Step by step: coloured Easter eggs

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Coloured eggs are older than Easter – in Ancient Egypt and Persia, they were exchanged to mark the spring equinox. Eggs were later adopted by Christianity as a symbol of Jesus Christ’s resurrection, and came to form part of the traditions of Easter Sunday. Follow this recipe to make our cover eggs:

You will need
Hard-boiled or fresh eggs; food colouring; white vinegar; measuring spoons and cup; bowl; spoon; paper towels; round stickers (from newsagents); painters’ removable tape, cut into thin strips (from hardware stores).

Step 1.
Using round stickers and strips of tape, arrange spots and stripes on your eggs. Smooth out any air bubbles in the stickers with a butter knife or burnishing tool (from craft stores), to prevent dye bleeding through.

Step 2.
Fill a bowl with 3 cups hot water, 2 tbs vinegar, 3 capfuls blue food colouring and 1 capful red food colouring. Mix to combine, then dip eggs in, carefully removing with a spoon when they reach desired colour.

Step 3.
Leave eggs to dry on paper towels then remove stickers.

Hint: You can either hard-boil eggs before you dye them, or blow them after dyeing. To reduce the chances of your eggs cracking when hard-boiling, use very fresh eggs and make sure they are at room temperature. Cook in a small saucepan so eggs move around less, and remember they should simmer rather than boil.

To blow eggs, use a long needle to make a small hole at each end of egg. Place your mouth on one end and blow the contents into a bowl. Rinse egg out with water and a little vinegar then allow to dry on paper towels.

Dyeing eggs naturally
If you don’t want to use food colourings to dye eggs for Easter, traditional recipes from the Victorian era provide a guide to natural dyeing. If you have the time and inclination, use the following spices, fruit and vegetables to create wonderful, rich tones: beetroot or frozen raspberries for a soft, pale red; spinach leaves for a gentle green; blueberries or red cabbage leaves for blue; turmeric for a deep yellow and strong, brewed coffee for golden brown.

To dye eggs, place a single layer of fresh eggs in a saucepan. Cover with water, add a teaspoon of vinegar and then the ingredient for your chosen colour (the more you add, the deeper the colour). Bring to the boil then simmer for 15 minutes. Remove eggs to cool or, for a brighter finish, leave in the dye and refrigerate overnight.

Cover photography: Scott Hawkins. Styling: Aimee Jones & Jada Bennett. Egg production & styling: Angela Haughton. Egg step shot photography: Sam McAdam.