WIMBELDON "GRASSHOPPER" PIE

Nigella Lawson's Grassshopper pie is one of my most favorite things to make. That creamy, minty and most importantly boozy filling on a chocolate biscuit base is a dessert that is so easy to make and delicious in these warm summer evenings. With Wimbledon now in full swing I decided I to put my own spin on this classic dish by using a strawberry and cream liquor instead of the usual creme de menthe to create a pretty pink pie packed with those traditional Wimbledon flavors. Place it centre court on your dinner table and it's game, set and match.

So as I'm basing this on the traditional boozy grasshopper pie I've used a strawberry and cream Snapps made by Corky's. Now this might sound like it's going to be overwhelmingly alcoholic however once you have mixed it in with the marshmallows and cream it actually ends up giving the pie a very subtle booze kick that I found to be most appealing.

If you can't find Corky's then try any strawberry based liquor you can find or maybe a creamy liquor such as baileys and add in a few drops of strawberry flavoring. If you don't want any booze at all in your pie then just add a few drops of strawberry flavoring to achieve the same effect. Don't worry about replacing the boozy liquid with anything else, the pie should still set without it.

Love Oreo's! They just really make this pie pop! Nigella uses bourbons in her recipe and you can do the same but really any kind of biscuit would work. Digestives, ginger nuts, use whatever you have knocking around to make the perfect base for you.

If you can, try and use pink mini marshmallows or a mixture of pink and white ones to make that pie filling pretty and pink. If you can only get your hands on white ones then drop in a few drops of pink or red food coloring after you have melted your marshmallows to obtain that fluffy pink look! Don't go mad with the colorings - if you put too much in you can't take it out and the look of your pie will be ruined.

Finally the pink sprinkles on top. I found these crunchy pink bad boys in my supermarket and the crunch they give to the topping is a great contrast to the soft pie filling. You can decorate the pie as you see fit though, maybe with dessicated coconut, more mini marshmallows or maybe some chocolate sprinkles. Get creative and see how pretty you can make your pie.

Lets get cracking! This is a no bake pie which means it's great for whipping up in no time time at all without the need for shoving that oven on. Make sure you make it around 4 hours before you want to serve it though as it does need time to set in the fridge!

Wimbledon "Grasshopper" Pie

300g Oreo's
50g Dark Chocolate Chips
50g Melted Butter
150g Mini Marshmallows
125ml Whole Milk
8 Tsp Corkys Strawberries And Cream Snapps
375ml Double Cream
Some Pink Sprinkles To Decorate

1. Place the Oreo's and chocolate chips in a food processor and blitz into crumbs. Pour in the melted butter and keep blitzing until the crumbs come together. Press the crumbs into the base and sides of a loose bottomed 25cm deep tart and place in the fridge to chill for one hour.
2. Place the marshmallows and milk into a pan and heat on a low heat until the marshmallows have melted and a smooth mixture has formed. Be careful not to let the mixture boil and remove the pan from the heat if it begins to foam. Remove the pan once the smooth mixture has formed and leave to cool.
3. Once the marshmallow mixture has cooled, whip the double cream until stiff peaks just begin to form before adding in the marshmallow mixture, continuing to whisk until combined and the pink coloring is even.
4. Pour the filling into the biscuit base and level it out with a spatula. Place back in the fridge to for around 4 hours until set. Once set, remove from fridge and decorate with your pink sprinkles.

If you have trouble removing the pie from the tin, use a skewer to poke around the edges to break the biscuit base away from the tin and it should loosen and come away. Your pie doesn't really need to be served with anything so just cut yourself a big slab and enjoy!

The filling should be soft and creamy and that hit of strawberry and cream alcohol taste should come through as a nice little naughty after taste that all the grown up's are going to enjoy! You'll defiantly be serving up an ace with this twist on the grasshopper pie!