Chocolate Hedgehog Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°. In a small bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Combine flour, pecans and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Shape 1 tablespoon of dough into a ball; pinch the dough to form a face. Repeat. Place 2 in. apart on a greased baking sheet. , Bake 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Let stand 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely., In a microwave, melt chocolate; stir until smooth. Holding a hedgehog cookie by the nose, spoon chocolate over the back (leave the face uncovered). Allow excess to drip off. Place on waxed paper; immediately coat the wet chocolate with sprinkles., With a toothpick dipped in chocolate, make two eyes and a dot on the nose. Let stand until set. Store in an airtight container.

Steps:

• Place sugar in a large bowl; set aside. Combine butter, cream, peanut butter, and vanilla in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until butter and peanut butter are just melted. Pour over sugar in bowl and whisk until smooth. Transfer to an 8-inch-square baking dish and smooth surface. Place parchment or plastic wrap directly on surface of mixture and refrigerate until set, about 2 hours.
• Roll heaping teaspoonfuls of peanut-butter mixture into 1-inch balls. Melt chocolate, stirring until smooth, in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water; remove from heat. Working with 1 ball at a time, dip into chocolate and remove with a fork, letting excess chocolate drip off; transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets and immediately sprinkle top and sides with 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cocoa nibs. Refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes. Truffles can be made 1 week ahead and stored in a single layer, covered, in refrigerator.

Steps:

• Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Whisk sugar, shortening, corn syrup, eggs, and vanilla extract in a separate bowl. Stir sugar mixture into flour mixture until just combined. Refrigerate dough until chilled, 30 minutes to 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Scoop cookie dough using a cookie scoop or 1 tablespoon so all the cookies are uniform; shape dough into teardrop-shaped cookies. Flatten the pointed side of each cookie to form the 'face'. Arrange cookies on baking sheets.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.
• Pulse pecans in a food processor until finely chopped; transfer to a bowl.
• Melt chocolate chips in the top of a double boiler over simmering water, stirring frequently and scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula to avoid scorching.
• Dip the top of each cookie in the melted chocolate, spreading to fully coat the 'body' of each hedgehog. Press cookies, chocolate-side down, into the ground pecans forming the 'fur'. Arrange cookies on a sheet of waxed paper to set, about 30 minutes.
• Transfer the remaining melted chocolate to a piping bag or plastic bag with a corner snipped. Pipe chocolate onto the pointed end of each cookie for eyes and a nose.

Steps:

• Grease a 19 cm x 28 cm x 2 cm baking tray.
• Put crushed biscuits in a bowl.
• Melt the butter with the sugar, coconut and cocoa in a saucepan on low heat.
• Bring to the boil and boil for about 2 minutes.
• Allow the mixture to cool.
• The mixture may look separated but ignore this.
• Whisk in the eggs, this improves the mixture again.
• Pour this mixture over the crushed biscuits and stir until it is evenly combined.
• Pour into the tray and let cool.
• Spread over frosting and sprinkle nuts, hundreds and thousands or chocolate chips.
• Cut into squares.
• CHOCOLATE FROSTING Put cocoa powder, icing sugar, syrup and butter in a bowl and mix together.
• Add the water, a little at a time and beat all the time.
• Beat for about 15 minutes on high speed until it is light and fluffy.
• If it looks curdled just add a little more icing sugar.

Steps:

• For the slice :.
• Line a baking tin with baking paper.
• Melt butter and sugar in a small saucepan over a low heat, add cocoa and mix well.
• Remove from heat and add beaten egg.
• Place all other ingredients into a bowl. Add melted mixture and stir well.
• Press into pan and chill until set.
• Spread with the icing.
• For the icing:.
• Sift icing sugar and cocoa together and add water.
• Mix to a smooth consistency, adding more water if needed.
• Sprinkle with some extra coconut if you like.
• Chill until set and then cut into squares.

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Grease and base line a 1 litre heatproof glass pudding basin and a 450g loaf tin with baking parchment.
• Put the butter and chocolate into a saucepan and melt over a low heat, stirring. When the chocolate has all melted remove from the heat.
• In a large bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and muscovado sugar. In another bowl beat together the eggs, soured cream and vanilla extract. Pour the egg and chocolate mixtures into the flour and mix thoroughly together.
• Weigh 250g into the loaf tin, then spoon the rest of the mixture into the pudding basin.
• Cook both cakes side by side in the oven. The loaf cake will cook in about 30 mins and the basin cake in about 1 hour. Take the loaf cake out of the oven and close the oven door quickly so as not to allow the heat out. Test with a skewer inserted into the centre, it should come out clean. If not return to the oven for another five mins. Repeat with the basin cake after about another half an hour. Once each cake is cooked, allow to cool completely before turning out.
• To make the icing, mix together the cocoa and water to make a smooth paste. Beat the butter until soft and gradually beat in the icing sugar. Add the cocoa paste and beat until smooth.
• To assemble the cake, trim the top of the basin cake so it is flat. Turn cut side down onto a board and cut in half vertically. Spread a little butter icing on each of the flat bases and sandwich these two buttercreamed surfaces together to make a rugby ball shape for the hedgehog body. Place onto a 30cm cake board or wooden board. Cut the loaf cake in half vertically. Take one half and trim the short end to a v shape to make the pointy head. Use a little icing to attach to the body. Cut pieces from the remaining loaf cake to fill any gaps. Cover the whole cake in butter icing.
• Cut the flake bars into pieces ranging from 2.5cm to 5cm. The spikes do not have to be regular or even in shape. Starting at the front push the spikes into the body of the hedgehog at a slight angle. Start with the small pieces gradually using larger ones as you go towards the back. Press a round chocolate into the tip of the head to represent the nose and use chocolate chips for the eyes. Using a tiny bit of butter icing attach sliver or gold balls to the eyes.
• The cake is best made the day before cutting and icing and will keep well for 3-4 days.