Homemade Chocolate Bars {recipe}


Ethan asked me to make some Titan bars. If you know Aldi you will know that is their version of the Mars Bar. For some reason my kids just think i can do anything! lol So i set about to find a recipe, thinking that surely someone has made these before. I couldn't find ANY easy recipe. Most called for nougat and to make nougat you need a candy thermometer, apparently. Well that's just all too hard for me. So i started thinking of what was sort of like nougat in texture and taste but didn't require me burning making anything with hot sugar! I am NOT good with lolly making. at all. 


So i came up with this recipe. I've tried it twice with great success. If something doesn't work for you, let me know! Also let me know if it DOES work for you. My kids love them and they get gobbled up in no time. I thought my sister was going to drool all over my kitchen bench when i asked her to try them. ;)


Ingredients


'nougat' layer
1 packet of marshmallows (375g)
1 packet of milk chocolate melts 


caramel layer
1 packet columbines caramels
1/2 tin condensed milk


1.5 packets of chocolate melts for dipping
2 tablespoons copha


So here we are....mmmmm...goodness.....

 The 'nougat'
Step 1. Melt 1 packet of milk chocolate melts over low heat.

Step 2. Melt your marshmallows in a microwave bowl. 60-90 seconds on high should do the trick. depending on your microwave. Stir to combine. (don't worry that they are pink...they won't be pink in the end)

 Step 3. Place melted chocolate and marshmallows in a mixmaster with a whisk. Whip until it is combined and it is hard to mix. If your chocolate and 'mallows are quite hot this may take some time. You can cool them slightly before you mix them together if you like. But don't leave it too long or it will be hard and you won't get them mixed together right.

 Step 4. Should look something like this! You should be able to mould it in your hands.

 Step 5. Press into a lined lamington tin. Leave to cool on the bench.

 The Caramel
Step 6. In a saucepan melt over low heat your caramels and condensed milk.

 After a few minutes it will look like this. mmmmmmmmm caramel.....*drool* If you are wondering what the brown specks are in there - it's chocolate. I had a few chocolate eclairs in my bag of caramels. lol

 Step 7. As soon as it's melted and combined (no need to bring to the boil or anything like that) spread over your 'nougat'.

 Step 8. Cool on the bench. Cover with baking paper and place in the freezer until hard. Then cut in bite size pieces. You may need to heat your knife up to do this.

 Step 9. Melt extra chocolate with copha and stir to combine. Dip each bar into chocolate with 2 forks and let drain over a cake-cooling rack. When they are set you can eat them! Store them in the fridge. :)

*drool*

*Variations*

Use white chocolate melts and white marshmallows to make white 'nougat'

Use pink marshmallows and white chocolate melts to make pink 'nougat'

Enjoy!!!

Rhinokey and {birthday} Cake

It was Nicholas' birthday yesterday. 5! And he's obsessed with monkeys. obsessed. I managed to find a pattern for the Wuzzle Rhinokey, who Nic loves.

We went to Spotlight and chose fabric and then i made Rhinokey. The pattern wasn't too difficult to understand. Fur isn't the easiest thing to sew with but i got it done. His mouth proved the most trouble. I just couldn't get it to look right, luckily Nic doesn't care. :) I am happy with how he turned out. He is cute and fuzzy and very much loved.

 And now Ethan wants a yellow and orange one....

And here is the cake! It was lemon on the top and banana on the bottom. And coconut cream cheese icing. it was SUPER yum!

Cakes
The two last cakes i did. 
This one was for a 12 year old girl. She likes spiders apparently. So i tried to make a spider cake a little girly. It's chocolate fudge cake with blue buttercream between four layers. White passionfruit flavoured fondant and white chocolate spiderwebs.

This one was for an 8th Birthday/Baptism cake for a girl. her favourite colour was lime green. Six layers with purple buttercream between the layers. Unfortunately i don't have photos of the cake cut! I would have loved that.

Jane Austen and Regency Wear


In the last month I've been making Regency clothes for the Jane Austen party i'm going too on the 23rd of July. I've got my dress, bonnet, spencer jacket and now my corset is almost done! 


My dress was pretty simple. I had a maternity dress that i hadn't worn for ages(even when i was pregnant) so i just made a new bodice out of some taupe chiffon and cream ribbon.

The bonnet i made from a straw hat using this tutorial. The fabric is the same as my dress.

The spencer jacket still needs some work. It need some long sleeves put in under the puffs.And i might even redo the whole thing.

The corset i made from this pattern and instructions. This is the second one i did and it turned out just perfectly. It took me several hours but i got it done in one day. It's extremely fiddly and time consuming but worth it. There are 18 eyelets up the back. I opted for metal eyelets rather then handsewing it. I'm not THAT crazy. lol I need to buy some cords for the back and i need a busk. 

Sorry those are crappy pics. Hopefully Graham will be able to make me a wooden busk for the center of my corset. And maybe i can lose some weight in the next month so i can fit into it. lol So now i just have 3 boys costumes and Graham's to make too. no sweat. 

Blog Changes

I am going to be making some changes to my blog layout and possibly a new name...so over the next week or so don't stress if you see some funky things happening. :)

Ruffle Skirt

I used this tutorial to make this skirt. Turned out good i think. :)

It's 2 sheets i bought at the op shop this morning. Grand total of $3. The elastic was more expensive because i bought that new at Woolies. It was $4 something for a packet. The lace was a curtain my mum gave me.

My {Boys} Creations

I found a pair of ladies pants from Katies at the op-shop for $1. They are now a cute pair of pants for Lachlan. I used a pj bottom pattern to get the general shape. I kept the original band on the pants and added elastic at the back-as you can see in the first pic here.

Super cute!
This was a mens t-shirt. Now it has a v neck and it opens with snap clips on one shoulder.
I made this from scratch. It's just a plain tshirt with 2 snap clips on each shoulder that a bib can be clipped onto. When you don't want the bib on you just clip the white shoulder thingys on.