Tomatoes Tulips for Easter

Here is a beautiful floral arrangements made of tomatoes, cheese and asparagus for an Easter appetizer or a spring brunch. Simple. Cute. Festive. Requires little time. All my favorite things.

red and yellow cherry tomatoes
herbed soft cheese (I used garlic and herb soft spreadable cheese by Alouette)
asparagus stems, tops cut off

1. Fit a piping bag with any round tip and fill with soft herbed cheese.

2. Using a pairing knife, make two perpendicular cuts from the narrow tip of the tomato toward the base. Only go about 3/4 of the way down. Do not cut all the way through!

3. Pipe cheese into the center where the cuts overlap. You will have to use your fingers to pry the opening a bit.

4. Arrange filled tomatoes on the platter. Place cut asparagus stems on platter to mimic tulip stems.

Carrot Veggie Platter for Easter

If you are looking for simple and cute appetizer for Easter, then look no further! This is as easy as it gets, yet looks super adorable! Try it and I guarantee it will be a hit! You could pair this appetizer with an Easter bunny bread filled with dip. Then you have a bunny and his carrot. Also, you can eat the veggies from the carrot with the dip. Happy Easter!

3-4 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 heads of broccoli florets

1. Arrange slices of carrots in a narrow triangle shape.

2. Add broccoli florets in a heaping pile at top of the carrot triangle to make the carrot!

That's it! Like I said. Easy. Cute. Perfect.

Easter Bunny Veggie and Dip Platter

Anyone who knows me well knows I LOVE Pinterest!! It's basically my favorite internet pastime. It has something for everyone. Even my husband, who loathes Facebook and the like, enjoys the humor boards and DIY building stuff pins. Well, I saw this on Pinterest last year and thought it was just the cutest Easter themed food and I had to make it. If you are looking for a cute addition to your Easter table, try out this Easter bunny bread filled with Spinach Artichoke dip and surrounded by cut veggies. You can use the veggies or the bread for dipping. Both taste great! Happy Easter!

1 loaf round boule style bread

1 loaf italian or french baguette style bread

1 batch of Spinach Artichoke Dip

assorted veggies (I used baby carrots and red/yellow cherry tomatoes)

black olives and celery, for garnish

1. Cut off the top circle of the round loaf carefully to make the bunny's face. Hollow out the body by  ripping pieces from the inside of the round loaf to set aside for dipping, as well as, make room for the dip.

2. Cut the ends of the baguette off for the bunny's ears and place on tray above the round bread/bunny's head. Rip/slice the leftover middle section of the baguette and add to other bread pieces for dipping.

3. Slice an olive in half for bunny's eyes and quarter an olive for a piece to use as the center of the nose. Thinly slice a small piece of celery for the whiskers. Arrange bunny's face on the round top piece of bread.

4. Fill the bunny's body with dip and fill on the empty areas on the platter with veggies and bread pieces. 

Adapted from : The Nesting Corral

Easter Bunny Cake

 

Easter is coming quickly and soon you will be planning a menu for the holiday. For a fun Easter dessert, try this Easter Bunny cake. You can make the cake from scratch or from a mix depending on your preference.

For cake:
1 batch of vanilla dry cake mix
3/4 cup water
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup softened butter
3 eggs

For icing and decorating:
12 oz cream cheese
1 1/2 cups butter
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
10 oz coconut
jelly beans
green food coloring


1.In a large mixing bowl, take your cake mix and add in 3/4 cup water, 2 tsp vanilla, 1/2 cup softened butter, and 3 eggs.

2. Combine well and pour into two 8" round cake pans with parchment. *You only need one 8" cake, but the recipe makes two, so you will have an extra round cake.* Bake on 350 degrees until toothpick comes out clean, for about 20-25 mins.

3.While the cake is baking, make frosting by beating the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla together. Add in sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy. Set aside in refrigerator.

4. Let cake cool and then remove from pans. Take one of the round cakes and cut in the half. Then stand them up vertically, side by side, so it is shaped like a half circle.

5. Using a sharp knife, cut and remove a small "v-shaped" section of cake to form two humps (head/body). Take the piece of removed cake and round it. Place at the back for a tail.

6. Take a portion of coconut and mix with a few drops of green food coloring for the grass.

7. Frost entire cake and gently press white coconut all around cake and sprinkle green colored coconut around the cake, on the base. Press two black jelly beans into the face for eyes and an orange one for a nose. Toss a few jelly beans around the cake in the green coconut grass.

8. I made ears from a plain piece of paper cut into bunny ear shape and covered the bottoms in foil. Insert paper ears behind the head. (I believe I made the ears a bit too big, so next time I'll try for a little smaller.)

Easter Peeps Cupcakes

 

Even though it feels as if Christmas and Valentine's Day just ended, before we know it St. Paddy's day and Easter will be here! So today, I'm sharing these cupcakes I made for Easter. My hubby is obsessed with peeps, and so is my grandpa, despite the fact he shouldn't have them. These were super simple and cute for a last minute Easter dessert. I used this homemade cake mix recipe and this cream cheese frosting recipe.

One batch of vanilla dry cake mix (you can use store bought cake mix or icing and follow the instructions on box or make your own and follow these directions)
For cupcake mix:
3/4 cup water
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup softened butter
3 eggs

For icing and decorating:
12 oz cream cheese
1 1/2 cups butter
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
3 cup confectioner's sugar
sprinkles
peeps marshmallow candy chicks or bunnies

1. In a large mixing bowl, take your dry cake mix and add in 3/4 cup water, 2 tsp vanilla, 1/2 cup softened butter, and 3 eggs.

2. Combine well and bake on 350 degrees until toothpick comes out clean (about 12-15 mins).

3. Now for the frosting, start by beating the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla together. Add the sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy.

4. Frost cupcakes with large dollops of icing and smooth out the top. Then roll the edges in sprinkles, leaving the smooth top sprinkle free. Stick a peep of your choosing on the flat top.