Hard Boiled Egg Moulds

Bet you've always thought "If only my hard boiled egg was shaped like a bunny"... now you can! With the help of an egg press.

Whether destined for your bento box to ward off the afternoon blues at the office or as a healthy snack for the kids on the weekend, these are fun to make and sooooo cute! 

The only tricky bit is peeling a hot hard boiled egg, but once it's peeled put your egg in your bunny or bear mould; press down and clip. You then put the whole mould into a bowl of cold water in the refrigerator for 10 minutes. Unclip your mould to your smiley bunny. Good for animal shaped sushi rice too.

These make fabulous cake pop moulds as well, albeit they are on the large size but a single bear for a baby shower favour in a cello bag with complimentary ribbon would make a lovely take home treat.

If your not a foodie what about using them to press bath bombs for Christmas gifts?

Ideal inexpensive stocking fillers, pop one, two or three in with your next Amazon order ...  Kotobuki Plastic Egg Mold, Rabbit and Bear 

Happy Baking :) 

Eggs

                 Eggs collected from our backyard chickens

I'm lucky to have an abundance of fresh eggs daily to use in my baking thanks to our backyard chickens. Here's a few quick eggy tips to ensure your successful baking....

Freshness; A quick test for your egg freshness is to submerge your egg in a bowl of cold water, if the egg sinks it's fresh, if it floats or stands on one end it's past it's best date. Weak shells & hairline cracks can also result in a floating egg. 

A fresh egg once cracked will have a yolk that stands high in a thick white, it will be compact and not spread over a wide area. 

Storage;The best way to store your eggs is in an egg carton, in your refrigerator.  The carton prevents water loss and protects the eggs from picking up unwanted flavours in your fridge. Refrigerated eggs keep up to 7 times longer than eggs a room temperature. 

Freezing; Eggs whites freeze extremely well in a sealed plastic freezer container for up to 10 months, defrost overnight in refrigerator and use as per normal. 

Eggs yolks can be frozen, add one teaspoon of salt or sugar for every six egg yolks, lightly beat in store in sealed plastic container in  your freezer. Whole eggs can be frozen by the same method. However eggs yolks that have been frozen become gluggy and don't bake as well as using a fresh egg. Make sure you label your eggs either "sweet" or "salty". Defrost in your refrigerator overnight.

Aged Egg Whites; Some recipes (particularly French Meringues) call for "aged egg whites", to age your egg whites leave the egg whites in a preferably open bowl overnight.

Room Temperature; Why does beating egg white call for room temperature eggs? Egg whites expand more & faster if the protein is warm. A fresh room temperature egg white can beat 6-8 times it's volume. 

Fat Free Beating; fat molecules are the enemy of beaten egg whites, this includes the egg yolk, make sure you use a clean, dry, metal or glass bowl when beating egg whites. Plastic bowls aren't recommended because fat particles can remain is crevices. Stabilise your egg whites half way through the beating process with a pinch of cream of tartar or a few drops of lemon juice.