Half a Grasshopper Pie

                                               Half a Grasshopper Pie

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Grasshopper Cocktail: The drink reputedly originated at Tujague's in the French Quarter New Orleans. The cocktail contains equal amounts of creme de menthe and white creme de cacao with added cream and shaken with ice.

You start with the thought "I'm going to make Nigella Lawson's Grasshopper pie", that was until you realise you don't have and can't get some of the ingredients.... which brings us to today's recipe a "half a grasshopper pie".

I thought I did, I thought I did... have whie creme de cacao. I didn't. We don't have Bourbon biscuits here but I'm Australian so dark chocolate Tims Tams it was. 

Tim Tams: chocolate coated and chocolate cream filled biscuits (cookies) popular in Australia, use the equivalent in you country i.e. chocolate coated oreos. 

We also don't have the mini white marshmallows Nigella uses here so I thought white soft eating marshmallows will do. Three supermarkets later I cannot buy white marshmallows, I can buy fruit swirled, chocolate dipped, pink and white mixed but no "white". 

Yep, this is why I found myself separating pink from white marshmallows. I've since found out Aldi in Australia has white eating marshmallows... dang I should have asked my all knowing friend Jacinta first! 

Half a Grasshopper Pie recipe

1 loose bottomed 25x5 cm (10x2 inch) fluted tart tin

300g grams (10.5oz) of chocolate coated cream biscuits (approx one and half packs of dark chocolate Tim Tams) 

50g (1.75oz) of dark chocolate (I used Lindt 70%)

50g (1.75oz) softened butter

200g (7oz) grams soft white eating marshmallows (cut in half or quarters depending on size)

2tsp of pure vanilla extract/essence

80ml (2.7 fluid ozs) green creme de methe 

125ml (4.22 fluid ozs) milk

375ml (12.7 fluid ozs) thickened cream

few drops of green food colouring

*optional vanilla whipped cream, fresh mint and chocolate curls to serve

oiled scissor blades make short work of cutting marshmallows 

Process the chocolate biscuits (cookies) with the chocolate in a food processor until it's a rough crumb, add the butter and pulse until it just comes together. 

Base processing finished and ready to press into shell. 

Using the back of a spoon or your hands press the crumbs evenly around the base and sides of fluted tart tin. Make sure you press firmly, particularly around the edges coming up the sides. Refrigerate the base. 

Put the cut marshmallows with the milk in a small saucepan, *over low heat. Once the milk starts to foam around the edges, remove from heat and stir marshmallows to completely melt in. Pour into a heat proof bowl, stir in the creme de menthe, vanilla and green food colouring if using. Set aside to cool. 

Whisk the cream until soft peak stage (it will hold it's shape but drop gently off a spoon), add cooled marshmallow mixture. Whisk until combined but not over beaten. 

Pour mixture into chilled crust. Spread lightly to fill shell evenly, create a few swirls or smoother finish... whatever you prefer.

Refrigerate pie a minimum of four hours, use a plastic dome lid or aluminium foil to create a dome over the pie. You don't want the surface to be touched.

When ready to serve either top with crushed chocolate biscuits (cookies) or as I did with a dollop of vanilla white cream, chocolate curls and a fresh mint leaf. 

* Trouble shooting: gentle, gentle heat melting marshmallows if the mixture boils the marshmallows don't reset. 

* a delicate texture similar to a Sara Lee Bavarian dessert, this pie needs to be refrigerated... it will collapse if left in a warm place. 

Was the pie worth it? Absolutely!!  Happy Baking :) 

You might also be interested in Ode to Bounty Bar cupcakes   

Chocolate Oreo Fudgy Peppermint Christmas Treats

chocolate oreo fudgy peppermint treats

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Melt, mix, pour, chill and eat.

A quick, easy recipe for chocolate Christmas treats... they taste yummy and are perfect unadorned for gift giving or decorated with mini Oreo's for your Christmas get together.

makes 36 to 40 squares

23x23cm (9x9in) cake tin lined with non stick baking paper... as there is no baking involved don't worry if you don't have the exact matching tin size.

Ingredients

360g (11.5 oz) dark eating chocolate... just pick one you like the taste of and roughly chop. 

1 can sweetened condensed milk

30g (1oz) butter

I pack Oreo's, lightly crushed

1/3 cup crushed candy canes

Optional decoration; more crushed candy canes, mini Oreo's and a dab of pure cream or ganache or frosting to hold the decorations on. 

Method

Place the roughly chopped chocolate, butter and sweetened condensed milk in a medium large saucepan. Stir over low heat until about 3/4 of the chocolate is melted, remove from heat and continue to stir until the *chocolate is fully melted. The mixture should be barely warm at this stage.

Stir in your lightly crushed Oreo's and crushed candy canes. Pour into prepared tin and smooth top with a dampened spatula. 

Refrigerate for 2-3 hours before cutting into squares. Decorate if desired. 

Store in an airtight container for up to a week in the refrigerator.

Happy Baking :) 

*Note: I know it's tempting but do melt the mixture slowly, if you turn up the heat the chocolate risks overheating and becoming grainy and you want smooth and creamy :)

adapted from Christmas 'AWW little Christmas treats' 'dark chocolate nougat fudge bars'

Try your hand at making your own fruit mince

star fruit mince pie pops 

or how about traditional shortbread... wonderful crushed and added to melted chocolate too!

The Men Bake Birthday Cake

A slice of what the men can do!! Chocolate peppermint birthday cake.

It's my birthday and husband Mark and Step son Daniel baked me a cake!! This year they baked their first full sized cake from scratch & what a fabulous result!! Mark actually came away from the experience saying "oh, that's easy!" something I didn't think I'd ever hear. 

They used a Nigella Lawson recipe for 'Dense Chocolate Loaf Cake' page 166 from 'How To Be A Domestic Goddess'. Mark and Dan used a square 23 x 23cm (9 x 9in) pan instead of the loaf pan, topped the cake with peppermint whipped cream, chocolate ganache and crushed peppermint candy bars.

If you can't recall last years birthday cake it was a "do it yourself" chocolate peppermint cake ;) A bought chocolate cake with chocolate peppermint candy bars to crush as topping. Truthfully, I'd love any cake they gave me, but it was extra special this year with them baking for me!

 I learnt a few lessons watching the less experienced bake, what I just take for granted everyone knows i.e. "creaming the butter and sugar" Mark didn't know and was asking "how much cream?". I will discuss it with you more fully at a later date... but for now it's my birthday and I'm off to do birthday things.

Happy Baking :)

The boy is good!

Still out with the spider bite, so I thought I'd feature my 17 year old step sons patisserie skills! 

Chocolate mudslide cookies
baked & photographed by Daniel Paxton-Zahra

Chocolate Peppermint Fudge Sauce over Vanilla bean ice-cream
all made and photographed by Daniel Paxton-Zahra

 Daniel has 6 days of High School left, culminating with Food Tech theory exam next Tuesday. See Daniel's bio and short film on the About Me page.