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
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350g good-quality dark chocolate, chopped finely
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120g butter, chopped
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1/3 cup caster sugar
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2 eggs, beaten lightly
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1 cup plain flour
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100g additional good-quality dark chocolate, coarsely chopped into chunks
For decoration
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500g/1 pound dark chocolate
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Flaked almonds for ears
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Silver cachous or red sprinkles for eyes and nose
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Vermicelli noodles or egg noodles for tails and whiskers
Step 1 - Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Grease a 19cm square cake pan and line base and 2 opposite sides with non-stick baking paper.
Step 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.
Step 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.
Step 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.
Step 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.