One of the easiest and most effective Easter decorations is a nest of pretty chocolate eggs on top of a cake. A chocolate nest made using the “bark” technique always looks good and is really simple to perfect. If you’ve never tried this before here is a step-by-step guide.
You’ll need a cake (!) 100g slab of milk chocolate and some mini eggs to decorate.
I started with a straight-forward chocolate beat ‘n’ mix cake. I sandwiched it together with butter icing and topped it with more butter icing, which provided a good base for our little nest.
Now the fun begins. Melt a 100g milk chocolate in the microwave. It should take no more than two minutes, and I suggest you do this in 30 second blasts. As soon as the chocolate has melted remove it from the microwave, stir well so that it looks smooth and silky, then pour it out onto a glass chopping board or similar cold, smooth surface. Use the back of the spoon to spread it thinly.
Leave it in a cool place until set. It needs to be firm to the touch. Now take a long-bladed knife, hold it at a 45 degree angle to the chocolate and drag it towards you, pulling firmly across the chocolate.
You’ll start to gather up curls of chocolate “bark”, pieces which look a little like something off the trunk of a tree! They need to be irregular in shape and size so don’t worry about being too careful or precise.
Start to build your nest 🙂 Arrange the luscious pieces of chocolate in a haphazard circular way so that it resembles a bird’s nest.
Keep adding until you have built something that looks like it would be welcoming and comfortable to any passing bird…
Once you’re happy with the way the nest looks place some mini eggs on top. I like these foil-covered eggs – they look so pretty!
Take a photo of your cake as soon as you’ve finished decorating it because it won’t last long!
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