Lucy takes her mind off the lockdown with her delicious homemade marshmallow Easter eggs.

Do you feel a prickle of rage coming on whenever you see someone claiming that lockdown is the perfect time to learn a new skill, discover your hidden depths and re-pivot your life? Me too. If it makes you feel any better, everyone I know is hanging on by their fingernails trying to adjust to what I’ve seen described as ‘living at work’ (if they’ve still got a job).

 

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I’ll show you mine if you show me yours? This year I departed from my all-time favourite recipe (@danlepard’s spiced stout buns from Short & Sweet – because, no stout) in favour of @alice_in_bakingland’s Gourmet Hot Cross Buns from an old @cuisinemagazine. I had to get a bit creative on the spices front and we only had boring old sultanas, but these buns are excellent! I’ve just eaten three (with cheese and feijoas) and now I think I’ve earned a short nap. How are your buns today? ☺️ . . . . . #buns #hotcrossbuns #baking #bread #recipe #tradition #easter #homemade #foodwritersnz #eatnz #scrumptioustribe #thekitchenmaidathome

A post shared by Lucy Corry (@thekitchenmaid) on Apr 9, 2020 at 6:18pm PDT

Now is not the time to discover a hidden talent or decide you should be embarking on a massive personal improvement programme. Personally, my lockdown life goals are simple: to not get sick, to not go stony broke and to stay married. The first one is hopefully taken care of by staying at home. Number two is a work in progress and number three is good so far, but it’s early days.

In the meantime – because it’s Easter – I present you with a project that will hopefully provide some distractions. You do need flour, but don’t fret, it can be any sort of flour and it doesn’t get used. You’ll need sugar and gelatine, but both of these should be available at your local dairy. Here goes:

RECIPE: HOMEMADE MARSHMALLOW EASTER EGGS

You need electric beaters (ideally a stand mixer) to make the marshmallow. Don’t attempt it with a rotary beater or you’ll regret it later. If you don’t have flour or can’t be bothered with the moulding process, just set the marshmallow in a lined baking tin. Drizzle it with melted chocolate and it will still taste fabulous.

INGREDIENTS

2 kg flour (any flour will do)
1 egg (at room temperature or the flour sticks to it)
1 Tbsp powdered gelatine
1/4 cup cold water
1/2 cup hot water
1 cup sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla
1 tsp lemon juice
Pink food colouring, optional
180g good quality chocolate – I used Whittaker’s Fairtrade Creamy Milk
1 Tbsp coconut oil or other plain, flavourless oil

METHOD
Spread the flour into two or three large, deep baking dishes. The flour needs to be about 5cm deep. Gently press the egg (in the shell) into the flour to make a half-egg shape to make 20 hollows. Carefully set aside.

Put the cold water in a small bowl and sprinkle over the gelatine. Stir well, then let swell for five minutes.
Put the hot water and the sugar in a large saucepan and stir over low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Add the gelatine mixture, stirring all the time, until it has dissolved too.
Bring this mixture to the boil and boil gently for six minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool until lukewarm.
Transfer it to a large mixing bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer) and add the vanilla, rosewater and lemon juice. Beat on high speed until thick and creamy (about five minutes, depending on your mixer). If you like, add a few drops of pink food colouring when the mixture is nearly done.

Carefully spoon the marshmallow mixture into the egg shapes, making sure it comes to the top.
Let set for 15 minutes, then carefully remove the halves from the flour by touching the top of each one with your finger and lifting it out. Join the halves together (the top stays sticky, so they ‘glue’ together nicely) and dust off the flour. A pastry brush is helpful here.
Cover a tray with plastic wrap and set aside.
Leave the marshmallow eggs in a cool place while you melt the chocolate and coconut oil together in a double boiler over low heat. Let cool until lukewarm, then carefully dip the eggs in, using a fork or a dipping spoon, then put them on the plastic-covered tray. This is a messy job – just resign yourself to the fact that chocolate will go everywhere. When the eggs are covered (or as best as you can get them), put them in the fridge to set. Store them in a covered container in the fridge (wrap them in foil if you’re really fancy). Makes 8-10 eggs, depending on how much marshmallow you eat in the process…
This recipe originally appeared on Lucy’s food blog, The Kitchenmaid.

Lucy Corry is an award-winning food writer and is NZ Life & Leisure’s food editor. In her fortnightly blog Best Possible Taste she writes about her cooking experiments, kitchen hacks and New Zealand food issues. She loves bread, chocolate, wine and books (not necessarily in that order). Follow her on Instagram and on her blog The Kitchen Maid