Did you have a great weekend?  Have you woken up with a lingering Easter candy tummy ache?  Do you still have confetti everywhere from the Cascarones?  Yea?  Me too.  I think I might have an Easter sugar hangover… I’m not proud.    Here’s a look at what Easter looks like when you combine a cupcake contest with a steady stream of champagne, a dog named Bunny and a confetti filled egg massacre.

Combine cupcakes and competition.  Call it a Bake Off.  What could be better!?

These are Whitney’s Derby Pie inspired cupcakes, with pie crust and  amazingly rich buttercream frosting.  So sweet.  So good!  The winner of the contest was Susie, with her Blueberry Cupcakes with mint, lemon and Brown Sugar Buttercream.

Meet Bunny the dog.  She’s begging.  Wouldn’t you if you were a dog at a cupcake party!?  Behind Bunny, Dean and possibly the cutest yellow shoes ever.

And then there’s Cascarones.  Cascarones are hollowed out, beautifully dyed eggs that are filled with confetti.  They’re like the most beautiful Easter weapon ever.  You find these eggs just like any old Easter egg hunt, but when you find then, you smash them on your friends.  Dean and Whitney seem rather polite about the whole situation.

Molly is more of a smash and run girl, leaving a trail of confetti in her wake.

Hunter tries to release confetti from her hair.  Jun has just about the best smile ever, and Molly  is unstoppable.

Bunny wants to play too.

Friends and confetti?  Throw in Bunny and cupcakes?  That’s a good day.  Fact.

Happy Easter from vintage Joy the Baker.

Oooooh 1994… thanks for the memories.

There are a few things I’d like you to take note of in the photo.

-Yes, my hair is comically triangle shaped and I am trying to rock curly bangs.

- Yes, I made a bunny cake decorated with festive jelly beans.

-Take a look at that foil lined baking sheet.  I decorated it with Easter stickers.  Oh my.

- That’s my Dad standing in the doorway.  I like to think that he’s proudly standing there watching his daughter pose with a pretty stellar cake.  He might just be looking at my unfortunate hair.  Hm….

Happy Easter!

Things that are awesome and things that are not awesome; an incomplete list.

Things that are awesome:

Summer dresses that look great with summer ponytails.

Bathing suits + Palm Springs + Rented Summer House + Sun Screen + Giant Sun Glasses + Mojitos x Infinity = Awesome.

Big, fat bumble bees… come on, they’re precious.

Pulling this beautiful Dutch Baby out of the oven on Easter morning,  sprinkling it with orange sugar and feeling like Julia Child… that’s awesome.

Things that are NOT awesome:

Otherwise perfect vintage dresses that are half a size too small.

Bathing suit shopping… exactly no one likes that, and why on earth are my legs so white!?

Bee stings on the butt.  It happens people.  It really happens.

Not pulling this Dutch Baby out of the oven on Easter morning… that’s not awesome at all.

A Dutch Baby is somewhere between a pancake and a pop over.  I whipped up a thin batter, poured it into a hot, butter-covered skillet, and let it bake for 18 minutes.  As soon as it came out of the oven I attacked it with orange sugar and cut it into giant slices.  It’s as delicious as breakfast gets.  So easy, so crispy with sugar, so perfectly spring.

Dutch Baby with Orange Sugar

adapted from Gourmet April 2009

Print this recipe!

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoon grated orange zest
• 3 large eggs at room temperature 30 minutes (run then under warm water if you’re in a hurry)
• 2/3 cup whole milk at room temperature  ( I used 2% and was happy)
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Put skillet on middle rack of oven and preheat oven to 450°F.

Stir together sugar and zest in a small bowl.

Beat eggs with an electric mixer at high speed until pale and frothy, then beat in milk, flour, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt and continue to beat until smooth, about 1 minute more (batter will be thin).

Add butter to hot skillet and melt, swirling to coat. Add batter and immediately return skillet to oven. Bake until puffed and golden-brown, 18 to 25 minutes.

Serve immediately, topped with orange sugar.

Dear Spring,

You’re a great season.  In fact, you’re my favorite season of all.  Something about the orange blossoms dotting my neighborhood, and the barely warm evening sun just makes me want to squeeze you with gratitude.

Great job with all the tulips.  Excellent work with all the sweet peas.  Don’t even get me started on the asparagus…. wow!

There’s just a few things I thought you might consider… just in the interest of being the best season ever, and kicking every other season right in the backside.

First, your color palette.  Have you ever considered switching it up?  All the pastels remind me of bad baby shower party games.  Plus, you’re edgier than that Spring.  Show those other seasons what’s what.  Have you considered a fresh neon palate?  It might work wonders for your image.

Second,  can you please work on making purple the new grey this season?

Lastly,  every year when you come to town, I end up in the candy aisle at the grocery store buying giant bags of chocolate egg-shaped candies.  After I’ve mistakenly make these chocolate goodies a meal, I’m forced the throw the remainder in the trash and pour dish soap on them, keeping myself from sleep-eating them in the middle of the night.  While this may seem like more of a personal issue, your attention to this matter would still be much appreciated.

Also Spring, I made you meringues.

Stay Sweet,

Joy the Baker

Meringues are a super easy way to show Spring that you’re glad it’s come to town… or you could write Spring a letter like I did.

With only three egg whites, a bit of granulated sugar and some flavoring, you’ll be able to make a sheet full of three different types of tiny meringues:  chocolate, vanilla and raspberry. All you’ll need now is some small, clear gift bags, some pretty ribbon and you’ll have precious Easter gifts on lock-down.  Sweet, right!?

This recipe makes vanilla meringues with a dash of vanilla extract, chocolate meringues with unsweetened cocoa powder, and raspberry meringues with dehydrated raspberry powder (made from freeze dried and super ground raspberries).  Feel free to play around with almond or coffee meringues using extracts too!

Spring Easter Meringues

Print this recipe!

• 3 large egg whites
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dehydrated raspberry powder

1. Preheat oven to 175 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper; secure corners with masking tape. Fit three pastry bags with a small open-star tip or round tips (such as Ateco #22).  If you don’t have three pastry bags you can use just one bag and wash and dry it between flavors.   Set aside.
2. Make meringues: Put egg whites and sugar in the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer. Set bowl over a pan of simmering water, and stir gently until sugar has dissolved and mixture is warm to the touch, 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Transfer bowl to an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form.
4. Divide egg whites between three clean bowls.  In one bowl mix in vanilla extract.  In second bowl, mix in cocoa powder.  In third bowl mix in raspberry powder.  Stir all until well combined.
5. Fill each bag with separate meringue flavors. Pipe small (3/4-inch-high) star shapes or round shapes (depending on your tip) onto prepared baking sheets.
6. Bake cookies until crisp but not brown, about 1 hour 40 minutes.  Turn the oven off and let the meringues cool in the oven.  Transfer from pans to an airtight container for storage.

This morning I stood under a blossoming orange tree that hummed with honey bees.  I found my way under this tree after a walk through my neighborhood on one of those mornings that couldn’t decide if it wanted to laugh or cry.

The sidewalk showed evidence of midnight rain.  The smell of rain on asphault… ooh so perfectly dreamy.  The sky, bright blue with clusters of pure white and angry grey clouds.

The air was just cold enough to chill me through my sweater and carried the scent of orange blossoms nearly a block.  That’s the scene that lead me, arms hugging my chest, to the bee humming orange tree, live with blossoms and heavy with fruit.

The scene screamed of Spring.

Standing there under that tree, it felt like life was just bursting out into the world.  What a pure expression of life and beauty that tree was this morning.

Happy Spring.

Have some life… enjoy it!

Carrot Cake Cupcakes are a spring classic.  Right?  I paired mine with Dulce de Leche Buttercream, but feel free to groove on with a classic Cream Cheese Frosting.  These beauties are unadulterated carrot yum, the kind of treat you might find at a church bake sale…. like, the best church bake sale ever!

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

adapted from Martha Stewart

Print this recipe!

makes about 28 cupcakes

• 4 cups peeled and finely grated carrots
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped, pod reserved for another use (or 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract)
• 1/2 cup crushed pineapple, well drained
• 1 cup walnuts or pecans, toasted and finely chopped
• 1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

This morning I started the day thinking about Easter as a child.  It was the holiday as exciting as Christmas.  There were personalized Easter baskets filled with candies and chocolates on a bed of fake plastic grass.  There was always some sort of delicious ham and potato meal  And the Easter egg hunt.  Oh… the hunt!  The hunt is the sole reason I could sit through church is my Easter dress, itchy tights and Sunday shoes.  It was my little sister and I tearing through the house and backyard trying to find as many plastic eggs as we could.  It was brutal, and there was no mercy.  Flower beds were trampled, the house cat was scared from its house, tears were shed… it was the hunt, and it was serious.  The coveted Easter eggs to find of the hunt were the silent one.  Silent?  Yes!  Without the rattle of little chocolate candies, we knew  those particular eggs were filled with cash.  Oh how my sister and I would fight for those eggs.  Thinking about it now,  I have to shake my head at what greedy little children we must have been.

For Easter as an adult, I created a dessert that takes me back to Easter as a kid.  Strawberry Cupcakes with light, fluffy frosting and mini Easter eggs on top.  Since my sister and I don’t nearly kill each other in the Easter egg hunt anymore, I thought we might remember those sweet days with these darling cupcakes.

I used fresh, diced strawberries and ricotta cheese.  The strawberry flavor was light and subtle.  Next time I think I’ll use sour cream instead of the ricotta, just because I love the tender crumb that sour cream creates.  These cupcakes are adorned with seven minute frosting, coconut and mini speckled robin’s eggs.

Happy Easter!

Print this recipe!

Strawberry Ricotta Cupcakes adapted from Cooking with Amy 1/2 cup sugar1/4 cup (half a stick) unsalted butter, room temperature1 egg8 ounces ricotta cheese mixed with 1/4 cup whole milk1 teaspoon vanilla extract1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder1/4 teaspoon salt1/4 teaspoon soda1/2 cup diced strawberries, freshCenter a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line a muffin pan with 12 cupcakes papers and set aside.  Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and set aside. Dice strawberries and set aside.In the bowl of a stand mixer, fit with a paddle attachment, or in a medium bowl with a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add the egg and beat for another 1 minute.  Beat in the vanilla.Add the ricotta mixture alternately with the flour mixture.  Starting and ending with the flour mixture.  Fold in the strawberries .Divide among the 12 muffin tins and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until risen and very lightly browned.  Remove from the oven and let cool completely before frosting.

Seven Minute Frosting- Pink and Green from Gourmet Cookbook2 large egg whites1 cup sugar1/4 cup waterCombine all ingredients in a metal bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, and beat with a handheld electric mixer on low  speed until mixture is warm and sugar is dissolved.  Increase speed to high and beat until frosting is thick and fluffy, about 7 minutes.  Remove from bowl and beat until slightly cooled.  Add a dash of vanilla extract and food coloring if desired.   I used pale pink and green for Easter.

I have my peeps in a row.  Now what do I do with them?  With over a month until Easter, I have many many days to spend with many many peeps.  Don’t get too attached, things will to happen to these little buddies.  I can’t say it’s all going to be pretty.  Peep soup.  Peep show in the microwave.  Peep cat toys. I’m determined to make something yummy and entertaining with these suckers.   Do you have any suggestions?