If the Easter bunny was nice to you this Spring, you may find that you have more chocolate than you could have hoped for. Here's some chocolate recipe ideas to use it up
No matter how hard you try, there always seems to be a surplus of chocolate left over after Easter.
Nowadays most Easter eggs come in packages including miniature versions, usually with some sort of delicious filling. Some Easter eggs can have relatively short use-by dates on, and although I am not one to get carried away with the necessity of adhering to them, there still seems to be something wrong with Easter eggs still kicking around as the summer holidays approach.
But after consuming countless hollow chocolate eggs almost the size of your own head, it's these little items that often get left untouched.
However, that's no reason for throwing them out, even if, come Monday, the thought of tucking into one seems unthinkable.
For more Easter baking inspiration if you're feeling bold in the kitchen - check out our recipe for Scotch Creme Eggs and how to make Ferrero Rocher scotch eggs.
If you household is one of those that suffers with this strange phenomenon of too many Easter eggs, here are some ideas to use them up:
1. Giant chocolate buttons
This is my favourite last-minute birthday present for kids' parties. Simply melt 100g of milk chocolate in the microwave, and then drop dollops onto a lined baking sheet, and spread them out into large ‘buttons’ using the back of the spoon.
Sprinkle with hundreds and thousands and allow to set, before packaging up in an empty jam jar, for a super thrifty, delicious gift.
2. Chocolate birds' nests
These are a variation of the more traditional chocolate crispy cakes, but seem more apt at this time of year, as they look like little mini nests for Easter chicks. If you have any spare mini eggs, nestle them on top to complete the look.
3. Chocolate sauce
This recipe combines double cream, Golden Syrup, butter and chocolate - what more do you need in life? Whip up a batch of this to drizzle over ice cream, or to use as a fondue style thing to dip fruit in.
4. Brownies
Any brownie recipe will do, but this one here is my favourite, and never lets me down. Use the Easter eggs instead of the plain chocolate.
5. Truffles
These truffles are a great way of avoiding the temptation to consume the re-branded chocolate yourself, as you can make them and give them away as gifts!
6. Chocolate bowls
This is a really novel way to use up your chocolate - melt it, and then shape it around balloons to create chocolate bowls. Then you get the fill the cups with something else, like ice cream (or fruit if you are feeling virtuous). Your kids will think you are amazing.
7. Chocolate cupcakes
This ingenious life hack video shows how you can give your leftover treats a delicious twist with the addition of a few simple ingedients.
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The first clip shows you how to make mouth-watering easter egg cupcakes, while the second features an incredibly easy chocolate twist recipe.
8. Rocky Road
This is a brilliant and totally fail-safe recipe to have up your sleeve, and what is more, it is no-cook, and a great way to occupy the kids for an hour or two.
It’s my variation on Nigella’s Rocky Road Crunch Bars:
Take 200g digestives and place them in a freezer bag.
Squeeze out the air and seal the bag, and then bash with a rolling pin, until you have some ‘biscuit sand’ and some larger bits. This is a great job for the kids to do, or leave it for yourself if you have some stress to get rid of.
In a largish saucepan melt 300g leftover Easter eggs, 125g of butter, and 3 tablespoons of golden syrup over a low heat, stirring regularly.
Once it has all melted, stir to combine, and take off the heat. Add the crushed biscuits, 100g mini marshmallows, and 100g raisins or other dried fruit (this is to make me feel like a slightly better mother…) and stir well. If you have any spare mini eggs knocking around, you could use these to decorate the top.
Scoop the whole lot out into a lined brownie tin and allow to set in the fridge. If your kids are ‘helping’, they might like to add some ‘tasteful’ decoration to the top in the form of sprinkles, or even the odd mini egg if you still have some left.
