Firecracker Recipes For Bonfire Night

Remember, remember, the fifth of November, gunpowder, treacle and sausages. Okay, we know that’s not quite how it goes, but these have long been Bonfire Night staples – and rightly so, because nothing quite says Guy Fawkes Night like bangers and wedges of parkin.

But is sausages and mash and jaw-glueing treacle really the most imaginative thing you can do? We don’t think so.

Whether you’re after comforting crowd-pleasers for a Bonfire Night party or you just want to treat the kids to something themed for a treat before you do sparklers in the garden, these recipes all provide a little twist on November 5th classics.

There’s nothing more warming than a stew – well, apart from fire, but we’ll leave that for standing around while we watch the Guy burn. Stews are also very simple to make – much easier than building a bonfire, especially if you use your Cook4Me.

The Slimming Foodie’s recipe for Bonfire Night stew featuring slow-cooked gammon and beans in a spicy tomato sauce is really easy to make but also really impressive, making it perfect for a party. Serve it with hot jacket potatoes and give guests the option of adding extra jalapenos to theirs if they fancy even more heat.

Like Catherine Wheels and penny for the Guy, sausages are a Bonfire Night tradition. You could serve them with fail-safe mash or in buns as hot dogs, but you could also go super retro and make toad in the hole.

If you’re not familiar with the British classic, it’s nothing to do with amphibians. In this context, toad is a sausage. And the hole? That’s batter. So yes, sausages baked in Yorkshire pudding mix, essentially.

Try not to worry yourself too much over the name of the dish and instead have a go at this modern twist on toad in th’ole from The Hussy London Housewife. It includes spring onions and extra flavouring and tastes excellent.

Toffee apples are another much-loved Bonfire Night treat. Apples dipped in caramel can look pretty impressive by themselves, particularly if you’ve been busy practising your dramatic drip effect. But these flavours also work beautifully in a cake.

Handbags and Cupcakes has incorporated them into gorgeous salted caramel apple cupcakes that are the perfect sweet treat for after you’ve come in from the cold on November 5th.

Plain chocolate, double chocolate, triple chocolate, chocolate with biscuit, chocolate with fruit and nut … pretty much anything works in a brownie, and pretty much everyone loves them. Show us someone who doesn’t – see, we told you.

What would go in a Bonfire Night brownie though? Fiery ginger? Fizzing popping candy? Both? That’s what Little Button Diaries has put in hers. This recipe will warm your tastebuds and leave them crackling like the bonfire at the same time.

Are you of the mindset that adding hot chillis to a dish makes it bonfire-themed? Put them in mashed potato and it’s bonfire mash; add them to baked spuds and it’s a bonfire potato; put them in a quiche and it’s a bonfire tart. Sound familiar? Well, have you tried putting them in cake?

This chocolate chilli loaf cake from I’d Much Rather Bake Than is a lovely moist bake with a kick – think of it like an updated version of traditional parkin, sweet and spicy at the same time.

Serve up these suggestions alongside old favourites like chilli con carne and sticky toffee – it isn’t Bonfire Night without losing a filling or two, after all.