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Spooky Vegan Eyeball Stew

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Spooky Vegan Eyeball Stew

I had to hurry and get this post to you so that you can make your own vegan eyeball stew and be the coolest mom…party host… person ever!!

My husband is the one who loves Halloween. He gets the decorations out, stands outside in the cold, wrangles the hyped up kids and gets the house Halloween ready.

I’m in charge of pictures.

And hair and makeup.

But I do have something super simple that you can do, so that it looks like you are properly contributing to the creepy holiday…

Chia pudding.

It looks like hundreds of little eggs!

You can find that 6 ingredient recipe further down the page…But I’ve got a way you can take it up a notch!

I was looking up edible eyeballs on Google, and then remembered that my friends David and Lesley Solmonson of 12 Bottle Bar,  had done them before. So I went to their website and they were by far and away the best versions I had seen. So of course, I looked no further.

Now their version has some booze and some dairy, but it wasn’t hard to de-booze and veganize these.  I added some vanilla extract for the depth of flavor that is missing from omitting the rum! But I ran into a little problem. I ordered the spherical molds on Amazon and when I went to check on the order, I saw that I wouldn’t be getting them until November!! So….I had to improvise.

You can find the instructions for using the trays in 12 Bottle Bars original recipe, but I’m going to show you how I did it using ping pong balls!

Spooky Vegan Eyeball Stew

Spooky Eyeball Stew

Yield: 8 ping pong sized eyeballs

Total time of project: 2 1/2 – 3 Hours. Much of it inactive.

Spooky Vegan Eyeball Stew REcipe

Vegan Eyeball Gels

Ingredients:

1 cup dark cherry juice (grape and pomegranate work well too)

3 1/4 teaspoons Agar powder (not flakes)

1 1/2 cups + 2 Tablespoons pineapple juice

1 -15 ounce can coconut milk (Full Fat)

Natural Food Coloring (blue; brown)

¼ cup organic powdered or light cane sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Procedure:

*Tip: Make your eyeball molds ahead of time!

I simply took a screwdriver about the diameter of my funnel and heated it in the flame on my stove, then pushed it through the top of the ping pong ball to make a round hole.

Then I just cut the balls in half with an exacto-knife.

Keep the halves together or you will never be able to figure out which ones match!

For the Pupils:

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In a saucepan, mix together the cherry juice with 1 teaspoon of agar powder.

Stir fully and bring to a boil over medium heat.

Cover and let boil for 3 minutes.

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Pour into a 8 x 8  glass dish and allow to cool fully and set. Approximately 10-15 minutes.

*You do not need to refrigerate it to set. Agar sets at room temperature.

For the Irises:

While the pupils are setting, mix the desired amount of food coloring into the pineapple juice. 

In a saucepan, mix 1/2 cup of the dyed pineapple juice with 1/2 teaspoon of agar powder and whisk to mix well. 

Over medium heat, bring the juice to a boil, cover and boil for 3 minutes.

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Pour into a 9″x12″ glass dish, tilting the dish to fully cover the bottom.

It will be a thin layer.

Allow to cool fully and set, about 7-10 minutes.

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While the pineapple juice is setting, return to the cherry juice gel.

Punch out pupils using a round tool (about the size of a pen cap or the sleeve from a candy thermometer).

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Once the pineapple juice is set, place the pupil rounds on the sheet of iris gel, approximately one inch apart.

In a saucepan, mix together the remaining 1 cup of the dyed pineapple juice and 1 teaspoon of agar powder. 

Over medium heat, bring to a boil, cover and let boil for 3 minutes.

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Slowly pour the mixture into the casserole pan with the iris base and pupils, being careful not to move the pupil rounds.  

Allow to cool fully and set, about 10-15 minutes.

Once the iris/pupils are set, cut out with a round tool, such as the large end of an icing bag tip.

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Place the iris/pupils into the bottom of one half of the ball.

Press down on them so that they adhere to the bottom of the mold. You will feel it suction down.

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*If you don’t do this your eyeball will come out with a white layer over the iris area!

Tape the top of the ball securely to the bottom half, using a water-resistant and stretchable tape to ensure a good seal. I used a first aid tape.

*Note: Make sure to really seal the tape around the edges well, or the liquid will ooze out from underneath the tape. If this happens, make another batch of the ‘eyeball’ mixture and just add it to the top of your eyeball mold.

 Place balls in secure holder. A bowl or plate of rice is a simple option.

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For the Eyeballs: 

In a saucepan, mix together 3/4 cup of coconut milk, 2 Tablespoons of pineapple juice, sugar and 3/4 teaspoon of agar powder.

I used powdered sugar to maintain the whiteness of the eyeball, but organic cane sugar works fine as well. Just don’t use a colored sweetener.

Over medium heat, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 3 minutes.

The coconut milk is thicker than the juice, so stir continuously so that it doesn’t burn.

Take the pan off of the heat and add vanilla extract.

You’ll need to move fairly quickly on this next step as the gel starts to thicken quite fast.

I used a funnel to direct the flow of the liquid into the hole. Carefully fill the ping pong balls until full.

Its ok if it spills out a bit. And if you find that some oozed out, just allow the eyes to set and then make another batch of the white and pour it in again to fill the molds. 

Allow to set for about 1 hour.

Unmolding the Eyeballs:

Gently un-tape and remove the top half of the ball, then the bottom. The eyeballs will come out easily.

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This recipe will make more pupils and irises than you need. 60 or more! But the white part will only make about 8.

Don’t try to make a bigger batch, you’ll just end up with a bunch of white gel in your pan!

Simply unmold your first ones, and keep making batches of the white part until you have as many eyeballs as you need.

They are awesome just as is of course, but I thought for maximum creepy factor, they should be served on top of a bowl of chia pudding.

*Hint: I make my chia pudding in a old applesauce jar because it needs to be stirred a few times while it sets, and when its in the jar I can just put the top on and shake it.

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Basic Chia Pudding

Yield: 2 cups

Ingredients:

2 cups non dairy milk

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup chia seeds

1 tsp vanilla

pinch of nutmeg

pinch of salt

Procedure:

Mix all ingredients in a bowl or large jar with a top. Stir or shake well until chia seeds are completely wet. They tend to clump up so using a fork is helpful. Cover and place in refrigerator.

After 10 minutes stir. THIS STEP IS VITAL. If you don’t, you will have a giant clump of chia seeds. I don’t know why I don’t see this warning more often! Put back in the refrigerator for 10 more minutes and stir once more.

Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

And there you have it! A super fantastic Halloween dessert that everyone will love! Have fun!

*NOTE: I made the eyeballs with the ping pong ball molds and the tray. Conclusion: The tray is way easier! BUT if you don’t have the tray,  the ping pong ball molds yield the results you see above.

Here are the ones from the mold. Both great results. The ping pong molds come out a little bit bigger.

Read more: Vegan Recipe