The diary of Dad

It’s that time of year again. Robbie returned home from his nursery yesterday bringing with him a gift of easter nests that he had made with his teacher. Then it struck me, I actually had no idea how to make them but my two year old son did. Scary.

So today, with more than a little bit of help from my wife Sarah, I decided to put that right. It only seemed fair that I share the recipe here so that others in my position can learn too. These really are so simple to make and perfect for your little one to join in.

Ingredients: (Makes 12 nests)

225g/8oz plain chocolate (broken into small pieces)

2 tablespoons golden syrup

50g/2oz butter

80g/3oz Shredded Wheat (or corn flakes if preferred)

36 mini eggs

Method:

It may sound simple but let’s plan ahead. Place your fairy cake cases on the side ready to be filled. You don’t really want to be messing around with this once your mixture is ready.

Now break up the chocolate and place into a small bowl. Add the butter and golden syrup and hold over a saucepan of gently simmering water. Continue to stir regularly until the mixture is fully melted and has a smooth texture.

Next you will need to break up your shredded wheat into a separate bowl. Three individual Shredded Wheat biscuits is perfect. Of course, at this stage you can simply replace the wheat with Rice Krispies or Corn Flakes to suit your preference.

Pour your smooth melted chocolate mixture over the cereal and mix together with a spoon until it is all covered in the chocolate. Now we are ready to spoon the mix evenly into the twelve cases we laid out earlier.

The last step of the preparation is to place the eggs on top. We are using Smarties eggs as they are the little man’s fans favourite but any brand will do the job. Once all the nests are decorated simply pop them in the fridge to cool and your delicious nests will be ready to eat in two hours.

As delicious as these nests may be, Easter is not just about chocolate. There are plenty of great crafts that you make with your toddler such as Easter baskets and decorations.

We will be doing an Easter Sunday egg hunt for Robbie with small toys, presents and the occasional chocolate egg to be found.

Luckily for me, as well as being very handy in the kitchen, Sarah is a bit of a master crafter! She is spending the rest of the afternoon making her own little legs and other Easter themed crafts all ready for the great hunt. Now we just have to hope the weather is kind to us.

If you have enjoy simple homemade crafts or have young kids, I’d highly recommend this essentials kit from Amazon. It saves her so many times when we run short of a lollipop stick or paper!

Thanks for reading and please let me know if you try the recipe, I’d love to hear how it works out for you! Have a great Easter, Steve.