If you'd like to try this recipe at home, make sure to be very careful when handling/blowing the eggs. In some countries chickens are not vaccinated against salmonella so we suggest giving the eggs a good wash in boiling water and take care not to get any raw egg in your mouth. This recipe for Marbled Eggs would have been served as a sweet ‘entremets’ - small dishes served before dessert. This particular version uses a sweetened cream filling with chocolate and vanilla, but you could use any flavour you like or experiment with different colour jellies. How to make Marbled Eggs This makes enough mixture to fill around six medium sized eggs. INGREDIENTS 600ml double cream 7 leaves of gelatine soaked in cold water 2 tbsp granulated sugar 2 tbsp chopped chocolate A few drops of vanilla extract Around 6 medium sized eggs Crushed ice Some flour and water paste METHOD Heat the cream in a pan to just below boiling. Add the sugar, and stir thoroughly until it has dissolved. Mix in the gelatine until it is completely incorporated. Pour half of this cream mixture into a jug, and add your vanilla extract to it. Add your chocolate to the other cream mixture on the hob, and whisk it on a very low heat until it has melted. Pour this into another jug. Allow both mixes to cool to room temperature. Pierce a hole in the top and bottom of one of the eggs, enlarge the hole in bottom to around. 3mm, and in the top to up to 7mm Break up the contents inside the egg with needle or skewer. Hold the egg over a bowl, place your mouth firmly round the middle of the egg forming a good seal over the top hole. Blow the contents of the egg out into the bowl. The yolk and whites will be ready mixed, perfect for scrambled eggs, omelettes or cakes. Put the crushed ice in a bowl and cover it with a clean tea towel. Use the flour and water paste to cover the bottom hole in all of the eggs. Stand your eggs upright in the ice. Pour a few tablespoons of one of your cream mixtures into the eggs using a small funnel or a piping nozzle. Allow this layer to set for around 10-15 minutes on the ice, and then add a few tablespoons of the other cream mixture Keep building up the layers of cream until the whole egg has been filled. Once your eggs have set firmly, you can begin to remove the shells. One of the easiest ways to do this is by sliding a teaspoon between the shell and the set cream. It’s useful to keep a small bowl of cold water and a cloth ready to wipe your fingers between eggs so as not to smudge colours. Serve your eggs in a bowl, or in egg cups. For an extra Victorian flourish you could make a sponge cake ring and place the eggs inside, just like Mrs Crocombe.

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