Homemade Chocolate Covered Easter Cream Eggs

Last Friday I came home to a package sent by the sweet people at Chocoley full of fun ingredients for this Easter project - homemade Chocolate Covred Easter Cream Eggs - so you have them to thank for this festive post (thanks Chocoley!).

When the Chocoley team first contacted me I figuratively & literally felt like a kid in the candy store.  They asked me to come up with something I'd like to make using their awesome ingredients! What would I make? So many options to choose from!

My decision became more clear with Easter on the horizon. I knew what I wanted to make & the Chocoley team was on board to advise me of which ingredients would make my Easter creation come to fruition. Chocoley truly has everything you need for creating beautiful & tasty treats.

While I was making these eggs I couldn’t help but remember the story my mom always tells of when I would make cookies as a kid. They would start out small & uniform but then as I continued & the initial excitement of making them wore off the cookies would grow in size. You could look at the assortment of sizes as a timeline of the cookies - the smallest were the earliest & the largest were the last to be baked. It’s a funny memory & my mom laughs every time she tells it - which makes me laugh. This is how I felt making these eggs. If you are going to make them at home - smaller is better - trust me. Mine grew in size - while still delicious they were a bit sloppier & wouldn’t stand on the lollipop stick, instead I had to rest them on their sides making them not completely round - but I covered them with edible confetti, silver sprinkles (like magic from a disco ball!) & pretty pink foils so you’d never know.

PS: Happy birthday to my dear friend Hely! I love you Hey Hey :)



recipe adapted from food52's Homemade Cadbury Creme Eggs

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup agave
• 6 tablespoons butter, softened
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 cup powdered sugar
• ¼ to ½ teaspoon Lemon Yellow Chocolate Coloring Oil
• 12 ounces (about 1 1/2 cups) Indulgence Couverture Chocolate - Semi Sweet Dark

For decorating (optional)

• edible confetti - mini flowers 
• silver sheen metallic gourmet sugar crystals

Other items you’ll need:

• lollipop sticks
• pretty pink foil candy wrappers 4”x4” 
• a scored box, stale bread or a potato

Make’em!

1. Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer that has been fitted with the paddle attachment (this can also be done by hand or with a hand mixer).
2. Add the agave, salt, & vanilla extract.
3. Mix on medium-low to combine, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula to make sure everything is mixed well.
4. Turn the mixer to low and slowly add the powdered sugar.
5. Mix until completely smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
6. Place a third of the mixture into a small bowl and add enough yellow food coloring to obtain your desired color. (Note: if when using the Lemon Yellow Chocolate Coloring Oil be sure to heat it a bit first. Place the bottle in a zip top bag & then place in a bowl of hot water for about 10-15 minutes before using.)
7. Cover both bowls with plastic wrap and put into the freezer for at least 15 minutes; your mixture must be very cold while you work with it. If it gets mushy simply stick it back in the freezer.
8. When the sugar mixture is thoroughly chilled, remove from the freezer. Working quickly, take about ½ teaspoon of the yellow “yolk” mixture and roll it into a ball. Repeat with the rest of the mixture.
9. Once the yolks are complete, place them on a plate or a sheet tray covered with parchment and then put that back into the freezer.
10. Now, scoop out a tablespoon of your “whites” & roll it into a ball.
11. Repeat with the rest of the white portion of the sugar mixture.
12. If the whites are too soft to work with, place back into the freezer for a few minutes.
13. Remove the yolks from the freezer. Place a white in the palm of your hand and gently flatten it a bit. Create an indent in the center to rest the yolk in. Place the yolk in the center of the white, then cover it up and roll the white into an egg shape. If at any point the sugar mixture gets too soft, quickly put it back into the freezer.
14. Continue this process until all your eggs are complete.
15. Return them to the freezer.
16. While your eggs are chilling, heat about an inch of water in a pot or double boiler & place a bowl on top that fits the opening but doesn’t touch the water. Just before the water boils (or even after it does) turn the heat off.
17. Add the Indulgence Couverture Chocolate - Semi Sweet Dark chips to the bowl & stir. These chips will melt pretty fast! Stir until completely melted.
18. Working with one egg at a time, remove the egg from the freezer & stick a lollipop stick in it.
19. Dip the egg into the chocolate and carefully let the excess chocolate drip off. Place the other end of the toothpick into something – I used a scored cardboard box but you can also use a stale loaf of bread, or a potato (something I should have used)– while the chocolate sets. Of if you don’t care about how round it gets place it on a dish with parchment paper.
20. Sprinkle with your decoration of choice while the chocolate is still warm so that the sprinkles stick.
21. Place the chocolate-covered egg into the fridge for 10 minutes while the chocolate sets. 
22. Carefully remove the lollipop stick from the egg & wrap it with your pretty pink foils.