Easter Chocolate and Cream Eggs

Finally, here is my other project I did for this past Easter. It's a pretty simple recipe, but it results in such cute, delicious little desserts!

As with most of my favourite things, I first discovered this on Pinterest! The pin lead me to the blog Raspberri Cupcakes, and I knew I just had to make these. Unfortunately, I don't have her beautiful egg cups, so you'll have to look at mine just sitting in various bowls.

Even though I have now made these two years in a row, I still haven't managed to go and buy some hollow chocolate eggs. Thus, I am stuck with the arduous process of making them myself. That's the best way to do things anyway, right?

So instead I buy some of the fill-able Easter eggs that all stores sell around that holiday - I discovered this time around that those which open around the length of the egg work best.

These are the kind I mean

Making the Chocolate Eggs

You need:

• hollow plastic Easter eggs (anybody know if I can get these made out of something more reusable and durable? Can't seem to find that particular product)
• chocolate
• cooking oil

1. Open up your egg cases and give them a light spray with cooking oil.

2. Melt your chocolate down using whatever method you prefer... I was in a hurry this Easter, so hopefully you'll excuse me for not properly tempering real chocolate and instead microwaving the melty chips!

3. Once you have your melted chocolate, let it cool just a bit and then pour it into the egg halves. I would nearly fill one half of an egg, attach the other half, and then shake it vigorously to coat the inside. Then, still since I was in a hurry, I placed each egg in the freezer. After a few failed attempts at those, I discovered the eggs should sit upright, and they should be taken out every few minutes for another good shake to ensure the chocolate wasn't all settling in one spot.

4. When your egg shells are ready, carefully open the plastic and shake/gently pull the egg out.

5. Now it's time to destroy a few of them by learning how to cut off the tops! (This is why the eggs were hardened right-side-up; otherwise, the chocolate gathered at the top and made this job nearly impossible) I like to save the tops in one intact piece to place back on later, so this is why it's difficult for me. If you don't care and just want to leave your eggs open though, it'll be much simpler.

With the tops back on!

Definitely start on your ugliest ones, as this can be a difficult process. Even my trusty boyfriend helper has yet to fully master this particular art. He was experimenting with a few different ways this year, one of which was scoring the egg all the way around and then just breaking it off. Another was just a simple heated and serrated knife, sawed through the top of the egg. Yet another was a heated butter knife, just kind of shoved through to let the heat do its job. Each way had its respectable number of successes and failures... maybe we'll figure out the perfect method next year.

Egg Whites and Yolk

Now that your eggs are ready, put them in an airtight container in the fridge to stay cool. And if you haven't already, be sure to put the tops back on now so you don't get them all mixed up!

Are you ready to make the most delicious part of your eggs?

Fluffy "Egg White" Recipe:

• 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 5 oz of cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Combine the juice, vanilla, sugar, and cream cheese in whatever size bowl you feel comfortable with (I hate when recipes tell me to use a large bowl... it's always so comically oversized). Beat it on high until smooth; it took me about two to three minutes to reach this consistency:

Resist the urge to stop here and just eat this

Now in a separate bowl (this one I don't mind being large, as whipping cream is messy to whip) whip your heavy cream until your wrist is screaming and your shoulder is burning. And then keep going like that for the remaining 90% of the job, until the infamous stiff peaks start to form.

Finally! Now relax and calmly mix your two batches together with the whisk, until the whole thing is smooth again.

Now in one way or another, get that mixture into your egg shells. I just dumped mine into a Ziploc bag, then cut off the tip and pretended it was the icing piper I seem to have lost. You can fill the shells up to the top, but then scoop out a hole for the yolk to sit in!

In-A-Hurry "Egg Yolk" Recipe:

• some lemon curd

Now scoop in some lemon curd. Ta-daa. I filled my dessert design pen and squeezed it all in that way, just to feel fancy.

This way doesn't look very realistic though, so please go and check out Raspberri Cupcakes for that yolk recipe. I know last year I actually did make the yolk, but I didn't have access to passion fruit as Raspberri Cupcakes did. Instead I went off of her amounts and instructions, but used orange juice-butter-lemon curd for the ingredients.

....or I just used the butter and lemon curd. I can't remember. This would be why I choose not to instruct you in this area. Next year I'll be sure to make the yolk again!

You're Done!

Paper towels are classy

Last year I made these two days in advance, so I can tell you they at least last that long. Just keep them airtight and chilled until you are ready to serve them!