Easter Bunny Cake

I love Easter and the baking possibilities. As you will have seen, when it comes to seasonal baking I rarely have any sophistication, instead going for the cute and fun. This cake is no exception. I got the idea from the Stork website and have added my own twist with the surprise inside.

The first time I made this recipe, I then split the mixture into 4 tins and they came out very thin. I decided to use them to make the mini bunnies - I got two!

I then made the cakes again, this time doubling the recipe to get 4 decent sized layers as you can see above and below.

To add even more interest I also coloured each layer a slightly different shade of pink to create the ombre effect. 

With a cute marshmallow tail and nose, fondant eyes and chocolate ears and mouth, here you have a gorgeous Easter Bunny cake!

All of this was made for my son and his friends for their Easter craft session this morning.

If you would like a video and original recipe, click here to go to the Stork site. For the sake of having the cake recipe easily accessible, I will post it here as well. For all the extra details, it's worth heading to their site.

Easter Bunny Cake

 (Note: I doubled this recipe to get these 4 thick layers)

CAKE:

• 225 g butter, softened
• 185g caster sugar
• 4 eggs, large
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 225g self raising flour ( or 220g plain flour and 1tsp baking powder)

VANILLA FROSTING:

• 175 butter, softened
• 500g icing sugar (powdered sugar)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp cooled boiled water

* you may need more than this if filling all the layers as well.

TO DECORATE:

• 100g white chocolate
• pink sprinkles (or I used a few drops of pink colouring in a bag with some sugar and massaged the colour in and used that)
• white ready to roll icing
• pink and white marshmallows
• 10g dark chocolate, melted - for the eyes, mouth and nose
• 80g dark chocolate, melted - for the ears.

METHOD:

1. Grease and line 4 x 20cm (8 inch) sandwich tins with baking paper on the base.
2. Preheat the oven to 180 c/160 c fan/Gas mark 4.
3. Cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
4. Add in eggs, one at a time, mixing fully after each one. Add vanilla.
5. Fold in the flour.
6. Divide the mixture into 4 equal amounts - I use a large ice cream scoop to ensure even quantities.
7. Add a small amount of colour to each bowl, increasing the amount of colour each time until you achieve the desired colour.
8. Bake two cakes at a time, for 25 mins. test and leave for a couple more mins if needed. 
9. Remove from oven and turn out on to a cooling rack until cool.

For the rest of the decorating, follow the instructions (& the ear template is also available) on the Stork site.

Don't forget the tail!

Happy Easter everyone!

Easter Vanilla Cupcakes and Doughnuts

On the subject of baking up a storm, these were the other bakes I did today, preparing for the school charity bake sale. I actually rarely make cupcakes as I find it so hard to find a reliable and delicious recipes. But this time, I sought help from the home baking experts on a baking facebook page I am a member of. One member, Teresa came back with her favourite so I gave it a go....and it was DELICIOUS! The mixture was substantial, so I made a dozen cupcakes and the rest I used to make baked mini doughnuts.

Vanilla Cupcakes

Makes 2 dozen

Ingredients:

• 200g butter, softened
• 1 3/4 c caster sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla bean paste
• 2 3/4 c self raising flour
• 1 c milk
• 2 eggs

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180 deg C and line muffin tray with cases.
2. Cream butter, sugar and vanilla bean paste with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy.
3. Add the eggs one at a time, beating each one until well combined.
4. Add flour and milk in alternate batches, mixing with a wooden spoon until well combined.
5. Spoon mixture into the cases and bake for 15-20 minutes or until cooked through.
6. Remove from oven and set aside to cool completely.
7. Decorate with buttercream and Easter themes marshmallows and sprinkles.

Note: this will make 2 dozen cupcakes, or you can make 1 dozen and use the rest to make the doughnuts below.

Vanilla Doughnuts

Using the same recipe as above, put the mixture into a large piping bag and snip off the end. Pipe the mixture into a doughnut pan that has been greased with cake release spray. This is important or they will stick.

Bake in the oven for about 12-15 minutes, but do check them after 10 mins.

Once cooled, remove from the pan and dip into a basic glaze to coat. Add sprinkles and decorations.

Glaze:
Add sifted icing sugar to a bowl (approx 2 cups), pour in about a tablespoon of water to start with. Stir to combine, adding more water as necessary to produce a fairly runny glaze. If it is too thick the doughnuts will fall apart while you dip them.
Dip the rounded side of the doughnut into the glaze to coat. Decorate.

Creme Egg Bundt Cake

I baked up a storm in the kitchen today, making goodies to sell at the Year 6 Bake Sale tomorrow. We do one annually to raise money for charity and as I organise it, it's only fair that I contribute. This year I was tossing up what to make, but in the end I went for an Easter theme. You can see the other Easter bakes here.

Last year I made this same cake, it's my 'go to' chocolate bundt cake; my absolute favourite! This year I made the icing white (yellow last year and I just couldn't get past the brown/yellow combo which I have always disliked!) and it is soooo much nicer. A simple icing sugar/water glaze, a few chopped Cadbury's Creme Eggs on top and away we go!

I won't write out the whole recipe again, but if you want it, you can find the cake recipe here.

I let it cool in the tin for about 20 mins before inverting onto a rack and allowing to cool. Once cool, I sliced the uneven top off to give a flat bottom.

I didn't measure the icing, I simple sifted an amount of icing sugar, added some water, slowly so it doesn't get too runny and then poured it over the top. I used 3 large creme eggs, cut in half, and dotted a few of the smaller ones in between. It was really so simple.

I love the filling oozing out......

This cake keeps fresh in an airtight container for at least a week (if it lasts that long!)

Notes:

• I always use a cake release spray when using bundt tins, and the cakes come out perfectly, ever single time.
• When cutting the creme eggs, don't worry if they are uneven, broken and oozing filling, it all adds to the charm.

Happy Easter!

Easter Bunny Bark

I love Easter baking, perhaps even more than Christmas. Last year I made a white chocolate bark, but I wanted to try dark chocolate this year. My first attempt, with 70% chocolate didn't really work. It was my first attempt at tempering chocolate and I think I melted it too fast and it bloomed. This is where the cocoa butter separates and has a 'white' appearance. In addition, I think the chocolate was just too dark for children to eat. So, this time I went back to my favourite baking chocolate, it's Sainsburys Belgium Dark Cooking Chocolate. It's so nice to work with, and appeals to all tastes when eating.

I have been collecting all the Easter chocs; Cadbury's mini eggs, Smarties mini eggs, Sainsbury's micro mini eggs, Cadbury's Hoppy Bunny bar, Maltesers Bunnies and the Wilton Easter sprinkles, ready for this project. It's sooo tempting to sneak a few!

It's pretty simple to make bark. You melt the chocolate, slowly, trust me, pour it onto a tray lined with parchment paper, add the decorations and then refrigerate to set. After it had hardened, break it up and package it into bags to give as gifts.

If you would like to temper the chocolate to give it that 'crack' as you break it, the BBC Good Food guide to tempering chocolate is really good.

Good luck and happy 'barking'!