homemade Bounty Bar | Cauldrons and Cupcakes

“It’s not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.”
~ Mother Theresa

I thought I’d share some of the recipes I’m making for Easter. Don’t worry if you’re not an experienced cook – these recipes are EASY, tasty and lots of fun, and there are plenty of ways to get the kids involved too. Giving home-made treats at Easter is a lovely heart-felt gift.

Or, of course, you could just eat them all yourself! Just click on the link to go directly to the recipe.

1.Green Goji Bliss Balls

I often whip up a batch of these healthy, yummy snacks. Green Goji Bliss Balls are packed full of nutrition, and the lemon gives them a lovely fresh tang. They are vegan and gluten, dairy and refined sugar free.

They are incredibly easy to make, especially if you have a good food processor or blender. If you’re looking for a super-healthy Easter Treat this one works well.

2. Healthy Bounty Bar Easter Eggs!

Bounty Bars are one of my favourite chocolates. Ben’s too. They have a creamy coconut centre covered in chocolate. Who can resist that kind of flavour combo? But they are full of sugar, so I decided to have a play around in the kitchen and see what else I could come up with that might be a bit healthier.

This version is refined sugar-free, and can be made gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free or vegan depending on what kind of chocolate you use.

3. Walnut and Dark Chocolate Coconut Bites – Fit for a Prince!

In our household we call these little treasures yummy ‘uglies’. They may not be the prettiest treats, but the taste more than makes up for it. Walnut and dark chocolate is a heavenly combination, made even better with coconut, and they are quick to whip up.

A variation of a macaroon, these Bites are gluten-free and can also be sugar-free, so they are great for diabetics and people with food intolerances or following a paleo diet.

4.Five-Minute Fudge Recipe

A few years ago a friend gave me a recipe she uses to make commercial quantities of fudge for a fudge house. I couldn’t believe how simple it was, or how great it turned out. And it only takes five minutes.

I make this often for street stalls, gifts and bribes. It may be a cheater’s kind of fudge but it is every kind of delicious. It will be one of the things in my Easter Basket presents for loved ones this year. Sorry, this one is FULL of dairy and sugar. But as an occasional treat it’s just grand!

5. Marshmallow Recipe – Perfect for Easter

Homemade marshmallow is the yummiest, fluffiest thing. Easy and inexpensive too. The recipe will make the sort of standard coconut-covered marshmallows most people know, but it can also be used in moulds to make cool shapes. At Easter, marshmallow eggs or bunnies are very appropriate, and make delicious gifts.

This Easter I’m making quite a lot of marhsmallow eggs for my loved ones – they’ll be nestled in a basket with my home-made fudge, and some rich, moist fruit cake.

I encourage you to give these recipes a try. Hopefully some of them will become an Easter Tradition in your household too.

Much love to you, ♥ Nicole xx

“All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.”
~ Charles M. Schulz

Easter is only a few weeks away and it can be a real drag for chocolate lovers if you are on a restricted diet or a sugar-free diet.

This version is refined sugar-free, and can be made gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free or vegan depending on what kind of chocolate you use.

It’s still a treat, but it’s a yummy one. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did. Yep, we ate them already! 🙂

You can halve this recipe to make just a few treats, or make enough for a crowd.

PS – Please forgive the sweaty pics. I made these little treats in the middle of a heatwave where a block of chocolate left on our kitchen bench turned to liquid from the heat! So as soon as I took these choccies out of the fridge it was condensation city. Which meant we needed to eat them faster – obviously!

Filling Ingredients

2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt
4 tablespoons unrefined coconut oil
Either 4 tablespoons of maple syrup, rice malt syrup or agave OR 4 tablespoons coconut cream and your favourite liquid sweetener (eg Stevia drops) or powdered sweetener to taste

Plus 200 to 400 grams of dark chocolate and 100 grams of white chocolate to cover. I also used a couple of drops of beetroot juice to give that pretty pink colour in the chocolate drizzle.

Method:

Place the coconut in a food processor and add the vanilla, salt coconut oil and sweetener. (Hint, if you are using a granular sweetener heat the coconut cream slightly and dissolve the sweetener before adding)
Blitz until the mixture is well combined and sticky, and the coconut is in small pieces.
Roll into balls and place on a silicone sheet or some baking paper. Or for a better Easter Egg shape use a mould OR use spoons from your kitchen that have an egg-shaped bowl and press a mounded ball of coconut firmly into the bowl of the spoon.
Place the coconut shapes into the fridge for fifteen minutes to firm.
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler (place a bowl over a simmering pot of water) or in a microwave on low heat.
Press your shapes out of the moulds or remove from the tray and dip into the chocolate. Replace in fridge.
For a thicker chocolate coating do a second coat of chocolate.
To finish drizzle some chocolate over the top of the dipped eggs. For a pretty effect use a little melted white chocolate. To colour the chocolate pink add a few drops of beetroot juice.
Store in the fridge if you live in a tropical environment. But they will keep well out of the fridge if your home environment is cool.
Share and enjoy!

I love these measuring cups that my Nana gave me!