Cream filled eggs -- the vegan kind

I remember eating a Cadbury cream egg as a kid. Man those things are sweet. I always liked the idea more than I liked the reality. Too sweet, no flavour. These ones, dear friends, taste really good. The centre is a creamy, smooth concoction that includes maple and cashew cream. The outer shell is a organic, fair-trade dark chocolate. I used a 71% chocolate made by cacao berry. This one melts beautifully. Some chocolates with higher cocoa content may not melt to a liquid state, making them harder to work with. Use a double boiler!! Use a double boiler use a double boiler use a double boiler.

The combination of the dark chocolate flavour with the maple cashew is just right. It's more sweetness than I can handle often, but really amazing. And certainly a much more body-friendly and environmentally sound option than the commercial preparation.


My fellahs and family all enjoyed very much.

I got little silicone moulds, and made half eggs. I made a few whole eggs, but that's really more cream egg than I really liked. Hard to use. Too big around. Too much commitment. The half eggs were perfect.

equipment needed:

double boiler

food processor

moulds for egg shape

mixing bowl

mixing spoons

measuring cups

measuring spoons

ingredients:

a) fair-trade organic dark chocolate, like cacao berry. Did you know that a lot of chocolate is harvested using slaves and slave-children. True story. Go for fair-trade, friends.

b)

1 1/2 cups cashews -- raw -- soaked in filtered water with some sea salt for a couple of hours then rinsed well

3/4  cup maple syrup

3 tbsp agave

6 tbsp coconut ol

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3/8 + tsp sea salt

c)

turmeric

directions:

put your mould in the freezer to pre-chill

1. in a food processor, combine the ingredients in b)

2. pulse until chopped up, then  process until as smooth as possible. The smoother the better!!

3. set a little of the mixture aside to combine with enough turmeric to make your 'yolk' colour.

4. chill the filling -- it will firm up and be easier to work with, imho

5. in a double boiler, melt your chocolate. I used about 2 cups total chocolate for these eggs, and had a little of the cashew cream mixture left over but was tired of making eggs by that point so ....

6. I painted the moulds using a silicone pastry brush, but some people spoon it in. Let it chill a few seconds, and then sluice the chocolate around the moulds. Practice until you find a technique that works for you!

7. When the chocolates thick enough, scoop a little white and a little yolk colour inside.

8. spoon a little melted chocolate over top of the filling to close it. Pop it in the freezer to firm up.

9. Gently remove from the moulds.

10. I kept them refrigerated.

11. The cashew cream filling will be quite soft and creamy at room temperature, and a little more firm when chilled. You can see which way you like them best.