Royal cake maker Fiona Cairns turns her hand to deliciously cute cakes, cookies and chocolate eggs...
Homemade chocolate Easter eggs
Sunflower oil
About 500g (1lb 2oz) good quality chocolate (depending on the size of your eggs), chopped
Chocolate egg moulds, ribbons, sugar flowers or chicks and royal icing
Homemade chocolate eggs
Pour a small amount of oil onto a kitchen towel and wipe on the inside of the moulds. To melt the chocolate, place in a heatproof bowl over simmering water, ensuring the base doesn't touch the water.
Coat each half of the moulds with a thin layer of chocolate using a pastry brush or the back of a metal spoon. Leave to set for 15 minutes and repeat to make 3-4 layers.
Run a knife across to sharpen the edges. Leave to set in a cool place, then remove gently from the moulds.
Stick the halves together with melted chocolate, and leave to set. Adorn as you like with ribbons and decorations, stuck on with royal icing.
Handle as little as possible - try standing them in a glass to decorate.
Fiona's tip: Tempering your chocolate will give it extra shine and stop it from blooming (turning white), but you need a chocolate thermometer, from cookware shops or online.
Melt two-thirds of the chocolate as above. Take it off the heat, add the remaining third, stir vigorously then leave to cool until 28°C for dark chocolate or 26°C for milk chocolate. Reheat to 32°C (dark) or 30°C (milk), stirring.