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 Rocky Road White Chocolate Cheesecake

It's no secret,  I LOVE rocky road! I love marshmallows, I love nuts and I love chocolate. I also love white chocolate cheesecake and the two together become deliciousness overload. After a few days in the fridge, the marshmallows start to melt into the cheesecake and turn so unbelievably soft and sweet.

I chose an oreo biscuits base as I've made it before and it is just divine. I may have forgotten the cherry or jelly aspect of rocky road in these but they honestly don't need it, they are delicious enough as is. I love making things in miniature, but you can totally make this as one big cheesecake if you wish.

Mini Rocky Road White Chocolate Cheesecake

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

What you will need

1 packet 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

2 picnic bars

1 bag marshmallows

What you will need to do

For the base, place a 12 cup cupcake silicon tray on a baking tray and set aside. Crush the oreo biscuits and mix with melted butter. Place a spoonful of mixture into each cup of the cupcake tray and press down firm (I used the end of a rolling pin to press them down hard). Place into fridge to set.

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. Chop up picnic bar into small pieces and add to the mix. Chop up marshmallows into quarters and add to the mix. Mix until combined. Spoon mixture on top of bases. Return to fridge to set.