Homemade Easter Creme Eggs

Since I have some time to spare I thought that I would try this out.  I will post a link at the bottom to the original recipe if you feel that you are brave enough to give it a try.

They started out lots of fun.  The chocolate coating work was tough.  After coating I swore this was my first and last batch.  After cutting one open and tasting it..... I may reconsider.

When I added the colouring I used about 5 drops of yellow. I found the yellow alone was too yellow, like neon-looking. I added one drop of red to the candy but it was a bit more than I needed so I corrected it with extra yellow. In total I used about 15 drops of yellow to one drop of red. I'm glad I did, I love the way they turned out.  You can see the results in photos near the end of the post.

While working with the candy I had a bowl of ice water to keep my hands cool and found that wet hands don't stick to the candy as much.  I dipped as needed.

Use parchment paper.  This stuff is very sticky.  I read some one's blog and they used tin foil and regretted it.

It is important to keep the candy as cold as possible and work quickly.  It is really soft and loves to melt at your touch.

It reminds me of playing with play dough as a kid.  

After forming I put them in the freezer overnight.  Not because they needed to be there that long, I just didn't have time to coat them that night.

I tried using my bare hands, toothpicks, and two forks to roll them around in the chocolate. 

If I make them again I will use the toothpicks and leave them inserted in the egg and not remove them until the chocolate has set.  I read that tip somewhere - After I was finished of course.

I set them in the fridge and then wrapped them up in squares of parchment paper for transporting to the family dinner.

Here is one of the ugly ones (ran out of chocolate so it was kind of a bit of a Frankenstein looking shell).  I was very pleased.  Delicious, sweet, vanilla and chocolate. And I am very happy with the colour of the yolks.


Link to the recipe that I used.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Homemade-Cadbury-Creme-Eggs/?ALLSTEPS 

Did they bring Spring with them?

On St Patrick's day weekend we drove along Highway 407 and saw this huge flock of Tundra Swans.  I just wondered why they didn't bring warm weather with them on their route.

I have never seen so many swans in one place.

Homemade Marshmallows for Easter.

SShhh.... Don't tell my family.  I am bringing these to easter dinner.

I made raspberry one day and then chocolate the next day. This was my first time making marshmallows from scratch and I would do it again.  This was so much fun!  Can you say "STICKY", messy, fun?

Since I never made candy from scratch before I needed a candy thermometer.  If you have never used one, a word of caution, once it is in the pot, all the metal parts start getting very hot.  Mine read over 200 Degrees Fahrenheit when I decided I needed to adjust the way it was sitting in the pot.  That little clip that holds it on felt like it was surface-of-the-sun hot when I grabbed it to reattach to the pot.  OUCH!

It's really interestng to watch the mixture turn from something that looks like dirty dishwasher water to the creamy, foamy and sweet goodness that marshmallows made at home can give.

This is so sticky and stringy.  If it touches anything it is not budging.

Use lots of confectioners sugar to coat the pan before pouring in the mixture. It is very sticky.

After they are cut they are a bit sticky.  You'll need to coat them in confectioners sugar. I thought that tossing them was the most fun way to do it.