They are vegan and gluten/wheat-free chocolate and coconut nests with some homemade raw hazelnut mini eggs, coated with cacao powder and freeze dried raspberries. YUM!
I had trouble finding some vegan mini eggs. I was originally going to use sugar coated almonds but I couldn't find any vegan ones anywhere, but I am really happy I decided to make my own. They are a lot healthier for you too! Bonus :)
Perfect as a sweet snack at Easter time or to add on to homemade cheesecakes and cakes. They are also very fun to make, perfect for young children to get involved in.
Preparation- 5 minutes
Makes- Approximately 10-12 nests
Freezing time- 20 minutes
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Ingredients for the chocolate nests
-100g of unsweetened desiccated coconut
-200g of dairy-free chocolate (I used 70% Vivani)
Ingredients for the almond eggs
-1/2 cup of dates (pitted & de-stoned)
-1 tablespoon of hazelnut butter
-2 tablespoons of water
-1/4 cup of hazelnuts (Ground into a flour)
-1 teaspoon of ground chia seeds
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To make the nests
Step 1- Line 2 a cupcake tins with cupcake cases.
Step 2- Using a bain-marie, melt the chocolate until smooth, then pop into a food processor along with the coconut.
Whizz up on high until it comes together.
Step 3- Place a heaped tablespoon of mix into each case and press down with a spoon to compact and mould into a nest shape.
Repeat for the remaining mixture.
Pop into the freezer to set. This will take around 10-20 minutes.
To make the hazelnut eggs
Step 1- Place all of the ingredients into a food processor/blender and whizz up on high.
Step 2- Mould into egg shapes and place into the freezer.
*Optional* For added flavour, you can roll the eggs into cacao powder or freeze dried raspberries. They look super cute! PS..The pink eggs are light pink fondant rolled into egg shape.
Store in a sealed container in the fridge.