Easterness

Happy Easter! I made a chocolate mousse cake to bring to my mom's house. The crust was made with dark chocolate, butter, crushed up shortbread, and sliced toasted almonds. The cake was made with chocolate, whipped cream, and Frangelico. It was a really easy recipe that I managed to screw up twice. I didn't account for the high water content of the hazelnut liquor and it made the chocolate seize up. So I had to rescue it with some extra cream. I decorated it with some white chocolate lace that I hand piped, marzipan eggs that I piped small decorations on, edible flowers and mint leaves. I think it turned out quite lovely. 

Here's a closeup of the egg and flower on the very top, and so you can see the intricacy of the lace better. I really liked this technique. It's super easy, but turns out very elegant. I printed out a lace pattern that I liked, taped a piece of wax paper onto it, melted some white chocolate, and then traced the lace pattern with the chocolate in a piping bag. I let it harden over night then flipped it onto the cake and peeled off the wax paper. Voila! Chocolate lace!

Here's a shot from the top of the whole thing. I love it. 

And no Easter is complete without an Easter Basket.