Easter Egg

In my family it is a tradition to make Easter eggs around easter. I live in Belgium so we have the advantage that the best chocolate of the world is made here :-). Chocolate is in our genes and we share our recipies from generation to generation. When I was young, my grandmother learnt me how to make these homemade chocolate eggs. Later on, I tried it by myself and it was a success. I am 17 years old now and I have helped my grandmother making eggs for five years. It is a great pleasure that I want to share with you, just like my grandmother did when I was younger. So let's get started with the supplies.

In the picture above you see the most important supplies:

• a chocolate scraper
• a mould for chocolate eggs (make sure the mould is completely free from fingerprints)
• a thermometer
• chocolate ( I use callebaut callets with 3 drops of fluidity)

Furthermore, you need some simple kitchen supplies:

• baking dish that is larger than the mould
• a bowl for melting the chocolate
• a spatula
• baking paper
• a pan

For having the right amount of chocolate, I use the mould as a reference by filling it completely. Next, I do the chocolate in a bowl and put it for 30 seconds in the microwave at full power. Then take it out and stir it well before putting it back in the microwave. Stirring is a very important part of crystallisation. Put it back in the microwave and repeat the entire process until the chocolate is almost melted. When there are only a few lumps left, you should keep stirring until they have melted away. Measure the temperature. In case of dark chocolate the temperature should be around 31 degrees, for milk chocolate around 31 degrees and for white chocolate around 29 degrees. If the temperature is too low, put it very briefly in the microwave. In case the temperature is too high, add some extra chocolate. Before moving on to the next step we have to take one last test. Dip a knife in the chocolate, take it out and wait for a minute. After a minute, the chocolate should be hard.

From now on it has to go very fast because the chocolate will solidify very quickly. Fill the mould with the tempered chocolate using a spatula. Start swirling the mould around, this creates a smooth layer of chocolate that covers all sides of the mould evenly. Next, tap the mould with the back of your scraper to remove any possible air bubbles.

Turn the mould upside down so the excess chocolate will flew in an oven dish. Scrape the excess chocolate with your scraper. Afterwards, place the mould facing down with the opening on a piece of bakingpaper for about five minutes as you can see in the third picture above. This will create a clean edge on top of the shell which will make it easier to stick the egg halves together later. After five minutes, take the mould off the paper and again remove the excess chocolate with your scraper. Put the mould in the fridge for about 20 minutes and the chocolate should be hard.

It is time to demould the eggs. It is very important that you demould in a clean area because when the eggs come out the mould they are static. Flex the mould a little bit and slide the egg shells out. As you can see, the chocolate has a perfect gloss.

Warm a pan over a low heat. Warm the edge of one of the egg shells on the bottom of the pan until it begins to melt. Place it on a piece of kitchen paper and repeat the process for the other half. Stitch the two halves together and hold them for a minute.

So that's how to make Easter eggs! It is a relatively straightforward process if you keep all my tips and tricks in mind. The result is wonderful: a nice glossy chocolate egg.