A great way to use that last little bit of chocolate at the bottom of the bowl.
- Fill a mini chocolate mold with melted chocolate
- Top with sprinkles
- Add mini sugar eggs
A little project I stumbled on when I was messing about with leftover melted chocolate. I don't have progress picks to make a nice line up of photos but the process is pretty simple. A great way to use that last little bit of chocolate at the bottom of the bowl.
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Turning ordinary Easter eggs into extraordinary Easter eggs with all the fun of creating and none of the hassle of knowing anything about chocolate. I don't know about you but I always come to a dilemma when Easter egg shopping. Do I buy the super cheap foil wrapped choccy eggs, or the pretty eggs in the colourful boxes? Sure, the boxed eggs are triple the price, but they have personality. I can find one to match each of the different personas of my Easter giftees. An individual egg for an individual person. I didn't just walk into the store scoop my arm through a bin of eggs, dust my hands of the place, thats that, job done. Nice. I walked in and thought about my purchases. Picked out an egg based on taste rather than just chocolate. But. It's like triple the price. An eggs an egg, right? When the boxes are dicarded the unassuming foil wrapped eggs can go toe to toe (shell to shell?) with those in the box. They're probably all made in the place anyway. Logic says goes with the cheap guys but it's hard to argue with consumerism. Last year I stumbled upon the solution. Decorating cheap store bought eggs (low hassle. low cost) with edible treats like marshmallows and sprinkles. This lets me be creative on a budget with relatively little hassle. I can create personalised Easter treats for half the price of those expensive Easter eggs. Plus the results always look impressive. It's hard to mess up chocolate. This is a craft for people who are either on a budget or have a relationship with melted chocolate that can only be called 'it's complicated' You don't have to know anything about tempering chocolate or chocolate molding to make these tasty holiday treats because we're using store bought eggs! The hard part is done all thats left to do is pretty things up. I made similar eggs last year when I made geode inspired eggs. Check out the posts HERE (ginger geode) and HERE (marshmallow geode) This year I'm making M&M filled, sprinkle dipped easter eggs. Mostly because I recently found caramel M&M's and want to share them with everyone. You Will Need
Cut the top off a cheap store bought chocolate egg. A hot knife works well. Don't add too much preasure or else you'll break the egg. I learnt that the hard way. Fill with M&M's and sugar coated mini Easter eggs. Glue the top back on with a little melted chocolate and leave to set (Just a couple of minutes) Then cover the top in more melted chocolate. Create stylish chocolate drips for exra effect. Quickly roll in sprinkles before the chocolate sets. I like those longer confetti-like hundreds and thousands. My egg had a couple of holes, not part of the original design, but easily fixed. After all what goes better with chocolate than chocolate? Cover up any mistakes by dipping extra M&M's and eggs in melted chocolate and gluing on to the wounded area. A sugar coated crown of caramel chocolate goodness. Who needs a flower crown when you can have a chocolate crown.
DIY Easter Eggs *Cough, Cough*Make your own Easter eggs, more like redesign your own eggs. Decorating eggs is fun, but chocolate moulds are hard to find sometimes, mostly at the times you want or need them most, and tempering chocolate into a glossy sheen is difficult. Why not just redecorate a pre-made egg? I contemplate calling these eggs Geode Eggs. It's like cracking open a stone to find a cluster of glorious crystal inside. Only these are edible!! Here, I'm combining ginger and chocolate to create my own Easter creation. You Will need- A chocolate egg - Melting chocolate - Glazed ginger Lightly cave in the chocolate egg. I like to use the end of a spoon to create a hole in the chocolate. Melt chocolate however you like, I like to use a bowl over a saucepan 0f water as a double boiler. Spread melted chocolate around the opening. Let it drip a little if you like. Leave to dry. Cut ginger into chuncks and dip in chocolate. Arrange around egg. I like to fill the hollow inside with more ginger and chocolate. You can never have too much chocolate.
Tricked out Easter EggsChocolate Easter eggs are always great but lets make them the greatest! Usually, I wish Easter eggs were made of solid chocolate but this year I have come to see the benefit of a hollow egg, namely with the addition of sweet treats. Pimped out ice cream cones and milkshake jars always look so fantastical and appealing, Easter is a fantastical time of year. Why not bring all that wonder to Easter. Think of all the combinations you can try. You Will Need- Premade chocolate eggs - Melting chocolate - Sprinkles - Mini marshmallows - Mini eggs Cave open an egg, be careful not to crack it half (though, you can probably stick it back together if you do) Melt a handful of chocolate. Spread chocolate around the edge of the egg. Cover melted chocolate in sprinkles!! Dip mini marshmallows in chocolate and cluster around the egg. Fill that hollow egg with goodies. I love those candy coated speckled eggs, I've filled the egg with a mixture of those and more mini marshmallows. It's probably over kill, but I feel like these would be great with a little ice cream added. Maybe that can be Eatser dessert? These eggs are going to be gifts so I wrapped them in clear cellophane and ribbon.
DIY Batty Bat Cookie Cutters"It was her first sabbat, and she was determined to do it right. 'Would anyone care for a scone?' She said. Bat cookies with current eyes, inspired by Magrats bat scones. I know in the book Magrat makes scones, but I always pictured bat cookies with currents eyes. Strangely, I think that was the thing that first made me want to bake. Wyrd sisters was a staple of my childhood. I knew that story backwards before I could even talk. The bats with currents for eyes have stayed with me all my life. It's funny what sticks in the brain. Luckily bats, currents, witches, covens, and, indeed, ovens go well with Halloween. This tutorial looks at making your own bat shaped cookie cutter not baking your own cookies. You will need🕸 Tinfoil 🕸 Stapler and or tape Start with a sheet of tinfoil about 60-70cm long. Fold tinfoil in half lengthwise four times until you end up with a strip of tinfoil that's about 2cm wide. Fold length of tinfoil in half widthways. Fold in half lengthways (last time) Shape tinfoil. Use a wooden spoon to shape curved areas. Staple together the ends. (My stapler broke so I've taped the ends) I made chocolate bownie cookies from here, only I added a little nutmeg and cinnamon to make the cookies a little more festive. Bat cookies with current eyes, cooling on the rack. They look a little crude but that's okay, I figure Magrat is an enthusiastic but crude cook. - A note on the post title. It's a reference to the opening of Wyrd Sisters when Magrat asks Nanny Ogg and Granny Weatherwax to join a coven. Witches don't always have the best hearing. "It'd been her idea to form a local coven. She felt it was more, well, occult. To her amazement the other two had agreed or, at least, hadn't disagreed much. I liked it. The bats join an oven in order to be served to a coven.
I think these cookies also work well as Bat Bogey Hex Cookies. *EDIT* This is last years Fathers Day gift, that I forgot to post (oops) If I had posted this last year it would have been weeks late. Instead I'm posting this year with a couple of days spare. *Thumbs up* 1080%forgot it Fathers day weekend until Fathers day weekend. Scrambled to make this mug. Luckily this is a simple last minute craft. And I'm pretty sure all dads love superman. Then I wrote out this tutorial and forgot about it. Might be a tad late in posting....... You Will Need
MethodFirstly, wrap the piece of paper around the mug and mark out the size of your mug. Once you have that draw out your Super Dad design onto the paper. In the pictures above I have tapped the paper back onto the mug so that you can see how much of the mug will be taken up by the design. Next I grabbed a craft knife and cut out the Super Dad writing. I then taped the paper back onto the mug and traced out Super Dad in pencil. You end up with a light pencil tracing guide for the paint. When I paint thin lines / writing onto ceramic or glass I don't use a paintbrush I use a sharpened pencil, which I dip into the paint. This is heat set paint, so you have to wait for the paint to dry then bake the mug in the oven. Each brand of paint has its own temerture and baking time. The paint I used said to bake for 40 mins at 160c. It also said to wait 24hrs before baking, if you're in a rush just wait 12. Final step - Fill with goodies.
Clay Ester EggHatch your very own Eatser Bunny this year! I got this idea from a store that used to sell 'Hatch Your Own Dragons' There were these terracotta eggs covered in gold dots and you went in, bought one, took it home, and smashed it with a hammer. Inside you'd find a little clay dragon holding a gold coin. There were different dragons you could collect, Bronze, silver and gold. Bronze was the most common and gold the least, making it rarer and more of a prize. You could also win twins, which were the rarest of the collectables. These were alwyas such fun, and I thought the same concept could be brought to Easter; Try to hatch the Easter Bunny! Hunting For......= Air dry clay = Polystyrene eggs = Chocolate Easter treats = Bunny figurine = Paint for decorating Hatching a PLan....Cover a polystyrene egg in air dry clay. Cut the clay in half and pull the two halves off the polystyrene. Either place a chocolate treat or an Easter bunny into the egg. I also like to add bit of shredded paper, makes a cozy nest. Score the edeges on each half of the egg and moisten with water. Bring the two halves togehter and seal the egg. Leave the egg to dry for 2-3 days. Sand down any lumpy edges - if you wish. Paint the eggs. I've gone with a crackle finish. Break the eggs open with a hammer.
Oat Energy BarOat cuisine you say? Try these oatstanding, oat of this world Oat Energy Bars. They cereal-y are good. Ingredients50g Butter 3 Tablespoons Honey 2 Tablespoons Peanut Butter 1 Grated Apple 2 Mashed Bananas 2 Cups Rolled Oats 80g Mixed Seeds/Nuts Handful of Chocolate Ready, Steady, CookPreheat oven to 160c. Grease/line a square baking tin. Melt butter, honey, peanut butter in a small saucepan. Mix in apple and banana and remove from heat. In a large bowl combine nuts, seeds, and chocolate. Add banana mixture and mix until everything is well coated. Spoon mixture into tin, and level. Bake for 55 minutes until golden brown.
Peanut Butter BrowniePeanut butter, one of life's true pleasures. I'm a crunchy, full salt peanut butter kind of girl. Occasionally, when I'm not paying attention at the supermarket, I will buy the wrong peanut butter. Its a travesty! Smooth peanut butter without salt tastes like soggy cardboard. Usually when I commit this shopping faux pas I make bird feeders but this time I decided to try something new. Below is a layered peanut butter brownie recipe I adapted after a bit of internet research and experimentation. Sweet and salty with added chocolate. Great for taking to parties as a sweet treat. IngredientsMethodOneFrist step first bake a brownie. Either make your favourite brownie recipe or buy a packet mix. Pour half of a normal brownie mixture into a lined square baking tin (I use a lamington tin) Preheat oven as per the recipes instructions. Leave brownie to cool completely before adding the peanut butter mixture. I really feel should apologise. It generally annoys me when a recipe calls for an ingredient then doesn't tel you how to make it, but brownies are one thing I just cannot bake. They always stick. They always burn. They always set rock hard. So to combat this I use a store bought brownie mix. The only brownie mixture they sell at the local supermarket is realy good, too. Its moist and full of chocolate chips. Yummy TwoBeat Butter and peanut butter together until smooth. ThreeMix in icing sugar until well blended. Mix should resemble a sort biscuit/cookie batter. After the second cup do a taste test checking the consistency, and taste. If the batter is still a little soft or isn't sweet enough add the third cup. FourStir in the broken pretzels. Press the mixture into the cooled brownie tin. FiveMelt the chocolate. Either in the microwave or in a double boiler. Pour chocolate over the peanut butter mixture. Chill for at least 4 hours. SixOnce set, remove the brownie from the tin and cut into bit size pieces.
Sharpe knives are great for cutting, blunt knives are not. Good thing my kitchen draw is full of blunt knives. I usually decorate after cutting, it helps disguise all the wonky cuts. Decorate each bite with a pretzel and a drizzle of chocolate. European Hot ChocolateThere was this lovely boutique chocolate a sweet shop I used to frequent, tucked away in a cosy little bricked lined street, it had a range of different sweets from all over the world. My favourite product was a spicy hot chocolate mix. It was thick and fragrant, made with cream, and completely decadent. Sadly, as it happens, brick buildings don't stand up all that well in an earthquake. My favourite little shop was completely obliterated, and hasn't resurfaced anywhere else in the city. Its been about 4 years since I last had a cup of that hot chocolate and I still think about it often. Inspired by glass mason jar and a friends upcoming birthday I decided to Google hot chocolate mixes and followed the links - Thick hot chocolate / spicy hot chocolate/ Italian hot chocolate/ European hot chocolate/ I tried out a few different methods and came up with my own recipe. I've called it "European Hot Chocolate" because its mainly a mish mash of different recipes claiming to be European. Ingredients1/2 cup milk 2 tsp cornflour 1 tsp cocoa powder (or powdered hot choc mix) 1/2 tsp sugar 1/4 tsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp nutmeg 85 grams chocolate (chopped) - choose either white/milk/dark/chilli chocolate My favourite is dark chilli chocolate. OneChop the chocolate. For this recipe I have used Lindt 60% dark chilli chocolate TwoIn a bowl combine chocolate, cornflour, cocoa, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg - The cocoa/hot choc mix helps to prevent the cornflour from clumping. ThreeHeat the milk in a saucepan over medium-low heat until almost boiling. Pour hot milk over chocolate mixture and whisk until thick. - Serves two Gift ideaDouble or triple the mixture, place dry ingredients in a jar, add a label and heating instructions and you have a lovely gift.
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Author - JEBARSBY TUTORIALSHere you will find craft ideas, tutorials and fandom crafting. Maybe some recipes Archive
May 2018
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