Make your own panoramic sugar Easter eggs

Making your own panoramic sugar Easter eggs is not difficult, it just takes a little time. But making them with friends or family will create memories that will last even longer than the beautiful eggs.

First decide how big you want your eggs to be. Buy plastic Easter eggs that open to the length of your choice. They are a bit harder to find than typical plastic eggs.

Gather your ingredients:

• Granulated sugar
• Meringue powder (find this with cake decorating supplies at craft or discount stores)
• Pastry sugar
• Cream of tartar (in the spice section of the store)
• Coco (optional – use it for grass in your panoramic scene)
• Food coloring (paste colors recommended – find with cake decorating supplies)

Make sure you have these supplies on hand:

• Wax paper
• Spoons, mix and teaspoons
• Icing Decorating Bags
• Tips for decorating the icing
• Spatulas
• Wire whip mixer

After determining how many eggs you would like to have by the end of your project, plan to make at least double that number. Sugar eggs are delicate and not everyone will make it to the end of your project.

Make the shells

Mix granulated sugar with a small amount of water, just enough for the sugar to hold together when squeezed into a ball.

Fill one of the halves of a plastic Easter egg with the wet sugar mixture. Turn it over on wax paper. If the sugar sticks together, proceed. If not, please try again. If you can’t keep the sugar down after several tries, add a little water.

Once you successfully turn the sugar onto the wax paper, carefully cut about 1 1/2 inches from the narrow end. You may need to cut more if you are using very large eggs or less if you are using small eggs. This will form the opening through which you can look.

Cut a semicircle of wax paper that is about 1/2 “smaller in diameter than the opening. Place it against the sugar and prop something against it to keep the wax paper in place. A stack of pennies should work fine except with very large eggs.

You will need to wait several hours for the outer shell of the eggs to harden. If you try to collect them too early, your eggs will fall apart (but you made extras, so this is not a problem). If you wait too long, your egg will be too solid and you won’t be able to get the soft sugar out of it.

The amount of time it will take varies depending on the amount of water the sugar initially contained and the temperature, air flow, and humidity in the room. But think in terms of hours and not minutes.

Once you can hold the eggs without breaking them, scoop out the soft sugar with a teaspoon, leaving a crust about 3/8 “to 1/2” thick, perhaps a little thicker for very large eggs.

Let the eggs dry for several more hours. They should be quite difficult before moving on to the next step.

Make your scene

While you’re waiting for the shells to dry, it’s a good time to make the shapes for your scene. You may have decided to make frosting crossbreeds, chicks, or bunnies. Or maybe you’ve collected plastic figures that you want to dip in frosting for a handmade look. You can decorate small cookies like teddy bears. Remember that cookies won’t last as long as plain frosting decorations.

To make full frosting decorations, use the following royal meringue frosting recipe. This type of frosting dries hard and lasts for a long time. You will also use this type of frosting later to assemble the eggs, so be sure to save some for later or plan to make more.

Royal icing meringue

• 3 level tablespoons meringue powder
• 1 pound. confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 3-1 / 2 ounces of warm water (1/2 cup minus 1 tablespoon)
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Mix all the ingredients in the bowl of a mixer. Beat on medium high speed for 7 to 10 minutes. Any fat or oil in the bowl or on any utensil will prevent this frosting recipe from working, so be meticulous. Beat until the icing is firm enough to hold its shape. As soon as it is finished, cover the container with a damp towel. Keep it covered at all times as it dries and crusts easily.

Gather your eggs

Choose the bottom half of an egg and mount your scene on it. Use royal icing on the bottom as “herb”. Just use food coloring to make it green. You can also dye a little coconut to give it an even more herbaceous touch.

Insert your crosses, bunnies or other decorations. Make sure to orient them towards the opening.

Use white royal icing to “glue” a top in place. Let the egg dry before continuing.

Once the egg is dry, use frosting with a decorative tip to place the decorations over the seam and around the opening. You can also add a flower or other design on top.

Let the eggs dry overnight before handling them again.

If the egg rolls to one side, use a file to slightly flatten the bottom. Or put a frosting ring on the bottom to help stabilize the egg.