Years ago I spotted the most adorable cascarones in a small shop in San Antonio. I had never seen any before, and I was mesmerized by those little confetti-filled eggs decorated in bright colors. Since then, I’ve seen quite a few tutorials on how to make cascarones, even ones intricately decorated as freshly picked strawberries or tiny pineapples. But when I think of authentic Mexican cascarones, I still think of that little basket in the gift shop years ago. Simple, dyed in brilliant bright colors and topped with little torn pieces of colored tissue paper, as if lovingly created by children on the eve of a festive occasion. Those are the ones I’ll be making in this tutorial, along with my very eager 5-year-old assistant.
Cascarones are also known as Mexican Easter eggs. They originated in South America but are also popular in Texas, California, and New Mexico. Traditionally, children decorate egg shells, fill them with confetti, and use them to celebrate weddings, parties, and other special events. How? By cracking them over the head of someone you love!
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supplies needed:
step 1 – empty the egg
If you use white eggs and want to dye them, do this before emptying them. I decided to keep my eggs natural. I bought them from a local farmer and Mother Nature colored them more beautifully that I ever could.
I began by tapping one end of the egg with a spoon, creating a small crack. Using my fingers, I enlarged the opening. Then I gently shook out the contents. (And yes, we will have breakfast for dinner tonight!)
Next, I washed the eggs out and let dry. This was the most difficult part for my assistant. He wanted to fill them right away. (He’s five, remember.) It is important to let the insides dry thoroughly or else the confetti will get “gooky.”
step 2- decorate & fill the egg
Liam was more interested in filling the egg, so he skipped the decorating part. However, personalizing them with craft paint or felt tip markers can be great fun for kids. They can also make their own confetti with hole punchers and construction paper. I made a practical choice to just use contents of the paper shredder in my husband’s office.
step 3 – seal the egg
Liam and I used playful paper napkins to cover the ends of our cascarones. We cut (and sometimes tore) little irregular pieces from the napkins.
Once the eggs were filled, we used Elmer’s glue to stick the napkin pieces over the openings. Let dry.
step 4 – celebrate
Finally, time for our celebration. And what’s our occasion? Why, cracking eggs over Pop’s head, of course.
Going in the for kill…
The biggest compliment is a little share – pin the photo below!
