Little chocolate hedgehog

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 100 g butter
• 60 g sugar
• 1 pinch of salt
• 160 g flour
• 1 pack of pudding powder, vanilla
• ½ liter of milk
• 2 egg yolks
• 150 g sugar
• 250 g butter, soft
• 40 g cocoa powder
• 1 cake base (sponge cake base), ready-made or homemade
• 50 g sugar
• ½ cup water
• 100 g almond sticks
• 300 g cake icing (chocolate icing)

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes; Rest time approx. 3 hours; Total time approx. 4 hours 30 minutes

Knead the butter, sugar, salt, and sifted flour into a shortcrust pastry. Wrap the dough in aluminum foil or parchment paper and let it rest in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Remove the butter from the refrigerator and let it warm to room temperature. Cut a 7 cm long template in the shape of a pointed oval from cardboard. Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Roll out the dough to a thickness of 1/2 cm and, using the template, cut out 16 hedgehog-shaped cookies. Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes, then let it cool on a wire rack. Mix the custard powder with 3 tablespoons of milk and whisk in the egg yolk. Bring the remaining milk to a boil, stir in the custard powder, and bring to a boil. Pour the custard into a bowl and immediately cover with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming. Let it cool to room temperature. Cream the butter until fluffy and stir in the custard a tablespoon at a time. Reserve the buttercream for garnishing, then mix the remaining cream with the cocoa powder. Cut the sponge cake into cubes and place in a bowl. Boil the sugar and water, pour over the sponge cake cubes, and cover and let stand for 30 minutes. Mix the sponge cake cubes into the buttercream, taking care not to break the cubes apart. Spread the cream onto the shortcrust biscuits in a hedgehog shape and stud the hedgehogs with the almond slivers. Leave the heads uncovered. Let the hedgehogs set in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Melt the chocolate glaze in a double boiler. Place the hedgehogs on parchment paper and cover with the glaze. Pipe noses and eyes onto the biscuits using the remaining buttercream. Makes 16.