I no longer go to church, adhere to lent or follow the unspoken rule of no meat on Good Friday (though we did have fish this year, a massive snapper as Mum was with us and she does still stick to the no meat rule, and we were more than happy to accommodate her)...
But I still do appreciate the basic the understanding of what is celebrated at Easter and I respect other peoples faiths.
Not to mention the fact that Easter itself is actually piggy backed off northern hemisphere pagan celebrations- the spring equinox.... BUT I am not going to get into that =P hint that's why we have eggs, bunnies and even hot cross buns!!
To me Easter is a time to celebrate new beginnings, starting a fresh, turning over a new lea, etc... you get the gist.
But more importantly it is a time spent with family, normally with good food, relaxed atmosphere and good times, and generally with lots of chocolate.
Like usual I like to make my own chocolate, and this year it was even more evident that I actually had to do so. As the lack of dairy free soy free options out there are appalling!!
I was able to get one bunny that I had to special order from my local health food grocer- it organic dark choc with rice milk white choc detailing- quite pretty actually and a fair hefty price too... but oh so worth it!!
But why am I complaining, I like making chocolate.
It's fun and I can make so many different things and flavour combinations...
So without further adieu:
Turkish Delight Rocky Road
Turkish Delight filled chocolates
Gooey lemon filled chocolates
Chocolates with crushed peanuts
Luscious raspberry filled white chocolate
Chocolates filled with delicious gooey peppermint
Mum, M. and I had fun making the choccies and devoured them all within the week.
Though if M. had his way it would have all been gone within two days!!!
The way I made these chocolates was quite basic:
Temper chocolate using a double boiler over a stove top.
Then depending on what your making you do different things like: pouring chocolate into the bowl to mix ingredients (like the rocky road or Turkish Delight chocolates) then into a mould or container and place in the fridge to set.
OR pouring a small amount into a mould and running the chocolate around the mould to form a shell then placing it in the fridge- you may need to do this a few times to build it up- then add your filling and topping it up with chocolate to seal it and back in the fridge again.
Making your fillings is also quite easy- some people use different things- I go for the easy option of just low GI icing sugar, essence and water.
You don't need much essence or water, and I know some people who like to use almond milk and vegan spread instead of water (more buttery flavour)- but it's completely up to you!
You can also use anything as a filling from peanut butter, coconut flakes with a bit of coconut cream, chocolate ganache, cherry and coconut to jelly...so what ever you want!!!
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