Mothers Day Chocolate Feast – Menu
Firstly, (a belated) Happy Mothers Day to all you hard working Mummy’s – hope you all had an indulgent day. We had a big family (and extended family) afternoon tea at our house – we’ve done it the past few years and I tend to go a little overboard in the making of yummy treats. You see, my family has a MASSIVE sweet tooth and, knowing my audience like I do, I know that only super-rich and decadent chocolate treats will do.
I usually spend all weekend making delicious treats. This year though, I am spending the bulk of each weekend studying for my upcoming Chemistry exam coming up. So, rather than having the luxury of a whole weekend of preparing, I knew I needed to make dishes that could be done QUICK on Sunday morning, in the space of a few spare hours I had.
I am in my element while I’m baking. I love spending a few hours in the kitchen moving enjoyably from dish to dish. So for me, spending Mothers Day morning in the kitchen creating sweet treats was pure bliss. Thankfully, my Darling Husband helped by keeping the boys out of my hair! Don’t get me wrong, I love to have them in the kitchen with me, but on occasions when I have a strict time frame, I need to work quickly, strategically and without the “help” of little hands!
I started my morning’s activities by making 2 batches of 12 Mini Pineapple & Chocolate Doughnuts. It was the only recipe of the day I needed any machinery for and so I thought it would be best to start with the most “complicated” (which it isn’t really, but it just has more steps when compared with the other dishes!). I followed my recipe for Mini Pineapple Doughnuts, only adding the step of dipping the finished doughnuts in melted chocolate and then topping them with Hopper’s 100’s and 1000’s, which have no artificial colors or flavors! (yay!)
These chocolate covered doughnuts were deliciously messy and should have come with a warning because you ended up with a chocolate covered face – no matter your age. I ended up with chocolate on my nose… difficult to hide sneaking one without anyone noticing!
My next delicious dish was Nutella Brownie Bites, adapted from a recipe for 4 Ingredient Nutella Brownie Bites from Savory Sweet Life. I this incredibly recipe while oggling Nutella Recipes on Pinterest. The only alteration I made was to top the Nutella Brownie Bites with a sprinkling of slivered almonds (rather than hazelnuts), giving the brownies a delicious crunch.
To make the Nutella Brownie Bites, you simple mix together eggs, nutella and flour to form a deep chocolatey batter. The Nutella Brownie Batter is then divided into mini cupcake liners, topped with nuts and baked. I doubled the recipe to produce 24 Amazing Mini Nutella Brownie Bites.
I thought they would be the perfect, simple, no machinery necessary recipe to make a dessert to impress. And did they ever! It was my personal favorite treat of the day, so deep and rich and chocolatey. The unmistakable taste of Nutella shines through and they are so light, yet fulfilling, that you don’t feel like you are being too naughty by having more than 1…
On Pinterest I’ve seen so many inspiring Popcorn Recipes, that I thought I’d do a simple Chocolate & Popcorn “Cupcake” of plain popped popcorn mixed with melted chocolate.
I simply melted about 200g of chocolate in a large bowl in the microwave and then added popcorn until I had the right popcorn to chocolate ratio that I wanted. You may want yours with more or with less chocolate or popcorn, so it’s not an exact science.
Then, simply fill cupcake wrappers with a tablespoon or so of chocolatey popcorn and give it about half an hour to set. The remainder of the plain popcorn was greedily eaten by the boys while I got on with making my next dish.
The Chocolate & Popcorn “Cupcakes” faced a little doubt from some skeptical family members who had to be nudged, well convinced, to try just one. Each who tried the simple treat went back for more (and more!).
Knowing my sister was making cake pops, (which were incredible!) I left the sweets there and went onto a simple plate of fruit. We’re between seasons here in Australia, with the fruit moving away from summer fruits into the winter staples. So, I made Fruit Kebabs with the yummy between season fruit I could find – pineapple and grapes. I threaded them in alternating layers onto skewers. Simple, effective and the plate was empty in no time!
I saved my final dish to prepare just before the guests arrive. At the last minute I sliced a baguette into little rounds, topped each with a small amount of grated cheese and stuck them under a hot grill until they were crisp and browned. My Mom used to make this yummy treat for my Sister and I almost every Sunday evening. I thought it fitting to include this special dish from my childhood, to share with my Mom and Sister.
My Sister went completely NUTS for them, indulging in piece after piece (shhh… don’t tell!). I have to be honest, as much as I adored all the sweet treats these little Mini Cheese Toasties were so homey and reminded me so much of my childhood that they will hold special place in my Mothers Day Chocolate Feast Memory too.
I allowed the boys little taste of a few sweet treats, which they don’t normally have, but they mostly enjoyed the fruit and popcorn. So, thankfully they didn’t end up suffering from a severe sugar rush by the end of the afternoon.
The Mothers Day Chocolate Feast was easy to prepare and was definitely a Yummy Day to Remember! The menu is one which will be great to follow again for future birthdays and special occasions, where sweet treats are the order of the day and preparation time is limited.
How did you spend your Mothers Day? Do you have any annual traditions you follow?
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