Easter Egg Recipe with Caramel Shortbread Filling and How to Temper Chocolate

This Easter egg recipe with caramel shortbread filling makes gorgeous 2-bite delights. Learn how to temper chocolate properly in the process of making them.

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I'm very excited to be sharing this Easter egg recipe today because, in making them, I have mastered a new trick. Well, its an old trick that has always stumped me - tempering chocolate successfully.

Although I have a soft spot for creating homemade chocolates, my inability to temper chocolate properly has always let me down. Through the years, I have harumphed my way through serving up dozens of bloomed chocolates to family & friends, inwardly so disappointed in myself for not being able to master this skill.

From now on though, I will be serving up smooth, perfectly tempered chocolates without a hint of bloom about them.

Of course, I'm going to share with you what I have been doing wrong time and time again and how to temper chocolate properly. But before all of that, let's talk about this delectable Easter egg recipe in more detail.

What is inside these eggs?

If I tell you that the inspiration behind this Easter egg recipe was the UK's much-loved bake, millionaire's shortbread, you don't have to be Einstein to calculate that I've included caramel and shortbread inside of them.

They sound so good, don't they?

And, rather unsurprisingly, they are utterly delicious and hard to stop eating. 

Once made, these eggs have many uses. They do, of course, make wonderful gifts for loved ones. But they can also be served with coffee at the end of a meal or used to garnish desserts or cake.

And of course, these millionaire's shortbread themed homemade Easter eggs can and should be made at least once just for yourself and, at a push, your nearest & dearest. If you can handle sharing...

Can I use Storebought Caramel and Shortbread?

I've used homemade caramel and flavoured it with vanilla to add a lovely creamy flavour to the caramel itself. As an alternative, salted caramel also works well, so I've included instructions for this in my recipe notes.

Although my Easter egg recipe uses homemade caramel, it does use storebought shortbread. If you have extra time and feel inclined to make your own shortbread, all the better.

Conversely, if time is not on your side, concentrate on getting the chocolate perfectly tempered and use good quality storebought caramel and shortbread instead.

Can I use any Chocolate?

These eggs can be made in any chocolate you prefer - dark, milk or (my personal favourite) white. Use the best chocolate that you can afford and pick contrasting chocolate to add a splash of simple style to the decoration.

But whatever chocolate you plump for, it must be tempered before using to mold these homemade chocolate eggs.

Why Do I Need to Temper Chocolate?

Before getting to the technique, it's important to understand why we need to temper chocolate. The reason is cocoa butter:

• Cocoa butter is fat that is composed of three to four glycerides of fatty acids - each of these different fatty acids solidifies at a different temperature
• Once chocolate is melted, the fatty acid crystals separate
• Tempering melted chocolate pulls the different fatty acid crystals of cocoa butter back into one stable form, doing away with those whitish streaks or spots of cocoa butter apparent on unsuccessfully tempered chocolate

As promised, before I tell you how to temper chocolate, I'm going to reveal what I was doing wrong for so many years. 

How Not to Temper Chocolate

Hands up if, in your quest to master chocolate tempering, you have followed advice to melt ⅔ of the chocolate and then add the remaining third?

Sounds simple, doesn't it? And I can't tell you how many times I have come across this seemingly straightforward recommendation as I've tried to work out what I have been doing wrong.

I can, however, tell you, that although this technique may result in the occasional batch of perfectly tempered chocolate, it is hit and miss. Perfectly tempered chocolate must be heated and cooled to certain temperatures. Precision is vital.

There are a number of ways to temper chocolate properly, but tempering by seeding is the technique I am describing today, because it is relatively quick and easy.

How to Temper Chocolate

Earlier, when I said precision is vital, I really do mean it. For starters, dark, milk and white chocolate must be heated and cooled to different temperatures to temper chocolate successfully. So it really is not enough to work by the two thirds : one third approach and hope for the best.

You will need the following equipment:

• Good quality chocolate
• Microwave (or double boiler)
• Heatproof bowl (microwave-safe) bowl
• Spatula for stirring
• A reliable probe style food thermometer such as a Thermapen

There are really 6 stages to tempering chocolate using the seeding technique:

• Chop or grate the chocolate - the smaller it is the better since the quicker the chocolate will melt and temper
• Set aside 25-30% of the chocolate
• Heat the rest of the chocolate by microwaving it on half-power, stirring the mixture every minute until it is almost completely melted. This will take approximately five minutes
• Remove the bowl of chocolate from the microwave and stir to cool it slightly. Those remaining lumps of chocolate will melt as you stir. Using a thermometer, check the temperature of the melted chocolate. It should within the following 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 the chocolate temperature falls short of this range heat it gently in 15-second bursts until it is there and stir again
• Next, add spoonfuls of the grated chocolate you set aside (the seeding chocolate). Stir in the seeding chocolate bits continuously until the desired temperature (see below) is reached and the bits have melted completely. You may not need to add all of the chocolate
  • 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) 

Don't be surprised if this process takes up to 15 minutes - your beautiful tempered chocolate will be your reward.

Once tempered the chocolate is ready to use for dipping and molding. Wrap the bowl in a dry tea towel to retain the heat. If it starts to stiffen before your work is complete, gently reheat in the microwave in 15 second bursts. Take care to not allow the temperature to go above the ranges listed above or the tempering will be lost. Any leftover chocolate can be stored and either used in hot chocolate drinks or re-tempered at a later stage.

If you are new to working with chocolate molds or, like me, wishing to improve, I came across a great video, giving lots of tips and advice. I found it very helpful and you might too.

I used my new Thermapen Pro when making these chocolate Easter eggs. Using a quality piece of equipment like this does take the guesswork out of tasks like tempering chocolate, since it can accurately read the temperature in less than 3 seconds. I'm particularly enjoying my new Thermapen since it has an auto-rotating display that can be used in any position, in either hand. I'm left-handed and it's not often I find kitchen equipment tailored to my requirements.

And that's it. Perhaps this guide to tempering chocolate sounds slightly precise and time-consuming. It is - there is no denying it. But it is also a reliable way to temper chocolate.

My advice is to not attempt this Easter egg recipe when time is short. Chocolate tempering should not be rushed. But do put some of your favourite tunes on to help while away the time whilst you stir.

And remember, the end result will be worth it. In this case, those delectable millionaire's shortbread themed chocolate Easter eggs. 

More Easter Recipes:

• Hot Cross Bun Easter Martini
• Chocolate Easter Eggs
• Leftover Easter Chocolate Milkshake
• Easter White Chocolate Pots