I’m all for easy things. Yes, ok, I’ll often do a complicated, many step cook off because it’s fun, but nobody should feel pressured into it. Food is for eating, not staring at, plus the long weekend is a Parent Holiday too. YES kids, it’s not always just about you. 😉

I was reminiscing about old school cookery lessons, and this brought up the idea of cornflake cakes, or rice crispy cakes. Easy to do, and very easy to change up.

Basic is this:

100g milk chocolate, broken up
50g dark chocolate, broken up
100g butter
4 tbsp golden syrup
100g puffed rice or lightly crushed cornflakes (or whatever cereal YOU like)

Melt together the chocolate, butter and golden syrup in a few burst in the microwave – go gentle! you do not want to burn anything – then mix in the cereal, and pop spoonfuls into cake cases and leave in the fridge to set. Done!

But you can add in whatever you like.

Melt some peanut butter in with the chocolate, or any nut butter you choose. Use all dark, or all white chocolate and add in slivered almonds, or coconut and cherries. Add mint extract, or orange zest! Try lemon zest if you use white chocolate. Change up the cereal too. If you use All Bran, you can form it into nests with a dent in the middle and a mini egg sitting there like it’s just been laid.

Personally I LOVE salt and sweet, so I’d probably make these with potato sticks. I’d go make them now if I had any sticks! You can even make the nests using fried noodles. Oh yes…

I did make some of these but using vermicelli as I always have that here, but it turns out that vermicelli doesn’t bind the chocolate together quite as well as rice cereal, so I added some pinhead oatmeal to thicken it up. That makes it healthy, right? They are the crunchiest thing known to man, I warn you, but they are delicious.

150g dark chocolate, broken up
100g butter
1 heaped tbs of nut butter of your choice
4 tbsp golden syrup
100g vermicelli pasta
6 tbs pinhead oatmeal or 3 tbs normal oats
1 tsp butter for cooking

Melt the butter in a pan, and add the vermicelli. On a low heat, keep stirring and turning until it’s golden and crunchy. Set aside to cool.
Melt the chocolate, syrup, butter and nut butter in 30 second bursts in the microwave. I do mine in a jug, and it’s easier to keep taking in and out.
Mix in the vermicelli and the oats and fill your cake cases half way.
Squish in some candy eggs, and leave to set in the fridge.
I ate mine with a fork as they melt very easily.
These are seriously crunchy.

Another really easy one to do uses mini cupcake cases.
Melt 100g of dark chocolate with 2 tbs golden syrup, 1 tsp peppermint extract, and 1 tbs olive oil until runny enough to spoon into a case.
Fill each mini muffin case halfway, and squish in an Aero egg, or whatever mini egg shaped candy you have. Leave to set in the fridge.
They are quite fudgy, and very moreish.

If you fancy going down the cake route, you can always grab a box of fairy cake or cupcake mix. It’s a parent holiday time too, don’t forget, so make it easy on yourself! Whisk up a batch of easy cream cheese icing, add some food colouring if you like, or mix in some jam, pop a blob on top of each cake and add sprinkles or grated chocolate.

If you don’t want to use a mix, another easy method is the ‘weigh the eggs’ one.

Weigh your eggs in the shell. Whatever they weigh, weigh out the same of butter (or baking fat of your choice), sugar and self raising flour.
Mix the butter and sugar together well, add your flavouring now.
Whisk in the eggs one at a time.
Gently mix in the flour.
Pop into baking cases!

A very good video about this easy cake method, and its adaptations, is here: https://youtu.be/z-b7UT6jBOQ

I hope you all had a good Easter, and happy Orthodox Easter for this coming weekend for those who celebrate!