I was standing in my kitchen basking in a wonderful mood. Sadly for those around me (the plants) I was singing off key and trilling as if I didn’t have a care in the world.
“It’s the most wonderful time of the year…” I sang. And then a packet of dried red lentils, without any visible prompt or nudge, fell off the counter in protest, probably of my singing.
“Ahh Hallowe’en ghouls, I do adore you” I said. I picked up the dried lentils and continued making my Hallowe’en snacks-chocolate rats made from double chocolate brownie mixture. I had originally intended to put them on pop sticks but my order of sticks hadn’t arrived in time and then I realised the best way for me to style these would be gnawing on an arm. I still remember visiting Kryal Castle’s “Wax of Torture” museum when I was younger and seeing all sorts of gruesome things there. The one exhibit that sticks in my mind was the one where a man was being tortured with a box of rats on his stomach and they had set the box on fire so the rats had to eat through him. That sort of thing tends to stick in your memory…
Oh where was I? Oh that’s right,the happiest time of the year! Hallowe’en is coming up soon and every year I have to physically restrain myself until the beginning of October to start planning it. If I don’t I will start planning it as soon as the previous year’s is over. And this years is going to feature all new and ghoulish ideas so stay tuned! 
I do realise that these are more mouse shaped than rat shaped. In truth the only time I have seen a rat in real life was when my imaginatively monikered cat “Kitty” brought me one for my 16th birthday and deposited it on the the doormat. Rats are larger than mice but I didn’t want to make these brownie bites too big – more snack sized if you will.
Whilst this isn’t strictly one of those gooey crackly topped brownies I didn’t want to make it that as we need the cake itself to be soft and pliable and therefore easy to be shaped. But I wanted to do a brownie as I didn’t want to bother making up some chocolate icing to help combine the cake mixture together and brownies are naturally more moist than regular cake.
The rats are actually quite easy to make and if you wanted, you could make them into pops (keep them on the small size so that the stick can hold it-just use the instructions for these vampire pops). However you serve them, these are for the hardened chocaholic. There was a decadent richness of the brownie plus the coating of dark chocolate on top and I felt that the red eyes made the rats look a little more sinister-which is why I positioned them gobbling up a severed arm. As you do.
So tell me Dear Reader, will you be celebrating Halloween? And what is your favourite holiday of the year?
Rat Plague Brownie Bites
Makes loads of rats, about 30 or so depending on the size…which is quite fitting because rats seem to multiply easily. Feel free to halve recipe for a more manageable rat population
For brownie
- 350g good-quality dark chocolate, chopped finely
- 120g butter, chopped
- 1/3 cup caster sugar
- 2 eggs, beaten lightly
- 1 cup plain flour
- 100g additional good-quality dark chocolate, coarsely chopped into chunks
For decoration
- 500g/1 pound dark chocolate
- Flaked almonds for ears
- Silver cachous or red sprinkles for eyes and nose
- Vermicelli noodles or egg noodles for tails and whiskers
1. Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Grease a 19cm square cake pan and line base and 2 opposite sides with non-stick baking paper.
2. Combine chopped chocolate and butter in a medium saucepan. Stir over low heat until melted. Add sugar and cook, stirring for a further 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Add eggs and flour and stir until well combined. Then stir chocolate chunks through. Spoon into prepared pan and smooth surface. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into centre comes out almost clean (the centre of brownie will still be fudgy). Set aside to cool for 1 hour.
3. Line a baking tray with parchment. To shape rats roll the cake batter into balls and shape into a teardrop shape. Place on the tray and use up all of the brownie cake batter. I allowed these to sit overnight covered with cling film to firm up or you could put these in the fridge or freezer to firm up.
4. In a double boiler (a bowl fitted on top of a pot of simmering water but make sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water) melt the chocolate for decoration. Or you can do this in a microwave on 60 second bursts on 50% power stirring between bursts and stir until completely smooth.
5. Place a sheet of cling wrap until a cake cooling tray (so that any excess chocolate can drip off and then be used again). Using two teaspoons dip a “rat” into the chocolate and working quickly allow the excess chocolate to drip off. Now if your rats have been in the fridge or freezer the chocolate will set quicker. The first things that you want to get to “stick” to the chocolate are the silver cachous for the nose and the red sprinkles for the eyes. The rest (the ears, tails and whiskers) can be firmly pushed into half set chocolate.
Dipping the vermicelli tail
6. I dipped three rats at a time and reheated the chocolate so that it was nicely liquid between the second and third lot of rats. Place the silver cachou on the pointy end of the rat’s body to make the nose and then add the red sprinkles for eyes. Then add two flaked almond “ears” and the whiskers-you can usually poke these through the chocolate. Then find a piece of curly vermicelli and then dip this into the chocolate and affix this to the back of the rat for the tail. Allow to set completely.
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This is BRILLIANT!! How I adore your Halloween treats!
I must admit that I would never be able to make this though, as I have an irrational fear of mice/rats… I think I would freak out, lol.
Only you could make my mouth water looking at rats! Genius concoction yet again.
I get excited when October roles around as I know you will start with your Halloween posts – and you havnt failed to make me smile again this year!
It looks fabulous hon! Gruesome and tasty all at the same time!
Those are so cute! A great Halloween idea/treat.
Cheers,
Rosa
So fun! I look forward to your Halloween posts every year. xoxo Mum
You always get so excited with Halloween! You’re too funny…as are those creepy looking rats..
I am always most impressed by your attention to detail, Lorraine. Very nice indeed. I wish I had your patience. Hallowe’en is also one of my favourite holidays. JT and I have pumpkin carving contests (OK, he doesn’t think it’s a contest) and we carve very interesting pumpkins (perhaps I’ll do a retrospective this year). We hand out candy to the little darlings on Hallowe’en eve with scary music playing in the background. I light the front yard with our torches — some kids are too scared to come near!
Lorraine, the rat shaped brownies are so cute if the yucky hand was omitted
I love how you used the vermicelli and the almond flakes. So creative!
Hope you have a great week ahead and thanks for this post…
I have two small humans who will love making these with me! My favourite time of the year is Christmas, closely followed by Easter. But I think Mr 10′s definite favourite is Halloween. He is already excited and planning his costume and snacks. We’re planning on scouting out the neighbourhood first and organising with people who want to join in to put up pumpkins or spiders or similar so we know they want to trick or treat … that way we don’t annoy any Aussies who hate the tradition.
oh my – how very creative!! and spooky
Very cute. Putting the first one in your mouth might be a bit weird, but then it took me years before I could eat Tiny Teddies!
What a great idea … Will have to give these a try …
OMG! You just get better and better every year. I can’t believe you don’t try and sneak in something ghoulish with every blog you post (maybe if one looks really closely, one might find something….sort of like Waldo).
Eew to the first picture…. but i’m sure the brownies are delish!
Oh my God!!!! These are AWESOME!! They are so cute, in a spooky and creepy Halloween sort of way!!!! I love these Lorraine!
Love it!
Unfortunately I have a phobia for rats so I wouldn’t be going near these, but they look amazing and actually pretty realistic. Very very clever!
Super cute yet slightly disturbing with that hand. Perfect for Halloween. Love it!
Lorraine, I didn’t think to eat rats…but those of chocolate worth the effort haha!
Very creative for Halloween
Cheers,
Gera
You are so clever!!! I live the image with the hand, OMG!!! You have a slightly twisted way with “food”.
Yes I will be doing halloween with the kids this year and making a few “treats”.
I have actually already started too 
…you are undoubtedly the queen of Halloween!
Those are so cute AND a work of art. I thought the whiskers were made from shredded coconut but noodles would work much better.
lol they’re so cute! I love your creative thought!
Hi Anne-Haha I love that idea!
Unfortunately Lorraine for the first time ever, I can’t get excited about your blogs
I absolutely detest mice and rats and for me t’was not a good thing to see first up this morning.
However, I do admire your zeal and enthusiasm for Halloween and all the zany things you get up to. I suppose that’s what makes us all different, the World would be a boring place if we all liked the same things,No?
I will use that Brownie recipe though, perhaps I’ll make Ladybugs or little fish
Way to put a girl off her breakfast – rats eating through someone’s stomach?!?! EW!
That being said – love the rats you made (possibly due to their state of non-animation).
No I don’t celebrate hallowen, my favourite holiday is Christmas
These are very clever, Lorraine. We don’t celebrate Halloween here, but I do love these wonderful little mice and could see them working at Xmas too!
OMG!!!!!! TOO REALISTIC FOR ME!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Haha, evil eyed rats! Hope there’s more Halloween treats to come!
Perfect way to prepare for halloween
It’s a real shame Australians don’t get into the spirit of things as much as what the Americans do..
That wax torture museum sounds horrific! Your little rats are so cute, but that severed arm makes me feel a little ill… Haha
Being a scaredy cat, I’m not really into Halloween (but it is the day after our anniversary!)
These are beautifully imaginative even for a virtual non-cake-eater like me
! I don’t mind mice: one could not live in the country if one did, but hate it when the occasional rat tries to assert one’s position 
! Nasty beasts . . . Favourite holiday: Well, I don’t really celebrate Christmas or Easter, so it would be the serious one of Anzac Day in Australia, and, I think I would love to be in the US for Thanksgiving!
OMG…..I remember the rat torture chamber at Kryall Castle. We loved it! I also remember some weird stuffed horse. The whole place was a trip. Halloween here we come….I am going to make a ‘Grasshopper Pie’…ala Nigella’s new book.
I could eat about a dozen of these tasty rats in a single sitting.
(How often do you get to say that?!)
i love your rats
too cute
and so creative
and delicious to boot
halloween wasn’t part of my childhood so i’ve never really been in to it..but guy fawks was and i think it’s a shame we don’t celebrate it any more..i remember making the effigy and the bonfire and the fireworks..
love christmas and easter and i try to remember pancake tuesday..
So clever! I can’t wait to see what other scary surprises you come up with.
It’s a special B’day in our house on Halloween so there is always some form of celebration.
I love that you’ve overcome the need to use frosting to bind the cake mixture by making it a brownie. I actually dislike eating cake pops because I find them way too sweet, but this is the best solution.
I don’t really ‘do’ halloween *gasp*, probably because I’m too lazy to bother with all the styling!
These are fantastic, perfect for Halloween, such a smart idea!
Oh my…I was close to say “adorable” rats…but they aren’t…so those are perfect for this season. I have two kids, so I have to be prepared to go door by door for candies. I love to see how children are dressed and their expression when you give them candies…but for this year I will give them some holloween cupcakes.
Absolutely brilliant! You must have the most wonderful imagination. I have nothing else to say, except I’m in awe of your creations.
Yuck Yuck Yuck
NO way Nigella not quite.
Lorraine they are super cute. Evil rats but I just want to give them a cuddle ehehehe. You have inspired me and I have a few tricks up my sleeve this Halloween. Yay. Looking forward to seeing what is on the Menu for your Halloween party this year.
I love this!!! What a great idea
Amazing! How cool! I’m not big on Halloween but for the past few years been going to Hong Kong to watch the street parade in LKF! Some cool costumes there!Personally, I love Christmas, especially back in Poland when it was white…
PS Whose arm did you sever????
I never saw a rat, but we had one when we moved to what I thought was a cool, funky old house built in 1915. We put the house up for sale! Not nearly as cute as your beauties. I totally celebrate Halloween. Skeletons and bats are hanging from my chandeliers and spiders are crawling up the chain!
It’s halloween again?? I remembered you did something like bloody eyeballs a few months ago?? This is comical and I am always amazed by your artistry and attention to detail! Beautiful “rats”!!!
Yes, yes, yes!!! Can’t wait to celebrate. It’s going to ROCK. Great rat brownie bites.
You have the most awesome Halloween props and gruesomely fun memories as a child. I love Halloween and we celebrate, go out trick or treating with the kids and make sure we have lots of chocolate bars for other tick or treators. It’s so much fun. The rat brownies look deliciously cute.
HOW adorable, TRUE!
Cannot wait to see what else “goulish” you will do!
ANYTIME of the year, ANYTHING we can celebrate!
Makes life more fun and the memories we make with our friends is….GREAT!!
WHOO HOO!
I love these they’re brilliant! I’ll be celebrating Halloween a little earlier this year (29th)by doing a vampire tribute to Puscifer’s “Rev 22:20″ at a burlesque show In Hobart
. I’m hoping to gather some treats for the cute kids that come knocking on our door trick or treating 
each year.
I guess my favourite holiday is really going to have to be a toss up between Easter and Halloween because I love all the gorgeous Easter cakes I get to make, But I also love any excuse to dress up. That’s probably why I do burlesque?
oh dear, I had an unimaginatively named cat called Kitty too! Really looking forward to your halloween fest again!
You’re the Halloween Queen! I’m still inspired after your post last year. I’m so hoping to do something fun this year, like a dinner party! Yummy brownies
Heidi xo
haha loved the comment about the manageble rat population! these are so cute, can’t think of any reason why i wouldn’t make these for halloween!
Well, it’s mice that have been in my pantry, not rats, so I’m absolutely in tune with mice being the most devilish of rodents for you to showcase! *shudder*
P.S. So can’t wait to see your Halloween extravaganza-ising this year!
Great Halloween idea…
Love the rats but the hand in the picture…
God I am scared….
LOL
The rats are cute but that hand is going to haunt me. I definitely don’t share your love of Halloween Lorraine!
you should check out Aldi I saw they have lots of halloween things this year including round lollies that look like eyes, ghosts and pumpkins!!!
Those are definitely the ONLY kind of mice I’d want in my house. LOL
OK, everyone! Do you all know that the derivation of Halloween comes from the mystical Irish: their Samhain festivities! Great article going around: to find out more go to Facebook, if you/friend have an a/c: you can go to Eha . . C [my 4-letter surname should come up - Lorraine, allowed to give out full name if it is a longterm blogger]. I found it really interesting and you would have s’thing extra to impart to your 5-7-9-11-year-olds!
))
Ooooh their evil little eyes! I can just imagine those eyes glowing redly in the dark as they wait to pounce! I love the brownie idea, browines that bite back
Love this idea – but I’m a huge fan of mice and rats as pets, so it make sense
wow didnt realise halloween is so close till i saw this post. that hand totally freaked me out
Love the mice, but Halloween, a big no. Hate all the trick and treat stuff!
Didn’t grow up with it, so have no connection with it. Christmas is my favourite when all the family is together. Someone mentioned Guy Fawkes, which brought back wonderful memories of bonfires on the beach on the 5th November (in NZ), with sausages and savs cooking, and running with squeals of excitement to avoid the jumping jacks and Catherine wheels thrown at our feet.
PS: Fortunately, I can cope with mice and rats, which is just as well, as my cat often used to bring them in to play with and share the remains with me. Got expert at cleaning up after him!!
I’d have to say my favourite holiday is Christmas… I just love walking through Myer and looking at all of the pretty decorations and over-priced gifts
haha! These rat brownies are so cute though! … Erm, I mean, they are so vicious and scary looking! 
I always love your Halloween treats and cannot wait for more this year!
I LOVE these rats! They are so cute (poss. as you say, because they are a little mouse-like too!). I’m plannning lots of Halloween baking involving bat shaped biscuits and pumpkin brownies…will now be making my very own rats too thanks to you!
I love this… so creepy but cute. You are so creative! Halloween is my birthday and I just enjoy all the Halloween celebration spirit around this time… lots of anticipation toward the day.
I love your Halloween treats! And even more so because they involve chocolate and brownies.
I don’t care what anybody says , they’re cute as……..
Hmmm… rats and halloween are not my favourite things… but the little chocs are kind of cute.
Hi Lorraine, love your Halloween posts although I have to say I looked twice this morning when I saw the rats!:)
How FANTASTIC! Can’t wait for your Halloween post.
I just thought of a very nasty practical joke – cover a real mice with chocolate, no one will notice until its too late. Do ask if there are vegetarians eating
Hi Three cookies-Ha! There are vegetarians coming to the Halloween party indeed! and I think they’d consider that the highest form of betrayal!
And urk I don’t know about eating a mouse myself 
Omygosh this is SO cute!!! Good one, Lorraine… Leave it to you to come up with something so creative haha. And I’ll be damned. Never in a million years would I expect to see rice vermicilli/noodles in a chocolate dessert. I am so intrigued right now! Hahhahahaha… Btw, who’s hand did you use in the prop. Looks scary =X
You are so clever. I am in awe, as I often am, of your decorating ideas and talents. Very cute!
I love Halloween!! I live in a uni town so it’s always a big weekend here. I’m looking forward to more Halloween goodies from you to get me inspired
Oh my word, you’re hilarious. Oscars season is my happiest time of the year; a great excuse to go and see far too many films and have a big party- the fact that it usually coincides with our wedding anniversary is just a bonus
Oh tooo cute! Makes me want to make my bloody rat cupcakes from last year again, too. I LERV Halloween too!
Wow now that is so creative and fun. Very nice!
Hahahaha LOVE these and the styling looks so fab! Totally spooky.
We dont do halloween really but this year I think I might bake somethign to take in to work. Its how iv been surviving lately although the co-workers are complaining about jiggly bits due to my cakes lol
Eeewwww…Rats! Chocolate ones are the best kinds though.
My niece always has a halloween party with lots of gruesome treats- these would fit in perfectly!
Awww these are far too cute to eat!!! How adorable! You know, I’ve never celebrated Halloween before… this year has been too crazy to think about it, but I think next year will be my first big party for the event!!
Awww, ain’t these the cutest? Even if they are rats! No, I am not a Halloween kinda gal, so I won’t be celebrating it.
they are beyond insane…as always, love your work!!!
These are so adorable. Yes, I know, they are meant to be scary and maybe rats would have been. But mice? Cute. And for the rats maybe just triple the size? But delicious!! And sorry, me no do cake pops. Ever. Sadly no Halloween for us here
I miss it but French husband is against it.
Lol they’d be cute if it wasn’t for the dismembered limb
I bet they’re tasty though 
They look both cute and sinister at the same time.
Oooh, I’ve been waiting for your Halloween treats, Lorraine! The rats are really brilliant…and I bet delicous too!
Halloween is my favorite holiday and so far I will be attending three parties (at last count) over the next weeks as well as the NYCVillage Halloween Parade. I absolutely adore these rat/mice and the severed arm addition is brilliant!
fantastic – you really know how to do ghoulish – look forward to seeing how you do your halloween feast this year!
My vivid memory of kryal castle was seeing the man being hanged! It was really freaky
if only actual mice were so cute. they freak me the heck out, with their beady little eyes and quick, unexpected appearances. these are…adorable? fun? mmm…let’s go with yummy.
I love these!!! So cute, plus they’re *brownies* – very clever!
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