Seasons tweetings. Like my greying hair, Easter has come early this year. Obviously, you cannot have Easter without chocolate but rather than bake a cake or make some cookies I thought I’d recreate classic Easter nests.

As a kid, every Easter my mum would bake an Easter cake and decorate it with Easter nests made with cereal, melted chocolate and completed with Cadbury’s mini eggs. As a chocoholic, I skipped the cake and ate all the nests.

You’re simply the nest

My diet has some what changed since my childhood diet of chocolate, cheese and limited vegetables, but that does not mean I can’t still enjoy childhood treats like chocolate Easter nests. Cue my nutritional nutty nests; all the chocolately yumminess, none of the dairy or refined sugar.

As a bonus, I made raw bliss balls, or rather eggs, rolled in superfood powders to sit in the nests.

Eggcellent 🐣

Ingredients

For the nests

1 cup puffed brown rice (or sub for sprouted buckwheat)

½ cup flaked almonds

5 tbsp coconut oil

3 tbsp cacao powder

3 tbsp honey/syrup

¼ tsp vanilla

Pinch salt

Pinch cinnamon

For the eggs

1 scoop vanilla protein

¼ cup oats

¼ cup cashews

10 deglet noir dates (if your dates are larger use less)

2 tbsp nut butter (I used almond)

1 tsp maca

¼-1/2 tsp cinnamon (I love cinnamon I add lots)

3-4 tbsp water

Optional add ins: 1 tbsp cacao, 1 tsp ginger or more cinnamon

Method

For the nests

1. Preheat the oven to 180°c and dry roast the almonds and puffed rice for 5 mins.
2. After 5 mins, remove from the oven and allow to cool.
3. Meanwhile, melt the coconut oil, add cacao, honey/syrup, vanilla, salt and cinnamon. Mix well.
4. Add the puffed rice and almonds to the chocolate and mix until thoroughly coated.
5. Spoon the mixture into cupcake cases leaving a dip in the centre for the eggs to sit.
6. Pop the nests in the fridge to set. They’ll need at least 30 minutes.

For the eggs

1. Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend until combined and resembling cookie dough. [If the mixture is too dry add a little more water/nut butter, if too wet add more oats/nuts].
2. Take a little bit of mixture and roll/shape into a mini egg.
3. Roll the egg in any coating of your choice: coconut/berry powder/matcha/butterfly pea flour/crushed nuts etc
4. Repeat until all the mixture is used up*.

*If you get bored, like I did, go ahead and make a few larger eggs or simply roll into bliss balls.

When the nests have set, place the eggs into them. Store your nutty nests and bliss eggs in the fridge for up to 5-7 days.

I carrot wait to tuck into my raw chocolate Easter goodies. Hoppy Easter everyone x 🐰