Edible Chocolate Clay

This was the result of an opps in the kitchen. So I was making chocolate caramel shortbread and I screwed up the chocolate. I meant to make chocolate ganche but instead of heating the whipping cream and pouring it over the chocolate, I melted the chocolate chips and stirred in the room temperature cream. The result: the chocolate seized up and turned into this thick clay-like substance. I decided to just pour melted chocolate over the top of my shortbread bars, but still had to figure out what to do with the chocolate I messed up--there was no way I was going to throw out chocolate. Since Easter is not far off, I molded the chocolate into bunnies, chicks, and nests with eggs. My sculpting skills certainly leave something to be desired, but what I fun thing to do, especially if you have kids!

Ingredients:
1 cup chocolate chips
2 tablespoons heavy cream

Directions:
Place the chocolate chips in the a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir, and repeat until chocolate is melted (1 minutes, 30 seconds worked for me). Pour in cream and combine. Chocolate will seize (which is usually a bad thing but not in this case). Work seized chocolate into a clay with your hands.

Shape clay into desired shapes. My hands only got a little bit of chocolate on them (which totally surprised me). Store in the refrigerator. Chocolate will harden in the fridge.

I haven't tried this, but I've also seen recipes for edible chocolate clay made with chocolate chips and corn syrup.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Easter Recipes:
Cupcakes Baked Inside An Easter Egg
How to Dye Easter Eggs with Kool Aid
Homemade Cadbury Egg Bark

Chocolate Ganache Easter Eggs

Chocolate ganache sounds so fancy and sophisticated that you wouldn't think that it's incredibly easy to make. Once I made cupcakes in an Easter egg, I didn't see why I couldn't fill an eggshell with the chocolate ganache to make a chocolate Easter egg. Guess what? It worked.

Ingredients:
6 large, hollowed-out eggshells
2 cups chocolate chips
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
To hollow out the eggshells, poke a small hole in the top of each egg. You can use a corkscrew, nail, small screwdriver, or ice pick to make the hole. You will need a hole large enough to fit the tip of a pastry bag, so widen the hole by carefully breaking the edges.

To get the egg out of the shell, use a skewer to scramble the yolk and whites. Then pour the egg into a bowl to use for another purpose (French toast, scrambled eggs, a cake).

Rinse the eggshell out with water and set it upside-down on a paper towel to dry. When the eggs are dry, place them on a cookie sheet and bake them for 10 minutes at 300 degrees in order to kill any bacteria.

If you want, you can then dye the eggs to make them more festive. I did this using Kool-Aid.

Eggs dyed with tropical punch Kool-Aid

As your eggshells cool, make your chocolate ganache. Pour the chocolate chips (you can use milk chocolate, semi-sweet, or dark chocolate) in a large heat-proof bowl.

In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a boil. Remove from heat and pour over the chocolate chips. Let sit for one minute then add the vanilla extract and stir the mixture until the chocolate is smooth and shiny. Transfer the ganache to a pastry bag or a Ziploc bag with the corner cut off (this is what I did). Place the eggshells in an egg carton, hole side up. Pipe the chocolate into the eggs, frequently giving the eggshell a little shake. This will prevent air bubbles. Fill to the very top.

 
Place in the freezer overnight. Before serving, allow the chocolate ganache eggs to sit out for about thirty minutes.

Peel the egg and enjoy!

Happy Easter!

~Krissy