Make your own Easter eggs

The Easter weekend is upon us which means the prospect of lots of delicious chocolate eggs. Here to show us how to bring a touch of nostalgia into the house this Easter is Paul A Young, with his guide to making Easter eggs filled with all your favourite sweets.

Ingredients

800g milk chocolate, melted over a bain marie (temper the chocolate if you want to achieve a good finish and crack to your eggs)
Chocolate to fill the eggs: Smarties, Chocolate Buttons, Daim Bars, Mini Eggs etc.


Method

Take 800g chocolate and melt it in a bain marie to 45 degrees (meleting temperature). Never a microwave it won’t achieve a good melt and may burn the chocolate.

Pour two thirds of the chocolate onto a large marble surface. Ideally you will have this installed already and call it your kitchen counter. Temper it with a palette knife and a scraper, moving, spreading, piling in, spreading again until it starts to solidify.

Scrape the chocolate back into the remaining third of the still melted chocolate. Mix well until evenly smooth. Check the temperature again – it should between 28-29 degrees (working temperature).

To line your Easter egg moulds:

Clean the moulds well with cotton wool until shiny.

Fill the moulds with chocolate until they overflow.

Scrape off any excess chocolate then tap the mould on the counter to release any air bubbles.

Set the mould aside for a few minutes until the chocolate sets to form a thin sell. Tip out any excess chocolate and scrape the mould to create clean finish on the eggs.

Refrigerate for 15 minutes until the chocolate has set and released from the mould.

Wearing a pair of cotton of vinyl food handling gloves remove from the mould and place on a clean tea towel so they don’t roll away.

Now carefully fill the egg half with your chosen sweets. Using your finger or a piping bag apply a small mount of chocolate around one half of the eggs.

Swiftly bring the two halves together to seal. Enjoy your eggs within two weeks of making and store at room temperature.

To make the chocolate egg stand, take 1 tablespoon of tempered chocolate into a cookie cutter, lift off and allow the chocolate to set half way then place the egg on top. Allow to set for five minutes. 

Chocolate tempering chart

• Chocolate:
• 1) Melting temperature / 2) crystallizing temperature / 3) Working temperature
• White chocolate: 1) 50 degrees c / 2) 26 to 27 degrees c / 3) 29 to 30 degrees c
• Milk chocolate: 1) 50 to 55 degrees c / 2) 26 to 27 degrees c / 3) 29 to 30 degrees c
• Dark chocolate: 1) 55 degrees c / 2) 27 to 28 degrees c / 3) 31 to 32 degrees

sumber :  http://www.itv.com/thismorning/food/make-your-own-easter-eggs-paul-a-young-recipe

Tweet