Grasshopper Pie

Last weekend we were celebrating the scorching weather, the tennis and the arrival of Bailey's new ProQ with a delightful barbecue for our lovely mates. I decided I wanted to make a dessert, and I told Bailey that I fancied doing something light like a cheesecake but not a cheesecake, and something a bit American like a Mississippi mud pie but not a Mississippi mud pie.

Knowing that my Hummingbird Bakery book is a good port of call for such things, I had a flick through and as expected found an unusual looking dessert known as the Grasshopper Pie. Further investigation revealed that this dessert is based on the grasshopper cocktail. I love a good dessert that's based on something else (I do like to come up with my own such recipes when possible) and also this looked right up Bailey's street as he loves a bit of mint choc chip.

The Hummingbird recipe called for chocolate biscuits and in my eyes there really is only one chocolate biscuit worth mentioning and that's the almighty Bourbon Cream so I snapped up a packet of these for the base.

Just when I came home with all the required ingredients and thought it was all going swimmingly, disaster struck when we realised that our pie dish had disappeared and there was nothing for me to make the Grasshopper Pie in. Therefore I decided to make it in a springform tin; it resembled more of a messy cheesecake but aside from a disaster involving a load of the filling leaking all over the fridge it worked quite well.

I was really pleased with the end result of the Grasshopper Pie - although it wasn't much to look at (I would say making it in a pie dish would make it prettier), it tasted very light but sweet, the perfect antidote to having eaten a load of barbecue food. The Bourbons made for a nice crisp, not too sweet but solid biscuit base. Bailey even said it was probably his favourite of the desserts I've made him. Boom!

Recipe:
260g Bourbon Creams
170g butter
185g marshmallows
1/4 tsp peppermint essence
1/2 tsp green food colouring
600ml double cream
4 squares of dark chocolate

Start by lining a springform tin with greaseproof paper. Then take the biscuits and blend them up into a fine powder.

Melt the butter over a low heat. Add the butter to the biscuit crumbs and stir thoroughly. Put the biscuit butter mix into the bottom of the springform tin, spread out and press down with a spoon until you have a nice biscuit base. Place the springform tin in the fridge to cool for at least 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt the marshmallows in the milk over a low heat. Once the marshmallows have melted, take the pan off the heat and add the peppermint and food colouring. Put the saucepan to one side for 15 minutes.

Take 300ml of the cream and whisk to soft peaks. Add the cream to the marshmallow mix and fold in carefully. Pour the liquid over the biscuit base and place in the fridge to set.

We left our Grasshopper in the fridge overnight but according to Hummingbird it shouldn't take more than around 2 hours to set. When you're ready to serve the pie, take it out of the tin and whisk the remaining cream to stiff peaks. Smother the top of the pie with the cream.

Grate the dark chocolate onto the top of the pie and serve, post-BBQ!