Baked Surprise Eggs

Gosh, time is still flying by like crazy. When it comes to my Easter preparations, nothing spectacular is going on here, but luckily I have a modest menu and a shopping list. That's probably something already :) I hope things are a little better on your end. On top of that, today I'm leaving on a 3-day business trip, so I have very little time left to prepare. The holidays may not be perfect, then, but they will definitely be delicious. And luckily, I already got to taste some tasty dishes before the holidays.

Baked surprise eggs

This weekend I tested another recipe that wouldn't leave me alone. The idea of using an eggshell for a dessert seemed a bit strange to me, but intriguing too. The eggs hidden inside turned out to be a tasty idea for an Easter dessert. My kids were the happiest, delighted with the slightly different egg filling. They eagerly picked away at the shell to get to the sweet contents.

Baked surprise eggs

Directions:

Blow out 12 eggs to make empty shells, then carefully enlarge the hole on the narrower end of each egg to about the size of a 2-zloty coin. You can also carefully cut off the tip of the egg with a sharp knife. Use the eggs some other way, and wash the empty shells thoroughly with very hot water, ideally boiling water. Set them hole side down on a kitchen towel to dry. Gently grease the inside of the dry shells with fat (preferably with a small brush).

Make 12 little nests out of aluminum foil to hold the eggs upright. I used an egg cup, pressed the foil around it, and folded the rest of the foil underneath so it would stand. Place the foil holders on a baking sheet, and set the eggs on them with the hole facing up.

Cut the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Mix both kinds of flour with the baking powder. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat 1 egg (you can use one of the eggs you blew out) until pale. Add a pinch of salt, the sugar, oil and buttermilk and mix well. Add the flour mixture and mix in well (the batter should be moist; if needed, you can add 1-2 tbsp of buttermilk).

Divide the batter into 2 parts. Add the almonds to one part, and a heaping tsp of orange zest and the chocolate shavings to the other.

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).

Pour both batters into a piping bag and carefully fill the eggs (6 with one batter, 6 with the other), about halfway (a bit more is fine). Place in the oven and bake for about 25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean (or bake 5 minutes longer if needed). Take the baked eggs out of the oven and let them cool (in their shells) on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

Baked surprise eggs

Additional information:

The recipe says the ingredients make 12 servings. For me it made 12, but that surely depends on the size of the eggs, too.

You can use only white all-purpose flour.

Baked surprise eggs

Source: EatSmarter 2/2012