Easter Treats

Home and Cabin: Everyday Recipes

Easter Treats

No matter your age, everyone enjoys something sweet at Easter. We’ve done the hunting for you and found these easy-to-make delights!

Mini Cheesecake Bird’s Nests

Ingredients:

1 cup Oreo crumbs

3/4 cup + 2 tbsp sugar, divided

3 tbsp butter, melted

3 (8 oz) pkgs cream cheese, softened

1 tsp vanilla

3 eggs

Milk chocolate blocks for shaving

54 chocolate mini eggs

Preheat oven to 325°F. Mix Oreo crumbs, 2 tbsp sugar and butter. Press into bottoms of 18 paper-lined muffin cups. Beat cream cheese, vanilla and remaining sugar with mixer until blended. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed after each, just until blended. Spoon over crusts. Bake 25-30 min. or until centres are almost set. Cool completely. Refrigerate 2 hours. Top each cheesecake with enough chocolate shavings to resemble a bird’s nest. Fill each nest with three mini eggs. Makes 18.

Carrot Cake

Cake:

1 cup olive oil

1 cup sugar

1 1/3 cups raisins

1 1/2 cups walnuts,

optional 4 medium carrots, shredded

4 eggs, room temperature

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/3 cups flour

Frosting

4 cups icing sugar

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla

1 pkg cream cheese

Grease two 9" round cake pans. In a large bowl, mix olive oil, sugar, raisins, walnuts, carrots and eggs. Add salt and baking soda. Mix in flour, just until blended. Pour into prepared cake pans. Bake at 350°F until golden and toothpick in centre comes out clean, about 45 min. Let cool completely before icing. Frosting: Beat icing sugar, butter, vanilla and cream cheese until creamy. Frost cake between layers and over top and sides.

Banana Pudding Cheesecake Bars

Crust:

1 1/2 cups Graham crumbs

5 tbsp butter, melted

2 tbsp sugar

Pinch sea salt

Filling:

1 1/2 (8 oz.) pkgs cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups whipped topping

1 (3.4 oz) package instant banana pudding mix

1 3/4 cup milk

Topping:

Whipped topping

1/2 banana, sliced

Graham crumbs for dusting

Line an 8"x 8" pan with parchment paper. Make crust: In a medium bowl, combine Graham crumbs with butter, sugar and salt. Press in an even layer into the prepared pan. Place in freezer while making filling. Make cheesecake filling: In a large bowl using a hand mixer (or in a stand mixer), beat cream cheese until fluffy and no clumps remain. Add sugar and beat until combined. Fold in whipped topping and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together pudding mix and milk. Let pudding stand for 3 minutes in fridge, until thickened. Fold into cheesecake mixture until well combined. Pour filling over prepared crust and smooth into an even layer. Freeze until bars are firm, at least 6 hours and up to overnight. When firm, remove from freezer and slice into 9 bars. Top each bar with a dollop of whipped topping, a slice of banana, and a dusting of Graham crumbs just before serving. Makes 9 servings (or 16 smaller ones)

Lemon Shortbread Tarts

Lemon Filling:

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

3 large eggs

3 tbsp flour

1 tbsp lemon zest

Shortbread Crust:

2 cups flour

1 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Filling: Combine sugar, lemon juice, eggs, flour, and lemon zest in a large mixing bowl. Whisk until well blended. Set aside. Crust: Combine flour, butter and sugar in a food processor and pulse several times, until the dough begins to come together in a ball. (Or use a hand mixer or pastry fork, then your hands to bring it all together.) Divide the dough into 6 equal portions, placing dough portions in each well of a non-stick 6-well mini tart pan. Press dough over the bottom of each well and up the sides. Divide filling equally among the tarts. Bake in the preheated oven until filling is set and crust is lightly browned (25-30 minutes). Cool on a wire rack until mini tarts reach room temperature. Served topped with a dusting of icing sugar. Makes 6 tarts.

Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

24 maraschino cherries

1 (20 oz) can crushed pineapple

1 (18.25 oz) package vanilla cake mix

3 eggs

1 1/3 cups pineapple juice

1/3 cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray or lightly grease 24 muffin cups. Line a work surface with waxed paper. Spoon 1 tsp of melted butter into the bottom of each muffin cup. Spoon 1 tbsp of brown sugar in each muffin cup. Press a maraschino cherry into the centre of the brown sugar in each muffin cup. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of crushed pineapple over the cherry and compact it with the back of a spoon into an even layer. In a large bowl, combine cake mix, eggs, pineapple juice and vegetable oil. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for a few seconds, until moistened, then turn speed up to medium and mix for 2 minutes. Distribute cake batter evenly among the muffin cups, filling them just to the top. Bake for about 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the centre of a cupcake comes out clean. Allow cupcakes to cool at least 5 minutes before inverting muffin cups onto the waxed paper to release. Serve with pineapple and cherry sides up. Makes 24 cupcakes.

Lemon Glazed Cake

Ingredients:

3 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

6 eggs, separated

2 cups sugar, divided

1 cup butter, softened

2 tsp grated lemon zest

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 cup plain Greek yogurt

Lemon Glaze:

2 cups icing sugar

2 tbsp lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 10" tube pan. Sift together flour, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add 1/2 cup of the sugar, beating until stiff glossy peaks form. Set aside. Beat butter and remaining 1 1/2 cups sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until fluffy (3-5 minutes). Blend in egg yolks, lemon zest and lemon juice. Add flour mixture alternately with the yogurt, mixing until fully combined. Gently fold in the egg whites and pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 50-60 minutes, until a tester inserted in the centre comes out clean. Let cake cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely. When cooled, drizzle with lemon glaze, made by mixing icing sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Makes 12 servings.

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