Easter Goodies
I love to bake. I love it even more now that I get to bake with the kids and luckily they love it too!
You will often find us measuring, mixing and pouring in the kitchen and holidays are a perfect excuse to make homemade delicious treats. I’m always on the lookout for new recipes that are simple to make with children.
One of my favourite websites for my baking recipes is www.joyofbaking.com. I happen to have tried many of the wonderful recipes that can be found on the site.
Our special easter treat happens to be plucked right from their pages, where I’ve mixed and matched some of their recipes and ideas.
First I have chosen our go-to cupcake recipe. These cupcakes can be prepped and baked in less than an hour so are perfect to whip up anytime!
Chocolate Banana Cupcakes:
1 cup granulated white sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (regular or Dutch-processed)
3/4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1/2 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 1 medium sized banana)
1/2 cup warm water
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup canola, corn, or vegetable oil
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 350.
Whisk the dry ingredients together. Mix the wet ingredients separately. Then add the wet to the dry and stir.
Pour into 12 lined muffin tins and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
My kids love the decorating part. Once the cupcakes are completely cooled we get down to business.
First we frost the cupcakes with buttercream frosting. If you’re in a pinch you can always use the store bought kind, but buttercream is actually quite easy to make yourself.
Buttercream Icing:
½ cup of vegetable shortening
2 cups of icing sugar
½ teaspoon of vanilla (preferably clear as it leaves your icing white)
2 tablespoons of milk or water
Beat the vegetable shortening with an electric mixer.
Beat in the vanilla.
Slowly mix in the icing sugar a little bit at a time, alternating with the milk/water until it reaches a nice light fluffy consistency.
Once we have frosted our cupcakes we toss some shredded coconut with green food colouring and sprinkle some on top of the iced cupcake.
We then place 2 or 3 mini eggs on top.
If we have a little extra time on our hands we might even cut a pipecleaner, bend it and attach it to the cupcake to make it look like a basket handle.
Our Easter basket cupcakes are ready to serve and enjoy!
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* Place the mini eggs on the cupcake right before serving so they retain their crunch.
