So the good people at Arnott’s sent me 2 cases of Tim Tams to celebrate their 50th birthday and while most normal people would just rip into them and scoff the lot, the boy and I wanted to build something like last time when I built a giant Tim Tam Colosseum!

Most normal couples spend their weekends doing normal things- watching a movie, going shopping or playing sport. But us? We like making things. Back in March the Sydney Harbour Bridge turned 82 and we thought it’d be fun to build it out of Tim Tams but unfortch time got away from us and we couldn’t find a weekend free but finally the time was right! So armed with the 2 cases of Tim Tams which worked out to be 48 packets/528 Tim Tams, Noods googled some pics of the Bridge and set out an outline. He didn’t draw anything or plan anything and pretty much just winged it!

Guesstimating at its finest!

Originally we were gonna attempt to glue the Tim Tams together for the road and HOPE that it could be suspended over the ‘water’ but that was totally not gonna happen. We ended up cutting some foam board, wrapping it in foil, painting it in chocolate and placing the Tim Tams on it instead.

So while Noods worked out the logistics and pretty much the architecture of the Bridge, I was on cement duty and melted in total 2.6kg of milk chocolate to glue everything together.

We made 4 Jenga towers for the Bridge Pylons

Pile o Tim Tams

We’d started this lil project late in the arvo and it was beginning to get hard to see because the lighting against the wall is terrible so we slopped on the last of the melted chocolate onto all the joints and edges before covering the whole table in cling wrap and letting everything dry overnight before we attempted to put everything standing upright.

The next day we ducked out to the shops to buy more chocolate and lol get a flu shot (super important guys!) and then began the nerve wrecking task of standing the Bridge. As you can see our Coathanger broke in about 5 pieces on the table. This is when we started partaking in adult beverages. The ‘road’ was also way too heavy for the foam board and we ended up having to put more Tim Tam Jenga piles underneath for support

Halfway there! It’s aliiiiiiiive!

Just when it looked like the finish line was near, we started having major issues with the final pieces of the Bridge. The damned thing just didn’t want to fit!! Second round of beverages and much swearing ensued.

Finally with a crapload of melted chocolate and a whole lotta luck, we finished the end of the Bridge and carefully slid in a Tim Tam for the panels in the archway.

FINISHED!!!!!!

From above!

Ain’t she a beauty?

Oh but something’s missing! The Aussie flags on top of course! We also chucked on 1kg of blue tinted coconut for the ‘ocean’ lol

Originally I was going to make blue buttercream icing for the ocean but it was late and we just wanted to clean up. We attempted to move the Tim Tam Jenga blocks holding up the bridge to see if it was stable enough to hold for one pic but alas the Bridge was too heavy so it’s up the power of Photoshop!

And before you question if it all went to waste, worry not! All the Tim Tams safely packed and ready to be eaten 😀

What do you think we should build next?

So like, I made a giant Wagon Wheel. From scratch. I mean don’t get me wrong, I love Wagon Wheels but I’ve always felt like the marshmallow and jam to biscuit ratio was never right! So it took me a weekend of pottering around my kitchen and questioning my sanity on whether or not it was worth all the hassle. It totally was haha but this is totes not classified as an easy recipe and there was stacks of washing up!

Tee hee forgot to weigh it but I reckon it was more than 5kg?

INNARDS SHOT!!! Now THERE‘S my ideal ratio!!!

Allllrighty then! Steps in the event you people out there want to make this behemoth! You will need 2 springform tins, 1 larger than the other- I used a 21cm and a 25cm tin. For the biscuit layer I used this recipe. Make sure to divide your dough into 2 amounts and when rolled out cut out 2 circles the size of your small tin.

For the marshmallow layer I used this recipe but without the coconut and the colouring. Spread the marshmallow into your baking paper lined small tin, there’ll be enough mixture for 2 layers so if you want you can make normal marshmallows with the excess. Make sure the marshmallow has several hours to set, I left my marshmallow in the fridge overnight.

For the jam layer I used this recipe but halved the amount and cooked the jam a bit longer so it wouldn’t be super runny inside the Wagon Wheel.

Ready to assemble layers? Grab your larger tin and melt some chocolate! I used about 500g of chocolate for the bottom layer, make sure the layer is a solid 1-2cm thick and make sure to spread the chocolate up to the edges of the tin. Leave to set for a bit before adding the shortbread layer otherwise the shortbread with sink to the bottom of the chocolate layer. Spread on the jam layer. I shoved 2 biscuit bits into the jam as a semi attempt for stability.

Unwrap the marshmallow layer and plonk him on top of the jam. Chuck on the 2nd shortbread layer. Melt some more chocolate and begin drizzling over the top and down the sides. I ended up using about 1 kilo of chocolate to cover the top and fill up around the sides mmm now leave your baby to set. If you’re in a hurry you can put him in the fridge but warning it may discolour the chocolate because of the sudden change in temperature.

Carefully undo the springform tin and tadah!

Only drawback with massive Wagon Wheel is there’s no way you can just take a bite out of it lol so ended up having to stab at it and hack off a piece to see the insides.

There we go! Insides and a comparison shot!

I have plans for more giant candy but let me know what you’d like me to make 😛

Sponsored Post. 

Noods is borderline fanatical about his new soccer team the Western Sydney Wanderers FC (WHO DO WE SING FOR?) and usually he and the boys will go and watch the game if it’s in Parramatta and then grab a bite to eat afterwards.

The Super Bowl in America is coming up soon and a few of my fav U.S food blogs are posting awesome snacks they’re preparing for the game and a quick Google search led us to the idea of a snack food stadium! There’s just something about building a ridiculously large structure using food and then sharing the craziness of it with your best mates. So with a Wanderers game set for the Australia Day weekend we decided to build a stadium of food and as luck would seem I was invited to try out the ING DIRECT Wave & Save promotion and it sure came at a great time lol

First, getting ready our junk food needs. The time I’d get home from work is usually around the time that most supermarkets start to close so I hit Coles, Woolworths, IGA and Harris Farm for snacks.

Ready to build? Step 1, enlist a minion who fancies himself a builder using foam art boards and cardboard boxes lying around the house.

Step 2, make sure structure is relatively stable to hold weight of snacks.

It took Noods about a week of slowly designing the stadium and a lot of trial and error pieces but here we go! All taped up! We also lined the insides with cling wrap and the top deck and hot food section were covered with foil.

Step 3, slowly fill up your stadium and arrange order of snack foods. I went the sweet and savoury side route and colour co-ordinated my foods.

Of course it’s always good to make sure your structure is sturdy otherwise you turn away for one second and the sounds of Jaffas falling everywhere will make your heart skip a beat! Nuuuuu Jaffas EVERYWHERE!

AAAAAAND TADAH!!!!!! One sexy food stadium ready and waiting for all your pre game needs with the Red and Black Bloc supporters!

My ‘healthy’ side of the stadium starting with the lower decks: smoked trout dip, carrot and cucumber sticks, good ol 80’s cubed cheese, twiggy sticks, a wheel of double brie, crackers, olives, Kettle Chilli Chips, Cheezels, corn chips & salsa aaaand pork crackles. Top deck had babaganouj, pistachio & blue cheese dip, shaved honey ham and prosciutto.

Other side of the stadium contained our hot food section with mini pies, sausage rolls and potato gems tee hee it’s been too long since I’ve had potato gems! The stands were filled with mini Oreo’s, Tiny Teddies, rainbow popcorn, Pods, Cheese and Bacon Balls, Chicken Twisties, pretzels and the top stand was layered with pepperoni and slices of Jarlsberg cheese.

Fields of green! Originally we were going to use guacamole for the grass but we were worried it would discolour so I whipped up a kilo of buttercream with a crapload of green colouring. Looking back we should have used gummy men for the players but eh. Wafers line the stadium as ‘advertising’, held to the sides with toothpicks.

Enough with the photos! ATTTTTAAAAAAAAAAACCCCCK!

With no end in sight we chuck the perishables in the fridge and glad wrap the whole shebang while we take a break for a poker game or two.

Breaking down the stadium we pack the leftovers into party bags to take to work. It will probably last us for the next month or so. Diabetes here we come!

Aaaand I leave you guys with a less junk food overloaded photo. We had leftover funds on the card so one last trip for groceries for the animals at the RSPCA Yagoona shelter of fruit and veg for the bunnies, dog food, kitty litter, treats and toys.

ERMAHGERD!!! It’s a Tim Tam Colosseum!!! I love Tim Tams, I don’t think I know anyone who doesn’t love a Tim Tam. What’s not to love? It’s a delicious chocolate biscuit! So anywhos a long, looong time ago, back in 2006, I followed a blog by a girl called Bex and she built a Tim Tam Colosseum for her Roman/Toga party and ever since then I have known that I would try and recreate it. And then like magic, I was sent a couple of cases of Tim Tams from the good people at Arnott’s and while I did my best to eat as many as I could, I knew that my time had finally come. A high school mate’s bday was near and with nothing scheduled for the weekend I set to work! I made it over 2 days because I wanted to make sure the base set properly before attempting the upper tiers.

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you: my Tim Tam Colosseum! Isn’t it just beyoootiful?! It didn’t take too long to assemble but it did take a bit of time to wait for each layer to fully set and be stable enough before adding another level.

What you’ll need! Tim Tams. Lots of them. My colosseum was a bit over the top considering only 5 people were gonna be eating it so um maybe half everything if you’re gonna attempt this! I used about 30 packets of Tim Tams, about half a kilo of chocolate to melt and use for the ‘cement’, 2 packets of gummy men, 1 packet of gummy snakes and dinosaurs, 450g tin of Milo and a board to place your creation on. I used a foam board that can be bought from art shops, I wanted something quite sturdy incase the chocolate seeped through. Start by drawing a circle so you can use as a guide to place the bottom row of Tim Tams.

Melt chocolate in small portions at a time either by microwaving in short bursts or on a double boiler over the stove. Dip the ends of Tim Tams into the melted chocolate and place on your circle. Be sure to space the Tim Tams out evenly, use another Tim Tam as a guide- they need to be close enough that a Tim Tam can lie on top with another. I kinda suck at explaining so look at the pics! Make sure the Tim Tams are fully stuck and cooled before doing the next layer.

Spoon melted chocolate on top of the standing Tim Tams 3 at a time and place Tim Tams horizontally around the circle.

While the layers are cooling stack Tim Tams for the audience stands. I used more melted chocolate to keep everything in place but I reckon ‘next time’ I wouldn’t bother. I stacked it 3 Tim Tams high for the back stands and 2 Tim Tams high for the front. I only did a half circle for the stands because I didn’t think I had enough gummy men to put in the stands so whatever floats your boat.

Aaaand next layer, dip Tim Tam bottoms in chocolate and place in the middle and repeat.

Lol Noods snapped this while I was doing the next horizontal layer and started placing the gummy men. It was freaking cold but I was too paranoid to turn on the heater in case the structure melted haha but yeah dip the gummy men in chocolate and place on the stands.

Colourful crowd!

Continue with your 3rd tier

The 4th tier is the ‘broken’ tier, so only do a tier halfway around.

Noods said I should’ve blitzed some biscuits for the dirt but I was worried the icing in the Tim Tams might clump together so chose the easy option and dumped in a can of Milo 😀

Of course what is a colosseum without an epic battle? Chuck in your gummy snakes and um dinosaurs. ‘Next time’ I’d use a giant python gummy instead. And of course chuck in some of your gummy men to fight!

AND YOU‘RE DONE!!!

From da back

Hello windows

Happy birthday Mig!

ATTTTACKKKKK!!!

Going…

Going…

Gone! Well, mostly. We barely made a dent so we demolished the colosseum and packed the tiers for work treats 😀

I’m sure everyone’s seen the trailers for the movie Battleship and Noods was in charge of a drinking game for his mate’s bucks party so we set to work on recreating the game but with alcoholic beverages in the ships 😀

First the 10×10 grid.

 

To make things interesting Noods was gonna use a combo of pre mixed shots (we got em at Choice Liquor), shots of vodka and shots of water so you couldn’t tell what you were getting haha

You sunk my battleship! Haha don’t forget to print off smaller versions of blank grids so you can mark where you’ve already hit/missed. And remember, drink in moderation!