This fun dessert shows marine worms in their ‘natural’ chocolate mud habitat. A new way to talk about the importance of worms for ocean health or just a great fun sweet treat!

It is best to involve children in the final assembly stage once all the different parts have been made and are ready. See the What You'll Need tab for a list of ingredients

Timings

Although each of the steps is simple and takes little time, these desserts need 2 hours to make overall to ensure that each step has set properly.

Recipe steps

1. Make the chocolate mousse according to the instructions on the packet. Typically, this will need 300ml milk, but some brands may vary. You can of course make your own chocolate mousse using your favourite recipe, and you will need about 600ml of mousse in total.
2. Whip the 300ml of cream until stiff peaks form and then fold into to mousse mixture.
3. Leave the mousse mixture to set in the fridge in a single bowl for at least an hour.
4. While the mousse is chilling make the jelly following the instructions on the packet. You will need 300ml of jelly. Let this cool to room temperature.
5. Then prepare the biscuit mud, by blitzing the chocolate biscuits in a food processor until they are a soft crumb texture. You can also place the biscuits in a sealable bag and crumble them using a rolling pin.
6. Once the mousse has set and the jelly has cooled, it is time to put it all together in clear cups or glasses.
7. Add a layer of biscuit mix to the bottom and then add a layer of mousse. Repeat this with another biscuit and then a mousse layer, finishing off with a final biscuit layer.
8. Add the worms into the mud with their heads poking out. It can be fun to place them against the side of the cup, so you can see their bodies in the mud.
9. Scatter sugar sprinkles on top to represent the organic matter on the seafloor, and then add the cooled jelly layer on top covering the worms’ heads completely.
10. Leave to set fully in the fridge for at least 3 hours before serving.

Ingredients (makes six cups)

1 packet instant chocolate mousse dessert

300ml milk

300ml whipping cream

16 chocolate sandwich or wafer biscuits

18 gummy worms

Sugar sprinkles

1 packet of green or blue instant jelly

Warning: some instant mousse or jelly brands may contain animal gelatin

Worms are amazing creatures. During this investigation, you will observe how they help soil and plants in three main ways. Their burrows help water move from the surface deeper into the soil. Worms eat dead leaves, grass, and other vegetable matter and bring this food into the soil. Through mixing the different layers in the soil, worms help to bring nutrients into deep layers of the soil.

In the ocean, many worms perform the same role, keeping the muddy or sandy sediment healthy. Here are some of the ways that worms help keep the ocean healthy.