easter egg painting - hard boiled or blown

[redadmiral]

I want to paint some eggs for easter. Have some out of date ones - can I just hardboil them and use them? How long will they last for?

What do people normally do? I hate blowing the middles out - disgusting...

[redadmiral]

Bump??

[S1ur]

How out of date?

I wopuld say probably if you're not going to eaqt them. Might last week? I'm only guessing but the problem comes if they go bad and get broken then they smell.

If they're intact think you'll be okay.

[suzywong]

hard boiled, you must take good care of your eustacian tubes,

[suzywong]

hard boiled, you must take good care of your eustacian tubes,

[redadmiral]

Thank you slur. I know it sounds like a stupid question, but knowing my kids if I just hardboil them they will end up hidden in a corner till next year, and I've no idea what state they'll be in then...

Surely it's one of those things arty mums do every year with confidence....?

[SoupDragon]

Hard boil them. Provided the shell is intact they won't smell and will probably last forever [exaggeration]. Do not break them though, they'll stink the house out.

I've had eggs go through the compost bin and emerge intact and pristine at the other end but my word they stank when I cracked one with my spade [shudder].

[redadmiral]

Suzy

[SoupDragon]

Just make sure they don't make it into a corner. Display them in egg cups and then bin them.

[redadmiral]

Hmm - so the one that gets away and under the bed is going to stink to high heaven when someone finds it and plays with it????

Now I know why I never do this at Easter.

[redadmiral]

X posts. Ok. I have been warned.

And does anyone ever blow them. (Suzy don't answer that.)

[S1ur]

blown eggs are good cos you can hang them easily. but far too fragile for most kids, certainly pre-schoolers.

I'm hard boiling this year

[mrsruffallo]

Yes, I am given up blowing this year
hard boiled for me

[mrsruffallo]

sorry have given up

[redadmiral]

They are in the pan..... Thanks everyone.

[ComeOVeneer]

If your feeling creative try this -

Using a pin, poke a hole in the bottom of a large raw egg, insert the tip of a pointed knife, and turn to open the hole slightly. With a metal nail file smooth and widen the hole to around 1/2 inch.

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, this will clear out the raw egg. Rinse out shell.

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. Leave to drain on a board covered in kitchen towel for a couple of days.

Melt good quality dark chocolate in microwave until melted. 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. Let set completely, about 4 hours.

Alternatively, fill eggs with ganache: Fill all eggs with chocolate, then let stand 5 minutes instead of letting chocolate set. Pour chocolate out of eggs into a glass measuring cup, tapping your hand against cup to let most of the chocolate drain out (do not add to tempered chocolate). Let chocolate "shells" set completely.

Fill a disposable pastry bag with ganache (see below) cut tip to create a 1/4-inch opening. Insert tip into egg; fill with ganache. Tap egg gently, hole up, on a folded kitchen towel to eliminate air pockets; fill to top. Continue with remaining eggs. Refrigerate until set, about 4 hours. Ganache-filled eggs can be refrigerated up to 1 week; solid eggs can be stored in a cool, dry place until ready to serve.

Ganache

For dark choc ganache, use 2 cups heavy cream and 1 pound dark choc chocolate. For milk-chocolate or white-chocolate ganache, use 1 1/4 cups heavy cream and 1 1/4 pounds milk or white chocolate. Bring cream just to a boil, then pour over finely chopped chocolate into a medium bowl. Let stand 5 minutes; stir until smooth. Leave on side stirring occasionally, until cool enough to pipe (usually an hour or so)

Once filled these are nice and hard for decorating the shells.

[redadmiral]

Sounds amazing. Do you then peel like a hardboiled egg to eat, or have I missed something?

[ComeOVeneer]

Yes you eat them, but you can also decorated them and there are much more robust than letting litlle ones handle empty egg shells. If you want a treat for them at easter go to the lakeland site and get the egg wrap arounds, you add these to hard boiled eggs to make them more fun to eat here

[ComeOVeneer]

Once the chocolate has set and you have decorated them, carefully push a heated thick metal skewer through to the other side of the egg(breaking through the shell (carefully) and thread a ribbon through (tie a knot in the end that comes out the other side, and hang the decorated eggs of branches (eg pussy willow).

[redadmiral]

Bloody Hell! You are one for making life difficult. I thought the first bit sounded tricky enough!

[stealthsquiggle]

OK, inspire me, oh crafty ones... I got as far as blowing 4 goose eggs last Easter but then ran out of time - so said ready-blown eggs are in a cupboard waiting for this Easter.

What shall I do with them?

[samja]

CoV, can you do the choc/granache ones in advance? How long would they last in fridge?

[ComeOVeneer]

Ganache ones need to be kept in the fridge and last a week. The chocolate ones can be stored in a coll place for a few weeks.

[ComeOVeneer]

You think that is tough. this is what I am currently working on for my mother's 60th on the easter weekend. It is a 2 tiered "whimsical" cake. One tier is chocolate kahlua cake filled with chocolate kahlua mousse and iced in choc buttercream, the other is red velvet cake with raspberry chambord (liquer) and white choc ganache and white choc buttercream. I am using homemade marshmallow fondant rather than store bought as it tastes much nicer. Wish me luck!

[redadmiral]

Says we are forbidden to see it. Probably just as well.

Can't easily put things on my profile, otherwise I'd show you my piece de resistance - DD1's pink fairy castle cake with turrets, windows and... wait for it... steps!

Buttercream can't match ganache I know, but it was my proudest moment

[ComeOVeneer]

Try again here