Chocolate Easter Egg with Pistachio and Koppert Cress Florals

Ingredients 

• 1k Dark Chocolate Couverture
• 300g white or milk chocolate couverture
• 100g shelled and lightly roasted pistachio nuts – roughly chopped
• Sprinkle of sea salt flakes
• 2 punnets Cornabria Blosssom (2 colours)
• 2 punnets Fivola Blossom (2 colours)
• 1 tub Jasmine Blossom
• 1 tub Anise Blossom
• 1 tub Bean Blossom

Method

• Lay the selection of flowers face down inside the Easter Egg mould in an attractive way (if your mould is clear you can see your arrangement more easily underneath).
• Temper the milk/white chocolate, and drizzle by piping back and forth over the flowers in the mould to hold them in place. Let the chocolate set.
• Temper the dark chocolate, and fill the egg mould to the top, tap firmly so air bubbles rise to the surface. Let sit for a few minutes just so the casting isn’t too thin – this will depend on thickness of chocolate and temperature of the room, chocolate and mould.
• Empty the excess chocolate out of the mould, tapping lightly if required, still holding upside down, scrape with a wide chocolate scraper across the underside.
• Turn the mould over, and sprinkle the chopped pistachio nuts on the chocolate inside.
• Let egg fully set for a few hours at 16–18C (or use a fridge at 3–5C, but only for a very short time, 15 minutes maximum).
• Demould the egg. Heat a flat metal tray in the oven to 70C, briefly run the top edges across the hot tray to melt just the very edge. Bring both edges together and leave to set so it creates a whole egg.
• Use some tempered chocolate to pipe a disc on some parchment or guitar sheet, and sit the egg on it so it stands up. Hold until set or place in a fridge or use some freeze spray to secure.
• Serve/display on the same day while the flowers are at their best.

Chef: Shona Sutherland