Cooking the Book Ep. 1 - The Night Circus

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One thing we can all agree on is that we loved Erin Morgenstern’s descriptions of the delicious treats in The Night Circus. Talia was so inspired that she cooked up this splendid recipe for Bailey’s Chocolate Mice. We hope you enjoy as much as we did!

“As he continues to walk around the circus, Bailey’s path leads back to the courtyard. He stops briefly to watch the sparkling bonfire and then at a vendor to purchase a bag of chocolates to make up for his mostly uneaten dinner. The chocolates are shaped like mice, with almond ears and licorice tails.” – The Night Circus

Bailey’s Chocolate Mice

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 box of Chocolate Cake Mix (plus whatever ingredients are needed like eggs, oil, and water)

  • 1 container of Chocolate Frosting (16 oz)

  • Licorice or Twizzlers for the tails

  • Sliced Almonds for the ears (Make sure they are slices and not slivers!)

  • Chocolate Candy Coating / Candy Melts

  • Sugar Pearls (or Candy Beads) for the eyes

  • Wire Rack

DIRECTIONS:

  1. MAKE A CAKE. Grab your preferred box of chocolate cake mix and get to baking! Just follow the directions on the back.

  2. ALLOW CAKE TO COOL. THEN CRUMBLE AND MIX WITH ICING! Set your cake aside to completely cool before breaking it up in a large mixing bowl. Dump in the container of chocolate frosting, mix it all together, and you’ve got the “clay” for your mice!

  3. FORM THE MICE BODIES AROUND THE LICORICE TAILS. You’re going to want the licorice tails to be very secure in the bodies of the mice so you can dip them into the candy coating by their tails. Be sure it runs through at least half the length of your mice, in the very middle.

  4. ADD ALMOND SLICES FOR EARS! Pick the cutest (and most unbroken) almond slices for your mouse ears and lightly press them in behind the “face” of your mouse.

  5. CHILL YOUR MICE! AND TAKE A WELL-DESERVED BREAK. Refrigerate your mice for a couple hours. I placed ours on wax paper on cookie sheets so they’d be easier to pull up later. You can also put them in the freezer if you’re pressed for time.

  6. MELT THE CHOCOLATE CANDY COATING. Once your mice are cold and solid, prepare the chocolate coating. Just melt them according to the instructions. Make sure you’re using candy melts for coating and not chocolate chips. Chocolate chips will not harden when they dry. Also… *Spray your wire rack with nonstick spray!*

  7. CAREFULLY COAT YOUR MICE. A SPOON HELPS! Gently grab a mouse by the tail and dip it in! I used a spoon to help scoop the coating over the top of the mouse and around the ears. Carefully spin them to get rid of the excess coating, and then place them on the wire rack. I also put wax paper underneath the rack to catch all the extra dripping chocolate.

  8. GIVE YOUR MICE EYES IMMEDIATELY! THE CANDY COATING DRIES FAST. Before the coating hardens completely, add some sugar pearls or candy beads for your mouse eyes.

Ta da! You have your own nest of magical chocolate mice, sure to enchant anyone!