Whipped Cream Dyed Easter Eggs
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One of our favorite family traditions for Easter is dying Easter eggs. Every Good Friday, I hard boil the eggs early in the morning. This makes sure that they cool on time. Then, I grab the egg dying supplies and everyone gathers around the kitchen to dye Easter eggs – together.
It’s one of my favorite holiday traditions. How we dye the Easter eggs really varies on what supplies we have on hand. But each year, we seem to try a new technique.
We have naturally dyed Easter eggs, made glitter eggs (affiliate) and marbled them in shaving cream. Warning – the glitter eggs might be a bit messy.
This year, I’m trying a new Easter egg dying technique. Whipped cream dyed eggs.
For years, our family has loved the swirly colors the shaving cream dyed Easter eggs have. But we can’t eat the eggs. Although that doesn’t bother me (I’ve never been a fan of hard boiled eggs), everyone else wants to eat them on Easter morning. So, this year I experimented with the same technique that I used for the shaving cream eggs, but with whipped cream.
Why Make Whipped Cream Dyed Eggs Instead?
Although I love making shaving cream eggs, there are many benefits to using whipped cream version instead.
The most important is that you can eat the egg. Eggshells are porous – which means that when dyed with shaving cream, the chemicals from the shaving cream can penetrate into the egg. Basically, you can’t eat them.
This is fine for me. I am not a huge fan of hard boiled eggs. But if you have a family tradition of eating your dyed eggs on Easter morning, you might be disappointed.
Whipped cream on the other hand is an edible substance. Albeit, not exactly healthy, but delicious just the same. Since it’s edible, it allows the dyed eggs to also be eaten.
Another plus to making whipped cream dyed eggs is if you have small children. Shaving cream isn’t exactly the best thing to eat. And littles love to lick their fingers. When making whipped cream dyed eggs, they can lick their fingers as much as they want (or you let them).
And you don’t have to spend the entire time warning them not to.
The Big Difference Between the Two
Color.
Or how colorful the eggs turned out.
The color of the shaving cream dyed eggs was much bolder. And the color of the whipped cream dyed eggs was a bit lighter. The marbling was also more apparent with the whipped cream dyed eggs. Since there was less swirling color on each egg, more of the white shell shone through.
I liked the results of both egg dying methods. But I did think that the whipped cream dyed eggs had a better marbling effect. In case that’s what you’re going for.
You Will Need:
Eggs (up to one dozen hardboiled eggs – cooled)
Vinegar
Whipped Cream – 1 Regular Sized Dairy Whipped Topping or Half a 13 oz Bottle
Neon Food Gels (affiliate link) – You can use regular food coloring, but the colors are not as vibrant.
Paper Straw or Bamboo Skewer
9″ x 12″ Baking Dish (affiliate link)
1. Make the hard boiled eggs. They need to be cool for egg dying, so it’s best to make them the morning of (or even the night before).
After the have cooled, soak in vinegar (if desired – see note below).
2. Place the 9″ x 12″ baking dish in the freezer about 15 minutes before using. This keeps the dish cold, which helped keep the whipped cream more solid.
If you add the whipped cream to a dish at room temperature, it will start to get very watery. Although this didn’t seem to affect the egg dying method, it did become a bit of a gooey mess. And we had to work faster than little fingers wanted to when dying the eggs.
3. Fill the cold baking dish with whipped cream. Spread the whipped cream around the dish so it’s about an inch thick.
4. Add the food coloring to the whipped cream. When adding the colors, keep mind that they will mix together during the marbling process. So, watch which colors are next to each other. For example, putting drops of pink and blue next to each other will result in purple streaks. But pink and orange can make the colors look a bit messy.
5. Using a paper straw or skewer, swirl the colors together to make a marbling effect.
6. Carefully place an egg in the mixture.
Roll it back and forth in the whipped cream until it is completely covered.
7. Place on a plate to dry for about 20 to 30 minutes. This will help the colors to adhere more.
8. Once the eggs have sat, rinse the excess whipped cream off in cold water. Pat dry. Your dyed Easter eggs are ready.
What to Do with Dyed Easter Eggs?
There are lots of things that you can do with your dyed Easter eggs. Since you are using the whipped cream egg dying method, you can safely eat these eggs. We usually place ours in the refrigerator to retain freshness. Then, we serve them at Easter morning breakfast.
Another idea is to display your dyed eggs. You can place them in a basket, use as a vase filler or place in a decorate egg holder (affiliate). They make a beautiful and natural Easter decoration.
Do I Need to Soak Them in Vinegar First?
So, I wasn’t that convinced this step was necessary at first. Soaking eggs in vinegar takes about 20 minutes. 20 minutes that I don’t really have. And could the results be that different?
After dying the eggs both ways, though, there is a huge difference in the vibrancy of the colors on the vinegar soaked eggs.
Egg shell is made of calcium. So when you soak the eggs in vinegar, a chemical reaction occurs. This helps the egg’s shell absorb the color better. The result is more vibrant Easter eggs.
This means that if you have the time, soak them in vinegar first. It’s definitely worth the time investment.
Should I Wear Disposable Gloves?
The answer to this question depends on whether you mind your hands looking like an Easter egg. The first time we made shaving cream dyed eggs was on a Good Friday. And I didn’t wear disposable gloves.
This was a decision I regretted two days later. I attended Easter mass with pink and purple stained hands.
As you can see from the photos, though, I didn’t wear gloves when making these whipped cream dyed eggs. And, yes, my hands got pretty messy. It did wash off finally a few days later.
My recommendation is to do what you’re comfortable with. If you don’t mind colorful hands, then dive in without gloves. If you would prefer to keep your hands clean, you can check out these disposable gloves (affiliate). They are actually helpful for many messy projects. So, it can be helpful to have some on hand.
Is this Egg Dying Method Good for Kids?
After trying many different egg dying methods over the years, whipped cream dyed eggs is one of my favorites to use with kids. The whipped cream is non-toxic. It is safe if little ones put it in their mouths. (Although, the food coloring might turn their tongues crazy colors.)
Making whipped cream dyed eggs is also a more tactile activity. It’s fun to roll the eggs around in the whipped cream. Although I enjoy making traditionally dyed eggs, it can be hard for little ones to balance the egg on the spoon and dip in the coloring cup.
Kids love to see the marbling effect on the eggs too. The results are really pretty and they are fun to display on the Easter table.
What is the Best Food Coloring to Use?
I have experimented with using both regular food coloring and neon food coloring gels. The regular food coloring left the eggs a very pale color. So, I don’t recommend using it.
The colors made by the neon food coloring gels (affiliate) are a lot more vibrant. The consistency of the gel seems to let the colors adhere better to the eggshell. The result was more colorful swirls.
If you want more traditional colors on your eggs, you can also check out these primary food coloring gels (affiliate). The colors that you choose don’t matter, just that you use gels.
Love this idea, but not ready to dye Easter eggs yet? Be sure to pin for later.
And if you’re looking for more Easter fun, check out our huge assortment of free Easter printables on the blog. You can find Free Printable Easter Bunny Ears to make, Easter eggs for coloring, sweet bunny tags to add to your spring teacher gifts and adorable little bunnies to top your Easter cupcakes. So much fun to celebrate this joyous season!
Happy Celebrating,
Natalie
