My nephew just had a birthday, and having spent the day before at the Museum of Ancient Life, wanted-- what else?-- a dinosaur fossil cake. His cake photo is at the end of the slide show below. The version above was made of brownies. Cookies and Cream Brownies. Mmm.
The fossil is made of melted white chocolate chips: melt a cup of them in the microwave (1 minute, stir) or over a double boiler, then put in a zip-top freezer-safe bag with a small corner snipped off (start with 1/8" hole and see if it it's big enough), or use a pastry bag and a #3 or #5 tip. Trace onto waxed paper with an outline below, let it set up, then transfer to your dessert. Good surfaces include chocolate frosting, unfrosted brownies or chocolate cake, a frosted cake coated with graham cracker or cookie crumbs, or anything else that resembles rock or dirt.
You can make all kinds of designs this way- when I turned my kids loose, they made a pony (complete with chocolate jimmies on the mane and tale), a butterfly, a banana (covered in yellow sugar crystals), and a set of exploding fireworks.
At any rate, here's the recipe for the brownies, which were very moist and fudgy, with a crunchy, sweet topping:
Cookies and Cream Brownies
1 batch of your favorite brownie batter to fit a 9x13 pan (I used a Duncan Hines mix)
1 cup of vanilla pudding
8 oz. chocolate sandwich cookies, crushed
Mix the brownie batter according to its directions; bake as usual. When done, spread with the pudding, then sprinkle with the crushed cookies. Press the crumbs down lightly to make them stay. Best the first day; they get a little gooey by the second day.
If you're adding a 'fossil', wait until the brownies are completely cool.
The fossil is made of melted white chocolate chips: melt a cup of them in the microwave (1 minute, stir) or over a double boiler, then put in a zip-top freezer-safe bag with a small corner snipped off (start with 1/8" hole and see if it it's big enough), or use a pastry bag and a #3 or #5 tip. Trace onto waxed paper with an outline below, let it set up, then transfer to your dessert. Good surfaces include chocolate frosting, unfrosted brownies or chocolate cake, a frosted cake coated with graham cracker or cookie crumbs, or anything else that resembles rock or dirt.
You can make all kinds of designs this way- when I turned my kids loose, they made a pony (complete with chocolate jimmies on the mane and tale), a butterfly, a banana (covered in yellow sugar crystals), and a set of exploding fireworks.
At any rate, here's the recipe for the brownies, which were very moist and fudgy, with a crunchy, sweet topping:
Cookies and Cream Brownies
1 batch of your favorite brownie batter to fit a 9x13 pan (I used a Duncan Hines mix)
1 cup of vanilla pudding
8 oz. chocolate sandwich cookies, crushed
Mix the brownie batter according to its directions; bake as usual. When done, spread with the pudding, then sprinkle with the crushed cookies. Press the crumbs down lightly to make them stay. Best the first day; they get a little gooey by the second day.
If you're adding a 'fossil', wait until the brownies are completely cool.
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