I’m sure there are plenty of wonderful light and springy desserts out there that would be just lovely for Easter, but I am currently on a very serious chocolate bender with no end in sight. The moment I saw these truffle egg tortes, I knew would be making them. Essentially this is simply a rich chocolate cake covered in ganache, topped with chocolate truffles that are shaped and colored to look like Easter eggs. The original recipe is for one large cake but I halved it and had enough batter for four mini cakes. Mine is the version I have posted below, but just know you could double it and bake as a full-size cake.
Now, I’m sure these could be made much easier by using any of the numerous egg-shaped candies available at this time of year, but you all know I like to do things the hard(er) way. Well, not really, but just the homemade way. You could use any truffle filling you like – blackberry or lemon chiffon, perhaps. I opted for a plain dark chocolate center. To me, these are even more fun than regular truffles because of the pretty shells. I had fun playing with different shades of color for the shells, and brushing them with pearl dust to give them a sparkly sheen. One important thing to keep in mind is that you need to use oil-based food coloring or powdered food coloring for the shells. Regular food coloring and gel colors are water-based and will cause the chocolate or candy coating to seize up. That’s never fun – trust me. I didn’t try it this time around but I think it would also be fun to use a little bit of melted white or dark chocolate to splatter on the colored shells, giving a speckled appearance.
In any case, these were a fun kitchen project that also fed and satisfied my chocolate monster. Charming little cakes that are ideal for a spring or Easter gathering. Enjoy!