Malteser Bunny Chocolate Malt Mousse Pie

My name's Gem...and I'm addicted to Malteser bunnies!! So much so that when I saw them roll around on the shelves sometime in February I grabbed a few bags of the minis knowing they would make an excellent Easter dessert! Wrong! Of course we hunted them out in my baking cupboard one night when we were in need of a Netflix accompanying chocolate fix! Never mind I said, I'll buy more! So it's the evening before Easter Sunday and I ask the lady in Morrison's where their Easter aisle is and she tells me it doesn't exist anymore!! Fortunately they had a few lone bunnies left by the tills so I grabbed those..and decapitated them so they would fit in my tart! Note to self: don't eat the contents of your baking cupboard without assurances you will find back up!!

It wasn't a big deal in the end - half the bunny for my pie the other half for my mouth - everyone's a winner! Except for the bunny I guess.

This Oreo crust takes the pie to the next level of decadence! and the chocolate ovaltine mixed into the mousse gives it that nice malty kick. There was no need for pouring a whole bag of maltesers in the middle of the pie...other than the fact that my mantra is you can never have too much chocolate! you could equally cover the whole thing in cream instead because it is tooth achingly sweet (in the best kind of way) and the cream does help to cut through the sweetness...but please sprinkle a few maltesers on top at least if you do!

This was the perfect end to our Sunday roast lamb feast and it was the perfect sugary fix to get our bellies ready for the sugar coma of chowing down on our chocolate eggs from our egg hunt that was to come!

Malteser Bunny Chocolate Malt Mousse Pie:

Serves 10

Adapted from Beyond Frosting

for the crust:

275g Oreos

6 tbsp unsalted butter

for the filling:

225g cream cheese, cold

60g dark chocolate

1 tbsp unsalted butter

65g chocolate malt powder

115g caster sugar

2 tbsp double cream

for the decorating:

315ml double cream

65g cup icing sugar

7 Malteser bunnies

175g Maltesers

Grind up oreos in a food processor until they resemble fine crumbs.  Melt the butter in the microwave for 30 seconds and stir in with the oreos.  Press the oreo mixture into a 10" tart pan.  Refrigerate crust until filling is ready.

Remove cream cheese from fridge and beat on medium speed in an electric mixer for two minutes until light and fluffy.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

In a small microwave safe bowl, combine the chocolate chunks and butter.  Melt for 30-60 seconds and stir until chocolate is melted and smooth.  Pour melted chocolate over cream cheese and mix to combine.

Add malt powder and caster sugar to the cream cheese mix and beat well until incorporated.

In a separate bowl, whip 350ml double cream together with the icing sugar.  Remove 2 tablespoons of the whipped double cream and fold it in to the cream cheese mix.  Cover the rest of the cream with clingfilm and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Pour chocolate malt mousse filling into the oreo crust and let set in the fridge for 3-4 hours.

Just before serving, remove the whipped cream and put it into a piping bag fitted with a star attachment.  Pipe around the edge of the pie.

Cut the heads off the malteser bunnies, or if using minis use the whole bunny.  Place alternately in the swirls of cream.  Place a single malteser in the other swirls.

Using a sharp knife, chop some of the maltesers in half.  Pile up the half and whole maltesers in the middle of the pie.

Eat and enjoy!

I am sharing this for Cook, Blog, Share over at Super Golden Bakes

An Easter Market Cupcake Stall at Bangor Uni & Mini Egg Rocky Roads

So 14 hours of baking, 150 cupcakes later and this is what I had to show for it! This was my cupcake stall at the Easter market my Uni put on.  

The things that couldn't fly off the table quick enough were these assorted boxes of mini's! I'd been saving egg boxes for weeks, along with some very thoughtful friends and sisters who did the same for me! My mom sent me that lovely flowery paper and so I decided to cover each box with it to make it prettier, and in case some people wanted to give the egg boxes as gifts.  That was a time consuming task - who knew that some egg labels are stuck on with such nasty adhesive that takes forever to get off! but I think it was worth it in the end!

People couldn't resist their cuteness and the opportunity to taste every cupcake I was selling without looking like a piggy! I made four varieties of cupcakes, including Cookies and Cream Oreo Cupcakes (I forgot to take a picture of them on the stall but you can see the mini one above)...

I also made Creme Egg Cupcakes...

and Coconut Birdie Nest Cupcakes...

and these Malteser Bunny Cupcakes were definitely the hit of the day and I sold out of these first.

Here's another shot of the mini's all lined up and ready to be bought! 

My mom got me this awesome cake stand from a charity shop! On the second row down you will see some Mini Egg Rocky Roads that I decided to make at midnight the night before the stall! I had finished all the cupcake baking and still had a whole bag of Mini Eggs left and decided I should really whip something up for people who don't like cupcakes (yes, these people really exist - who knows how or why!)

So I'll leave you with the recipe, it's pretty simple and easy to whip together.  They would be fun to make with kids, but make sure they don't get involved with the chopping of the Mini Eggs! I nearly lost two of my thumbs to this process! and that's not even an exaggeration.  I was using a super sharp knife and because they roll around when you try and chop them in half it was a dangerous task! My one thumb still hasn't properly healed and it was 3 weeks ago now that it happened!

Warnings aside, these were absolutely delish and would make the perfect addition to any Easter gathering this weekend!

Mini Egg Rocky Roads:

Makes 12 cupcake sized

From Cupcake Crazy Gem

300g milk chocolate

150g dark chocolate

2 tsp vegetable oil

1 cup Rice Krispies

1 cup Mini Eggs, chopped in halves or quarters

150g mini marshmallows

36 Whole Mini Eggs

Melt both chocolates in a glass bowl over a pan of simmering water.

Add the vegetable oil and mix together.

Chop up Mini Eggs, with caution!

Add Mini Eggs, marshmallows and Rice Krispies to the cooled chocolate mixture.  Mix together until combined.

Pour into cupcake cases.  Decorate each one with 3 whole Mini Eggs.  Press them slightly into the chocolate.

Refrigerate overnight or for at least one hour if you need to try them right away!

Malteser Bunny Cupcakes - Alphabakes

Last week I ran another cupcake stall at the spring market at my Uni, it was slightly less attended than the one I did at Christmas but fun all the same! If your definition of fun is 14 hours straight of baking :)

So over the next few weeks I will show you the Easter-y delights that I baked up for the occasion!

Starting with my favourite of the bunch - the Malteser Bunny Cupcake! 

I am obsessed with Malteser Bunnies, when that time rolls around each year that they start popping out on Supermarket shelves I can't help but buy one...every single time I go to the supermarket! Literally, I can't walk by them and not pick them up! It's not a good habit for my wallet or my waist line.  Luckily I have a rather fantastic mom who likes to supplement my addiction by posting me packages of the little guys, even when I'm not even living in the same country (that is if she can hold off eating them until my package is posted - the addiction must run in my family!)  In a package she sent me a few weeks back filled with baking goodies, cupcake magazines, cake stands etc... I called her and told her the one thing I was most excited about was the Malteser Bunny she had included.  She guiltily asked how many Malteser Bunnies I had received, so I told her just the one, to which she shamefully replied that she had bought a whole bundle but by the time it came round to post my package only one remained!  She felt so bad that she promptly sent me a new package the next day filled with bags and bags of mini Malteser Bunnies! Yes you heard me right - mini's!

When my mom first told me she'd been snacking on mini ones I thought she was making it up, I had looked all over in the supermarkets up here and not seen any mini ones, it seems they were rather scarce! but I knew if they were creating mini ones then they would just be called out to be used as cupcake toppers! and so that is exactly what I did.

I baked up a malt cupcake base, the most amazingly delicious chocolate malt frosting that you seriously need to have in your life, and then topped the regular cupcakes with the mini bunnies and the mini cupcakes with regular Maltesers! and a couple of sprinkles never hurt anyone.

I am entering these into the Alphabakes Challenge this month because the theme is 'M' based bakes.  It is hosted by Caroline Makes this month, and will be hosted by Baking Addict next month.

Malt Cupcakes:

Makes 12 regular cupcakes and 24 mini's

From Cupcakes from the Primrose Bakery

165g unsalted butter, at room temperature

180g light soft brown sugar

150g golden caster sugar

3 large eggs

187g self raising flour, sifted

90g plain flour, sifted

75g Ovaltine (malted drink) powder

187ml semi-skimmed milk, at room temperature

3/4 tsp good quality vanilla extract (I use Nielsen-Massey)

11/2 tbsp sour cream

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.

Line the cupcake trays with cupcake cases.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugars until pale and smooth, which should take about 3-5 minutes using an electric mixer.  Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing for a few minutes after each addition.

Combine the flours and Ovaltine in a separate bowl.  Mix the milk, vanilla extract and sour cream in a jug.  Add one-third of the flour and Ovaltine mixture to the creamed mixture and beat well.  Pour in one-third of the milk and beat again.  Repeat these steps until all the flour mixture and milk have been added.

Fill the cupcake cases 2/3 full and bake in the oven for about 25 minutes until slightly raised and golden brown.  If a skewer inserted into the middle of one cupcake comes out clean then they are done.

Remove fromt he oven and leave in the cake tins to cool for about 10 minutes before carefully placing on a wire rack to cool completely.

Malted Belgian Chocolate Frosting:

Makes enough to frost 50 cupcakes and to have plenty leftover!

From Sweetapolita

500g icing sugar

450g unsalted butter

3 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup Ovaltine powder

250g Callebaut* Chocolate (I used 200g Callebaut and 50g Milk chocolate)
1/2 cup double cream

In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine half the icing sugar and butter and beat on low speed for one minute.  While that is mixing, melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water, and set aside to cool. Add the rest of the icing sugar and butter to the stand mixer and mix on medium speed until completely combined (I do it in two stages so as not to completely cover my kitchen in icing sugar).

Add vanilla and Ovaltine, and beat on low speed until well combined.

Add the melted, cooled chocolate and beat on medium speed until smooth (about 2 minutes). Add double cream and beat on high speed for one minute.

The recipe recommends using it straight away, which I did to frost the cupcakes.  I also refrigerated the leftovers and iced some sugar cookies with it a few days later and it was still delicious.  I just left it to get up to room temperature and then whipped it up in my KitchenAid again before using it.

*Baker's note: Callebaut is a brand of Belgian chocolate - which is the reason the recipe title is Belgian chocolate frosting.  It is good quality chocolate with 70% cocoa solids.  You can just as easily make it with Green and Black's or any other high cocoa solid content chocolate...but if you want to make it with the real deal you can buy it from here.