Raw Chocolate ‘Double Decker’ Easter Eggs

These beautiful little Raw Chocolate Double Decker Easter Eggs weren’t as hard to make as my Paleo Creme Eggs were last year, but they’re just as delicious!

For those of you who don’t know what a ‘Double Decker’ is; in a nutshell it’s a chocolate bar inspired by the great British double-decker bus! It’s got a solid chunky chocolate base filled with cereal ‘crispies’, topped with whipped nougat, and then coated in more chocolate.

Now, I’ve managed to recreate the experience but in a much healthier manner– replacing the cereal crispies with buckwheat groats, the sugary nougat with one made simply from dried white mulberries and coconut milk powder, and of course a raw dark chocolate coating. These obviously don’t taste like a real Double Decker, that would after all be almost impossible to do but the textural experience is pretty much identical.

Note: If you can’t obtain cacao solids (cacao liquor/paste) for your chocolate, sub for 75g cacao powder and increase the cacao butter from 150g to 225g to obtain a similar result. Cacao solids retain about 50% of cacao butter after the cacao beans have been crushed into a liquid state and then solidified at room temperature. This is not the same thing as cacao powder!

Raw Chocolate Double Decker Easter Eggs Recipe

Ingredients (makes 20)

175g cacao paste (or see substitution above)
175g cacao butter
4tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp vanilla extract / 1 tsp vanilla powder
2/3 cup buckwheat groats

For the nougat:

1/2 cup dried white mulberries
1 1/4 cups coconut milk powder
1 – 2tbsp coconut milk
1 tbsp vanilla extract / 1 tsp vanilla powder

Equipment

For this recipe you will need an egg mould (or four if you are organised!) and a silicon pouring jug. If you don’t have a pouring jug then a small gravy boat will work fine.

Method

1) In a large mixing bowl add your cacao paste, cacao butter, maple syrup, and vanilla. Place the bowl over a pan of water on a low heat, creating a bain-marie. Stir the contents frequently using a spatula, making sure to scrape down the sides ensuring that everything melts evenly. Once melted remove the bowl from the heat and allow to cool for a few minutes. Set aside your mixing bowl as you will need this later.

2) Divide your mixture equally into two heatproof bowls – one being your original large mixing bowl as this will become the chocolate for your chocolate shells to house your nougat. I recommend pouring the whole lot into a measuring jug first before splitting.

3) Next add your buckwheat groats into the smaller of your bowls and stir. Leave to cool for a further 10 minutes until the mixtures thickens ever so slightly and is tepid to the touch. Then stir and transfer half of the mixture into your silicone pouring jug and very carefully pour the chocolate from your jug into each of your mould(s). You’ll want to stir the mix in the jug before pouring into each mould to ensure you’re getting an even chocolate to groats ratio. If any of the moulds overflow don’t panic just simply scrape away using a palette knife or spatula. Transfer to the freezer to set for about 10-15 minutes and get to work on your nougat.

4) Combine your dried white mulberries and coconut milk powder into the bowl of your food processor. Pulse a few times before leaving to process for a good few minutes. Your mix should start to ball together and you’ll find that some oil separation occurs but don’t worry. If the mixture isn’t balling together after a few minutes of processing add a little coconut milk. Be sure to add a small amount at a time otherwise you could end up with a runny mix! Once you have a smooth and chewy nougat wrap it cling film and leave to one side.

5) Remove your moulds from the freezer and carefully pull away the outer edges of the indentations around the chocolates before carefully pushing the bottom of the shell upwards. Place them into an airtight container and pop back into the freezer until needed later.

6) Next it’s time to create your shells. Place your bowl of plain chocolate mix back over a bain marie until it liquifies. Very carefully pour the chocolate from your jug into each of your mould(s). Pour as slowly and carefully as you can until the chocolate fills the moulds fully but does not overflow. If it does overflow don’t worry, simply scrape away using a spatula otherwise your shells will be harder to remove. Before transporting your mould(s) over to the freezer open the freezer door! Transport your mould by holding each side firmly and gently pulling them away from yourself just as you did before.

7) Pop the mould(s) into the freezer for about 5-10 minutes or until you see that they have an outer ring of chocolate that has set at about a thickness of 5mm. Remove the moulds carefully using the same technique you did for placing them into the freezer. Turn the mould upside down over your large mixing bowl that you had set aside earlier. Pour until as much excess has come out and take a look at what your shells look like. If you find that the top edges of the shells are too thin set the mould back into the freezer for 30 seconds before removing and swirling the chocolate around the mould. If you find that the chocolate will not move carefully scrape around using a teaspoon until you have cleared out a suitable sized cavity. Place into the freezer for 15 minutes until fully set.

8) Now unwrap your nougat and begin to pinch off small amounts, rolling into balls. Remove your chocolate shells from the freezer and gently press the nougat into them until almost fully filled. You want to be able to stick your solid chocolate crispie egg halves onto them so don’t overfill! Place the shells back into the freezer for 10 minutes.

9) Remove your moulds from the freezer and carefully pull away the outer edges of the indentations around the chocolates before carefully pushing the bottom of the shell upwards. Once all halves have been removed take your solid crispie egg halves and set them all out onto a plate face down. Be sure you know which ones have nougat and which don’t.

10) Using a heated butter or palette knife (I just placed mine over the stove for a few seconds) melt the flat underside of one of your solid crispie egg halves before gently pressing it into the flat underside of a nougat shell until you have have egg. Place each egg into a container and set to one side before starting the next as they will be returning to the freezer. Repeat until each egg has been sealed! Once all of the eggs are complete place your container into your freezer for a further 15 minutes.

11) Re-melt your remaining chocolate, remove the eggs from the freezer and using two spoons carefully yet quickly roll the eggs one by one into the chocolate until fully coated. Gently lift the egg and allow it to drip before placing onto a wire rack to dry. Repeat and leave the eggs until they are no longer glossy before gently removing from the wire rack and placing into the freezer again. You can double dip your eggs if you wish for a smoother finish by repeating the process once more.

12) And that is it, quite a lot of hard work but all for some super special and scrumptious Easter eggs! Store them in the fridge so that the chocolate doesn’t melt but leave out at room temperature for 15 minutes before eating them to allow the nougat to soften sufficiently.