- Makes 1 medium/large egg – Ready in 5.5 hours -
Gather together...
250g cooking-chocolate per whole egg you want to make (or use 125g if you are making half an egg each, which is what we often do to save time when all 4 of us want a turn). Use plain / milk / white chocolate according to taste - 'Cooking chocolate' melts far more easily than regular chocolate and is much less likely to shock and split. Sainsbury's own-brand cooking chocolate is sold in foil and card (so is plastic-free), Green & Black's cooking chocolate is plastic-free AND palm oil-free, but is too pricey for me to use regularly.
Clear-plastic LARGE Easter egg moulds (two halves) - one of our egg mould sets is this one which makes an egg approx. 16.5cm x 11cm x 5.5cm in size.
Decorations (sprinkles, sultanas, crushed nuts, crushed mini eggs, crushed chocolate bars etc).
Silicone brush.
Bain marie / microwave.
Sharp knife.
Get making...
1. If you are using decorations (e.g. chopped nuts, chocolate drops, sprinkles, crushed mini eggs etc) and want them to be visible on the outside of the egg, put them in the base of each mould before you begin. If you want them visible only when the egg is opened, then sprinkle them on top of the very final layer of chocolate.
2. Melt 50g of chocolate at a time over a bain-marie (or carefully in the microwave) - which means that you use 25g on each half every time you add a layer. Use only 50g at a time (SHARED BETWEEN BOTH HALVES) as thin layers of chocolate are the key – brush it on too thickly and it slides off due to gravity.
3. Pour some of this chocolate over any decorations you have put in the bottom of each mould (covering the decorations) to ‘glue’ them in place.
4. Using a silicone brush, apply the remainder of the 50g of chocolate onto the two halves of the plastic mould (25g for each half). Make sure the top lip of each mould has a good covering, even though some of it will slide down under gravity.
5. Put the moulds somewhere cold (e.g. garage, or fridge if there is room).
6. After 1 hour melt 50g of chocolate again and brush it over the inside of both halves of the mould. Pay particular attention to any parts where light shines through (i.e. overly thin patches) when you hold the mould up to the window.
7. Repeat this cooling, melting and brushing until you have added 5 thin layers in total.
8. Once the layers are all in place, put the two separate halves of the mould in the fridge for a final setting.
9. After the final 1 hour of drying, use a sharp knife to slice away any overlapping chocolate on the top, flat surface of the mould. Next, gently flex the plastic moulds to get air bubbles underneath the chocolate to help push it out. Finally try tapping the moulds firmly on the kitchen bench.
10. We leave the finished halves separate - 'gluing' them together into a whole egg with extra melted chocolate is possible but messy... You will find these homemade eggs start melting as soon as you touch them - shop bought ones must be full of stabilisers! Artistically nestling the separate halves in tissue paper to give as a gift works well.
11. Keep the finished chocolate egg halves in the fridge and enjoy them within 2 days. Yum!