On the day before, I recommend doing this:

- Take some baking paper and cut into 50-60 squares of about 4x4cm.

- Roll each square up into a cone. Tighten the tip and twist a little.

- The base of the cone should fit the finger, that's how I test :)

- Shape 50-60 cone-bags in this way.

Baking the mushroom heads and stems - this is the biggest adventure and it will take a little longer, so I recommend doing it on another day.

In a bowl, combine 100g of softened butter with 150g of sugar.

Add the egg, sour cream, vanilla, salt and mix well again.

Finally add flour, starch and baking powder, mix with a spoon or a mixer (dough hooks).

Turn the dough out onto the table sprinkled with flour and knead a little more. If it's sticky, add some more flour in the kneading process until it stops sticking to your hands.

Then divide in 2 parts.

From one of the parts, we will make the heads. Cut into about 50 small pieces, the size of a walnut.

Shape into balls and place in the baking sheet, lined with parchment.

Bake in the preheated oven at 180 degrees C for 20-25 minutes, until they begin to brown slightly underneath.

While they are hot, carefully carve with a knife in the middle, to make room to insert the stems.

Some of the caps may break in this step, so handle with care. But I assure you that the leftovers will be devoured at once by those who roam around the kitchen :)

Now take the other half of dough and shape into strips about a finger thick. Cut into pieces about 2-2.5cm long.

Squeeze a bit one of the ends so that it fits the tip of the paper cone.

So look at the paper cones and make the stems thick enough to fit easily inside. They shouldn't be too thin, nor too thick.

In this way, shape and place all the stems in the cones. Count them to make sure you have the same number of stems and heads.

Bake in the preheated oven at 180 degrees C for 10-15 minutes. Try not to brown them too much, best would be for them to stay white. I did brown them a bit too much, as I was doing other things too and I wasn't paying full attention.

So, in the end we have the same number of heads and stems.

This can be done in advance (even a week before) and you can assemble the mushrooms 1-2 days before the event.

Assembling the mushrooms:

Make a syrup from 170g sugar and 4 tablespoons of water. When it comes to the boil and the sugar has completely dissolved, remove from the heat.

Dip the thinner end of the stem in syrup and insert into the indent in the mushroom head.

If it doesn't stick properly from the first time, dip it again several more times.

If the the syrup thickens along the way, reheat.

Once you've assembled the mushrooms, dip the root in syrup, then in poppy seeds, to create the impression of a sandy stem.

Arrange the mushrooms in a tray or platter and allow the syrup to dry properly and set for a few hours.

The glaze:

The last step is decorating the mushrooms with chocolate. For this, break the dark chocolate into pieces, place in a small heavy-bottomed pan, add 100g of butter and place over low heat to melt. Or place over a bain-marie.

Leave over heat and stir periodically until the chocolate and butter melt completely, but don't let boil.

Then take each mushroom (after the sugar syrup has set) and dip the head in chocolate glaze.

If the chocolate thickens along the way, reheat, to make it thinner.

Place the mushrooms on one side in a tray lined with parchment.

Let cool completely. Overnight would be perfect, in a cooler place.

That was all. Simple, right? :)) With a little planning, it will be easy, and you can involve the children in the process too.

I assure these mushrooms are worth all the effort and even more. Now I would gladly make them again. They are wonderful dessert decor for any party or occasion. But, most of all, they will make the children happy.

Enjoy!