Grasshopper Pie

Having first set eyes on this wonderful looking dessert many moons ago now, in Nigella's "Kitchen", it was initially shelved as a potential desert idea for it's self-indulgent naughtyness and unashamed lack of anything healthy. Yet, during recent weeks, as the training for the Race for Life an the Bristol Half Marathon intensifies, the cravings for calorie-laden dishes does so too.
As it is more typically an american pie, I found many recipes online using alternatives to British ingredients - most notably, the use of Oreo cookies for the biscuit base, rather than Bourbons. I have tried both now, and although I love Oreo cookies and I'm addicted to their new "double stuff" variation, I think for this recipe, the Bourbon biscuits just somehow complement the other flavours better. 
I also jazzed up the pie for my husband's birthday. 

Ingredients:

300g Bourbon Biscuits or Oreo cookies

50g milk chocolate (melted)

50g unsalted butter (melted)

150g mini marshmallows

125ml full fat milk

4 tbsp Creme de Menthe
4 tbsp Creme de Cacao Blanc or Corky's White Chocolate Liquer
(I can get these from Sainsbury's and Morrison's, but if you don't have one near you, you can also order them from Amazon groceries. Alternatively, you can replace with 1 ½ tbsp peppermint extract and 3 tbsp of Baileys, or just leave the alcohol out altogether, if you prefer an alcohol-free version)

375ml double cream

Liquid or gel mint green food colouring

For the mint fudge hearts:

170 g golden caster sugar

150 ml double cream

20 g butter

1/2 tbsp glucose syrup

1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste

Mint green gel paste food colouring

1 tsp peppermint extract

2 tbsp creme de menthe (optional)

Either way, start off with putting all the biscuits into a large food mixer or blender and give them a whizz for a couple of minutes:

The blender makes short work of the biscuits and quickly turns them into crumbs. Then add melted butter and chocolate to stick the crumbs together. Then press into a large tart flan with a detachable base:

This recipe takes very little preparation, and no cooking (okay, heating some marshmallow and milk on a hob, but not even to boiling point). 

Take the pan off the heat as soon as the milk starts to boil, even if the marshmallows are not all yet melted. Just keep stirring. Don't be tempted to turn up the heat to quicken this process, as the gelatine structure will be affected if it's over heated, and your mixture will not set properly. Just patiently stir, and as soon as all of the marshmallows are melted, put the pan in the fridge to cool the mixture until it becomes slightly sticky.  Then add the creme de menthe and creme de cacao (or a couple of teaspoons of peppermint essence and vanillla essence if you would like a non-alcoholic version). Add mint green food colouring to the desired shade. Don't worry if you could only get your hands on pink marshmallows, the addition of the green masks any trace of pink eventually, giving you a nice mint colour.
Whip the double cream, and gently fold in the marshmallow mint mix. Then pour into the biscuit base:

Then just leave it in the fridge all afternoon, whilst you go about your normal business, knowing it will be ready and set by the time we finished dinner (at least four hours in the fridge, but it's even better if left overnight). Crumble some remaining biscuits or chocolate shavings over the top for a finishing garnish:

A word of caution here though: the cake very nearly didn't set, since I failed to cool the marshmallow after melting for sufficient amount of time - I would recommend at least 15 minutes in the fridge until it ever so slightly starts to become thick and set. At this point, it is safe to add the liquers, and fold into the whipped cream gently, until you have an evening mixture. As previously mentioned, and also by Nigella - be careful not to overheat the marshmallow in the first place - remove from the heat as soon as the milk starts to bubble, even slightly, and even if all the marshmallows are not quite melted yet. It may be worth checking out a YouTube video or two, if you're not sure about the consistency you need to get it to.
Nevertheless, it all came out fine, and after it is set properly, it's perfectly possible to slice the pie, like so:

It looks like a simple cake to make, but the thing that makes this dish really special is the flavours from the two liquers - creme de menthe and cacao blanc. Truly a grown up yet refreshingly light and fluffy pie. 

So, this is the recipe for the basic pie completed. If you want to make the decorations seen on the top of the page, read on! The fudge recipe is adapted from the BBC Good Food website Vintage Vanilla Fudge recipe.

Mint-flavoured heart-shaped fudge

1. Put the cream, butter, sugar and glucose syrup into a pan over medium heat and stir now and again until the butter is melted and the sugar is dissolved

2. Once dissolved, turn up the heat so that the mixture comes to a boil. Keep bubbling until the mixture comes to 116 degrees C - the soft-ball stage

3. Remove from the heat and leave to sit undisturbed, until the mixture cools to 100C. At this point, you can add the vanilla, peppermint essence and green food colouring and stir them in.

4. Keep beating continuously to get the sugar to crystallise until the mixture reaches about 80C, when you can add the creme de menthe, if adding

5. Continue beating until 60C is reached, at which point, the fudge will be really thick and starting to granulate. This is important in order to get the really small, fine sugar crystals, which helps gives the fudge a smooth texture.

6. Before it sets completely, pour the fudge into a prepared dish lined with parchment paper, and smooth the top. Leave for at least a few hours, or preferably overnight, to set. Don't be tempted to put into the fridge, because it won't set properly.

7. After setting, carefully cut out hearts (or any other shape you prefer) with a metal cookie cutter.

To make the hearts a bit more special, I dipped half of them in tempered, melted milk chocolate. In order to dip them, place one heart onto a fork, and spoon over the melted chocolate, allowing the excess to drip off, before placing onto a cookie sheet or silicone mat to set.

Once the chocolate has set, arrange them on the cake as desired. I piped the writing directly onto the cake with the remaining melted chocolate from a piping bag.