DIY Chocolate Eggs (Peanut Butter, Caramel, Raspberry)

Create deliciously filled chocolate eggs using a few ingredients! With raspberry, peanut butter, or caramel in the center. YUM! This post contains affiliate links.

 

One of our favorite areas in Columbus is German Village. It is a historic neighborhood settled in the early-mid 19th century by German immigrants, who at one time comprised 1/3 of the city’s population. To this day German Village has original brick homes that line the streets with German shops, restaurants and bakeries. There was a fudge shop that sold all sorts of confections. We found this darling shop across the street from a brats restaurant that we went to so we stopped by once when we lived in the Columbus area. It was springtime so they were selling giant chocolate eggs, beautifully decorated, and filled with cream and other fillings.

I’ve always thought it would be fun to make some around Easter so this year I ordered two chocolate egg molds and got busy! I ended up getting one larger egg mold (to create a 3-d egg like the ones in the fudge shop) and a smaller mold to make mini bite sized filled chocolate eggs.

The fun part was deciding what cream fillings we wanted. My favorite is peanut butter. Derrick likes caramel (and actually prefers it plain, straight from the tub), and I decided on a pastel pink raspberry just for fun. Both the raspberry and caramel were ordered online, but the peanut butter one was made from scratch and was so easy to make!

Update: the company that I ordered my caramel and raspberry filling from recently went out of business. I’ve updated the links with similar products.

 

After I settled on my fillings, I chose my chocolate. I went with a smooth milk melting chocolate.

Two types of sprinkles and a bottle of Drizzle & Design white chocolate were perfect for adding finishing touches and helping me know which chocolates were which after they were all done. White drizzles = caramel, Easter sprinkles = raspberry, no decorations = mini peanut butter eggs, confetti sprinkles = large peanut butter egg.

Tip: Roll your filling into small balls. Coat fingers with cornstarch if necessary, to keep from being sticky.

Tip: Freeze molds for 10 minutes to keep the filling in it’s shape while dipping.

If you don’t have an egg mold, don’t fret! Just shape the filling into an egg shape and freeze until set.

Continue with all fillings (caramel shown in photo above). Once fillings have been chilled, remove by tapping against a hard surface. Place eggs on baking sheet and keep in refrigerator until ready to dip.

Melt chocolate in the microwave at 30 second intervals (stirring after each interval) until smooth. I actually use an electric chocolate melting pot, which I love, because it keeps the chocolate at a constant temp.

If the egg filling starts to get to room temperature it will soften in the chocolate. This is why it is best to only do a few at a time and leave the rest in the refrigerator to keep nice and cold. Remove a few eggs at a time and dip in chocolate, tapping fork against side of bowl to allow excess to drip off. Set on baking sheet lined with waxed paper. Add sprinkles immediately before chocolate hardens.

I love how they turned out! So pretty and festive…and the Pièce de résistance…

Our 3-d chocolate egg! The mold I used was a two part mold and I filled it with my peanut butter filling. We just made one to share, but it turned out absolutely perfect! The only thing that would have made it more classic would be to have decorated it with buttercream flowers, but sprinkles were quick and easy and appreciated just fine by the kids.

 

I placed some in candy liners and some in Easter foil wrappers. What a pretty plate of chocolate eggs! A dozen were boxed up as gifts for friends and the rest were enjoyed by our family.

I think I will have to make at least one big chocolate egg every year! I actually have a third egg mold that is even bigger (7.5″!) that I want to use next year to make a big rice crispy treat egg for the kids to decorate, but I think we have plenty of sweets this year to go around. Stay tuned for more spring related treats later this week as I share what Ruby and I made for her preschool class!

TIPS AND TRICKS FOR MELTING CHOCOLATE AND TROUBLESHOOTING:

Here is a great resource from my friends at Chocoley. They recently closed their site so I saved the tips to share with you.

If chocolate seizes (thickens because of contact with moisture) you may be able to “save” it by stirring in vegetable shortening or vegetable oil one teaspoon at a time. If this doesn’t work it can be used for cooking or candy fillings.

THE CHOCOLATE HAS COOLED TOO MUCH:

Add some warm chocolate or gently warm the bowl until the chocolate reaches the correct working temperature. This will not work for chocolate that has turned to a pudding texture.

TEMPERED CHOCOLATE WON’T SET-UP/HARDEN:

This usually happens when you don’t use enough seed chocolate during the tempering process. Without enough seed chocolate, there are not enough seed crystals to allow the cocoa butter to crystallize.

TEMPERED CHOCOLATE WON’T RELEASE FROM THE MOLD:

There are a few reasons for this:

• The chocolate won’t release when you don’t use enough seed chocolate during the tempering process. Without enough seed chocolate, there are not enough seed crystals to allow the cocoa butter to crystallize;
• The chocolate may have been tempered too much; let it cool down and then re-temper the chocolate properly;
• Your molds were not the right temperature when you deposited the chocolate. If the molds are too cool or too warm, the film of chocolate that actually touches the molds will have lost its temper causing it to stick to the mold;
• As a temporary solution, try putting the mold in the freezer and allow it to harden more. Don’t let it stay in too long though, or you’ll get condensation!

STREAKS APPEAR IN THE FINISHED PRODUCTS:

You are working at too low or too high of a temperature. Check your temperatures with your thermometer. If it is too hot add some chocolate and stir until it cools to the correct temperature. If it is too cool stir thoroughly before and during use. Add warmer chocolate to bring the temperature back up.

THE FINISHED ITEM HAS “CRACKS” IN THE CHOCOLATE:

If items are placed in a refrigerator that is too cold, the chocolate contracts too fast and will crack.

WHITE MARKS APPEAR ON DE-MOLDED ITEMS:

The molds were not dried properly. Water can become trapped in molds with heavy patterns. Make sure that they are completely dry before filling.

You might also like…

Chocolate Caramels

Caramel Rice Crispy Treats