Easter egg marshmallow nests

Whenever Easter rolls around and Cadbury Mini Eggs hit the store shelves, I buy a pack or two because I love to incorporate them into my baking. So when I saw the recipe on Sophistimom, I knew I had to try to make these just because they were so utterly adorable.

Bacon and Egg Candy

I cannot take credit for this delightful idea, I found it - where else - on Pinterest. Indeed, there were many versions but I liked this one the best.

How cute would this be as the dessert at a breakfast or brunch party?

Truth be told, I wasn't hopeful that this would be as tasty as it was cute.

But something about the crispy, savoury, salty pretzels offset against the sweet of the chocolate really makes this an addictive treat.

Chocolate almond crackle

High off my success at making hazelnut brittle with my trusty new candy thermometer, I decided to try my hand at chocolate almond crackle. This recipe had a few things going for it: It was in a cookbook called "No Time to Cook," it was written by the amazing Donna Hay, and it was only a paragraph long. I'd already made some entrees from this cookbook that turned out well and so I was feeling confident.

Clean-out-the-pantry chocolate clusters

I have started to recycle - really recycle, not just when people are looking. I have started to collect soiled napkins and used coffee filters for the compost collection. I have started to rifle through my fridge to use up any vegetables near their expiry date and, for the first time ever, I've started to improvise while baking. It's taken me a long time to get this point.

I'd like to say this is because of a renewed sense of oneness with the environment. But really, it was borne of frugality and mainly, necessity. Time is my most valuable commodity these days.

Hazelnut brittle

Over the years I've tried to make brittle several times. And every one of those times, it's turned into a gloppy sticky mess that I've had to scrape off the cookie sheet. And every time I've bemoaned to myself that I should have had a candy thermometer.

Finally this year, my husband crossed one of the items off my Christmas wish list and bought me a candy thermometer as a stocking stuffer.
Lo and behold, on my first try using the thermometer, my brittle was a success.

Sorry I ever doubted you Lucy Waverman. Although I must admit your instruction to watch the syrup turn into the colour of a light amber didn't work the first time around, I did some Googling and found out the "hard crack" stage was about 290-300 degrees F and my trusty digital thermometer beeped when it reached that stage.

I also looked at several other brittle recipes, such as this one from Martha Stewart, before I embarked on Brittle Experiment # 4,238.

Be warned, though, candy is quick to burn so it can go quickly from brittle to a hot mess if you don't keep your eye on it.

And don't be like me and stir the syrup out of impatience. Swirl the pan, gently.
And your efforts will be worth it.

I used this brittle as a sophisticated cupcake topper (more on that to come) but you can also break it into smaller pieces and use it between layers of cake, or pulverize it to add crunch to any sweet treat.

French chocolate bark

This recipe is from Ina Garten's "Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics" cookbook.

Ingredients:
1 cup whole salted, roasted cashes
6 to 7 ounces very good semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
6 to 7 ounces very good bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/4 cup dried crystallized ginger, 1/2-inch diced
1/2 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup dried apricots, 1/2-inch diced
1/4 cup golden raisins


Directions (Abbreviated by myself):
Preheat oven at 350 degrees.
Roast cashews in one layer and bake for eight minutes. Set aside to cool.
Place semisweet chocolate and half of bittersweet in glass bowl and microwave on high for 20-30 seconds. Take out and stir. Repeat until chocolate is just melted. Immediately add rest of bittersweet chocolate and allow to sit at room temperature, until it's completely smooth.
Pour melted chocolate onto parchment paper into rectangular shape - about 9 by 10 inches.
Sprinkle top in following order: ginger, cashews, cherries, apricots and raisins. Set aside until firm.

My substitutions:
I couldn't find dried cherries so I used dried cranberries with cherry flavour. They were simply delicious, and even more festive.
I didn't use Valhrona or Callebaut like Ina Garten suggested as it was my first time making this recipe, and I wasn't convinced of the flavours. I used Baker's chocolate without finely chopping it.
I was careful to watch the chocolate before it burned, however, and there was no problem.
I also found 2 hours at room temperature weren't enough to set the chocolate properly, so I covered it carefully and put it in the refrigerator for another 40 minutes.

Would I make this again?
Without a doubt. With the proper preparation, it was easy to make beautiful to look at it. Not to forget the taste, the salt in the cashews, the sweet apricots and cranberries, and that final kick of ginger complement each other harmoniously. Had I used sweeter chocolate, it would have been overpowering, however, so don't be tempted to use up the sweeter chocolate in your fridge.

Grade:
Five stars out of Five