Easter Season

Spring is almost upon us and from one day to the next everything can change, offering a range of new colors, scents, flavors and experiences. How good it is opening windows to feel the fresh air and also to admire the birds singing.  Spring is certainly for me the most exhilarating season.

Beyond these wonderful things, spring also means Easter season. Decorating Easter eggs is one of the better ways to celebrate it. I started this sunny week here in Beachwood, OH painting some eggs and also making a chocolate egg decorated with sugar blossoms. 

To paint the eggs, I used water-based acrylic colors. To make the sugar blossoms, I used the small, medium and large blossom ejectors impression strips from Wilton. But this is just the beginning. Many decorated eggs are coming soon!

I hope you enjoy the springtime!

Easter Eggs Part II

I love flowers, I love the spring time. The life’s explosion everywhere brings me such a happiness and peaceful felling. When I was living in England I had the pleasure and happiness to see the bloom of lovely and gorgeous flowers. Peonies, tulips, cherry blossoms… they are my favorite! Those flowers are the reason of my love affair with photography. I was so impressed with such beauty that I started to photography every flower that I saw in front of me.

As I come from a country where Easter is in the autumn season, that spring felling led me understand the true meaning of the rebirth celebration. The Easter on that year was very special for me. I had a great day with a lovely couple of friends. The day was very beautiful and sunny. Beyond the wonderful meal that my dear friend Biankita prepared and the good talk, she gave me an adorable gift, a bit of her childhood. She gave me an Easter egg shell handmade by her mother. 

I loved to listen how she and her sisters appreciated the egg hunt on her home and how her mother liked to prepare this activity. I really loved my gift.


Two years later, when I saw the April edition of Martha Stewart Living, those memories come to my mind and I was very inspired to make dyed Easter Eggs. As I like painting I decided to make little flowers, dots and leaves, something very simple. To dye them I used food coloring, vinegar and hot water and to decorate I bought a water-based acrylic colors special for eggs.

These gorgeous eggs can be used for egg hunts, filled with chocolate or candy, and to decorate the house. Here are some examples that I made.

I also made some solid domino chocolate eggs. So yummy!

The egg shells make beautiful vases for tiny flowers centerpieces. I used orchid and Schlumbergera, also known as Easter cactus (flor de seda).

Besides the chicken eggs I used quail eggs too. How cute they are!

There are countless options to decorate Easter eggs. I had a great time making those eggs and this will become a beloved tradition for me. I have to say that one day I wish I could learn the pysanky technique. This Ukrainian style is wonderful, so rich in details and colors, a great masterpiece.

Chocolate Egg 

(how to from Martha Stewart)

Using a pin, poke a hole in the bottom of a large raw egg; insert the tip of a utility knife, and turn to open the hole slightly. Using a rotary drill fitted with a 3/8-inch bit, carefully widen the hole to at least 1/2 inch in diameter. Insert pin into the hole to pierce and "stir" the yolk. Hold the egg, hole down, over a bowl, and blow air into the hole with a rubber ear syringe (the air will displace and expel the egg). Rinse out egg. Repeat to make 12 blown eggs (you may want to make extras in case some break).

Sterilize eggs: Submerge them in a pot of cold water with 1 tablespoon white vinegar; bring to a boil, then simmer, skimming foam from surface, 10 minutes. Let drain on a pin board. If not dyeing eggs, let dry completely on pin board, 2 to 3 days (check insides for moisture).

 If dyeing eggs: Mix 4 tablespoons vinegar and 12 drops of blue food coloring with 2 cups boiling-hot water in a heatproof glass or enamel bowl. Fill a separate cup with white vinegar. Using a plastic spoon, dip eggs in vinegar, then into the dye, 2 to 3 minutes. Pat eggs with paper towels to eliminate streaks. (If dye begins to cool while you're working, make a new batch.) Let the eggs dry as described above.

 Using an offset serrated knife, very finely chop 3 pounds of chocolate. Reserve 1 cup chocolate; using a bench scraper, transfer remaining chocolate to a large heatproof bowl.

 Temper chocolate: Set bowl over a pan of simmering water. Melt chocolate, stirring occasionally, until a chocolate thermometer registers 131 degrees. (Note: Many brands of dark chocolate should not be heated to more than 118 degrees.) Remove from heat; stir in reserved cup chocolate until completely melted. Pour 2/3 of the melted chocolate onto a clean smooth work surface (such as marble or stainless steel). Spread thinly with an offset spatula. Then gather together chocolate, and take temperature. Continue spreading and gathering chocolate until it cools to 82 degrees to 84 degrees.

 Scrape chocolate back into bowl with remaining chocolate. Stir until it cools to 82 degrees to 84 degrees. Set bowl over a pan of warm water, and reheat to 88 degrees. To check consistency, dip a spoon in chocolate and remove; chocolate should set in about 2 minutes, turning shiny and hard. Note: This temperature must be maintained as you fill the eggs; keep a thermometer in the chocolate, and check frequently. Rest the bowl on a heating pad wrapped in a towel, or set bowl over the pan of warm (not hot) water.

 Place eggshells in an egg carton. Place a disposable pastry bag in a tall glass, and fold top down. Fill bag with chocolate; cut tip to create a 1/4-inch opening.

 For solid chocolate eggs: Insert tip of bag into each egg, and fill with chocolate (about 1/4 cup per egg; fill a new bag with chocolate as needed). Let set completely, about 4 hours.

Easter Eggs Part I

Chocolate eggs, a symbol of Easter, are a sign of birth and new life. I remember my happiness on Easter Sunday, when I was a child. Now, my happiness is making my own eggs! Yes, it was my first time and it was so much fun.

I made 3 flavors: Belgian white chocolate with M&M'S; Belgian semisweet chocolate with almond praliné brigadeiro filling and Belgian semisweet chocolate with coconut filling. I also made some bonbons with the same flavors.

The secret of a beautiful egg is the chocolate tempering. Every brand of chocolate requires different tempering temperatures. When done correctly the chocolate will be perfectly creamy, smooth, and shiny. David Lebovitz explains how to do here.

Handmade chocolate eggs are simple to make and are a great occasion to cook with your family. 

Chocolate Easter Egg

(how to from here)

You will need 400-500g of chocolate, depending on the size of your moulds. Break the chocolate into similarly sized chunks, so it will melt easily and evenly.

It's best to melt the chocolate slowly in a bowl over a pan of hot water, rather than on the hob - you don't want the chocolate to get warmer than 42ºC (44ºC for dark chocolate). If you don't have a cooking thermometer, dip the crook of your little finger in the chocolate – if it's barely warm, you're doing fine. If you want a glossier finish to your egg, take a few extra minutes to temper it.

Using a ladle fill the egg mould about a quarter full with chocolate, then tilt and twirl the mould until the chocolate covers the whole thing. Tip the excess back into the bowl. Do the same with the other half.

Wipe around the edges if any chocolate escapes the mould.

Leave the first layer of chocolate to set. 

Once the first layer of chocolate is set in the egg mould, pour in another ladleful and swirl the chocolate round again. You'll need to do this three of four times until the egg is thick enough. After the second time you can add the filling. Don't allow the excess to pool in the bottom of the mould – you'll end up with fragile edges and rock-hard centre.

Put the egg halves into the fridge to set. After an hour or two, take them out and gently but firmly pull the corners of the mould – the egg will pop out easily

Using a teaspoon or pastry brush, paint the edges of the two halves with melted chocolate and glue them together. Put the whole egg back in the fridge for 5 or ten minutes to firm up.


Almond Praliné
Vegetable oil cooking spray 
1/2 cup sugar 
1/3 cup  almonds

• Spray a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray; set aside. Bring sugar and 1/4 cup water to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Swirl pan to dissolve sugar. Wash down sides of pan with a wet pastry brush to prevent crystals from forming. Boil until sugar turns light amber, about 7 minutes. Add almonds and salt; cook, stirring constantly, until almonds are toasted and caramel turns dark amber. Pour onto prepared sheet. Let cool completely.
• Break into shards. Transfer to a food processor; pulse until finely ground with a few larger pieces remaining.

Chocolate Brigadeiro

1 can sweetened condensed milk (395g)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
100g chocolate

Mix the condensed milk, butter and chocolate in a saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly – when the bottom of the pan starts to show and the mixture is a bit thicker, remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Sweetened condensed milk coconut

1 can sweetened condensed milk (395g)
200g unsweetened coconut

Mix the condensed milk and coconut in a heavy-bottom saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly – when the bottom of the pan starts to show and the mixture is a bit thicker (20-25 minutes), remove from heat and n set aside to cool.