Let The Egg Hunt Begin!

I think of the garden after the rain; And hope to my heart comes singing,

"At morn the cherry-blooms will be white, And the Easter bells be ringing!"

~Edna Dean Proctor.....Easter Bells.

This is just a fun baking idea for a family afffair in the kitchen! Plan a Saturday afternoon before Easter Sunday to create  these darling cupcakes that the entire family will enjoy! Come on Dad.....you too!

Sweetened shredded coconut

Green food coloring

Egg-shaped candies

Colored licorice whips

Wooden skewers

Once your cupcakes have cooled, place them into paper cupcake liners.Prepare the icing and transfer it to a zip-top bag. An easy way to do this is to line a drinking glass with the bag (like you would a trash can), then use a rubber spatula to transfer the icing from the bowl into the bag, dragging the spatula against the bag-covered side of the cup as you go. Zip the bag shut and press the icing down into one corner.
Place 1 cup of shredded coconut into a bowl, then add a few drops of green food coloring. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap, then shake to mix the food coloring into the coconut. Keep your hands firmly on the sides of the bowl. Add more food coloring if needed until your coconut is grassy green. Snip the corner off the bag of icing, and pipe a thin but substantial amount of icing on the top of the cupcake. Press a mound of coconut onto the icing, then add a bit more icing, and top with egg-shaped candies. Using a large wooden skewer, poke two holes into the top of each cupcake, on opposite sides of each other. Insert the ends of a licorice whip into each of the holes. Trim first as necessary. The licorice will "stand" better if it has been exposed to the air for awhile.

Estelle's Easter Cupcakes

1 3/4 cup cake flour

1 1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into cubes

4 large eggs

1 cup whole milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside. Combine in a bowl both flours, sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix on low speed until combined for about 3 minutes. Add in cubed butter, mixing until just coated with flour. Add eggs 1 at a time until combined. Slowly add milk and vanilla to batter until completely mixed scraping down the bowl as you mix. Scoop batter into baking cups filling about 2/3 full. Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 17 to 20 minutes.  Cool and decorate!

Old Fashioned Frosting

2 sticks butter, room temperature

8 cups confectioners’ sugar

(can use a little less according to taste)

1/2 cup milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract or Almond extract

Cream softened butter and add 4 cups sugar, milk and vanilla. Beat with paddle attachment until smooth gradually add the rest of sugar to reach frosting consistency!