In The Kitchen: Easter Nest Cakes

These easy, no-bake, Easter* classics always go down a treat.

 The simplicity of these yummy treats is exactly why I thought they would be the perfect make for the first time Sebastian joined in with some 'baking' in the kitchen.  Other than melting the chocolate (which I did before he came into the kitchen with me!) there is nothing hot and no need for anything sharp. Damage limitation!

 My expectations weren't particularly high.  He's only 17 months old and while some bloggers and instagrammers would have you believe that their 17 month old is capable of creating a triple tier chocolate cake, I kept it in my mind that Sebastian will more than likely make an almighty mess and probably get quite frustrated when I inevitably have to stop the fun.  Also, despite not having genetic testing, I am fairly sure my son has gannet in his DNA.  He loves his food and is incredibly a bit possessive over it. The idea of not being allowed to eat the entire mixture before it was spooned into the cases and put in the fridge was likely to be panic-inducing.

 You'd think that having thought all that before beginning, I just wouldn't have bothered and picked up a pack of the ridiculously addictive mini egg nest cakes from Tesco instead.  But no, I decided to do it so at least I can say we have tried...

I was right.  He devoured large amounts of the mixture at various stages of creation and there were globules of sticky rice krispies e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e.  As long as he was shovelling the mixture into his gob and flinging the mixture up the wall, he was happy.  Of course this had to come to an end so the meltdown commenced.  Trying to clean off the stickiest mixture known to man (serves me right for adding extra marshmallows and golden syrup!) whilst Sebastian's world was falling apart was stressful enough that he is now having a little nap and I am sipping coffee, regaling the joyous experience here before I forget the wonderful memories we have made.

Ingredients

40g Butter
150g Chocolate
2tbsp Golden Syrup
Handful of mini marshmallows
80g Rice Krispies
Mini Eggs

I feel it a little insulting talking you through how to make it because everyone knows how to make it and if you don't it is painfully simple.

1. Melt the butter, chocolate, golden syrup and the marshmallows in a bowl over hot water.  A bain marie if you will (a term far too posh for this recipe!)

2. Stir in the rice krispies and mix thoroughly.

3. Serve into cake cases.

4. Decorate with a little cluster of mini eggs.  I did one with marshmallows instead of mini eggs for Sebastian.

5. Pop in fridge for at least an hour.

6. DEVOUR!

The finished product was well received by Sebastian and both mummy and daddy. I'll let this photo testify just how tasty they were...

* Yes, I know Easter has been and gone.  I was very slow off the mark getting the photos off the camera.  These tasty treats can be enjoyed at anytime of the year though, so who cares!

Little Person, Little Bird.

I found myself in Mothercare a few days ago and whilst I was failing to find a suitable car seat,  I spied the new Little Bird range.  Be still my beating heart!  Created by Jools Oliver, the better half of the chef man (You know the one who murdered turkey twizzlers and is a pro on breastfeeding!) it is a beautiful range, full of colour and retro vibes.  A good selection of their pieces are ideal for both boy or girl, I love this and feel you don't see this anywhere enough.  Below is a little selection of my favourite items that I would just love to add to Sebastian's summer wardrobe.

Look at those shorts (deffo my favourite!) - what a lovely colourful collection!