Filling
- 1/2 cup [115 g] butter
- 1 teaspoon [5 mL] salt
- 1 teaspoon [5 mL] vanilla
- 2/3 cup / 160 mL [1/2 a 15-ounce / 426-mL can] sweetened condensed milk
- 5 1/2 cups [1.375 mL] sifted icing sugar, approximately 1 1/2 pounds [680 g]
- Yellow food coloring
Chocolate Coating
- 1/2 pound [227 g] semi-sweet chocolate
Decorating Icing
- 2 egg whites, at room temperature
- 2 1/4 cups [560 mL] sifted icing sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon [1 mL] cream of tartar
- 1/2 teaspoon [2.5 mL] vanilla
- Green, red and yellow food coloring
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- For the filling, cream together butter, salt and vanilla.
- Mix in sweetened condensed milk, until smooth.
- Slowly mix in icing sugar [mixture will be really thick].
- Knead mixture until all of icing sugar is well mixed in.
- Transfer onto a board or a sheet of wax paper; knead until smooth and no longer sticky.
- To 1/3 of mixture, add a few drops yellow food coloring; knead until evenly colored.
- Divide into 10 equal parts; shape into 'egg yolks'.
- Divide remaining filling into 10 equal parts; flatten each part with your fingers.
- Coat each 'yolk' with white filling, shaping each into an egg.
- Refrigerate for a little while; if needed, delicately shape eggs once more.
- Refrigerate for quite a few hours or better, overnight.
- When ready, prepare chocolate coating by slowly melting chocolate into the upper part of a double-boiler, over hot, but not boiling water.
- With your fingers or using tongs, dip underneath part of each egg into melted chocolate.
- Remove egg from chocolate, let it drip for a few seconds, and then leave it to harden, up-side-down, onto wax paper.
- If melted chocolate gets too thick, warm it ove low heat.
- When all eggs are half-coated with chocolate, dip upper part of hardened eggs into melted chocolate.
- Leave each egg to drip for a few seconds over melted chocolate before transferring onto waxed paper, freshly coated side up, to harden.
- When ready to decorate the eggs, prepare decorating icing by beating together decorating icing egg whites, icing sugar, cream of tartar and vanilla.
- Beat, using an electric mixer, for 5 minutes or until stiff.
- While decorating, cover bowl with a damp cloth or wax paper to prevent a crust from forming on top of icing.
- Fill a pastry bag with icing; decorate top half of each egg drawing 'shells' or 'zigzags' shapes.
- If desired, color part of remaining icing with green food coloring; draw stems and leaves shapes.
- Color remaining icing with one or more bright color[s]; make flower shapes, directly over eggs or onto wax paper [let them dry before transferring onto eggs, making them stick using an ice cube].
- This icing, which becomes really hard and keeps its shape, is perfect to shape into flowers, leaves and even write names - eggs can thus be wrapped.
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