Easter is one of the most fun food times of year for kids, lots of colour and allll that sugar. For adults, the novelty may not be as great. Here are a couple of grown-up tweaks that can change up the regular chocolate eggs and commercial offerings.
Raspberry Danish Iced Coffee or Chocolate:
Raspberry Danish iced coffee can be made with chocolate instead of coffee, and it can also be made hot. This recipe came from late-night Instagram scrolling — credit goes to @littlejoycoffee for this one. The components can be made up to a week in advance and kept in bottles in the fridge.
Part 1: The syrup. Make a raspberry (or any berry/fruit) syrup using 250 g fresh or frozen raspberries, 150 g sweetener (I used half allulose and half sugar), and a tablespoon of water with a dash of vanilla. Heat on the stove, stirring continually for 5-10 minutes until the syrup starts to thicken. Strain through a mesh sieve to remove seeds, then set aside to cool.
Part 2: The cream cheese topping. In a blender or with a stick mixer, combine 180 g softened cream cheese, 300 ml of thick cream, a splash of vanilla, 100 g sugar, and 150 ml whole milk. Blend well — it should be nice and thick. Keep cold.
Part 3: The coffee or chocolate. Make a shot (or two) of espresso or mix a teaspoon of instant coffee or chocolate powder in a little boiling water to dissolve.
Part 4: The build. To build your drink, pour about 1 1/2 cm raspberry syrup into a glass, add ice (leave the ice out if making it as a hot drink), almost fill the glass with milk, add the coffee or chocolate, then very carefully pour the cream mixture over the top. Sprinkle liberally with chocolate.
A toasted hot cross bun would go down nicely at this point, but we are talking chocolate, so some ‘grown-up’ rocky road isn’t a bad choice. There are no rules with rocky road — it is essentially everything stuck together with chocolate. Line a tray with baking paper, then melt a cup of chocolate in a bowl and add in whatever takes your fancy before tipping it into the tray and cooling. Carefully chosen add-ins can make it a bit more luxe than the regular lolly/marshmallow/nut affair — try freeze-dried or glacé fruit, roasted almonds/macadamias/pistachios, Turkish delight, swirling white/milk/dark chocolate, caramel pieces, honeycomb, or even liquorice.
Of course, if you are not up to making these at home yourself but would still like to try, we have them available in store at The Local Larder or Bindoon.
