Homemade Easter Eggs

What could be more exciting than to make Easter eggs with your kids this Easter? It’s a very memorable way for the whole family to share an incredibly fun-filled experience, a few days before the start of the popular Easter holiday. But be warned – making Easter Eggs with kids is not for the faint hearted! It is going to be pretty messy and probably won’t prove any cheaper than store-bought or factory made eggs, and probably wouldn't satisfy the true chocolate gourmet. However your reward will be the light you see in the eyes of the little ones. Believe me - the amount of joy and excitement that you are going to share in will be full compensation for all the mess. But remember to scrub all the little hands first – they must learn that hygiene is always important when food is being prepared. And if Dad is not quite brave enough to get his own hands dirty – Well a good cameraman is always appreciated and a permanent record is always good for a laugh!

Molds

Firstly you will need some molds – at least one for each child to avoid squabbles. Half egg molds are fine for hollow eggs, and can also be used for making solid eggs, but one or two of the small interlocking double casting molds for making mini sized solid eggs are useful for disposing of excess chocolate quickly at the end of the session (assuming the small chefs haven’t already taken care of it already in the traditional way) You can get a variety of Easter egg moulds, from small to large, cheaply enough from online-suppliers or wholesale merchants such as Amazon.com and Sugarcraft.com. Many specialty cake-making or baking shops will also stock them at this time of year. The semi-flexible plastic kind are cheap and easy to use. You can also get molds for Easter Bunnies and Easter Chicks and a variety of other shapes in a range of sizes. I prefer plain smooth egg molds as these are easier to release, with less chance of any mishaps and it is very easy to stick embellishments such as small molded white chocolate bunnies directly onto the finished product, using melted chocolate as paste.

What's this?...

The Chocolate

Unless you really want to draw out the process and make your own milk chocolate from basic ingredients, using a traditional chocolate recipe, it is far easier to just buy in your molding chocolate. There are two types of chocolate commonly used for molding - Coating Chocolate and Couverture. The more select Couverture, is pure chocolate, made from cocoa butter and would always be preferred by connoisseurs as it simply melts in the mouth and has a superior chocolaty taste for the true gourmet. However it is expensive and much more sensitive to the temperature range of the molding process and can be ruined if careful control is not exercised through a special tempering process. It’s best left to the professionals. That is why most hobbyists would prefer to use Coating Chocolate, which also contains a proportion of vegetable oils and fats, which are less volatile than the cocoa oil. Coating chocolate also remains solid at a higher temperature, making the Easter Eggs easier to handle and store. In any event buy only the best quality chocolate to avoid disappointment. For those who need to watch the calories, or who must have a guaranteed organic product, these types of chocolate can be found on the internet. Whatever the chocolate, don’t ever be tempted to add butter or extra vegetable oil and above all NO WATER as this immediately makes the chocolate cloudy and unappealing.

...Maybe Just One...

Other Ingredients, Fillings and Embellishments

Although not essential, you might want to place choice candies inside hollow Easter Eggs as filled eggs offer a delightful surprise. My kids prefer peanut butter and coconut flavoured candies. You can also embellish the surface of the eggs by attaching some white chocolate shapes to the upper surface – such as Easter Chicks or Easter Bunnies or random shapes such as flowers and stars. If you have the skill, you could shape them with a knife, but chocolate molds are available for these too. A tip - you won’t need very much white chocolate, so the easiest way to get hold of some, is to just to buy a couple of ordinary white chocolate bars from the supermarket. A ribbon around the finished egg and a pretty box to put it all in (preferably decorated by the children) will complete a very productive afternoon’s work.

...Or two...

The Equipment

Other than the molds, you won’t be needing anything special that isn’t to be found in most household kitchens. Although a double boiler is traditional for melting the chocolate, these days a microwave is just as good (and probably less problematic with kids around). If you use a double boiler, be careful to keep water (and steam) from direct contact with the chocolate. A fridge or freezer is needed for speeding up the setting. A freezer is better, as the quicker the chocolate sets – the shinier its surface becomes. You will also need some waxed paper, a mixing bowl that is safe for microwave use, a small ladle, a good quality soft paint brush and a variety of spoons and other common household mixing implements.

...Or three...

Getting Started

Place the molds ready to hand in pairs on a sheet of wax paper, but do not oil or butter them as there is enough oil already in the chocolate and doing this will only dull the surface of the finished product. Break up sufficient of the chocolate to make one complete egg and place in the microwave. Warm the chocolate at half heat in the microwave for about 45 seconds and check to see if melted (at about 110ºF = 44ºC). If not, repeat for shorter interval until chocolate is just fluid – taking care not to overheat. It should be comfortable to the touch if you insert your finger ( Lick finger – chef’s bonus).

...All mine!

Filling the Molds

Stir the melted chocolate and with a half egg mold cupped in your hand use the ladle to pour some of the liquid chocolate mix into it. Then rotate and rock the mold around to slosh the chocolate about until you have built up a layer of solidifying chocolate everywhere around the inside of the mold. Pour back excess chocolate into the mixing bowl and when the chocolate lining has become firm enough, upturn the mold onto the waxed paper for a few minutes. Repeat the same procedure with the other matching half-mold. Returning to the first mold pour in more melted chocolate and repeat the entire process. You will have to do this once or twice in both molds, until you have built up a reasonable thickness of chocolate lining on each of the half-molds. (You can actually manage with just one half-mold, but then the process will take longer). Put the half eggs in their molds into the freezer for about ten minutes until the eggs are fully set. The chocolate will shrink slightly with the cold as it hardens. This makes the egg halves easier to release from the mold.

Completing the Easter Egg

When the chocolate has become quite hard from the cold, turn the mold over onto the waxed paper again. The mold should lift off easily from the chocolate, but you may need to gently flex the mold and give a couple of light taps. After you have successfully separated the half egg from the mold, trim off any residual unevenness and then lightly dip the rims of both half eggs into the melted chocolate to provide a paste (or use the paintbrush if you prefer) and then gently push the rims of the eggs together until the chocolate glue has set. Before joining the egg halves together you can add a few (surprise) candies into the interior as an extra bonus for your little chocolate junkies. All that remains then is to decorate the outside of the chocolate “shell” with some white chocolate moldings or candies. Stick the sweets to the upper surface by smearing on some of the melted chocolate as glue using the paintbrush. Then add a colourful ribbon for decoration and your Easter egg can be foil wrapped if you wish. Then pack the eggs carefully onto crumpled paper or straw for protection and place into suitably decorated boxes. And then your only problem is to persuade the kids to wait for Easter Sunday.

A Fun Day

There are many other ways to make your Easter Eggs, such as by simply dipping shaped marshmallows or other candies held on strings or sticks into the melted chocolate to slowly build up layers of chocolate (an ideal method for the younger of the chefs). You can also use various creative combinations of white, dark and brown chocolate with embedded candies to create many special effects with chocolate covered Easter eggs. One favourite is to make solid eggs that have inner bright yellow candy yolks surrounded by white milk chocolate and hidden under a brown chocolate eggshell. If you’re really brave, you could try making a really giant chocolate Easter egg for the whole family, but that will need a fair amount of experience before you attempt it. Whatever you do, it is all good family fun and best of all, if you make a mistake at any stage you can always just simply return the chocolate back into the melting pot and start again – unless of course the waiting scavengers haven’t got at it first. Watch out for that camera man – they are always the worst!