Easter 2021, it’s the perfect year for you to try and make your own Chocolate Easter eggs. When making an egg make sure you choose exactly what type and quality chocolate to use – 44% single estate cacao is dark and rich without being bitter, 70% or 72% cocoa Chef’s drops is a more acquired taste, or swirl milk and white for something sweeter.
For a professional finish, it is most important is to ‘temper’ the chocolate correctly. Tempering is a careful process of heating and cooling the chocolate, to ensure a shiny finish and a crisp snap. See ‘How to temper chocolate’ for a more detailed guide.
Points to remember (On how to temper Chocolate)
- Use good quality dark chocolate.
- Roughly chop 2/3s of the chocolate and put it into a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Don’t let the water boil or the chocolate may overheat.
- Finely chop the remaining chocolate.
- Check the temperature of the chocolate with a thermometer as it melts. When it reaches 50-55C, remove the chocolate from the heat.
- Add the finely chopped chocolate to the melted chocolate. Stir continuously until it reaches 31-32C.
- Pop the bowl back over the saucepan briefly if the temperature falls.
- When the chocolate is at the correct temperature, pour it into your mould.
- Leave it in a cool place to set.
You can also customise the eggs by decorating and flavouring the surface of the moulds. Here are a few of our favourite ideas & recipes to follow when it comes to their method, fillings and decoration:
