Tag Archives: easter

Elderflower Lemonade Cupcakes

Posted on June 3, 2017 by Ruthanne

Elderflower syrup and fresh mint leaves make these cupcakes unique. The lemonade frosting on top makes them unforgettably delicious!

Just a few weeks ago I made Elderflower Lemonade that was amazing. Seriously- you need to try it! After making many batches of it for friends and family, it occurred to me that these flavors would make such good cupcakes! I experimented a bit with the cupcakes, and topped them with my famous lemonade frosting and YUM! I really liked them. A lot!

Plus they are so fun and springtime-y! The only special ingredient you’ll need is Elderflower syrup. I got mine on Amazon and you won’t want to skip this ingredient because it is the secret deliciousness behind this recipe. Plus, once you have it you can make the lemonade- and you will not regret it!!

Here is how we made these (printable recipe here):

INGREDIENTS:

One boxed white cake mix (plus eggs and oil to make according to package)
Elderflower syrup (about 1-2 cups depending on boxed mix)
1/4 cup finely chopped mint leaves
2- 8oz. packages of Philadelphia Cream Cheese (softened to room temp.)
1 packet (0.23oz.) of Kool-Aid Lemonade
1- 7oz. container Jet-Puffed Marshmallow Creme
1/3 c. powdered sugar
8 oz. Cool Whip Topping (refrigerator temp)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350F degrees
Make cake mix according to package, but replace 1/2 of the required water with elderflower syrup (so if the mix calls for one cup of water, use 1/2 cup of water and 1/2 cup of Elderflower syrup)
Bake according to package, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
Cool on countertop.
Cream together cream cheese, lemonade and yellow food coloring until smooth.
Beat marshmallow creme and powdered sugar in and then fold in Cool Whip until completely smooth.
Place frosting in a large zip-top bag, fitted with a decorating tip, and keep in fridge until ready to frost.
Before frosting, use a toothpick to poke holes into the top of each cupcake (6-8). Use a pastry brush to generously brush the top of each cupcake with elderflower syrup, allowing it to soak into the holes.
Pipe lemonade frosting on the top of each cupcake and decorate as desired.
Keep in a loosely sealed container, refrigerated, for 2-3 days.
Enjoy!

My thoughts: These really are such a deliciously different flavor of cupcake. The mint with the lemon- and that yummy syrup… I love them! They are on my permanent list of spring cupcake options! I hope you get a chance to try them! 🙂 ~r

This lemonade frosting has been one of the biggest hits on this blog. It was originally created in 2011 for a Strawberry Lemonade Layer Cake, which is my most popular recipe- ever. This is a little sad to me since my photography in 2011 needed LOTS of improvement, and the photos are awful 🙂

I remade it (making the frosting a bit thicker) in 2012, and used it on cupcakes in 2013.

It is a go-to frosting recipe for sure. It actually tastes like lemonade, and as my friend Laura (the frosting-hater) says: “I love it- it tastes more like a creamy filling than a frosting.”

Spring recipes are SO FUN! Here’s a few more to try (click on photo to see recipe).

5 Comments

Posted in Cupcakes and tagged cupcake, cupcakes, easter, easter cupcakes, easter dessert, elderflower lemonade, elderflower recipe, elderflower syrup, frosting with Kool-aid, frosting with marshmallow, Kool-aid cupcakes, Kool-Aid dessert, lemon mint cupcakes, lemonade cupcakes, lemonade frosting, lemonade recipe, mint leaves, mothers day, mothers day cupcake, mothers day recipe, spring dessert. Bookmark the permalink.

Sunny Side Up Egg Cookies!!!

Posted on March 31, 2015 by Ruthanne

Whoever said you can’t have cookies for breakfast never tried these cookies!

A perfect April Fool’s treat!

Tomorrow is April Fool’s Day, and we all know that if you don’t catch people early, they will remember what day it is and call your bluff! That’s why these little “breakfast” cookies are the perfect trick. I served them with bacon (salty and sweet…) and toasted pound cake. They are easy to put together and they are the cutest little things in Easter baskets too!

Two holidays covered by one recipe? Perfect.

These are perfectly tasty too~ and so easy to create for yourself! Here’s how we did them (printable recipe)

INGREDIENTS: (makes 24-36 cookies, depending on the size of your cookie cutter)

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter (softened)
1 1/2 cups of granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 teaspoon of butter flavoring
3 cups of flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
3 bags of Wiltons candy melts in white
1 bag of Wilton’s candy melts in yellow
24-36 Nilla Wafers

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth.
Add eggs, vanilla and butter flavoring and mix well.
Add all dry ingredients and mix until able to knead into a firm ball of dough (add additional flour if necessary).
Roll out on a floured counter with a flour coated rolling pin to desired thickness.
Cut using an egg shaped cookie cutter.
Place cookies on ungreased cookie sheets and bake at 350F degrees for 8 to 10 minutes.
Slide baked cookies onto parchment paper to cool completely.
Melt 1/2 a bag of yellow candy melts in a small bowl in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until smooth.
Gently dip Nilla wafers into yellow candy melts, covering completely and removing with a fork by tapping on the edge of the bowl and sliding bottom along edge. Place on parchment paper to harden completely. (I placed these in the fridge to harden more quickly so they would be ready to place on the egg “whites”)
Melt white candy melts in a larger bowl, using the same technique as melting the yellow ones.
Gently dip each cooled egg cookie into the white candy melts, using the same technique as with the Nilla Wafers.

Place on parchment paper to harden, but before white egg hardens completely, place a yellow Nilla Wafer on top as a “yolk”.

Allow cookie to harden completely and serve up with bacon and toasted pound cake…and maybe coffee?
These can be placed into treat bags and put into Easter baskets too! Fun!!!

My thoughts…oh goodness, I’ve had fun with these. They aren’t hard to make, they are very realistic, and they make everyone laugh! I think they are cute in little treat bags too. Have fun- April Fool’s!!! ~r

We have lots of fun Easter treats here on Easybaked! Check them out by clicking on a photo to see the recipe!

3 Comments

Posted in Candy, Cookies, Easy recipes and tagged April Fools, April Fools dessert, best, chocolate, dessert, different, easter, easter dessert, easter egg, easter egg cookies, easter presents, egg cookies, eggs, fun, funny recipe, nilla wafers, recipe for kids, recipe that makes you laugh, spring, sugar cookies, sunny side up eggs, trick recipe, unique. Bookmark the permalink.

Tres Leches Layer Cake

Posted on May 2, 2014 by Ruthanne

This traditional sponge cake is soaked in a vanilla 3-milk sauce and layered with dulce de leche. Topped with whipped cream and fresh fruit, it is a light and refreshing dessert.

It’s nearly Cinco de Mayo time! I first tried Tres Leches cake in Mexico. I had taken a group from our church down to a tiny village in Sinaloa. We had spent the week building, painting, doing electrical work and laying cement. It was my birthday while I was there, and some of the ladies from the church made me a HUGE tres leches cake. It was DELICIOUS! When I asked for the recipe, they all looked at me funny and said- it’s tres leches cake..? (like everyone knows how to make that!!!)

Since then, I’ve tried this cake at other places in Mexico and in the states. I’ve noticed that there are two kinds: The firm, sweet and moist kind, and the dripping with milk kind. I really don’t like the dripping with milk kind…that consistency is really gross to me- and cake should never be gross!

I researched lots of recipes, and discovered that there are two varieties: a butter based sponge cake and an egg based sponge cake. The egg based one is the one I liked. It soaks up all that yummy sauce and stays firm, while the other just sits in a puddle of sauce…YUCK!

All of that said, this is an egg based recipe that I found on a lovely blog called Pati’s Mexican Table. My research paid off- this was a FABULOUS cake! Here’s the recipe: (printable version)

INGREDIENTS

Cake

9 eggs, separated
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour

Vanilla Sauce:

1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk (I used La Lechera brand)
1 (12oz) can evaporated milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Topping/filling

2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
fresh fruit for garnish
1 (13.4 oz) can of La Lechera Dulce de Leche (or make your own here)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 360F degrees and spray two 8 or 9 inch cake pans with non-stick spray. Cut a circle out of parchment paper to place in the bottom of each pan to help these cakes come out of the pan cleanly.
Divide eggs into 2 bowls. Put the egg whites into a large mixing bowl and the yolks into a medium bowl.
Beat the egg whites on medium-high until they form soft peaks. Add sugar and beat on high until they form stiff peaks (this will take 4-5 minutes, depending on your mixer).
Beat the egg yolks on high for 5 to 6 minutes until they increase in volume and turn a creamy yellow.
Beat the vanilla into the egg yolks until combined.
Add the yolks to the whites and use a spatula or large spoon to gently fold them together.
Add flour and gently mix until completely combined.
Divide batter evenly between the 2 pans and bake for 20-25 minutes. The tops should be golden and when a toothpick is inserted in the center, it should come out clean.
Cool completely, run a small knife around the edges and tip cakes over on a plate. Remove parchment paper.
Make sauce by combining the 3 milks (condensed, evaporated and cream) together with the vanilla.
Poke (lots!) of holes in the top of each cake with a fork and carefully pour sauce over the top, dividing it evenly between the 2 cakes.
Place one cake on a serving plate, spread dulce de leche caramel over the top, stack second cake on top.
Make frosting by beating together the whipping cream and powdered sugar, until stiff peaks form.
Frost cake and serve with fresh fruit. Refrigerate until serving.

My thoughts: I was so pleased with how yummy this cake was. The sponge cake is very firm and easy to work with, even when it’s soaked with sauce. You can make this in a 9×13 inch pan too- I just wanted the tall layer cake look~ and that caramel in the middle? Oh my… take a look at my pictures- it partially soaks in to that bottom layer and gives it a rich caramel flavor. I think you all are going to love this cake!! I hope you get a chance to try it!!! Enjoy!!!! ~r

Other cinco de Mayo recipe ideas:

18 Comments

Posted in Cakes and tagged baking, best, cake, caramel, cinco de mayo, dessert, dulce de leche, easter, evaporated milk, fruit, layer cake, mothers day, refreshing desserts, sponge cake, spring desserts, summer desserts, sweetened condensed milk, Tres Leches, whipped cream, whipping cream. Bookmark the permalink.

Easter Egg Cups!

Posted on April 11, 2014 by Ruthanne

These rich chocolate cookie cups are dipped in chocolate and filled with a rich cream “egg”. A perfect Easter treat!!!

Do you love Cadbury Eggs? I’m addicted. That’s why I decided that there simply must be a chocolate cookie cup filled with Cadbury-like cream. I used my favorite recipe for chocolate cut-out cookies and they baked just beautifully into firm little cups. I dipped the tops in melted chocolate and piped yummy cream filling inside. Fun and delicious!

Here’s the recipe: (printable recipe)

INGREDIENTS:

Cookie Cup:

2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 bag of Wilton’s dark chocolate candy melts.

Filling:

3/4 cup light Karo syrup
12 tablespoons of butter (softened)
2 tablespoons vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons of water (for consistency)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
Add butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla and cocoa together in large mixing bowl.
Blend on medium speed with a mixer until smooth.
Gradually add dry ingredients and mix until smooth (use clean hands at the end, to knead into a soft ball of dough)
Divide dough into 24 balls of equal size, and place each one in a muffin cup.
Press an indentation into each ball using a tart shaping tool (or the end of a wooden spoon)
Bake at 350F degrees for 8-10 minutes. Press Tart shaping tool into center again, to reshape cups.
Allow the cups to cool for about 5 minutes in pan, then run a small paring knife around edge to pop cup out of pan.
Cool completely on counter.
Melt Wilton’s candy melts in microwave in 30 second increments, stirring between until completely melted and smooth. Dip tops of cups into melted chocolate and allow them to harden completely.

Make filling by adding all of the filling ingredients together except for the water and sugar.
Beat these on high until smooth and creamy.
Add sugar and beat on high until creamy
Add water until it is a nice spreadable, but not runny, consistency.
Beat until very smooth.
Take about 1/4 out and color with yellow food color gel.
Pipe white filling into cups 1st and then add a fun yellow “yolk” on top.
Enjoy!!

My thoughts: These are so0000 yummy. If you want to save time, skip the chocolate dip on the edges. This cookie recipe is just so tasty- and so versatile. I’ve used it for so many things now. Your family will gobble these up (once you convince the kids they aren’t really eggs!) I hope you enjoy them! ~r

Other fun spring recipe ideas:

28 Comments

Posted in Cookie Cups, Cookies, Uncategorized and tagged best, cadbury eggs, candy, chocolate, chocolate cookie, Cookie, cookie cup, cream, dessert, easter, egg, filling, fun, holiday, recipe, spring, sweet, unique. Bookmark the permalink.

Jelly Bean Cookies

Posted on April 4, 2014 by Ruthanne

These cookies deliver a big Easter surprise~ jelly beans in the middle! Pretty on the outside and sweet surprises on the inside? These are a must-try Easter treat!

These really are just the cutest thing…but fair warning: I brought these to church and overheard the following conversation between an 8 year old and a 6 year old:

“There’s jelly beans in the middle!”
“And the cookie tastes like Play-Doh!!”
“I want another one!”

So…maybe this is a bigger hit with the under 12 set…?

I thought they tasted ok. The cookies are very dense and full of white chocolate, but colored like Play-Doh…I can see the connection. I really don’t like jelly beans either…so I wasn’t a very objective taste-tester. But they are super cute…

In any case, if you are up for an adventure and you have lots of kids to entertain with something new….here’s the recipe: (printable version)

INGREDIENTS: (makes about 36 cookies)

One bag of Nestle white chocolate morsels.
One can (14oz.) of sweetened condensed milk
2 teaspoons of vanilla
2 cups of flour
Food coloring gels
One bag of large jelly beans (I used Brach’s Classic Jelly Bird Eggs)
One bag of Wilton’s white chocolate candy melts
Sprinkles

DIRECTIONS:

Carefully melt Nestle morsels in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring between until completely melted and smooth.
Add sweetened condensed milk and vanilla, mixing until well combined.
Add flour and mix, eventually using clean hands to knead dough into a ball.
Divide dough into parts and knead in food color gels until you get the colors you want.
*Note* This dough is very oily, because of all that white chocolate. This is ok. Just keep a paper towel handy to wipe your hands on during this process.
Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
Take about a tablespoon of dough and roll it into a ball. Then press it flat, lay two jelly beans on it and pull dough up around the jelly beans to cover them. Pinch cracks and seams closed and then roll into a ball again to make it smooth.

Place on a cookie sheet that has been covered in parchment paper. These don’t spread, so you can place cookies very close together.
Bake at 350F degrees for 10-12 minutes.
Remove from oven and slide parchment paper (cookies and all!) off the sheet and onto a counter to cool. There will be oil from the white chocolate on the paper- this is ok.
After cookies have cooled completely, melt white candy melts in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring between until completely melted and smooth.
Lay a fresh sheet of parchment paper on the counter, and get a clean paper towel.
If needed, dab the bottom of each cookie on the paper towel to remove any excess oils. Then, dip the top of the cookie into the candy melts, set on the clean parchment paper and sprinkle with decorations before the chocolate hardens.
Enjoy!!!

My thoughts: I’m not sure what to say about these…I asked for honest opinions from the adults that tried them and they all said they loved them. Then I caught one person chucking his out the back door….so much for honesty…! If you like jelly beans (and apparently Play-Doh…) you should give these a try. They are a little time consuming, but not difficult at all. Who knows? It might be a new family Easter favorite? Or maybe just a good laugh…? Enjoy!!!! ~r

Other Easter treats I would wholeheartedly recommend:

11 Comments

Posted in Candy, Cookies and tagged bake, best, candy, colorful, Cookie, dessert, easter, easy, filled cookie, Jelly Bean, kids recipe, spring, surprise, sweet, white chocolate. Bookmark the permalink.

Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

Posted on February 28, 2014 by Ruthanne

Creamy chocolate cheesecake topped with a layer of raspberry and sour cream. Unbelievably yummy!!!

If you follow my blog on a regular basis, you will remember this cheesecake from last fall. It is my Aunt’s recipe and it is literally the best cheesecake I’ve ever eaten. It is so creamy and smooth…oh my.

I decided to add a few twists to the recipe by making it chocolate and adding raspberries to the topping. It worked beautifully and added so much flavor! It is really quite easy to make. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!!!!

Here’s the recipe (printable version):

INGREDIENTS:

Crust:

1 1/4 cups Honeymaid graham cracker crumbs
5 tablespoons butter, melted
3 tablespoons sugar

Filling:

3/4 cup sugar
3 (8 oz.) Philadelphia cream cheese bars (must be the Philadelphia brand)~ softened to room temperature.
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon lemon juice
pinch of salt
1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Topping:

1 pint (2 cups) sour cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
pinch of salt
1/3 cup of canned raspberry pie filling

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
In a medium bowl, combine crust ingredients together until well combined.
Press into a 9″ spring form pan, pressing crumbs into bottom and about 1 1/2″ up sides of pan.
For the filling, combine the sugar and softened cream cheese in a large mixing bowl and beat together until smooth.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating between each addition.
Add the vanilla, lemon juice and salt and beat until smooth and creamy.
Melt the one cup of chocolate until smooth, and add to cheesecake mixture, beating until completely incorporated.
Pour into crust.
Bake at 350F degrees for 35-45 minutes.
While cheesecake is baking, make topping by simply mixing together all of the topping ingredients.
After 35-45 minutes of baking, remove cheesecake from oven and turn oven down to 325F degrees.
Pour topping over hot cheesecake, gently spreading to edges.
Return cheesecake to oven and bake for an additional 12-15 minutes.
Remove cheesecake from oven and leave sides on pan while allowing cheesecake to cool to room temperature.
Refrigerate several hours (or overnight)
Run a small knife around the edges of the pan and remove them before serving.
Serve with extra raspberry pie filling– YUM!
Enjoy!!!!

My thoughts: You can see in my pictures that I added a cup of raspberry pie filling over the crust before I poured the cheesecake batter in. It was really yummy, but made it hard to remove the bottom of the springform pan (which I always do before pictures). If you don’t mind leaving the bottom on, this is a yummy addition to the recipe! Just gently spread it out over your graham crust and pour the cheesecake over the top.

We love raspberries here at Easybaked! Check out our other yummy raspberry recipes!

11 Comments

Posted in Cheesecakes and tagged baking, best, best dessert recipe, cheesecake, chocolate, chocolate cheesecake, chocolate chips, Cream Cheese, dessert, easter, easy cheesecake recipe, family, fancy, fruit, party, philadelphia cream cheese, pink, raspberry, raspberry pie, raspberry pie filling, raspberry sauce, recipe, sour cream topping, valentines day. Bookmark the permalink.

Easy Lemon Cut-out Cookies

Posted on March 25, 2012 by Ruthanne

These brightly colored Easter cookies have a hint of lemon and a creamy sweet filling. This cut-out recipe is REALLY easy to roll out and I used Linzer cookie cutters to make them into fun sandwich cookies.

Cookies:

INGREDIENTS:

1 c. margarine
1 c. sugar
1 egg
1 t. vanilla
1 t. lemon juice
2 T. whipping cream
3 c. flour
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. baking powder

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cream together margarine and sugar.
Add egg, vanilla and whipping cream and mix.
Add lemon juice and mix until completely combined.
Add dry ingredients and mix well.
To color the dough: I divided the dough into 3 smaller bowls and colored it using Wilton Icing Colors. I love this food coloring…it says its for icing but I use it in everything– it makes things SO bright and doesn’t change the consistency of what you add it to.
Use a little additional flour to make your dough a good rolling consistency. Using a flour-coated rolling pin, roll the dough out on a flour-coated surface.
Cut your cookies using any cookie cutters you like. I used Springtime Shapes Linzer Cookie Cutters and I just LOVE the way they turned out. Just cut solid cookies for the backs and for the tops use the tiny shapes to cut bunnies and chicks and flowers from the center of each cookie. It IS a little fussy, but worth it in the end!
However you choose to cut them, place the cookies on parchment paper- covered cookies sheets and bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes (check for a slightly browned edge).
Cool and frost.

Frosting:

INGREDIENTS:

3 c. powdered sugar
1/2 c. Crisco
1/4 c. milk
Wilton Icing Colors

DIRECTIONS:

Cream together the powdered sugar and Crisco.
Add the milk and blend until a smooth spreadable consistency. Divide frosting and color in as many colors as you want.
Frost and enjoy!

My thoughts: I love these Linzer cookie cutters. I got them last fall when I made cookies for both Halloween and Christmas and I’ve been waiting for spring to arrive so I could try this set out– they are just so much fun.

I really think you will like this dough– it rolls out beautifully even with no refrigeration ahead. If you want an easier cookie, just use traditional cookie cutters and have fun with all the bright colors! Enjoy! r-

17 Comments

Posted in Cookies and tagged baking, cookies, cut-out cookies, dessert, easter, easter dessert, kids recipe, lemon cookies, Linzer cookies, sandwich cookies, spring dessert, sugar cookies. Bookmark the permalink.

Chocolate Easter Eggs with Peanut Butter Filling!

Posted on April 14, 2011 by Ruthanne

These chocolate eggs are filled with a creamy peanut butter mixture. Fill your Easter baskets with this easy to make recipe!!!

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 c. margarine (you can use butter, but it is harder to incorporate)
1 1/2c. creamy peanut butter
2 1/2 to 3 1/2 c. powdered sugar (to desired consistency)
1 (12oz.) bag of Wilton Dark Candy Cocoa Melts or Wilton White Candy Melts

DIRECTIONS:

Combine margarine with peanut butter and add powdered sugar until mixture is thick enough to be rolled and molded by hand.
Form eggs in any size (I use an egg-shaped 1/3 cup measuring spoon, but you can shape by hand in other sizes as well)
Melt chocolate in microwave in 30 second increments, stirring well in between until smooth.
Using a fork, dip peanut butter eggs into chocolate until completely covered and slide off fork onto parchment paper. Allow chocolate to cool and harden.
Decorate as desired (drizzle with other colored chocolate, or sprinkle with spring candy…).

My thoughts: This is my second year making these eggs as a fundraiser for missions trips at my church. We have improved our technique for making these in large quantities and had a lot of fun this year. These are HUGE peanut butter eggs. I always warn people to not eat a whole one all at once! The filling is so creamy and rich. I hope you get a chance to try these out for YOUR Easter baskets! Here’s some shots of our egg-making extravaganza: