Chocolate Nests with Salted Chocolate Truffle Eggs *Featured Recipe*

Have to love an Easter recipe - mainly because they generally include chocolate. I was very taken by this recipe from the Happy Egg Co for chocolate nests, especially because they include salted chocolate eggs. I am having a lovely affair with salted chocolate at the moment!

Chocolate Nests with Salted Chocolate Truffle Eggs

Ingredients

850g milk dark chocolate

140g unsalted butter, chopped into small pieces

1/4 teaspoon sea salt flakes

2 happy egg yolks, at room temperature

100g icing sugar

125 ml boiling water

Method

Make the nests.

Grease with sunflower oil the outside of a silicone half sphere mould. (I used one that was 80mm wide for each half sphere)

Melt and temper the chocolate. Break 400g of the chocolate into small pieces and melt in the microwave, 20 seconds at a time, taking out after each 20 second interval and stirring well. Continue until about 2/3rds is melted and there are a few lumps left. Stir well until no lumps are left.

Put the chocolate in a piping bag and pipe thin lines in a crisscross manner over the greased half sphere mould. Make it quite thick at the base. Leave to dry, and then carefully remove from the mould.

Using a cheese slicer of a vegetable peeler, scrape shavings of chocolate off the remaining block of chocolate to make the straw for the nest.

Make the salted truffle eggs.

Chop 400g of chocolate into small pieces. Place the chopped chocolate, butter in a heat-safe bowl. Half fill a small saucepan with water and heat until it just simmers.  Place the bowl with chocolate and butter on top of saucepan and melt the chocolate and butter. 

Put the 2 egg yolks in a bowl and gently whisk to break the yolks. Very slowly pour 125 ml of just boiled water into the yolks whilst stirring continuously. 

Beat the melted chocolate and butter a few times with a whisk then place a fine mesh strainer over the mixture. Pour 1/3 of the egg mixture through the strainer and into the bowl, beat with whisk until incorporated then repeat with remaining egg mixture.

Add the salt. Beat until the chocolate mixture has thickened and looks shiny. Refrigerate for about 2 hours until firm. 

Put the icing sugar into a bowl. Dust your hands with icing sugar. Take ½ teaspoonfuls of the truffle mixture and roll the mixture into an egg shape. Roll each shaped egg in the bowl of icing sugar.

The egg truffles can then be returned to the fridge and kept for up to 2 days until they are ready to be served in the chocolate nests.

Enjoy!

Note: Any post marked *Featured Recipe* on my blog is one that contains a recipe I wish to share with you on behalf of a company or brand. I may not have tried myself and I have not been paid to share this information with my readers, I am simply choosing to do so because I like the look of it!

Image and recipe property of The Happy Egg Co. 

For more recipes, visit www.thehappyegg.co.uk