I know it's the wrong usage of the word 'epic' but it's popular at the moment, and I really like the element of exaggeration and overstatement it contains. And this chocolatiering on a heroic scale IS, 'like, totally epic' as they say. This mega Mars Bar is at least thirty times the usual size, which means it contains all you need for work, rest, and play for a whole month.
Phoebe has been planning her extravaganza for even longer than that. In fact, it's safe to say, the thought of it is what got her through her exams (she's been an avid reader of Pimp That Snack for years). So now that she's done her post-GCSE work experience, we went off to our nearest Asda to buy the ingredients (Asda baking aisle is amazing and great value) and came back with daft amounts of chocolate and sugar. Then she went to Lakeland to get the tins for the mould, as per her carefully researched plans. She made it over the course of three days this week: first the chocolate shell, then the filling and caramel, and yesterday the finishing and packaging.
She's not the first to make a massive Mars, but most people tend to take apart, say, thirty Mars Bars, melt the constituent parts and re-use. But not Phoebe, who made hers from scratch.
She made a mould with two 'takeaway'/freezer foil cartons, ends removed, taped together. She lined this with clingfilm, then poured melted chocolate over the base and sides to create a shell.
The filling is a recipe she found called ' Divinity Fudge' which is a kind of marshmallow fluff made with two tubes of glucose syrup, 600g of sugar, two eggs whites and 20 minutes in the mixer. The soft caramel topping is the one we use for millionaire's shortbread.
When it had set, she added the final layer of chocolate with loose swirls on top. She printed off a large Mars logo, coloured it in, and make a wrapping from a black bin bag. We took photos, sliced it, took more photos, and then she put it on Facebook.
Looks like we'll be having an epic Mars Bar eating party very soon.
