Buttercream truffles

 Leftover buttercream? The way I see it is that you now have two options - either freeze the buttercream and defrost within a couple of months to use again on cakes, or make some deliciously mouth-watering truffles! (Throwing it away is not an option...) I made a very chocolatey, chocolate finger cake for my friend's birthday the other day with chocolate frosting - the recipe is here. I had quite a bit leftover so decided to have some fun making truffles. Be warned - they can be very rich and sickly, so make them small and only have a couple at a time! The truffles look so cute and way more difficult than they are so they are bound to impress - perfect for any celebration or party.
Oh, and I hope you noticed my new plate (yay) from Matalan, I love the pattern it matches my wallpaper!

Ingredients
- leftover buttercream (can be any flavour) click here to find my chocolate buttercream recipe
- dark chocolate 
- decorations (I used sprinkles and chocolate crunch balls)

1. Make sure the buttercream is really cold from the fridge. This can get quite messy as the buttercream will begin to go soft when you start to handle it (try and make sure your hands are cold first)
2. Gently shape the buttercream into small balls with your fingertips and place on a plate. Put in the freezer for about 20 minutes so they harden and go cold.

3. Melt some dark chocolate and roll each ball in, fishing out with a fork. Place the chocolate covered buttercream balls onto a tray with grease-proof paper on.
4. Immediately decorate with sprinkles or whatever you prefer before the chocolate hardens. If you want to drizzle white chocolate over, or dust with cocoa powder, there isn't as much of a hurry! Have fun with this, experiment with different decorations.

Enjoy :)

Chocolate smartie squares

Do you have a particular food that you associate with your childhood? Well, these are mine! My mum used to make these for parties and other special occasions, and I practically begged her for the recipe today. As a kid you can imagine how chocolate squares with bright smarties on top can be so exciting - and they still are... They are no-bake cakes - just need to set in the fridge so are really simple to whip up. They are great for making with children because they are easy and fun. They are also perfect treats for Easter if you don't want to splash out on a ton of expensive shop bought cakes and eggs. For Easter celebrations you could top with cadbury's mini eggs instead of smarties. If you're making these for a party or event with a large number of people then I would recommend doubling the recipe because they don't last for long! (In fact they're so good, my mum was reluctant to give the recipe away, haha)

Makes 16 squares

- 50g margarine

- 150g dark cooking chocolate, broken into pieces

- 2 tbsp runny honey

- 250g digestive biscuits, crushed

- 16 smarties

1. Line a square tin (7 inch) with grease proof paper, and grease with margarine. (make sure the paper sticks up out the sides of the tin as you will need to use this to grip when removing the squares from the tin)

2. Melt the margarine, chocolate and honey in a saucepan over a low heat, stirring occasionally.

3. Remove from the heat and add the biscuit crumbs, mixing thoroughly until coated.

4. Spoon into the tin and push down, smoothing the top. Mark into 16 squares with a sharp knife, and place a smartie in the centre of each.

5. Leave to set in the fridge for a couple of hours, then break into the squares and serve.

Enjoy :)