With Easter just a couple of weeks away, why not get the whole family involved and make your own Easter eggs or chocolate bunnies.  This could be a really fun task to do at home and would make for brilliant gifts to give to friends and other family members.  

Making your own easter eggs is a relatively cheap and easy task, just get yourself some moulds and make sure you use good quality chocolate.  

We love Becky Bettesworth Chocolate and with lots of flavours to choose from you could make some gourmet chocolate eggs.

These fun and easy to use moulds are perfect for creating your own chocolate treats:

Here's how to do it:

Step 1: Wash your moulds with warm soapy water and ensure they are completely dry before use.

Step 2: Melt 200g chocolate - It is vital not to overheat the chocolate, we would recommend using the double boiler method.  However a microwave will be fine, just be sure to use short bursts of 30 seconds until the chocolate is just melted. 

Step 3: Create the first layer - allow the chocolate to cool a bit before spooning (roughly) a quarter of the chocolate into the 2 mould halves.  Then use the back of the spoon or a pastry brush to spread the chocolate evenly, completely covering the inside of the moulds. Then leave it to set.

Step 4: The second layer of chocolate - Once the first layer looks set, you could place it in the fridge for no more than 5 minutes, to ensure it is ready for the second layer of chocolate.  Whilst it is chilling, reheat the remaining chocolate and allow it to cool again. Repeat step 3 to create your second layer of chocolate. Whilst the egg or chocolate bunny sets, you could make some treats to go inside or get the children to draw a picture of how they would like to decorate it.  There isn’t an exact time for how long you should leave them to set, but we would recommend at least an hour to be sure they won’t crack when you remove them from the moulds.

Step 5: Join the halves together - after another short time in the fridge, gently ease the edges of the mould away from the chocolate egg or bunny. Then turn it upside down onto some greaseproof paper and remove the mould fully.  At this point, you may like to add any sweets, treats or surprises to the middle, place them inside one half now.

If you would like to add some non edible favours we would recommend these:

Reheat the remaining tablespoon of chocolate and brush the edges of one half and place the other half on top, filling in any gaps. 

Once completely dry (we would allow 20-30 minutes) you are ready to decorate your creations as you wish.  You could stick on edible decorations and sprinkles or pipe with chocolate or icing. You could even tie a ribbon around the middle or wrap in cellophane.

The possibilities are endless, so get creative and shop for everything you need here at Lawsons.

Sources:
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/how-make-easter-egg