Easy Easter Treats - With Sprinkles!

Here are a couple of super fun and simple treats for Easter this year. We totally love a good sprinkle hack, and these no-bake ideas are such an easy way to add a personal touch to your Easter treats. And depending on how you decorate them, they are great for any occasion! We also sprinkled some with Mermaid Disco, cos why not?! 

Looking for a baking project the kids can help with? We've got you covered! Once you melt the chocolate just let them go crazy decorating with sprinkles! As an extra bonus, all you need is chocolate, plus sprinkles and whatever you want to decorate with. Get creative! 

How To Make Sprinkle Chocolate Shards

If you've ever seen a fancy decorated cake and wondered how to make chocolate shards, this easy tutorial is just for you. So now when you're next asked to bring a plate, or whip up some baking for a birthday party or morning tea, you can pop a few expertly sprinkled chocolate shards on top and look like a total pro who spent ages slaving in the kitchen! 

Chocolate shards are such a versatile decoration to have on hand, and can be made in any colour scheme. You can colour white chocolate using oil or powder colours, or buy coloured candy melts. For pink we've had success using Fresh As freeze dried raspberry powder - great also if you're trying to limit artificial colours (plus it's super yum). Since we're currently in COVID-19 lockdown here in New Zealand we took the easy option and used what we had on hand. In this case, Nestle chocolate melts (no tempering needed) but feel free to get as swish as you like with your chocolate choice!

Ingredients

• chocolate (we used Nestle Melts in milk and white)
• Sugar Lips sprinkles of your choice (we used Hop Hop Hop, Egg Hunt and Mermaid Disco)
• any other toppings, cut into small pieces or crushed if needed (Here we used some crushed cookies and freeze-dried raspberry powder.) Lollies, chopped up chocolate bars, oreos, or freeze dried fruit are great options too. 

Equipment

• silicone baking sheet or baking paper on a baking tray
• palette knife or regular butter knife
• bowl for melting chocolate

Instructions

• Prepare your decorations so that once the chocolate is melted you'll be good to go. Pour your sprinkles into a bowl too for easier sprinkling.
• Place chocolate into a microwave-safe bowl and heat in 30 second bursts, stirring in between. When it is almost melted, let it sit for a minute and stir well. The residual heat should finish the melting. 
• Pour the melted chocolate onto the baking sheet and spread out thinly with your knife. Give the baking tray a bit of a shake to help the chocolate smooth itself out.
• Ok working quickly now! Start with your smaller elements and sprinkles, then go to town adding your decorations. It sets quickly so don't overthink it too much. You might choose to evenly space your decorations out, or apply them in clusters like we did so there is a bit of variation.
• If you want perfect cuts, score the top of the chocolate when it is half set. Then it will be easier to cut smoothly once set. We're quite partial to the approach of breaking it by hand once fully set into random shapes!
• Store in an airtight container in a cool place. If you used freeze-dried fruit it will need to be stored in the fridge.
• Eat as is for a fun treat, use for easy cake decorating, or on any baked goods!

BONUS: How To Make Sprinkle-Filled Easter Eggs

With some chocolate left over we thought why not break out the chocolate egg moulds and create our own sprinkle-filled Easter eggs! Now, we are by no means chocolate experts (as you can probably tell!) but these were pretty fun to make.

Instructions

• Once you've melted you chocolate (as described above), use either a teaspoon or clean paintbrush to spread the chocolate in the moulds. If you add too much just tip the moulds upside down and let it drip out.
• Use a knife to level off the tops. Let set completely.
• Remove from the moulds and fill one half with sprinkles of your choice. We used our Easter sprinkle mixes Hop Hop Hop and Egg Hunt.

• Heat a frying pan on medium heat. Carefully place the other half of the chocolate egg into the frying pan for a second to melt the edge a little, then quickly join up to the sprinkle-filled side. If you have a few holes like we did - no stress! Just drizzle a little extra chocolate on and smooth it out as best you can!
• Give them to your loved ones and watch their delight as they smash them open and discover the surprise!

Share with us!

Now you've got all the insider sprinkle hack info, you can make any event, occasion or get-together even more fun and special! Or if you're in an isolation bubble like we are now, these ideas will help add a bit of joy to your DIY celebrations. Show us what you've been creating! Pop over to our social accounts and get in touch.

Beks xx