Chocolate Birds Nest

Bird nests are so clever, it makes you wonder how our feathered friends actually get started. Patiently collecting and arranging twigs, leaves and other material to build a warm, secure home.  It reminds me of mums everywhere working hard to make family traditions and building a warm and loving home for their little ones.  But at this moment, my heart goes out to the mums of the 270 Nigerian schoolgirls who were kidnapped a month ago, forced from the safety of their nest.  It makes me sick to think of it, please join me in praying for their safe return home.

To make chocolate nests you will need:

Concentrated sugar solution made from:
436g (15.38 ounces) or 2 cups sugar
900millilitres (30.43 fluid ounces) or 3 and 2/3 cups less 1 Tbsp water

200g (7.05 ounces) Tempered chocolate

To make 10 eggs:
60g (2.12 ounces) cake, crumbled
30g (1.06 ounces) chocolate, melted
rind of 1/4 of a lemon
squeeze of fresh orange juice
100g (3.53 ounces) white chocolate for coating
1/2 vanilla bean (optional, use if you want speckles on your egg).

You may also like to add chocolate feathers or chocolate leaves to your nest.

Resource: howtocookthat