Spring is almost here, and with it the colourful celebrations of Easter, where chicks and bunnies seem to dominate dessert line-ups and décor.  However, if you really want to ‘wow’ your Easter dinner guests this year, something equally cute but slightly different may be required – like an adorable fluffy lamb cake!

This culinary creation looks like a lot of excessive work, but in actual fact is relatively simple and oh-so fun to craft! Just make sure you purchase a lamb shaped cake pan ahead of time (available at your local baking store) and there is very little that can stand between you and a prized Easter treat!

Courtesy of elizastan

The Things You’ll Need:

2 ¼ cups of all-purpose flour

1 ½ cups white sugar

4 egg whites

1 cup of milk

2 ½ tsp baking powder

½ cup melted butter

1 tsp vanilla extract (pure)

The Things You’ll Need to Do:

1. Before you forget, prep your cake pan. Coat it in vegetable oil, then wipe with a paper towel and grease/flour appropriately. (Make sure to get every nook-and-cranny so that you can make a perfect little lamb.)
2. Sift the flour to remove all bothersome lumps.
3. Cream together butter and sugar, then slowly add in flour, milk, and vanilla, continually creaming until mixture is soft and smooth.
4. In a separate bowl, beat together egg whites until firm peaks rise. Then fold the egg whites into the mixture a third at a time.
5. Fill the two halves of lamb tin with the now completed mixture. Gently run a wooden spoon through each half to relieve any lingering air pockets.
6. Bake at 375 F for about an hour. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
7. Remove cake halves from pan, ice one side of each and firmly stick together to create your very own 3D lamb cake.

Courtesy of Svadilfari

Decorating Tips:

In all honesty you can decorate your little lamb anyway you’d like, but I am personally a fan of smothering the entire cake surface in plain white butter-cream icing. Then add a semi-thick layer of white coconut curls (these look the most like a wooly coat.) Of course, coconut is an acquired taste, so an effective alternative to get the wool-like look is to use a fork and create concentric swirls in the white icing. Use black jelly-beans for the eyes, and a pink jelly-bean for the nose, then pipe on some extra dark icing for the whiskers.

And there you have it – you’re finished! The only challenge remaining is to see whether or not your can bring yourself to eat such an adorable cake. Baa ha ha!

With Easter just around the corner, you don’t need the holiday to use jellybeans as an ingredient or decoration for your sweet treat creations. Keep in mind that kids aren’t the only ones that get a kick out of these colorfully sweet confections. From experimenting with the exotic flavors of Jelly Bellys to focusing on one flavor (like hot cinnamon) – there are plenty of ways to add a little pizzazz to your desserts, including the ones listed below:

Jellybean Rice Krispy Treats

These iconic chewy cereal bars usually contain Rice Krispies, but any crispy rice cereal will do. In a large microwave bowl, combine three tablespoons of butter and one 1-ounce package of marshmallows. Cook on high power for 3 minutes – stirring halfway during cooking time. Stir the mixture until smooth, and then add 5 cups of crispy rice cereal and 1-½ cups of assorted jellybeans. Stir until coated. Press the mixture into a buttered 13×9 pan. Cut into squares.

Biscotti with Jellybeans

Using jellybeans in a biscotti recipe isn’t something you see all the time, but some people will add the chewy sweets to their usual ingredient list. When your biscotti dough is very soft and sticky, add in a 13-ounce bag of assorted jellybeans.

Jellybean Cake

While some people choose to top their frosting with jellybeans to make a decorative exterior for their favorite cake recipes, others will insert jellybeans into the batter of their cake, which adds a chewy, sweet surprise in each slice. Browse the Internet for recipes, which include Jellybean Confetti Cake and Easter Angel Cake.

Sugary Nests for Jellybeans

Want to spice up the presentation of Easter jellybeans? Combine the crunchiness of Chinese noodles with melted marshmallows to create an attractive nest for your sweets. All you need is 2 cups of miniature marshmallows, ¼ cup of butter, and 4 cups of chow mein noodles. Melt the butter and marshmallows together in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir the mixture until everything has melted. Add in the chow mein noodles and stir well to coat with the buttery marshmallows. Grease your fingers and press the mixture into the bottom and sides of a prepared 12-cup muffin tin. Refrigerate until firm.

Jellybeans for Decoration

Using jellybeans as a decoration is a popular Easter dessert technique for cupcakes. Use the shape of the jellybeans to create the ears and nose of a sweet rabbit face, while using licorice for the whiskers. For a Halloween treat, black jellybeans come in handy for creating the body for ghoulish spiders on top of cakes and cupcakes.

INGREDIENTS

1 roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated sugar cookies
1 cup fluffy white frosting (from 16 oz container)
Yellow gel food color
18 semisweet chocolate chips, cut in half
Yellow candy-coated licorice
Orange candy slices

DIRECTIONS

1.Heat oven to 350° F. Cut dough into 1/2-inch slices. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

2.Bake 10 to 12 minutes or unitl edges are light golden brown. Cool 2 minutes; remove to cooling rack. Cool completely.

3.In medium bowl, stir frosting and 2 to 3 drops gel food color until well blended. Frost cookies.

4.Decorate cookies using chocolate chip halves for eyes, yellow candy-coated licorice for feathers and pieces of orange candy slices for beak and feet.

photo and recipe courtesy of Pillsbury.com

photo courtesy of Pillsbury.com

INGREDIENTS

Cupcakes
1 box (1 lb 2.25 oz) yellow or devil’s food cake mix with pudding
Water, vegetable oil and eggs called for on cake mix box

Frosting and Decorations
2 1/2 cups shredded coconut
Yellow liquid food color
1 container (1 lb) vanilla frosting
48 brown miniature candy-coated chocolate baking bits
24 small orange gumdrops

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Place paper baking cup in each of 24 regular-size muffin cups. Make cake mix as directed on box, using water, oil and eggs. Divide batter among muffin cups. Bake 17 to 22 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes; remove from pans to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

2. Place coconut in resealable food-storage plastic bag. Add about 8 drops yellow liquid food color; seal bag and shake to mix. Frost cupcakes with white frosting. Top with yellow coconut. For eyes, add brown baking bits. Cut orange gumdrops to resemble beaks; place on cupcakes.

Recipe courtesy of Pillsbury.com

Whether you’re celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with traditional Irish sweet treats or want to add international pizzazz to family get-togethers, consider sampling the following desserts from Ireland. You’ll be surprised what you can accomplish with a bit of Guinness, whiskey or leftover potatoes.

Carrigaline Whiskey Pie

When preparing Carrigaline whiskey pie (also known as Sweet Whiskey and Potato Souffle), you’re well on your way to creating an appetizing dessert soufflé that incorporates beaten eggs, whipped egg whites, and the typical sweetener. However, be prepared for the mashed potatoes and other extras that add to the overall taste of the pie. From pounded almond to orange juice, variations make sure the aroma and flavor of the pie captures the addition of whiskey.

A sample ingredient list for Whiskey Pie includes: ½ pound of boiled potatoes, ¼ pound of melted butter, ¾ pound of sugar, six eggs, pounded almonds, one tablespoon of orange extract, and four ounces of Irish whiskey. When baking all the ingredients together, the soufflé will fall to give the appearance of a pie. In the end, you are left with a solid, rich dessert with an unforgettable fragrance wafting in the air.

When serving the pie, you may use unsweetened whipped cream or double cream with a hint of grinded nutmeg as a topping.

Chocolate Potato Cake

In case you’re wondering how potatoes found their way into the recipes of Irish desserts, the freshly mashed variety was discovered to create tender breads and cakes. Another rich dessert that uses potatoes as one of the ingredients is Chocolate Potato Cake. Moist to the touch, the cake fills the kitchen with the same scent as brownies baking in the oven. Some of the ingredients found in a typical Chocolate Potato Cake recipe include grated chocolate, superfine sugar, ground almonds, cinnamon, milk, and cold cooked potatoes. For this recipe, it’s best to use a tube pan (like a Bundt) or a springform cake pan.

Donegal Oatmeal Cream

This particular dessert takes advantage of oats – a popular homegrown grain in Ireland. When making Donegal Oatmeal Cream, do not use rolled oats, as recipes call for cracked whole oat grain or groat (also known as pinhead oats, cracked oats or porage oats). When local grocery stores do not carry the oats you seek, pay a visit to the nearest health food store. Donegal Oatmeal Cream is certainly the perfect challenge for someone that doesn’t mind a bit of extra legwork. You won’t be disappointed, as the combination of oatmeal cream, whipped cream, and tart fruit makes an irresistible treat.

Irish Whiskey Cake

Follow in the footsteps of traditional Irish weddings by serving an Irish Whiskey Cake, which produces a rich, moist dessert – glazed with a sumptuous Irish whiskey icing (or sauce) – a real treat for the 21 and over crowd. After making the cake, the dessert is topped with a glaze consisting of one stick of butter, ¼ cup of water, 1 ½ cups granulated sugar, and one cup of Irish Whiskey.

Other Irish desserts to consider include:

• Guinness Cake – with raisins soaked in Guinness.
• “Irish Coffee” Pudding – containing Irish whiskey
• Tipsy Cake – made with warm custard and sherry

Courtesy of cherrylet

The giving and receiving of flowers is a time honoured tradition cultivated from a rich history. Be it a single delicate stem or an entire bouquet, the practice of giving flowers has been used to express love, attraction, condolences, and celebration.

But what about those who suffer from allergies? Or perhaps those who are against the idea of flower giving altogether, because the beautiful blossoms inevitable wither away into nothing? Well, look no further, Edible Arrangements (R) are officially in your midst!

Although these edible arrangements also do not last forever, they do offer some sweet rewards. Fashioned out of an array of colourful fruit, and shaped like daisies, stars and tulips, a bouquet of the edible variety is a refreshing way to liven up any event (and guaranteed to make your bouquet stand out from the rest.)

If fruit isn’t really your ideal taste sensation, there are always the highly regarded chocolate alternatives. Check out the lavish “The Sweet Garden” for all your chocolate flower hopes and dreams.

Courtesy of Oh Nuts

White lilies, peach kissed daisies, ravishing red roses, tulips, daffodils, Black Eyed Susan’s, you name it, they have it in a scrumptious chocolaty form, prettily wrapped and ready to be shipped.

You can also make your own chocolate arrangement. Simply buy some Mint Meltaways (R), a medium Styrofoam ball, a fancy glass and a box of pins. Push a pin through the top of the Mint Meltaway (R) wrapper, then stick into the Styrofoam ball. Repeat until the entire ball is covered, place in the glass so that it is free-standing, and voila! You’re very own inexpensive, yet oh-so good, chocolate edible arrangement. What could be easier? What could be better?

With teaspoon in hand or a pile of cubes, plain white sugar is the most common method of sweetening tea. However, a wide selection of sweeteners is awaiting the chance to help you discover the many facets of drinking your preferred beverage. For example, often overlooked as a way to sweeten tea, brown sugar offers a deeper, richer flavor than its refined sugar cousin. You never know when you’re going to find a new favorite combination. A few ideas for sweetening your next cup of tea include:

1) Rock Sugar

Rock sugar is a rather decorative (and oftentimes colorful) form of sweetening your tea, making it the perfect addition to a tea party amongst friends. Rock sugar crystals are molded into rectangular prisms or attached to a stirring stick that dissolves in your hot cup of tea.

2) Indian Jaggery

For an exotic take on sweetening your tea, jaggery is unrefined sugarcane sugar often used to enhance the flavor of savory and sweet dishes all over India. With no preservatives and chemicals added to the sugar, prepare for a distinctive, earthy taste.

3) Maple Sugar

Treat your taste buds to a different take on tea by adding maple syrup as a sweetener. While processed sap is just as sweet as sugar, it actually contains more minerals and fewer calories than honey. Use Grade-B maple syrup for a highly flavorful treat.

4) Agave Syrup or Nectar

An increasing number of people are discovering the deliciousness of agave nectar – a natural sweetener that comes from the agave cactus. For centuries, people in South America and Mexico have used agave, which offers 50% more sweetness than regular sugar. Choose agave nectar for stronger teas to enjoy a taste that resembles a blend of honey and molasses.

5) Stevia

Sometimes, you must choose your tea sweetener to fit your health limitations. For example, most diabetics are stuck with the chemical aftertaste of artificial sweeteners. However, the leaves of the stevia plant produce a natural sweetener that doesn’t affect blood sugar levels. Scan your local market for options, such as Truvia.

6) Honey

With a variety of types and qualities, honey offers a versatile option in sweetening tea. Usually, clover honey is seen as the most popular choice because it possesses a somewhat neutral flavor. Other selections, such as tupelo honey with its buttery taste, offer flavor variations. The added benefit of using honey to sweeten your tea is that it contains healthy components, such as antibacterial properties. Many tea retailers also sell honey sticks for a less messy experience.

7) Simple Syrups

Also known as “sugar syrups,” solutions of sugar are boiled in water and often flavored with herbs or fruit (such as cranberries or ginger) during the cooking process.

photo courtesy of purrfectly_kittenish

There is very little present in the foodie world more adorable than the sassy cupcake, unless of course you consider the sassy mini-cupcake. And while it is typically frowned upon for a person to devour a entire tray of neatly decorated regular cupcakes, the same cannot be said for the miniaturized version. In fact due to its bite-sized nature, people are often encouraged to eat more mini-cupcakes at an event without judgment or hassle, perhaps making mini-cupcakes one of the greatest culinary innovations of all time.

Although significantly smaller, mini-cupcakes retain an enormous amount of creative potential. You can dress up a mini-cupcake for any occasion, and they are especially well suited for children’s parties, as they are pretty enough to capture attention, yet small enough to eat with minimal mess.

But how does one make a mini-cupcake? There are several pans available on the kitchen market, designed specifically for baking mini-cupcakes, which are simply filled and throw in the oven to bake as per usual. However, if kitchen gadgets are more your style, you could invest in a Mini-Cupcake Maker, retailing for approximately $32.99. This non-stick, easy to use appliance snaps shut to bake and produces seven mini-cupcakes per baking session – ideal for a small child’s birthday party or catered affair.

photo courtesy of chriki24

You can dress up mini-cupcakes as well, by simply using some tailored to size cupcake-skirts (also known as mini-cupcake liners.) Bold or pastel colours, smiley faces, dinosaurs, stars, and many more prints are available on mini-cupcake skirts. And of course, mini-cakes are fair game for whatever impressive icing you can paint them with.

So there you have it. Sassy small bite-sized cupcakes, perfect for sweet amuse-bouches that are sure to pack a punch at your next soirée.

Whether you’re using a box of banana Jell-O filling for a cream pie or whipping up parfaits for dessert, the world of pudding includes much more than just the basic varieties of chocolate and vanilla. In the past, the most common way to prepare pudding was to mix ingredients with a grain product or other binding material (like flour, butter, eggs or cereal) to create a solid product. Nowadays, people boil, steam or bake creamy and thickened puddings from scratch.

A couple of ways to step outside of your pudding comfort zone include:

1) Fruit Bread Puddings

To create a new pudding, you may add tropical juices and other fruits to elevate the taste and texture of your recipes. For example, Fruity Bread Mango Pudding may contain Rubicon mango exotic juice drink paired with dried cranberries and mango.

2) Yam (or Sweet Potato) Pudding

Around the holidays, candied yams and sweet potato pie are popular desserts. You probably don’t think of yams and sweet potatoes as creating satisfying puddings, but these healthy starches offer quite a taste and consistency with common ingredients, such as butter, brown sugar, lemon juice, grated lemon peel, and slivered almonds.

3) Steamed Fruit Puddings

Boiling water is used as a method of preparing steamed puddings, where cranberries, plums and apples serve as common ingredients. Known as a popular sweet treat in England, Devon’s Georgie Porgies Puddings offers two tempting steamed fruit selections: Orange & Cointreau (an orange flavored triple sec liquor) and Cider & Apple (contains West Country cider and apples). For a holiday twist, use canned or fresh pumpkin puree to create a steamed pumpkin pudding, which tastes heavenly with a whipped cream or brandy sauce topping.

4) Latin American Rice Pudding

Take a page from Latin American and Caribbean cookbooks by preparing a rice pudding called “arroz con leche” (rice with milk). When preparing this sweet treat, the typical list of ingredients differ per country. In Chile and Mexico, the pudding contains raisins soaked in sherry wine or tequila. Colombians soak their raisins in red wine, rum or pisco – Peruvian liquor distilled from grapes. Anise seed adds a touch of licorice to the Cuban version of arroz con leche. In Peru, it is not uncommon to find shredded coconut or walnuts added to the pudding.

Need a little something sweet to brighten up your day? What better way to put a smile on any face than a batch of colourful sunflower cupcakes!

This original recipe comes from a one of a kind book entitled Hello, Cupcake written by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson and are guaranteed not to disappoint. First of all, they are cupcakes — cake you can eat on the go — brilliant!  Secondly, they are absolutely adorable and surprisingly simple to craft.

photo courtesy of Katie Stine

Here’s What You Need:

1 box of cupcake mix (flavour is entirely up to you; although vanilla is recommended)
2 cans of vanilla icing
Red M&Ms (that’s right, only the red ones, meaning the rest of the package is snacking material!)
Oreos
Green food dye
Yellow/Orange food dye
A little bit of chocolate icing

Decorating Method Part I:

Bake the cupcakes by following the instructions on the package. Try to use green cupcake skirts – more commonly known as cupcake liners – to continue the garden-like look.

1. Spoon a chunk out of the top of each cupcake and place an oreo in the space.
2. Add green food dye to one can of vanilla icing. Using a leaf icing tip, make a series of green leaves around the edge of the cupcake. (TIP: To make leaves, hold icing tube at 45 degree angle, start in the middle and as you squeeze move to the outside, rippling the icing as you go.)
3. Next add yellow food dye to the remaining can of icing. Using a fresh icing tube, paint on two layers of yellow petals, using the same method you did for the leaves, only making the petals wider and more triangular.

photo courtesy of cheftara1986

Decorating Method Part II:

1. Break out the third icing tube and introduce the chocolate! Put a tiny dollop of chocolate icing on the spot you want your ladybug to sit. Place a red M&M on top of the dollop, making sure the telling white ‘M’ logo is facing down.
2. Carefully paint on spots and lines to make your ladybug come to life.
3. Allow cupcakes to sit overnight, so that the icing well and truly sets, and enjoy the next day!

To see exactly how these beautiful cheery cupcakes are made, check out Karen Tack’s interview on “GMA Now.”