Easter Egg Blondies

When there is reduced priced Easter chocolate, it can be turned into a tempting dessert. These blondies have a distinct caramel flavour and the colourful milk chocolate eggs brighten and balance for a satisfying sweet treat. A lovely change from the traditional chocolate brownies and a fabulous way to use up leftover or on sale holiday chocolate.     

Easter Egg Blondies

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• 250g/9oz cold unsalted butter, cut into 6–8 pieces
• 150g/5½oz light soft brown sugar
• 125g/4½oz caster sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1½ tsp vanilla extract
• pinch sea salt
• 300g/10½oz plain flour
• 225g/8oz sugar-coated mini chocolate eggs

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF/190ºC/170ºC Fan/Gas mark 5. Grease and line a 20cm/8in square loose-based cake tin with baking paper.

2. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir in both sugars and cook for 102 minutes, or until the butter is absorbed and the mixture turns a creamy toffee colour and looks smooth and glossy. Take off the heat and set aside.

3. Whisk the eggs, vanilla and salt together in a large bowl. Whisk in the melted butter and sugar mixture until throughly combined, then whisk in th flour until smooth. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 20 minutes.

4. While the blondie is baking, cut 125g / 4 1/2 oz of the chocolate eggs in half. It's best to use the heel rather than the tip of the knife and work with just a couple of the eggs at a time.

5. When the 20 minutes is up, take the blondie out of the oven and scatter the halved and whole chocolate eggs on top. Carefully press the eggs into the blondie mixture and don't worry if the surface cracks a little. (Take care as the sides of the tin will be hot.) Return to the oven for a further 10 minutes or until the blondie is pale golden brown.

6. Cool the blondie in the tin for at least 10 minutes before cutting into squares. Serve warm or cold.   

These blondies are designed to be slightly undercooked. For a more cakey texture, bake for 25 minutes rather than 20 minutes in the first stage.

Creme Egg Fudge

There are a few factors that went into making this recipe. Having leftover Easter candy or buying discounted Easter candy, as well as wanting to make such an indulgent treat. I recommend using dark chocolate as it takes a bit of the sweetness edge off and what better way to use the multitude of candy on shop shelves.    

Cadbury Creme Egg Fudge

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400g milk or dark chocolate

1 can of condensed milk

7-8 regular sized Cadbury Creme Eggs, sliced into pieces

3 tablespoons icing sugar

a few drops of water

Line a 8x8 square baking tin with parchment paper. 

Unwrap the Cadbury creme eggs and with a sharp knife, serrated or not, slice into pieces. Placing some of the creme egg pieces in the bottom of the prepared baking tin, the remainder will be used later. Set aside. 

In a large sauce pan combine the condensed milk and chocolate over medium heat. Stir constantly to ensure that the fudge does not stick to the bottom of the sauce pan and that the ingredients are well blended. 

Take off the heat, allowing to cool for a minute, and pour the fudge mixture into the prepared baking tin. Spreading evenly. Once smooth on top, place the remaining pieces of the creme eggs on top of the fudge, gently pressing them down. Mix the icing sugar and water together to form a runny drizzle and drizzle over the top of the fudge. Cover and place in the refrigerator for... 6 hours or overnight for the fudge to set.

Once set, cut into squares and serve.     

Notes: I had over 400 grams of dark chocolate. I could have made another drizzle icing adding yellow food colouring however I opted to keep it simple with just the white drizzle icing. You may use mini Cadbury Creme Eggs, I would slice them in half.