Here you go team. Make your own eggs for easter or simply dip some strawberries in the carob or cocoa mix. (Cocoa is a stimulant, so be careful with children....carob is probably a better choice though it is still high in sucrose/fructose). See recipe below or another good one is simply to make white chocolate by mixing cocoa butter, coconut oil, green stevia powder with vanilla bean. Chocolate Easter eggs 250 g cocoa butter 120 g raw cacao powder or carob powder 100 g raw organic honey 70 g coconut oil Flavour variations: 3 – 5 drops organic mint oil or orange oil You will need: 2 x 3D 3.75” Easter Egg Chocolate Molds (each mold has 2 cavities) or 2 trays x 6 cavity mini Easter bunny chocolate molds (12 cavities in total) 2 sheets of 9” coloured foil Note: Chocolate molds and coloured tin foil can be purchased online or at specialty cake decorating and chocolate supply stores. Place the cocoa butter in a heatproof bowl and rest the bowl over a saucepan half-filled with water. Ensure the bowl fits tightly over the saucepan but does not make contact with the water in the saucepan (this ensures the chocolate will not overheat and no water will enter the bowl). Bring the water to a gentle simmer. Stir with a metal spoon until the cocoa butter melts, reaching a maximum temperature of 45°C. When the cocoa butter is smooth and completely melted, remove from the heat and whisk in the sifted cacao or carob powder, honey and coconut oil. At this point you can add flavouring or your choice such as orange or mint oil. Mix ingredients well until the mixture is shiny and smooth. Place the bowl of chocolate over another bowl of ice water, again making sure the chocolate never comes into contact with water. Continue stirring gently until the chocolate thickens and coats the back of the spoon. Once the chocolate has cooled to between 28 and 31°C, remove from the bowl of ice. This process and temperature control ensures the chocolate will have a pleasant, bittersweet flavour profile, the chocolate will be smooth and shiny, and the honey will not separate once set. You may need to complete this process in intervals if you find that parts of the chocolate are hardening more rapidly than others, or that solid lumps are forming. If this occurs, simply remove the bowl from the ice and keep mixing until the chocolate has melted evenly. Check the temperature and return it to the ice if needed. An alternative method is to pour the melted chocolate onto a clean, cold bench and spread the chocolate out over the bench/surface with a pallet knife. Continue spreading and mixing until the chocolate thickens at 28 – 31°C. Scrape the chocolate back into a bowl. Pipe or carefully pour spoonfuls of the chocolate into the cavities of each mold. Swirl the chocolate around until completely coated, using a pastry brush if necessary, and then remove excess chocolate from the flat surfaces of the molds. Lift and tap the moulds onto the workbench a few times to remove any air bubbles, then transfer to the fridge for 15 minutes, with the molds placed upright. Repeat the process an additional two or three times until a thick enough layer of chocolate rests in the surface of each cavity. Carefully scrape and smooth off the top edges of the molds using a scraper or the flat side of the knife, between adding each layer. Levelling off the edges is essential so that half cavities of the egg mold adhere together evenly, leaving no holes when sealing. Once you are happy with the thickness of the chocolate layer inside the molds, place them in the fridge for 30 minutes, or until set. Preheat the oven to 50°C. Remove the molds from the refrigerator and carefully turn out the chocolate by flipping the moulds over and gently tapping them out. Place on a clean surface taking care not to handle the chocolate too much as it will easily start melt from the warmth of your hands. To seal the two sides/cavities of each chocolate egg together, heat a flat baking tray in the oven for 8 minutes or until the tray is warm. Remove the tray from the oven then place the open edges of cavity directly down onto the tray for few seconds. Immediately join them together, pushing gently to seal. Repeat this process until all half-egg cavities are sealed into solid chocolate eggs. Wrap the eggs in a coloured tin foil of your choice. Store refrigerated.
Posted on: Wed, 16 Apr 2014 21:50:06 +0000
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