Please Do Not Feed The Animals is one year old today and this is my 130th post. If I post a photo from that first ever post, you can see how much my boys have grown over the last year.
My most viewed blog post BY FAR is my lion cake pops post. I am sure there are a lot of disappointed viewers as my lion cake pops must come up on a search but the post itself has a couple of photos and a link to Bakerella's site so no instructions on how to do them or anything. Bakerella is the person to go to, though, for information on making cake pops - she is the Queen of cakepops.
It was by reading others' blogs that I discovered cake pops and so many other things I have made this year. I have loved having this blog and making new friends and trying new things. Looking forward to another year of cooking with you all!
I decided to make a grasshopper pie for pudding to celebrate the blogoversary and we put a candle in it for fun. You can't get much more fun for little boys than getting to blow out candles!!!! As you can see, from the top picture, it is still in the tin I made it in as I didn't make it in enough time to let it chill properly. It slid out of the tin beautifully later that day.
I have never had grasshopper pie in my life and had never heard of it until Christmas time when I came across a recipe for it in My Mum-in-law's copy of Nigella's Kitchen. It looked like something the boys would love and I had visions of making it at Halloween so MIL gave me a photocopy of the recipe. It was only later that I realised how much booze is in Nigella's one. So, for this attempt, I used the no-booze recipe in my Hummingbird Bakery Cake Days book that the boys gave me for Mother's Day.
The recipe worked well and we all had a slice but none of us were that excited about it. Not enough chocolate, I think. Or maybe not enough booze!
Just before I post the recipe, I just wanted to mention another blog that has recently turned 1 - Mince and Skirlie. Chris made a video of himself making his paella recipe for his 1 year post and I am very impressed with it.
Okay, on to the recipe -
Recipe -
(Serves 10-12)
Ingredients -
For the biscuit base
250g (9oz) chocolate-flavoured biscuits
175g (6oz) unsalted butter, melted
For the filling
180g (6.5oz) large white marshmallows
180ml (6.5 fl oz) whole milk
1/4 tsp peppermint essence (I used a whole tsp and think it needed it)
1/8 tsp green food colouring (I used my sugarflair paste and put a fair blob in - my pie wasn't subtle)
700ml (1 pint 4 fl oz) double cream
chocolate shavings, to decorate
Method -
1. In a food processor with the blade attachment, blitz the chocolate biscuits into a fine crumb. Alternatively, place in a plastic bag, seal the bag shut and crush with a rolling pin. Pour the crumbs into a bowl and add the melted butter, mixing until all the crumbs are coated and can be squeezed together.
2. Tip the crumb mixture into a 23cm (9in) diameter pie dish or loose-bottomed tart tin, pressing it into the base and sides, then place in the fridge and leave for 30-40 minutes to set completely.
3. Meanwhile, make the filling. In a saucepan over low heat, melt the marshmallows in the milk. Remove from the heat then add the peppermint essence and food colouring and stir into the marshmallow mixture until it is evenly green in colour. Set aside to cool for 10-15 mins.
4. Pour 300ml (10.5 fl oz) of the cream into a bowl and whip into soft peaks, then fold into the marshmallow mixture. Pour the filling into the chilled biscuit base and leave in the fridge for 1-2 hours to set completely.
5. Once set, whip the remaining cream and spoon on to the top of the pie. Sprinkle with chocolate shavings if you wish.
