Chocolate eggs, deconstructed

While browsing Reddit the other day, I came across a link to this post, by the exceptionally talented (or should I say 'egg-ceptionally'?) Steph, a food blogger from Sydney. I couldn't wait to try it out, and make my own chocolate cheesecake eggs for a party tomorrow. Since I didn't know where to buy hollow chocolate eggs on short notice, I decided to buy a dozen Cadbury eggs, cut them open, and hollow them out.

Here's what I learned: this does not work. You can't cut the top off smoothly without causing the entire egg to collapse. Or if you do manage, you will find that the filling is pretty much an integral part of the not-so-hollow-as-it-first-appeared egg. So...I decided to deconstruct it.

And that brings us to today's post - Deconstructed 'fried egg' cheesecake tartlets.

Here's what you need:
For filling -
8 oz cream cheese
1/3 cup powdered sugar (confectioner's sugar)
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Not for filling -
7 graham cracker tartlets (alas, this is all that it makes. Feel free to double the recipe though!)
apricot jam (I used Smucker's Spreadable Fruit)

Put all the filling stuff in a bowl and beat it with an electric mixer until it is uniformly smooth. It should taste like no-bake cheesecake (because that's what it is!). Fill the tartlet shells. Use an ice cream spoon or other very small teaspoon to make a round scooped depression in the center of each tartlet. Put a small dollop of jam in that depression, so that they look like eggs, sunny side up. See how easy that was? It takes ten minutes, tops, and tastes delicious! Next year I plan to buy chocolate shells and try Steph's version, but in the meantime, I'm pretty pleased with the way these turned out. It just goes to show, there are no mistakes in cooking that you can't turn into something great. Happy Easter, everyone!