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.
I used Wilton Silicon Egg molds for these chocolates. Each cavity measured 3 x 4.5cm
For the Vanilla Caramel
50g/ ¼ cupCaster sugar
25g/ ⅛ cupLight muscovado sugar
15g/ 1 tbspButter
90ml/ 6 tbspDouble (heavy) cream
½teaspoonVanilla extract
⅛teaspoonSalt
For the Eggs
300g/ 2 cupsChocolate chips (your choice of dark, milk or white)
1-2Shortbread biscuits
30g/ 1 ozContrasting chocolate (for decoration)
1tablespoonSprinkles
Instructions
Make the Vanilla Caramel
Put the caster sugar into a small heavy-based saucepan and cook (without stirring) over a medium heat until it turns to a mid amber liquid
Add the muscovado sugar, butter and cream (taking care as the caramel may bubble up and spit. Stir to dissolve all ingredients and let cook on a low heat for 3 minutes, stirring to ensure it is smooth
Take off the heat and add the vanilla extract and salt
Let cool to room temperature but do not refrigerate
Temper the Chocolate
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 reliable food thermometer, such as a Thermapen, check the temperature of the melted chocolate. For Dark Chocolate it should be between 45 – 48°C (113 – 118°F). For Milk Chocolate, the range is 40 – 43°C (104 – 109°F ). For White Chocolate it should reach 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 set aside earlier (the seeding chocolate). Stir until melted and smooth, then add more seeding chocolate, continuously in this fashion. Stop when the desired temperature is reached and the chocolate is smooth. (Dark chocolate should be 31 – 32° C (88 – 90°F. Milk chocolate should be 30 – 31°C (86– 88°F) and white chocolates should be 29 – 30°C (84 – 86°F)). You may not need to add all of the chocolate. Don't be surprised if this part takes up to 15 minutes
Making the eggs
Please read the instructions fully before you begin
Take the chill off a small bowl by standing in warm water for a minute. Dry thoroughly. It should be lukewarm. Place ⅓ of the tempered chocolate into this bowl, wrap it in a dry tea towel to keep warm and set aside
Pour the remaining tempered chocolate into the mold cavities. Use a metal kitchen scraper to remove the excess (collect it on a bowl). Shake the mold tray a few times and tap it on a worktop to help remove air bubbles (as my mold was flexible, I put it onto a chopping board to do this). Next, turn the mold tray over the bowl and allow the excess chocolate to fall into it. Turn the tray back over and use the scraper to remove the excess chocolate, so a clean edge forms around the chocolate egg. Lay face down on greaseproof paper - leave for 2 minutes
After 2 minutes turn the mold back over and scrape off any excess chocolate that has dripped down. Leave to set at room temperature for approx 5 minutes (or in the fridge for 2 minutes)
Meanwhile chop the shortbread into small pieces and stir the caramel to ensure it is smooth
When the chocolate has set, place 4-5 pieces of shortbread into each cavity and divide the caramel between the eggs, leaving free 3 mm below the rim of the chocolate
Use the reserved tempered chocolate (check it's temperature and warm gently if required) to carefully cover the filling. This part can be messy. I recommend spooning it onto the caramel and gently spreading it out with a small palette knife before wiping off any excess with the scraper. If any holes appear, just touch up with a little more chocolate. Leave to set
Once the chocolate is fully set, unmold and decorate as desired. Chocolate of a contrasting colour to the shell works well - just pipe onto each shell, then cover in pretty sprinkles. Leave to set
Notes
Salted caramel can be used in place of the vanilla caramel. Just decrease the vanilla extract to ¼ teaspoon and use ⅜ - ½ teaspoon sea salt (according to taste).