full Halloween spread, serve these with my Spooky Mummy Sausage Platter and follow with the Spooky Jack-o’-Lantern Stuffed Peppers.
[…] them with my Spooky Witch Finger Cauldron Platter, and finish with the Halloween Chocolate […]