Cookies and Cream Easter Eggs

Alright well I decided to not be lazy and got my Easter egg moulds out of storage to have a go at some home made Easter eggs. Honestly they are not very hard to make however they do require some patience... something I often lack when baking. The process is easy, melt the chocolate (and attempt to temper it :S) fill the moulds and wait. Once the chocolate around the edges has set, pour or scoop the chocolate out of the middle and you are left with an even shell. But if you are me, you half fill the moulds, swirl them around the edges until there is a thin layer of chocolate over the whole mould then pour out any excess. This way you end up with a mould that has a thick bottom and tapering thin sides... not ideal. 

I wanted to make a delicious rocky road inspired cookies and cream filling for the eggs and I think I did pretty good. Inside the white chocolate eggs is a mix of Milky Bar Cookies and Cream chocolate, Oreo biscuits, marshmallows and a bit more white chocolate for good measure. I decided the leave it pretty chunky and not melt down the cookies and cream chocolate bar so that you didn't feel like you were biting into a completely solid egg. Instead it is more something you can pick at and pull apart.

On another note I would like to point out that I am pretty much an official food blogger now that I have purchased and used striped paper straws in one of my shoots! Just about every blog I read has used these before and I have finally given in to their retro-cuteness factor. Now all I need is some rustic timber boards to style my photos on and I am a bonafide food blogger :) (er and maybe some more lessons in actual photography :S)

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!

Cookies and Cream Easter Eggs

Makes about 5

What you will need

1 bag Nestle white chocolate melts
1 bar Milky Bar Cookies and Cream chocolate
1 bag marshmallows, white ones only
1 packet of Oreo biscuits

Easter egg moulds

What you will need to do

Place 3/4 of the packet of melts into a microwave safe dish. Melt in 30 second intervals stirring after each. After all the chocolate has just melted, put the rest of the chocolate into the bowl and stir until all has melted.

Rest Easter egg moulds in a container so that they will not roll over. Pour chocolate into the mould to fill. Leave out or put into fridge until a 5mm rim has set around the outer edge. Pour or scoop the unset chocolate out of the middle and back into the bowl. Place mould back into fridge to set firm. If you have multiple moulds continue doing this until you make about 5 eggs (well half eggs). If you only have one or two moulds, you will have to wait until the first lot have set before removing them from the mould and repeating. You may need to heat the chocolate a bit between filling moulds as it may start to set. Just put back in microwave for 30 seconds and stir.

Once the egg has set hard, remove from mould. Just tip it upside down and gently loosen the mould. If the egg cracks, just melt the chocolate and start again. The less you handle the egg the better as it will melt from your touch.

In a separate bowl, place marshmallows, chopped up Oreo biscuits (reserve a few to place on top) and chopped up Milky Bar chocolate. Pour in any left over melted white chocolate (reserve a small amount if you want to drizzle some over at the end) and mix. Spoon mixture into the eggs gently without breaking them. Place half an Oreo on top of each and drizzle over any reserved white chocolate.

Mini Cookies and Cream White Chocolate Cheesecake

Ok so I saved the best for last, mini cookies and cream cheesecakes! Oreos make for the BEST chocolate cream biscuit to use for cookies and cream, I don't know what it is about them but they are simply the best (better than all the rest!). I decided to try something a little different with the bases this time and used a whole oreo cookie as the base. They fit perfectly into the bottoms of my cupcake tray!

One thing though, the edges of the cookie base went pretty soft after spending time in the fridge :( and some of the bases didn't come out of the tray very well. Next time I make them (and there will be plenty of next times!) I think I will make them in white cupcake papers. That way you wont lose any of the biscuit base when removing them from the tray. 

I found that these tasted better after being in the fridge for a couple of days. The cheesecake really firmed up and the cookie pieces went soft. Surprisingly the biscuit bottom stayed fairly firm, just the edges where there is no cream went soft. BTW how cute do the oreo bases look when cut open like that?? Yummo!!

This recipe also makes a great slice or cake so feel free to change it up. You will probably need to adjust the base but just follow this recipe for a solid oreo base. 

Mini Cookies and Cream White Chocolate Cheesecake

(Recipe adapted from Cookies and Cream Cheesecake from Nestle's Australia's Sweet Baking Favourites)

What you will need

 3 packets oreo biscuits

100g butter, melted

1 tsp gelatine

2 tbsp hot water

190g cream cheese

95ml condensed milk

150ml thickened cream

1/2 cup white chocolate, melted

What you will need to do

For the bases, place an oreo in the bottom of each cup in a silicone cupcake tray.

For the white chocolate cheesecake, place gelatin and hot water in a small bowl and mix until dissolved. In a separate bowl beat the cream cheese and condensed milk until smooth. Add cream, gelatin mix, melted white chocolate and beat until combined. Crush one and a half packets of oreos and add to the mix. Mix until combined. Spoon mixture on top of bases. Cut remaining oreos into quarters and place on top of each cheesecake. Place in fridge to set.