A Recipe for Murder... No.2 The Devil's Dark Chocolate and Pumpkin Slice

Dust of your witch's hats and get those stripy knee highs out the bottom drawer... Halloween is just round the corner! It's that time of year we fear brats posting stink bombs through the letter box if we don't answer our doorbells and hideously dressed party goers jump out of doorways to frighten the life out of us as we innocently walk home from work. But it's a great time for parties, for spooky cocktails and themed party food!

At the Murder Mystery Company we've been slaving away over a hot cauldron (well, in our kitchen actually) to come up with a delicious and devilishly good Halloween recipe to tantalise those taste buds and make a shockingly good addition to any spooky spread this Halloween. Whether you're hosting a Murder Mystery party, lighting fireworks or simply feeding the kids before the annual trick or treat adventure, a truly dark and delicious indulgence was our goal.

After discarding the ideas with rabbit's heads, pig's blood or lamb's brains through fear of having to trial and taste the recipes first, we decided on chocolate. Dark, velvety chocolate. A naughty, but nice option. With pumpkin? If carrots can make such a delicious appearance in cakes, then "bring on the pumpkin" we said! And therefore The Devil's Dark Chocolate and Pumpkin Slice was born.

• 250g Quality dark chocolate, melted over a bain marie with the butter
• 190g salted butter
• 190g castor sugar
• 4 whole eggs, whisked
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/3 of a small pumpkin, skinned, seeded and finely grated
• 50g cocoa powder
• 80g plain flour (gluten free or normal)
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Pre-heat your fan oven to 180 degrees C, and follow the method above. Melt the butter and chocolate together over boiling water and in a separate bowl whisk the eggs and sugar. Stir the cocoa, flour and baking powder into the egg mix and the finely grated pumpkin flesh and vanilla into the melted chocolate. Once blended well mix both bowls together thoroughly. Bake for 25 minutes in a lined baking tray and remove to cool on the side. Once cooled, make a butter frosting icing of your choice, add a few drops of orange colouring or squeeze some writing icing across the top for decoration.

Cut into 12 slices, and add some spooky Halloween decorations. These witches on the top aren't edible, but you may find edible items in your supermarket. Serve with a hot Irish Coffee, or simply a steaming hot fresh brew!

For more information on our Murder Mystery Evenings for Halloween, and other events please contact our sales team on 08450 06 06 06 or visit our website.

A Recipe for Murder ... No.1 Bloody Mary!

The clock strikes five on a Friday and you're thinking... I could murder a drink! Or if the evil liquor is not for you, then some wicked weekend food to die for! The Murder Mystery Company can sense your devilish cravings and sympathise - we can sink a goblet or two on a Friday after work, so hot off the press today starts our Recipes for Murder! We're going to offer all you freaks something to literally sink those pointy teeth into at the weekends with some gourmet ghoulish treats and dangerous cocktail recipes as well as our other events blog posts. It's a classic to start off the series... the half food, half drink nectar itself! A Bloody Mary!

Ingredients:

• 150ml Tomato juice, chilled
• Double shot of Vodka
• 1 teaspoon of sherry (or red wine if you don't have sherry)
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon Tabasco
• Half teaspoon horseradish
• Pinch of celery salt & pepper, and a squeeze of lime wedge
• To garnish - Slice of Jalapeno & a stick of celery as an edible stirrer

For the virgins out there leave out the vodka and sherry for a Virgin Mary. Only for the monstrous use absinthe instead of vodka to make it a Bloody Fairy, and for a Slutty Mary garnish with a sausage!

So, paint your nails crimson red, pick your cocktail glass out of the chiller and pour the ingredients over 3 ice cubes. Give it a good stir and with an evil look in your eye take your first gulp of pure heaven in hell!

Follow our other blog series or for more information on Murder Mystery Evenings visit our website.

This is a job for Holmes... Sherlock Holmes!

A commotion outside; the dining hall doors fly open; Lord John staggers in. Guests have barely a moment to put down their drinks before he lies dead on the floor. That foul play was responsible is in no doubt. This is a job for Holmes... Sherlock Holmes.

It's a strange job - but somebody's got to do it! Last week was no exception at the very beautiful Tynley Hall Hotel in Hampshire. The Murder Mystery Company team arrived with magnifying glass in hand and created quite the commotion running our popular Who Killed His Lordship? event - leaving even the venue staff wondering 'who dunnit?'.

One of our resident actors, Mark Flitton, seen in recent BBC One dramas Hidden and Silk, donned the famous cape and pipe and burst into the room as the one and only Sherlock Holmes, whipping the lovely clients into an absolute frenzy!

Event Manager Zoe Taylor who was running the evening commented:

'It was one of those fantastic events where the clients were running around screaming for help before the starters had even been served! Mark is a fantastic comedic actor and his improvisational skills are second to none - that teamed with a brilliant plot line and fancy dress costumes for all the teams, made the night so much fun for everyone'

Our client wrote afterwards:

'Just to say a big thank you to you, Zoe and the rest of the team for last night. We had a super time – Sherlock and PC World were superb and we all had a really enjoyable evening.'

Well isn't that lovely to hear? It seems murder can be fun...

If your team thinks they can solve our devious plot and catch the murderer in time for coffee and truffles, why not give us a call on 0845 006 06 06 or check out our other fantastic murder mystery events at www.murdermysterycompany.co.uk - We're dying to entertain you!

Murder Mystery Parties Receive Royal Pardon

According to this article from Now Magazine's website (we read well and widely here at the Murder Mystery Company), the Duchess of Cambridge is planning a murder mystery party for Prince William's 30th birthday party.

Far be it for us to mistrust such a fine journalistic source - it has long been our go-to destination for horoscopes and online bingo opportunities.

That said, it seems murder mysteries are about to be launched back to the front of the public consciousness- which is just where they belong! While we would certainly recommend our own One Fatal Knight for the Duchess (long live the king...), the news made us consider another question entirely.

What is it about the macabre and mysterious that keeps captivating audiences year after year? What draws us away from the light and into the night?

From the Brother's Grimm to Doctor Who, evil and those that cause it have haunted our imagination and waited patiently for us underneath our beds since we had beds (before beds, evil had to wait in another room).  But it's not just the bad guys that get our attention - it's really the hero we're routing for, the quiet avenger, whether he comes with a deerstalker or a crumpled mac, a typewriter or a pair of sunglasses.

And perhaps that's part of the great appeal of a good murder mystery. The participants are the hero. They stand on the line between good and evil, the lone voices of justice in a world where the lights are dim.

A well executed participative murder mystery is like a great novel or movie, with the immersion jacked up to eleven. It is an opportunity to suspend disbelief for a few short hours, to imagine another world, another set of rules, and flit around the coat tails of danger from the comfort of your own home, venue, or, indeed, palace.

Like a roller coaster we know we are safe, and that all the peril is an illusion, all the danger merely smoke and mirrors...

But that doesn't stop us from screaming.

'Ello 'Ello 'Ello...what's all this then?

  Event Manager Zoe Goode gets ready to help solve the mystery behind Who Killed His Lordship?

Event Manager Tamara said "I love Zoe playing PC Whirl, she looks like butter wouldn't melt but in reality she's a real tough cop, not to be messed with! Teams always think they can charm information out of her, but not our Zoe, she always stays true to her role till the bitter end."

Check out Who Killed His Lordship? and our other murder mysteries at our main website!