April Biscuit Barrel Round-up

I thought that a candy theme for the April Biscuit Barrel would be the perfect opportunity to put the Easter surpluses to good use, as well as showcasing our own homemade candies; and indeed, here are nine mouth-watering and utterly indulgent entries for us to enjoy. But I warn you up front: if you are trying to avoid chocolate, don’t keep reading!

I started things off with a recipe from my cookbook: Coconut Easter Egg Candy. It’s a fun recipe to make with kids, who can easily mould the coconut filling into egg shapes, dip them in chocolate, and pipe on designs. And when I tell you that they taste like homemade Bounty bars . . .

Ros of The More Than Occasional Baker came in next with some absolutely brilliant Easter eggs of her own. The “white” is cheesecake, and the “yolk” is passionfruit and apricot curd–how scrumptious does that sound?

While Caroline of Carline Makes has done some classic Fondant-Filled Chocolate Eggs and Bunnies, perfect for the crème egg lovers among us. And also a great reason to finally pull out those chocolate moulds that are collecting dust in the cupboard.

From there, entries veered to the candy-filled bakes that I had so joyfully anticipated, as Laura of I’d Much Rather Bake Than . . . gave us Mini Caramel Galaxy Egg Brownies, quite possibly the most moreish treat I’ve seen all year. Yum, how I’d love to sink my teeth into one of these chocolaty beauties.

And she followed them up with some fun Double Chocolate Aero Bubble Cookies, which, she assures us, are “crisp on the outside with a soft and chewy fudge-like interior”–just what I always want in a chocolate cookie!

I’ve already mentioned Crème Eggs once before, but how about these gorgeous Crème Egg Cupcakes from Kate at The Gluten-Free Alchemist? A gluten-free chocolate sponge cupcake with a mini egg tucked away inside (Kate suggests freezing the eggs before inserting them in the batter–useful trick), a swirl of buttercream icing, and another egg perched on top. Kate says that the kids at the school Easter fair she baked these for “snaffled them up.” I bet they wouldn’t last long in a room of adults either!

A second batch of cupcakes comes our way courtesy of Choclette at Tin and Thyme with these Mini Chocolate Surprise Cakes. Choclette did not have any leftover Easter eggs to decorate her cakes with, and settled for some plain chocolate drops instead. However, there was nothing in the theme that said this had to be about Easter candy in particular, so of course I was delighted to accept them. And filled cupcakes, what fun!

My second contribution also had nothing to do with Easter–merely an inordinate love of Chocolate-Covered Marzipan. If you’ve never made your own marzipan before, may I gently suggest that you’ve been missing out? It’s delicious. And of course, you always could cut the marzipan into egg or bunny shapes rather than squares, if you felt that some marzipan treats would be a welcome addition to your family Easter baskets.

Our final entry is a another one from Kate, and we certainly go out with a bang . . . how do Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cup Brownies with Whipped Peanut Butter Mousse sound to you? Fabulous? I quite agree. Kate and I concur that the salty, slightly savoury aspect provided by the peanut butter cups works brilliantly in the sweetness of brownies . . . I know everyone is currently obsessed with salted caramel, but I think it’s time salted peanut desserts got their turn in the spotlight!

Well, there we are, and many thanks to all who submitted these lovely entries. The next challenge for May will be up tomorrow, so check back then. And enjoy your Bank holiday weekend!