Hello life lover’s crew! Happy Easter!
I hope you are enjoying this holiday season in any way you want.
It's Easter time and for many people that means chocolate! Bunny and egg chocolate everywhere! So, this month I’ll bring a bit of a fun fact around this Christian festivity and of course a recipe: how to make vegan chocolate Easter eggs, and a bonus recipe!
Pat Aguilar
For many people who believe in Christian religion, now is an important time to go inward and to think about your life and where is it going. I love that perspective, and I wish everyone could do this occasionally. But Christians do this at this time of year as a way to commemorate one of the greatest sacrifices made: Jesus dying to save man. I won’t go into too much detail regarding the religious aspect of this, but I also like to think of this day, as the first day man choose not to eat meat.
The tradition says that Christians didn’t eat meat (particularly from any warm-blooded animal) as a way to commemorate Jesus’s death, as the animal flesh represents Jesus’s flesh, and also because the animal meat represents festivities, celebrations, back in the day you would eat meat/sacrifice an animal to celebrate or commemorate something, and this is not a time to celebrate according to Christian religion. Some Christians are stricter than others and while some will about any product that comes from animals, others will just stay strict to avoid meat.
Side note: as you might have seen I mentioned “warm-blooded animals”, this refers to mammals, so would eat cold-blooded animals, meaning fish.
And you might be wondering why we eat chocolate eggs? Well, the egg represents rebirth and new life, and makes reference to the rebirth of Jesus. Traditionally the eggs used to be hollow, you can still find a few brands who make them like this, but who doesn't prefer a little chocolate egg stuffed with caramel or m&ms :). The hollow, or emptiness of the egg, represents when they went to Jesus tomb and found it empty.
Okay peeps, after that small fun fact, it’s time for some yumminess, our recipe to make vegan chocolate eggs:
INGREDIENTS:
1½ cups (250 grams) dairy-free chocolate chips
1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons melted coconut oil
1½ cups (150 grams) powdered sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons non-dairy milk,
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
Egg shaped silicone mould*
INSTRUCTIONS:
Start by gently melting the chocolate with 2 teaspoons of coconut oil. The easiest way to do this is to simply place them both in a bowl over a pan of gently simmering water. Be sure that the bowl doesn't touch the water. You can also use a microwave but do it very gradually at a low temperature and stir well every 20 to 30 seconds or so. Don't rush it because chocolate can burn easily in a microwave.
Once the chocolate is liquid and glossy, spoon some into each mould with a teaspoon, and spread it around and up the sides. Make sure it's not too thin as the egg 'shells' need to be sturdy. Leave the remaining chocolate in its bowl and set it aside.
When all the moulds are coated, place the mould on a small baking sheet, then put in the freezer to set for a few minutes. Make sure it's level.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar, remaining coconut oil and vanilla. Gradually add the milk a drop at a time, stirring well between each addition to create a smooth, thick, just droppable paste. This is your “egg white”.
Spoon about ⅓ of it out and into another small bowl, then stir the turmeric into it to make the yolk.
By now the chocolate will be set. Remove from the freezer.
Add a small amount of white fondant to each chocolate shell. Around 1 teaspoon, or just enough to fill each one about ⅓ of the way.
Add a small dollop of yellow fondant to each one. Try to get it as close to the middle as you can.
Cover each yellow dollop with more white fondant just shy of the top, leaving just enough room to cover the top with another layer of chocolate. Give the mould a little tap on your work surface to level.
Once they are filled, place in the freezer (make sure they are level) for around 10 minutes just to firm up the filling a little, then remove and cover each one with a layer of chocolate. Pop back in the freezer to allow them to set.
Once completely set, pop out from the silicone mould and store in a container in the fridge or freezer.
*Note: it's best to use the silicone mould instead of a plastic one, because it’s easier to remove the chocolate. If you don’t have an egg shape mould but you have any other silicone mould, you can use that.
But I can’t say goodbye right away, I promise a bonus recipe this month: our delicious chocolate eggs are not the only star, they have to share with the National Day of Chocolate Mousse celebrated in the US. I don’t live in the US but, definitely, I will be celebrating this on 3rd of April.
This delicious dessert has its origins in France, around 1800, and it was first described as “mayonnaise de chocolat”, don’t see the resemblance but well, who am I to judge right? Ha ha ha.
The word mousse comes from the French and means “froth, foam” which is the texture that this delicious dessert has.
Well, not always is a dessert, we can also find savoury mousses and serve during dinner as entrée, or a side dish, but still my favourite is the chocolate mousse, so here I leave you a recipe:
INGREDIENTS
¾ cup / 180 ml (room temp) aquafaba (aquafaba is the water from a can of chickpeas, this is common to use as egg replacement. If you don’t feel comfortable using this, use any egg replacer you prefer)
1 tsp lemon/lime juice or scant
½ tsp cream of tartar
140 g or 5 oz dark 70% cacao vegan chocolate
10 g / 2 tsp coconut oil (to help with chocolate seizing)
25 g / 2 tbsp caster (superfine) sugar (optional, adjust to taste)
GARNISH (optional)
1 tbsp chocolate shavings.
A handful of pomegranate seeds
A handful of chopped pistachios
INSTRUCTIONS:
Place broken up chocolate and coconut oil in a glass or metal bowl suspended over a water bath. Make sure the bowl with chocolate does not touch the water underneath. The key to success is not to overheat the chocolate and to be gentle with it – it’s a temperamental ingredient.
Allow the water to come to a simmer slowly. Once it does, turn the heat off and allow the chocolate to melt in the residual heat.
Once chocolate looks melted, give it a slow and gentle stir. Take the bowl with chocolate off the heat and allow it to cool down – you want it as cool as possible but still liquid.
Once chocolate is almost cool, drain room temperature chickpea water (aquafaba) into a large glass bowl. The bowl and the utensils you’ll use to whip aquafaba need to be completely grease-free, as even the tiniest grease residue can prevent aquafaba from reaching stiff peaks.
Add acid (lemon/ lime juice or cream of tartar) to the chickpea water to stabilise the aquafaba – it helps to reach stiff peaks.
Using an electric egg whisk, whip chickpea water into stiff peaks – this is SUPER important, as otherwise your mousse will deflate completely once the chocolate has been added. The best way to check if you have achieved stiff peaks is to invert the bowl with whipped aquafaba. If aquafaba slides down even a tiny bit, you are not there yet – keep on whipping until it does not move at all. I use an old, hand-held whisk and it takes me about 8 minutes to get stiff peaks. If you are a lucky owner of a stand mixer, it will happen quicker. The good news is that (as opposed to egg whites) aquafaba cannot be over whipped.
Once you reach stiff peaks, start adding sugar, bit by bit, whipping the whole time. If sugar has caused the stiff peaks to perish, whip the mixture until you get stiff peaks again. Caster (also known as superfine) sugar or icing sugar work well, other sugars are known to make aquafaba deflate.
Check that the chocolate has cooled down sufficiently – it should not be warm to the touch or else chocolate is likely to seize and you will end up with grainy mousse.
Gently and gradually fold a portion (approx. a third) of melted chocolate into whipped aquafaba – using a silicone spatula and a gentle folding motion. Continue adding the chocolate to the aquafaba in two-three more batches until all of it has been incorporated. Do not worry if your fluffy mixture deflates a bit once all the chocolate has been added – that’s perfectly normal – but you should still see plenty small bubbles in the mixture. By the time you’ve added all your melted chocolate, the mousse MAY have more of a pourable than spoonable consistency – that’s OK.
Divide the mixture between 4 glasses. Gently stir the mixture between putting it into individual glasses as a bit of melted chocolate tends to drop to the bottom sometimes. Once in the glass, give the mousses a gentle stir with a toothpick to ensure the mixture sets evenly.
Put glasses into the fridge overnight for the mousse to set.
Let me know what you think, and don’t forget to tag us on Instagram when you try these recipes.
Happy Egg and Mousse making!!!! ☺
