Homemade Easter Eggs

Homemade Easter eggs are immensely fun, entirely bespoke and very simple to throw together. Delight your recipients and learn how to temper chocolate in the process in this Easter egg recipe.

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Homemade Easter eggs – are they worth the effort?

I don’t know about you but I look at the selection of Easter eggs available in the shops sometimes and feel a mixture of emotions. On the one hand, yes they make lovely gifts, but on the other hand, they are, on the whole, virtually the same: a standard chocolate egg with one or two chocolate bars inside.

Unless of course, your wallet is bottomless, then perhaps options are more exciting.

And don’t get me going about the packaging.

I’ve always fancied having a go at creating homemade Easter eggs and I’ve finally got around to it. In truth there are numerous reasons to go down the homemade route:

• it’s a fun activity
• they can be personalised with names
• and toppings can be tailored to the recipient’s tastes
• each egg can be different… or all the same
• likewise, you select the molds to make them as big or small as you like
• they can be packaged in an environmentally friendly way
• the molds can be used over and over again
• you get to pick the quality of ingredients used

Depending on the type of egg you might usually purchase, it’s highly likely that homemade Easter eggs will work out cheaper too. Especially if you have a lot of eggs to buy.

So yes, homemade Easter eggs are definitely worth the effort in my opinion.

How to Make Your Own Easter Eggs

This Easter egg recipe is relatively quick to make and a lot of fun:

• Select your toppings and ensure they will fit well inside of your egg mold without it looking overcrowded or too sparse
• Check your mold for how much chocolate will be needed to fill it – reduce the amount of chocolate by 1/5 of this amount to avoid overflowing the mold once toppings are added. (My molds hold 150g (large) and 50g (small) of chocolate, so I scaled that back to 120g and 40g to account for the additional toppings
• Temper/ melt the chocolate – I do recommend using tempered chocolate for this recipe, since it will give far better results – details below
• Pour the prepared chocolate into your egg mold and gently tilt the mold from side to side until the chocolate reaches the edge then lay on a flat surface
• Add the topping(s) to the egg, working quickly, as the chocolate will begin to set within a couple of minutes
• Leave to set then remove from the mold

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Inspiration for Toppings

Think about colour contrasts when deciding what toppings to put on your eggs. Your choices might depend on whether you are using milk, dark or white chocolate. Here’s my list of ideas:

• Mini biscuits or cookies such as Jammie Dodgers, Iced Gems and Party Rings
• Jelly sweets – not just the fried eggs
• Dried fruit – cherries, cranberries and apricots all pair really well with dark chocolate
• Nuts – another winner with dark chocolate, especially almonds and pistachios
• Mini eggs – obviously, Try cracking a few open for visual interest
• Sprinkles – any colour, any variety
• Mint Aero balls – cut them in half and lay face-up
• Honeycomb chunks – storebought or homemade
• Fudge pieces
• M&Ms – any variety
• Mini pretzels
• Mini marshmallows
• Edible flowers
• Sugarcraft decorations – stick with the Easter theme, plump for something pretty such as flowers & butterflies or for older kids go with Harry Potter

Of course, marbling milk, white and dark chocolate together also gives a visually impressive result without the need for further adornment.

Tip: if using biscuits, honeycomb or sugarcraft decorations as a topping in this Easter egg recipe, do remember to store the egg in an airtight container once made and gift it quickly, to avoid them going stale.

What Does it Mean to Temper Chocolate?

Quite simply, tempering means heating and cooling chocolate to ensure that the fats in it crystalise uniformly, thereby stabilising the chocolate for molding and making chocolates.

Tempering chocolate gives it a smooth and glossy finish and a firm snap.

Why Should I Temper Chocolate?

One word: bloom.

In fact, there are two types of chocolate boom:

Sugar bloom – this occurs when moisture comes in contact with the chocolate – it dissolves the sugar crystals on the chocolate’s surface, leaving a white, powdery look.

Fat bloom – this can occur due to substandard storing conditions, dramatic changes in temperature, or a poor tempering process. Fat bloom leaves nasty white-grey streaks across the chocolate and can soften the texture.

When making homemade easter eggs, sugar bloom should not be an issue. But the only surefire way to avoid fat bloom when melting chocolate for molding into eggs is to properly temper it.

Luckily, I have already published a guide on how to temper chocolate which is essential reading if you are new to this kitchen skill.

Can I Temper Chocolate in the Microwave?

Yes, you can. My guide to tempering chocolate gives full instructions on this technique. But in a nutshell, here’s how to temper chocolate in the microwave successfully:

• Chopped or grated chocolate should be microwaved on half-power, stirring the mixture every 30-60 seconds until it is almost completely melted
• Using a thermometer, check the temperature of the melted chocolate, you are aiming for the following heat ranges:
  • Dark Chocolate: 45 – 48°C (113 – 118°F) 
  • Milk Chocolate: 40 – 43°C (104 – 109°F )
  • White Chocolate: 37 – 40°C (99 – 104°F)  
• If necessary, return the chocolate to the microwave and heat it gently in 10-15-second bursts until it is within the temperature range listed above
• Add spoonfuls of the grated chocolate you set aside and stir it in continuously until the desired temperature (see below) is reached and the bits have melted completely:
  • Dark chocolate should be 31 – 32° C (88 – 90°F)
  • Milk chocolates should be 30 – 31°C (86– 88°F)
  • White chocolates should be 29 – 30°C (84 – 86°F) 

Your chocolate is now ready to use – hurrah.

Top tip: do not be tempted to set the microwave for 5 minutes and wander off. There’s every chance that patches of the chocolate will burn using this approach. Instead use 30-45 second bursts of power, stir and if the chocolate is looking fluid, test the temperature with a digital thermometer before heating further.

More Easter Recipes:

• Millionaires shortbread caramel chocolate eggs
• White-chocolate-pots with mini eggs
• Easter egg milkshake
• Easter martini with hot cross bun flavours
• Mint & white chocolate speckle-cake