Sugar Eggs

Serves: 6

Jolie Turcotte

1 January 1970

Based on User reviews:

48

Spice

52

Sweetness

52

Sourness

40

mins

Prep time (avg)

5.2

Difficulty

Ingredients:

5 tbsps

Meringue Powder

1 cup

Water

Directions:

1

Carving Let the egg half stand at room temperature for about 2 minutes

2

Then hold it gently, and hollow it out with a melon baller or small spoon

3

For a view egg, start with the window

4

Much of the sugar will scoop out easily, but it hardens as it cools; you may need to scrape gently

5

For large eggs, the walls should be about a half inch thick; smaller eggs, quarter inch

6

The sugar you scoop out can be reused for another egg as long as you remove the hard bits

7

Inevitably, some eggs will break as you're working with them, so it's a good idea to make an extra half

8

Sanding To smooth the rough edges and help join the egg halves neatly, rub the eggs in a circular motion over sandpaper that has been placed in a baking pan to catch the sugar shavings

9

You can also use sandpaper to smooth opening of a view egg or to make a flat bottom so an egg can stand without toppling (if you plan to do this, leave the bottom a little thicker when hollowing out the egg

10

) Sugaring Glue superfine sugar to egg surface with an egg-white-and-water mixture

11

Dab powdered coloring into sugar to color it, or leave it plain

12

Then combine 2 egg whites with a few drops of water; beat with a fork until frothy

13

Working with half an egg at a time, paint whites onto egg with a soft paintbrush

14

Spoon sugar over wet egg whites, and gently shake off excess sugar

15

For plaid eggs, make stripes in 1 direction, and sugar them

16

Let dry, about 15 minutes

17

Then make stripes in other direction, painting over the first stripes

18

Hold finished half against other half; in order for design to match up, pipe dots of royal icing onto second half to mark where stripes begin

19

Flocking This technique incorporates royal icing and sanding sugar, which has a slightly larger, crystal-like grain

20

The icing can be tinted with liquid colors, the sugar with powdered coloring, or they can be left plain

21

Use a small round tip (#1 or #2) to pipe medium-stiff royal icing onto an egg, then spoon the sugar over it

22

Let dry; brush off excess

23

Joining To join halves, pipe royal icing onto one, and press another against it

24

Hold in place for a few seconds; let dry one hour

25

For egg ornaments, knot a piece of ribbon at its midpoint, and lay onto royal icing with the knot just inside one half of the egg and both ends of the ribbon sticking out

26

Dot royal icing onto the ribbon where the other half will join; press egg half into place

27

Let dry

28

Tie ribbon ends into a small bow or knot

29

Piping Flowers Different techniques create different flowers

30

The daffodil is piped onto a flower nail using a small rose tip (#101); the petals are pinched at the ends (dip your fingers in cornstarch first) for a daffodil shape

31

Let it dry

32

Use a #1 tip to pipe the flower centers

33

For the stem, insert tip of a cloth-covered wire into a #2 or #3 round tip, and squeeze the bag, forcing wire out and coating tip in icing

34

Adhere this to back of flower

35

For the leaves, insert a piece of curved wire into a leaf tip (#352), and pipe it out; the wire will be at center of leaf

36

Pipe the lilies of the valley with #80 tip directly onto a wire

37

The large green leaves are store-bought

38

Anchor leaves and flowers in gum paste

39

To crystallize edible flowers, thin an egg white or powdered egg whites with a bit of water

40

Hold the stem with your fingers or tweezers; coat with egg white uisng a small paintbrush, and sprinkle with superfine sugar

41

Put flower on a tray covered with wax paper, set in a warm, dry place to let dry

42

Working with Gum Paste This malleable, edible substance, available at baking –supply stores, can be formed into almost any decoration, and there are many tools to assist you

43

To make dogwood blossoms, for example, use a pastry brush to dust a smooth work surface with cornstarch, then roll out the gum paste paper thin

44

Cut it with a dogwood-shaped cutter

45

Place the flower shape on foam pad; use a balling tool to shape petals

46

Let flower dry on parchment; brush on powdered colors

47

Combine ingredients with electric mixer; beat with paddle attachment on low until fluffy, 7 to 8 minutes

48

Thin with water if necessary for desired stiffness

49

Stir before using; if not using immediately, cover bowl with damp towel

50

Yield: about 3 cups

51

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