Easter Is Coming – Are You Ready?

Easter is this Sunday!! Are you ready? If not, I hope I can help by sharing this easy and yummy Overnight French Toast breakfast/brunch recipe, and a fun and festive Easter Basket Cupcake dessert idea – to help you plan your Easter menu and celebrate the holiday.

~Enjoy~

For Easter Breakfast/Brunch:

Overnight French Toast

Overnight French Toast

1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) butter, melted
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
10 slices of thick-cut french bread
8 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup pecans, measured then chopped
maple syrup and/or powdered sugar for topping (optional)

Directions:
In a small bowl, combine melted butter and brown sugar. Pour on the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish.

Arrange slices of bread in the baking dish, overlapping if necessary.

Combine eggs, milk, vanilla extract, cinnamon, ginger, and salt in a bowl and pour evenly over bread slices.

Sprinkle chopped pecans over bread slices.

Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 4-12 hours. (preferably overnight)

In the morning, take the baking dish out of the refrigerator and let sit on the counter for at least 10 minutes – while you preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Bake for 30-35 minutes. If the top starts browning too quickly, place a piece of aluminum foil loosely over the top of the pan for the last 10 minutes or so. You want it to cook long enough to make sure the bottom part is cooked, but don’t dry it out completely.

Remove from oven and let cool slightly before serving. Serve with maple syrup and/or powdered sugar, if desired.

For Dessert:

Easter Basket Cupcakes

Easter Basket Cupcakes

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup milk
18 flat-bottomed ice cream cones

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stand 18 ice cream cones up in a 13 x 9 inch pan.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat until fully incorporated. Stir in lemon juice. Alternately beat in the milk and flour mixture until well combined.

Spoon the batter into the ice cream cones. Bake for approximately 15 to 20 minutes, or until the cupcakes are deep golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.

Remove to a wire rack to cool. When cupcakes have cooled, cut off the cylindrical lower half of the ice cream cone.

Frost with Buttercream Frosting and decorate with Coconut Easter Grass and Jelly Beans.

Makes 18 cupcakes



Buttercream Frosting

1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk
3-4 drops green food coloring

Directions:
Cream butter with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually add powdered sugar; mix until completely combined. Add milk and beat until well combined. If necessary, add more milk to thin or more powdered sugar to thicken frosting to desired texture.

Coconut Easter Grass

2 cups sweetened, shredded coconut
Green food coloring

Directions:
Place coconut in a zip-top plastic bag. Add 4 to 5 drops of food coloring. Seal bag shut. Shake and massage the bag to coat all the pieces of coconut with coloring. Add additional food coloring if the color is not dark enough.

Coconut Easter Grass

Easter Basket Cupcakes

Easter Basket Cupcakes

Is anyone as surprised as I am that Easter is this weekend? I didn’t realize the holiday was right around the corner, until I looked at the calendar earlier this week and, there it was.

I’m so glad I had the good fortune to look at the calendar, because I really wanted to make these cute little Easter Basket Cupcakes for Easter this year, and if I hadn’t seen that the holiday was fast approaching, it would have come and gone and I would have missed my chance.

I had so much fun making these cupcakes – from hunting in the grocery store for tiny jelly beans to place on top, to coloring the coconut to look like grass. I even found some cute colored ice cream cones at the grocery store, which I think make the perfect base for these cupcakes.

The next time I make these though, I’ll try to figure out a way to make an edible handle for the baskets. Any ideas?

Have a very happy Easter Sunday everyone!!

~Enjoy~




Easter Basket Cupcakes

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 large eggs
1 cup milk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stand 18 ice cream cones up in a 13 x 9 inch pan.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat until fully incorporated. Stir in lemon juice. Alternately beat in the milk and flour mixture until well combined.

Spoon the batter into the ice cream cones. Bake for approximately 15 to 20 minutes, or until the cupcakes are deep golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.

Remove to a wire rack to cool. When cupcakes have cooled, cut off the cylindrical lower half of the ice cream cone.

Frost with Buttercream Frosting and decorate with Coconut Easter Grass and Jelly Beans.

Makes 18 cupcakes



Buttercream Frosting

1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk
3-4 drops green food coloring

Directions:
Cream butter with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually add powdered sugar; mix until completely combined. Add milk and beat until well combined. If necessary, add more milk to thin or more powdered sugar to thicken frosting to desired texture.

Coconut Easter Grass

2 cups sweetened, shredded coconut
Green food coloring

Directions:
Place coconut in a zip-top plastic bag. Add 4 to 5 drops of food coloring. Seal bag shut. Shake and massage the bag to coat all the pieces of coconut with coloring. Add additional food coloring if the color is not dark enough.

Coconut Easter Grass

Irish Cream Cupcakes with Irish Cream Buttercream Frosting

Irish Cream Cupcakes with Irish Cream Buttercream Frosting

I mentioned in my last blog post that I would be baking a couple of treats this week using the Homemade Irish Cream that I made, and these cupcakes just happen to be one of those treats that I mentioned.

Don’t they look cute all dressed up for St. Patrick’s Day? I used the Homemade Irish Cream liqueur in the cupcake batter and in the buttercream frosting, and they turned out wonderfully tasty.

What better way to enjoy St. Patrick’s Day than with a cupcake in one hand, and a glass of Irish Cream in the other. Yum!

~Enjoy~




Irish Cream Cupcakes

4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups Irish Cream
2/3 cup water
2 tablespoons milk
2/3 cup butter, room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour cupcake tins or line with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

In another medium bowl or measuring cup, combine Irish Cream, water and milk; mix well.

In large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla extract; beat well. Alternately add the flour mixture and Irish Cream mixture to the butter mixture. Beat for approximately 2 minutes.

Spoon batter into cupcake tins, filling cups about 2/3 full. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until tops spring back when lightly touched. Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool.

Frost cooled cupcakes with Irish Cream Buttercream Frosting; if desired. (recipe below)

Makes approximately 30 cupcakes.



Irish Cream Buttercream Frosting

1 cup butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons Irish Cream
3-4 drops green food coloring
decorative sprinkles

Directions:
Cream butter with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually add powdered sugar; mix until completely combined. Add Irish Cream and food coloring; beat until well combined. If necessary, add more Irish Cream to thin or more powdered sugar to thicken frosting to desired texture.

Frost cooled cupcakes and sprinkle with decorative sprinkles.

White Velvet Coconut Cupcakes

White Velvet Coconut Cupcakes

I really enjoy perusing display cases in bakeries and coffee shops, because it often leads to being a source of inspiration for some of the things I bake.

The last time I was in a coffee shop, I noticed that they had a white velvet coconut cupcake in the display case. The flavor combination sounded really yummy, but instead of purchasing one from the shop, I decided to try making my own at home.

The cake portion of this white velvet cupcake is really light, thanks in part to the beaten egg whites that are folded into the batter. I did contemplate adding some shredded coconut into the cupcake batter, but then I thought that might take away from the smooth, velvety texture that I thought the cake should have – so I opted to add coconut flavoring to the batter instead.

And what’s there to say about the frosting… In my opinion, nothing tops a cupcake better than a rich, thick buttercream frosting, and this one turned out especially rich & thick. I also chose to garnish the cupcakes with some toasted coconut, and I think that really helped add that little bit of texture I was looking for.

~Enjoy~




White Velvet Coconut Cupcakes

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt, plus a pinch for the egg whites
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon coconut flavoring
3 egg whites

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour cupcake tins or line with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Alternately add flour mixture and milk, ending with milk, and beat until batter is smooth. Stir in coconut flavoring.

Beat egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff. Gently fold into batter.

Spoon batter into cupcake tins, filling cups about 2/3 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool.

Frost cooled cupcakes with Coconut Buttercream Frosting (recipe below) and garnish with toasted coconut; if desired.

Makes approximately 12 cupcakes.



Coconut Buttercream Frosting

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon coconut flavoring

Directions:
In a large bowl, cream butter until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar and beat well. Add milk and mix until well combined. Stir in coconut flavoring. Frost cooled cupcakes.

Hot Chocolate Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting

Hot Chocolate Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting

The temperature has finally warmed up to above zero degrees, but it’s still quite chilly outside – about 8 degrees right now, and it’s only supposed to warm up to 10 degrees. I’m glad I have nowhere to go today, so I think I’ll just stay inside, light a fire in the fireplace, and settle down on the couch with a good book.

Before I settle in on the couch, I might just grab another cup of coffee and one of these Hot Chocolate Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting. I don’t think it’s too early to have a cupcake, do you?

These cupcakes are really good, and although they have a really rich and dark chocolate appearance, they are actually quite light and airy. The marshmallow frosting is something I came up with by trial and error. I had found many recipes online for marshmallow frosting, but most of the recipes called for marshmallow creme, which I didn’t have. I had actual mini-marshmallows that I wanted to use for the frosting.

I tried one recipe that I found online, which called for heating marshmallows and milk on the stove, and then mixing it with butter and vanilla. I thought I had followed the recipe exactly, but maybe I did something wrong, because the end result in no way resembled frosting.

I thought about it for awhile, and finally decided to try heating marshmallows and butter in the microwave for a few seconds, similar to the way you would melt baking chips when making a glaze or frosting, and then combining the mixture with powdered sugar and vanilla. I also added a little water, to help make the frosting of spreading consistency -so it wasn’t too thick for the delicate cupcakes. The result was exactly what I was looking for. The frosting is really delicious, and it set up beautifully on the cupcakes.

~Enjoy~




Hot Chocolate Cupcakes

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground Saigon cinnamon (or regular ground cinnamon)
2 large eggs
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup milk
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners; set aside.

In a large bowl, sift together cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add eggs, water, milk, oil, and vanilla extract. Mix with a hand mixer until smooth. (Note: batter will not be thick, it will have a watery consistency – this is normal)

Fill each muffin tin 2/3 full. Bake for 20 minutes, or until tops spring back when touched and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove from oven and cool in pan for ten minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Frost with marshmallow frosting, if desired.

Makes approximately 16 cupcakes.

Marshmallow Frosting

1 cup mini-marshmallows
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 tablespoons water

Place marshmallows and butter in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high power for 20 seconds. Stir until combined. Add powdered sugar, vanilla extract and water. Beat with an electric mixer until frosting becomes thick and of spreading consistency. Frost cooled cupcakes.

Hot Chocolate Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting