There’s something about Easter that makes me want to bake. What a surprise, you say. This year I wanted to do my own take on Easter eggs, with a surprise center. I thought this might be a nice alternative to normal Easter eggs to share.
What I made were Chocolates filled with a mocha ganache. Ganache just means chocolate and cream melted together. I chose a mocha ganache, as I thought it might be a handy thing to try, in case my sister chose a mocha mudcake as her wedding cake.
It’s a simple concept. Melt chocolate (I used dark chocolate melts) and using an artists brush, brush the melted chocolate into the mold. I found the little silicone mold at Aldi, but there are heaps at cooking shops. I had a feeling that I would end up with excess chocolate and ganache, so I used the extras on chocolate cups (see the salted caramel blog last week for instructions on chocolate cups).
Melt about 200g of the melts to paint the mold and cups. Don’t go light on the chocolate, because otherwise they’re likely to break when you’re getting them out. Put a layer of about 2mm on the inside of the molds and the cups. Leave them to set in the refrigerator while you make your ganache.
Melt the rest of the chocolate (350g) with a dollop of cream (about 2 tablespoons), a slurp of coffee (about 2 tablespoons) and a dash of coffee flavored liqueur (about 1 tablespoon). I am not using as much cream in this ganache because the other liquids will make it too thin. Melt it in a glass bowl over a small saucepan of water until smooth.
When the ganache cools, and the chocolates are set, fill the molds with the ganache. All of this can be quite rough. Smooth over with a small spatula or knife. Let it set in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight.
Now this is the tricky part. Make sure it’s all well set. This is when it’s important that the ganache wasn’t too runny. If it looks a bit runny still, put it in the freezer to set more. When you’re ready, gently push the chocolates from the molds. use a small sharp knife around the edges if the ganache has stuck, to release the chocolates. Don’t be upset if you break a couple – put the broken ones back into the ganache bowl and melt it down again. Use the ganache to fill more chocolates, or use on cake.
Use the remaining melted chocolate to cover the back of the chocolates with a spatula or knife. Decorate coffee cups with a coffee bean, if you’d like. Either way, they won’t last long when you share them around.
Enjoy and Happy Easter!