Homemade Chocolate Easter Bunnies

 

If you saw my post in February demonstrating how to make a chocolate football using a cool plastic football container that came with a pile of NFL mini KitKats, then you know that I like to re-use where I can to make fun homemade chocolate shapes.  And it's no different for Easter.

Last year I received a bunny-shaped container of Ferrero Rochers for Easter.  I saved the plastic container that the Rochers came in, and this year I put it to use. I washed the container well,  then shined it up with a dry paper towel to remove any water drop stains, and then made giant chocolate bunnies from it. A proper bunny chocolate mould could cost anywhere between $20 and $60, and since this was a gift, it was free! And even if I were to buy the same Ferrero Rocher container today, it would still cost less than a mould. So this is a cheap and easy way to make bunnies at home.

What I also like about making homemade bunnies is: I can use organic and fair trade chocolate, or a favourite kind of chocolate (85% dark chocolate, for instance, because I have family members who prefer it - there certainly are no store-bought bunnies out there made out of super dark chocolate!).

You can make these simply at home too. Once you find a bunny container, like the Ferrero Rocher one I bought, simply follow these steps:

1. Melt and temper about 6 to 8 ounces of chocolate (two to three 100 gram chocolate bars), and then, once tempered, pour the chocolate carefully into the container. Bang it on the counter a few times to remove any bubbles, and immediately sprinkle on mini eggs, or other fun Easter treats (i.e. pastel sprinkles, marshmallow candies, jelly beans, Ferrero Rocher's cut in half, etc.).

2. Let set in the fridge for 20 minutes (not longer than 30 minutes, or humidity from your refrigerator might affect the chocolate).

3. Once set, place a flat pan or cardboard on top of the container, hold together and flip over.  Tap a little on the counter if it doesn't come out immediately.

4. Let rest until it comes back to room temperature, and then wrap in plastic wrap or in clear kitchen bags with Easter coloured bows.

Add detail by painting eyes, ear, etc. in your mould before you begin:

If you want to get a little fancier and paint a face from white chocolate, like I did, you must first melt about 50 grams of white chocolate (1.5 oz), temper it, then use a small, clean, DRY paintbrush to paint some eyes, ears, nose and a tail. Let set for just five minutes, then pour in your melted milk or dark chocolate and sprinkles, as in the steps above.