No-Bake, Easy Hedgehog Slice and…Night Runs!

‘Night Runs’.  It’s been a while since we’ve had a post about Archie and his goings-on at boarding school.

A few weeks ago Archie said to me, ‘I really miss boarding school; I just had the best time’.

Starting the melting process

Starting the melting process


Now you have all heard me talk about the highs and the lows of Archie’s boarding school days but through every low we experienced at the time, we all knew the highs would outnumber those occasions.  You would also probably understand that when I talk about ‘highs’, I’m not referring to academic highs because there is no way an academic high would have sent Archie into a euphoric high.

No, Archie’s ‘highs’ were to do with all those things that went outside the rule book and that certainly included the giant fun he had on ‘Night Runs’.

Melting the ingredients

Melting the ingredients

It was when he was in his junior years and foolishness and deviant opportunities outnumbered brain cells.  He and his cohorts would lie in bed and wait until the Master in Charge had signed off at 11pm.  This left a wide open chasm of good fortune for opportunist boys to unleash their energy but mostly, their spirit of naughtiness.

Because outside the doors of their boarding house was the ever-diligent but naiive security officer whose job it was to drive around in a very tiny Suzuki shining a torch into the darkness and making sure all resident boarders were tucked safely under their bed sheets.

After the Master in Charge had taken himself to bed the opportunist boys would leap out of their narrow single beds and slip out of the boarding house with the aim of finding this security guard and giving him a night of grief.

In armies of up to 20 boys, they would sneak through the nighttime darkness and run through the acres of bushland to find that Suzuki that was the sign of power, authority and protection for the security guard.

No need to crush the biscuits

No need to crush the biscuits

One night they found the security guard asleep in the driver’s seat of his small vehicle.  The boys crept up to the car and strategically placed a few firecrackers under the car.  As the boys crouched in the bushes awaiting the results of their efforts, it was only minutes before the crackers went off and the instant and thunderous noise woke the security guard and gave him the fright of his life.  This was then a highlight of six years of boarding school events.

On other occasions the boys would stack wheelie bins across the internal roads and think this would stop the man in his small car from barreling through then but he was tenacious!    He plowed through the wall of bins blasting rubbish everywhere only to see boys scattering off into the bushes and becoming camouflaged by the darkness.  A chase was on but Suzuki’s aren’t too good off the beaten track.

Hedgehog Slice

Hedgehog Slice

I think the night that affected the security guard the most was when he left his vehicle to inspect an area with his trusty torch.  Meanwhile, the boys surrounded his vehicle, lifted it into the air and carried it to a different location.  It was with great joy that they watched the security guard return to where he thought he had left his car, only to find it had somehow vanished.

These night runs would go on for around three hours with the boys laughing hysterically and having the time of their lives.  The next day they would be asleep at their desks with the teachers worried they were overloaded with homework.  If only.

This hedgehog slice is wonderful as an energy boost and I’ve never heard of a boarder knocking back five or six slices.

Can be made using just one bowl

Can be made using just one bowl

Hedgehog Slice

Makes:  24

Degree of Difficulty:  2/5

Cost:  I made this with a lot of leftovers and as I knew it would mostly be devoured by teenagers, I bought cheap chocolate.  The slice can be made for less than $10.00.

  • 400g dark chocolate
  • 200g unsalted butter
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup icing sugar
  • 1 lightly beaten egg
  • 2/3 cup raisins
  • 2/3 cup chopped walnuts
  • 250g packet of Arrowroot biscuits (or other plain biscuits) broken into bits

Topping:

  • 300g dark chocolate
  • 50g unsalted butter

Line a 20cm x 30cm slice tin with baking paper.

Place chocolate, butter, vanilla and sugar in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water but don’t allow the water to touch the bowl.  Stir over medium heat until melted and well combined.  Remove from heat and add egg then raisins, walnuts and biscuits.  Press into slice tin.  I used my hands!

For the topping:  Melt extra chocolate and remaining butter over a saucepan of simmering water but don’t allow the water to touch the bowl.  Stir over medium heat until melted and well combined.  Remove from heat and pour over slice.  Smooth with a palette knife.

Place in fridge to set for a few hours or overnight.  Cut into fingers.

Quick, easy and no-bake

Quick, easy and no-bake

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Comments

  1. great read and great recipe

  2. The first time I made Hedgehog Slice was for my mum and dad and four brothers and sisters when I was about 7 years old. My recipe included cocoa powder but I accidentally used Gravox instead of cocoa powder – epic fail.

  3. MMm I think I’d knock off a few slices of this! And hehe I remember doing silly things when I was young. Mostly involving the telephone mind you 😛

  4. Had a few chuckles reading this. Boys will be boys huh. Great slice – thank goodness he can still get this.

  5. The antics of boys…

  6. The boarding students’ night runs must have caused more than a few nightmares in that poor security guard’s life. They should have been served brussel sprouts and liver not those lovely hedgehog slices. Naughty boys.

  7. Haha, Archie wasn’t afraid to recount these stories to you? Sounds like he certainly had a blast. And these bars look great. I love the addition of raisins!

  8. I am sure those ‘night runs’ will be repeated many times by Archie.
    Those no-bake chocolate goodies are my kind of treats.

  9. Haha, that poor security guard 😀

    The hedgehog slice looks lovely Charlie – reminds me of a no-bake refrigerator cake I tried a while back – yummy biscuit and chocolate together… “hedgehog slice” certainly sounds better though!

  10. Pranks at school must be world wide, but whether they are or not, I am glad I am not that security guard! I have long been fascinated by Australian slices, whether sweet or savory. These look like they would come together in a snap and be delicious as well.

  11. I want to reach through the screen and grab one.

  12. I’ve never made nor eaten a hedgehog but I’d really like to try one.

    That boy of yours has a healthy sense of humour!

  13. I love these tasty rich treats a lot but rarely savour them, only at Christmas, at my parents’s house! 😉 Now, I can make them & eat them before Christmas too! 😉 Naughty but delicious! xxx MMMMMMM!

  14. Now that Archie is “all grown up” I miss hearing about his escapades. He and Arabella are both such fun characters!

    I’ve never had a Hedgehog but they look delicious! I think I could make them with GF cookies too. 🙂

  15. So naughty! I feel sorry for the poor security guard! Your hedgehog slice sounds delicious, Charlie!

  16. Love no bake things, though I might try this without the egg for my 4 nephews. Let’s hope it works 🙂 Thanks for sharing x

  17. Oh that poor man! Did he never report the boys conduct? If not he must have really enjoyed the challenge- it probably helped liven up a dreary, boring job. Actually, I’m sure the boys did him a favour and definitely should have been rewarded with some yummy Hedgehog Slice like this one 🙂 xox

  18. I can just hear those boys in absolute glee enjoying their shenanigans! It’s the harmless pranks that turn out to be so funny, yet when my son was part of this kind of nonsense I was always worried it would escalate! 🙂 I do remember the difficult time Archie had in the beginning of his boarding school days, so isn’t it wonderful that he looks back with happy memories! These hedgehog slices look so good. I can’t believe how simple they are. They look like they would be a more involved baking project! I like simple–and chocolate!

  19. You won’t catch me posting online the shenanigans that my friends and I got up to as teens! 😉

    LOVE that they picked up the car. WHAT.

  20. your stories abt archie are always such an interesting read!

  21. Oh my goodness what mischief! What a job for the security guard. He really should have lifted his game though and thought of a few retaliation pranks. Love the look of this slice Charlie! I don’t think I’d be game to make it though because I know where it would all end up!

  22. Never heard of a hedgehog slice. It looks relatively easy to make so maybe my rambunctious teenagers would enjoy?

  23. G’day and what a great story Charlie, true!
    Something the boys will remember always and love your hedgehog recipe too!
    Cheers! Joanne
    http://www.facebook/whatsonthelist

  24. Haha…you’re catching on. Bill doesn’t like much of anything! Or at least anything that I like!
    I love the boys’ antics…good clean fun. You tell a great story, Charlie, and make a mean hedgehog slice 🙂

  25. That poor security man his nerves must have been shattered! Maybe a tray of these hedgehogs would have helped him cope with the night time antics.

  26. Boys will be boys! Poor little security guard but a fun story. I have to tell you that any dessert that is a no bake that looks this good is on my make it list and can’t even think about putting on the oven in this heat!

  27. Whatever his salary, that poor security guard was under-paid. I cannot imagine having that job. I’m sure Archie and his mates weren’t the only ones to torment the man. Well, at least he knows that the boys all remember him. 🙂 Never heard of a hedgehog, in this context, but it sure sounds good. And how easy is it to make! I gotta try this!

  28. This post makes me wish I’d been more daring and a bit naughtier as a teenager! I can just imagine the hilarity of it all and the thought of the car moving is particularly amusing. The poor security guard! I hope he had a sense of humour himself, otherwise I fear for his sanity now 😛

    I have been thinking about making hedgehog lately so this is fortuitous – I must get myself organised.

  29. Archie and his adventures back in boarding school!!! That’s just as bad as I’ve heard it moving someone’s car hhahaha but at least they didn’t vandalise it 😛

    Ohh hedgehoge i haven’t had one in ages will have to make some soon 🙂

  30. I don’t think I’ve ever tried a hedgehog slice, but will surely not mind a piece of yours. Scrumptious.

  31. A treat to help any teenager throw their ups and downs. …. although adults would require two or three times the dosage.

  32. I always wanted to go to boarding school, based on the books I read. I don’t think I could have survived!

  33. It’s amazing the things that boys will think of when left to their own devices!

    And now I’m so anxious thinking of the mischief any future sons of mine will get into, that I need a bite of that slice!

  34. I love a good Archie story and this didn’t disappoint. Harmless pranks are my favorite. I would have loved to have seen the guard’s reaction to the firecrackers or his car having been moved. Priceless! I would miss boarding school too. Your hedgehog bites look so cute and how much better does it get than making them in just one bowl!

  35. Glad to have stumbled on your blog – very entertaining read – and these bars look so so good!

  36. I’ve not heard of hedgehogs before (well, not the kind I’d want to eat!). These look terrific – I’d definitely be able to knock back a few slices. 😉 Fun story about Archie – thanks.

  37. Yum! I’ll take a few slices!! Wonder if the girls have as much fun!

  38. Yum! What fun little squares!

  39. These look yummy1

  40. These look yummy!

  41. Aah yes, boarding school stories – I am still hearing about new ones from my husband.
    I have a similar recipe from my mom-in-law. I’m sure she would have sent them to Pete when he was in boarding school too.
    🙂 Mandy xo

  42. My ears are all big when you tell stories about your kids. So fun and curious to hear what’s going to happen! And you also know how to tell a great story. Until now I had never heard of Hedgehog Slice but I definitely want to try it and need to make it on my own!

  43. Oh that poor security guard; and what high spirited boys. I’ve heard a few stories from my son too, about teenage naughtiness, and think how glad I am that I didn’t know about them at the time. The hedgehog slice looks just the thing for energetic kids.

  44. Oh my. I can imagine the teachers had no idea what was going on. Devious little minds:) Yummy dessert (as always).

  45. You know me, I’m always up for something made with dark chocolate! Love the boarding school stories, especially when they involve naughty school age boys! I just love pranks! 🙂

  46. Oh dear, just when I had decided to make more healthy food this week and less cakes and muffins….

    I so loved this story, those naughty, funny boys… being such boys. No wonder he misses it, the innocence!

  47. Made me laugh but God they were so naughty. I wonder did they ever get caught?
    Carolyn

  48. You always tell such a good story. And these slices look fabulous! I am trying to think what I could use instead of Arrowroot biscuits – hard to find around here…

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  1. […] bloggers and I came across this little beauty in my wonderful friend Charlie’s blog, HOTLY SPICED. A food blog with a twist and a turn. […]

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