Cadbury Creme Egg Cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 24 paper cupcake liners 
• Batter for 24 cupcakes (box mix or your favorite chocolate cupcake recipe, it’s your call) 
• 24 Mini Cadbury Creme Eggs
• 24 Mini Cadbury Creme Eggs, frozen (freezing the eggs keeps them from completely vanishing inside the baked cake) 
• 1 batch of buttercream frosting (or your favourite white frosting)
• yellow dye 
• Large Round piping tip or snip the end off of a piping bag. 

Directions:

1. Scoop batter into paper liner 2/3 of the way full. Place one frozen Mini Cadbury Creme Egg into the middle of each cupcake. Use a spatula to spread the batter over the egg.
    
2. Bake according to the recipe you are using. Allow cupcakes to cool completely.
   
3. While your cupcakes are cooking, make your buttercream. 
   
4. Remove about 1 cup of buttercream from the mixing bowl and dye it yellow.
   
5. Assemble your piping bag fitted with a large tip and pipe a large circle around the perimeter of the cupcake.
   
6. Fill in the center of the circle with the yellow buttercream and top with a Mini Cadbury Cream Egg.

Nigella Lawson's Chocolate Cloud Cake

Ingredients 

For the cake:

9 oz dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids)
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
6 eggs
1 cup caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

 For the cream topping:

4 oz dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids)
1 cup whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla
1 bag (300g) of mini-eggs (I used Hershey's Eggies because they were the only peanut-free/nut-free ones I could find this year)


 Directions 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line the bottom of a 9-inch (23cm) springform pan with parchment paper.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler and then let the butter melt in the warm chocolate.

In a bowl, whisk 4 egg whites until foamy, then gradually add a 1/2 cup of sugar and whisk until the whites are holding their shape but not too stiff. Set the bowl aside.

In another bowl, beat the 2 whole eggs and 4 egg yolks with the remaining 1/2 cup of the caster sugar, then gently add the chocolate mixture and vanilla. Add a heaping spoonful of egg whites to the chocolate mixture and mix briskly. Gently fold in the rest of the whites, about a 1/3 at a time.

Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 35-40 minutes or until the cake is risen and cracked and the centre is no longer wobbly. Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack; the middle will crack and sink as it cools.

When you are ready to eat, place the still tin-bound cake on a cake stand or plate for serving and carefully remove the cake from its tin. Don't worry about cracks or rough edges: it's the crater look we're going for here.

To make the topping, melt the chocolate in a double boiler. While the chocolate is cooling, whip the cream until it's soft and then add the vanilla and continue whisking until the cream is firm but not stiff. Gently fold in the chocolate. Fill the crater of the cake with the chocolate cream, easing it out gently towards the edges of the cake and decorate with the chocolate eggs.


This recipe is also linked to...

Food on Friday: Chocolate
 

Gluten-Free Paska by Mennonite Girls Can Cook

Photo & Original Recipe by Mennonite Girls Can Cook
Originally found here

Ingredients

1 tsp sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1/2 cup warm milk
1 tsp unflavoured gelatin
1/4 cup oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs
1/2 lemon - juice and zest
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. xanthan gum
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup millet flour
1/4 cup white bean flour (small white navy beans)
1/4 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup sweet rice flour

Directions

Mix 1 tsp sugar and water - whisk in yeast and let proof. Mix warm milk and gelatin and let bloom.

Beat eggs, sugar, vanilla, oil, and lemon juice and zest.

Add proofed yeast and bloomed gelatin.

Blend together all the dry ingredients.

Add dry ingredients all at once to liquids and beat on high for a couple of minutes.

Spoon into desire greased pans or tins (smooth tops with wet hand) and let rise in warm place for about 30-60 minutes until doubled in bulk.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-30 minutes.

Let sit in pan for a few minutes before removing to cool on rack.

Let cool completely and then ice with white icing and decorate with sprinkles - coloured or chocolate.

If not eating the same day, freeze until needed.

Lemon Rosemary Chicken

INGREDIENTS

3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup mayonnaise
juice from 1/2 a lemon
zest of 2 lemons
1/4 tsp worcestershire sauce
1 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 Tbsp freshly minced rosemary
1 Tbsp freshly ground black pepper
olive oil, for cooking
salt and pepper, to taste


DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.

Butterfly the chicken breasts into halves and pound each thin. Slice each flattened cutlet crosswise into 2 or 3 pieces depending on size. Pat dry and season with salt and pepper.

In a shallow bowl or pan, stir together mayonnaise, lemon juice, lemon zest, and Worcestershire sauce. In a separate pan, combine breadcrumbs, Parmesan, rosemary, and freshly ground black pepper.

Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a large fry pan over medium high heat until oil is very hot (but not smoking) and glides around easily.

Rub each piece of chicken with a dollop of mayonnaise mixture so it is completely covered but not gloppy. Dredge mayonnaise covered chicken into breadcrumb mixture so it is well-coated in breading. Working in batches and making sure not to crowd the pan, add the chicken and cook until both sides are golden brown and crispy, about 3-4 minutes per side. Check to make sure the chicken is cooked all the way through.

Place cooked chicken in preheated oven while cooking the remaining pieces. Hold in the oven until serving.

Serve with lemon wedges (from the ones you zested but didn't juice).

Deluxe Corned Beef Hash

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
5 large Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1 large carrot, coarsely shredded
2 pounds cooked corned beef, cubed
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
salt and pepper to taste


Directions

Melt butter with the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat, and cook the onion just until it begins to brown, about 8 minutes; then stir in the potatoes and carrot, and cook until tender, about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the cubed corned beef, parsley, thyme, salt, and pepper. Let the mixture cook until hash is crisp and browned, stirring often, 10 to 15 more minutes.

Creamy Baked Orzo with Goat Cheese

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups orzo
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon chopped thyme
6 ounces fresh goat cheese, at room temperature
3 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons grated Pecorino cheese


Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the orzo until al dente. Drain.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the onion and cook over moderately high heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the thyme and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the goat cheese, cream cheese and milk and cook over moderately low heat, stirring, until the cheeses are melted, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Add the cooked orzo and the parsley to the skillet and season with salt and pepper. Scrape the pasta into an 8-inch baking dish and sprinkle the Pecorino on top. Bake for about 25 minutes, until lightly browned.

Seafood Paella

INGREDIENTS

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 green pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 red or orange pepper, seeded and cut into strips
2 carrots, peeled and cut into julienne strips
2 cloves of crushed garlic
2 tomatoes, skinned and finely chopped
1 tsp saffron
350g long-grain rice
1kg mixed seafood (fish, prawns, calamari, scallops, mussels, etc.)
2-3 tbsp fresh coriander or parsley, chopped
200g sugar snap peas, trimmed (forgot to add them to mine)
fresh limes or lemons, cut into wedges


DIRECTIONS

Heat olive oil in a large frying pan. Add onion, green and red peppers and carrots, and fry over a low heat for two minutes.

Add garlic, tomatoes and saffron and fry for three minutes.

Add the rice and stir well to make sure the rice is well coated. Add about 800ml water or seafood stock and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Add seafood, coriander and sugar snap peas and stir well. Cover and simmer for a further 10 -15 minutes. Add a little water if it gets too dry. The dish is ready once the mussels open and the rice is tender.

Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, coriander and lemon wedges.