HOT CHOCOLATE STIRRERS RECIPES

Steps:

• You will need: 6 cupcake cases, pencil, pastry brush, 6 empty 47g fromage frais pots (washed and dried), 6 wooden lolly sticks, cellophane and string or ribbon for wrapping, 6 gift tags Push a small hole in the middle of the cupcake cases with a pencil and put aside for later.
• Dip the pastry brush in the sunflower oil and paint a very thin layer of oil over the insides of the fromage frais pots.
• Put the chocolate in a bowl and heat in the microwave in 30-sec bursts until runny, stirring after each blast. Or melt it in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water (get an adult to help you). If you’re using different types of chocolate, you should melt them separately.
• Carefully pour the melted chocolate into the pots. Put a lolly stick in the middle of each and sprinkle your chosen decorations around it.
• Sit a cake case on top of each pot so that it covers the chocolate and the stick pokes through the hole. Put them in the fridge to set overnight.
• The next day, carefully pull the chocolates out of the pots and throw away the paper cases. Wrap each in cellophane tied with string and write a tag to read: ‘Simply stir into hot milk.’

Steps:

• Very lightly oil the insides of four egg cups or shot glasses, and set aside. Cut a small slit in the centre of each cupcake case using scissors.
• Melt the dark or milk chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, or in short bursts in the microwave. Divide the melted chocolate between the oiled moulds, then chill for 15 mins. Meanwhile, melt the white chocolate as you did the dark or milk, then pour over the set dark or milk chocolate layer.
• Insert a lolly stick into the centre of each of the moulds, then scatter over the toppings of your choice (see tip, below). Slide the cupcake cases, upside-down, onto the sticks through the slit to help keep the sticks in place. Chill until solid, about 4 hrs, then discard the cupcake cases and package the stirrers. Will keep in a cool, dry place for up to one week.