Milk Bottle Piñata

by Barry Lewis

Ingredients

1kg good quality white chocolate

1kg peanut m&m’s

4pint milk bottle

Well this white chocolate milk bottle piñata is possibly one of the minimalist recipes ingredient wise and it would make a fantastic Birthday cake alternative, but it does require some skill! After the edible coca cola chocolate bottle I had lots of requests to try the milk bottle version and so have finally decided to take the plunge. I have to say, it is a bit tricky getting the plastic off, but other than that it’s pretty simple!

First up grab an empty milk bottle and push some kitchen towel into it, shaking it up so that it dries out the insides if it is still a little wet. You don’t want white chocolate going anywhere near that!
Melt the chocolate in 2 batches, for me this is the best way so you get two layers. So melt the first 500g first in a bowl using 30 second blasts. Stirring in between.

Once smooth transfer to a jug to make pouring easier, then remove the lid and label from the milk bottle and pour into the milk bottle carton. Put the lid back on and turn the bottle all over to fully coat it in the white chocolate. Keep the lid on and fill the chocolate to the top so that it forms the cap for the lid to sit on later. Put it in the fridge taking it out every few minutes until it firms up, this will feel like forever and is quite a repetitive task but it is worth it!

Melt the second batch of chocolate the same way and look at the bottle trying to spot any patches where the chocolate has not coated, fill the bottle again with the melted chocolate and rotate around paying attention to those areas that need more coverage. Again fridge for a few minutes to chill, then rotate it around, it will get heavier as it sets and feel stronger. It’s important to put as much effort into this step as you can to get the bottle covered fairly!

Chill for a good 2-3 hours then carefully remove from the fridge and using a craft knife begin to take off the plastic. Do this carefully with cooled, dried hands. If it starts to get too hot, place in the fridge and then come back to it. A craft knife works really well here.

Once all the packaging is removed fill with the m&m’s or other chocolate and place the lid back on and stick the label on the bottle too with a little cellotape for authenticity! Amazingly fun thing to do and make, smash it up like a piñata if you wish, share and enjoy!