Easter Egg Hunt Carrot Cake Recipes

Steps:

• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a large metal mixing bowl (about 10 1/2 inches in diameter) with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
• Combine the cake mix, eggs, oil and 1/2 cup water in a large bowl. (The water and oil is less than what the box instructions call for.) Mix with an electric mixer on medium speed until fully combined, about 2 minutes. Pour the batter into the prepared bowl and bake until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Let cool for 15 to 20 minutes in the bowl, then remove from the bowl and let cool completely on a cooling rack, about 2 hours.
• For the nest: Meanwhile, spray the same bowl you used to bake the cake in with nonstick cooking spray.
• Melt the butter and marshmallows together in a large pot over low heat, stirring frequently. Add the white chocolate and cinnamon and stir until fully combined. Add the brown and yellow food coloring and mix until blended. Add the chow mein noodles and mix until all the noodles are coated with the marshmallow mixture. Transfer the mixture to the prepared bowl and quickly press into the bowl to form a nest shape. If your hands start to stick, spray them with cooking spray (Caution: the mixture is hot, but you have to work quickly or it will harden; you can wear gloves for this step if necessary). Let cool about 2 hours.
• Remove the nest from the bowl and line the bowl with plastic wrap, letting some plastic wrap hang over the edge of the bowl. Place the nest back in the bowl, over the plastic wrap. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
• For the eggs: Place the white chocolate in a small microwave-safe bowl. Heat in 30-second increments, stirring after each, until melted, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. (Do not overheat.) Divide the melted chocolate into 2 bowls. Whisk 6 drops blue food coloring and 5 drops green food coloring into one bowl until a robin's egg blue color is created.
• Gently push the pointed end of a skewer into the bottom of each chocolate egg, slightly off-center (do not hit the seam of the egg, or the egg will split along the seam). Gently dip the egg into the blue chocolate and turn until the egg is evenly coated. Lift the egg out of the blue chocolate and hold above the bowl to allow excess to drip off. Push the flat end of the skewer into a foam block or container of sugar or salt to allow the egg to dry undisturbed. Repeat this process to dip 4 more eggs into the blue chocolate. Dip the remaining 5 eggs in the white chocolate in the same manner. (If at any point the melted chocolate becomes too thick, microwave for 30 seconds more to loosen.) Set the eggs aside to harden for 1 hour.
• Remove the eggs from the skewers and place on a paper towel-lined tray.
• Combine 4 drops green food coloring and 4 drops blue coloring with 1 tablespoon water in a small spray bottle. Lightly spritz the green mixture onto the eggs in a speckled pattern. Allow the eggs to dry again for 1 hour.
• For decorating: Spread 1 can of the cream cheese frosting into the nest, leaving the outer border unfrosted.
• Slice 1 1/2 to 2 inches off of the flat side of the cake so that it will fit well inside the nest. Using a spoon, remove some cake to hollow out a depression in the top (the flat side) of the cake, leaving a 2-inch border intact along the outer edge of the cake.
• Place the cake hollowed-side up into the frosted nest. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a large tip with the remaining cream cheese frosting and frost the top of the cake; spread evenly using an offset spatula or a spoon. Sprinkle the toasted coconut over the top of the cake, making sure to coat completely. If not using immediately, refrigerate. (Let the refrigerated cake come to room temperature for 1 hour before serving.)
• Using the excess plastic wrap, pull the nest cake out of the bowl and place on a cake stand or platter. Arrange the eggs in the nest, then decorate with mint sprigs and edible flowers, and serve.

Steps:

• In a large bowl whip the butter with a hand mixer until completely smooth. Add sugar and "cream" them together until the ingredients are thoroughly combined. Add the egg and the egg yolk and mix until blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally to make sure everything is being integrated. Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a spatula to fold in the almonds, flour, almond extract, vanilla extract and orange liqueur. Stir until thoroughly combined. Stir the rabbit figurine into the filling.
• Place the 11-inch round circle of puff pastry flat on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Use a pastry brush to brush the edge with the egg wash. Put the filling in an even mound in the center of the round leaving the edge clean. Gently lift the 12-inch round and place it over the filling and the bottom round so the edges match up. Press down on all of the edges so the egg wash acts as a glue to stick the top and bottom together. Using the tines of a fork, "crimp" around the edges to seal the top shut. Brush the top with any remaining egg wash.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Place the cake in the refrigerator to firm up slightly as the oven heats, about 15 minutes. Place the baking sheet in the center of the oven and bake until golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the almonds on a baking sheet and bake until toasted, 6 to 8 minutes. Let cool, then finely grind in a food processor. (Leave the oven on.)
• In a large bowl, whip the butter with a mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add the sugar and cream together until thoroughly combined. Add 1 egg and the egg yolk and mix until blended, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally. Fold in 1/2 cup ground almonds, the flour, almond extract, vanilla extract and orange liqueur with a rubber spatula. Stir the rabbit figurine into the filling, if using.
• Unfold the puff pastry on a floured surface and roll out slightly. Cut 1 piece into an 11-inch circle and the other piece into a 12-inch circle. Place the 11-inch round on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Beat the remaining egg with 1 tablespoon cold water. Brush the edge of the pastry with the egg wash. Spread the almond filling in an even layer in the center, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border. Gently lift the 12-inch round and place it over the filling so the edges match up. Press down on all the edges so the egg wash acts as a glue to stick the pastry together. Crimp the edges with a fork to seal. Brush with any remaining egg wash. Place the cake in the refrigerator to firm up slightly, about 15 minutes.
• Bake the cake until the pastry is golden brown and puffs up slightly, about 35 minutes. (Tent with foil if the cake is browning too quickly.) Let cool before serving; the cake will shrink as it cools.

Steps:

• Special Equipment Needed:.
• Gel food coloring (I use Americolor gels in the Electric color line); set of nine round cookie cutters in graduated sizes; piping bags; Ateco piping tips #48 (ideally 2-4 of these) and #199; a silicone egg mold.
• Bake Your Cake:.
• Preheat your oven to 350°C Prepare eight 6-inch-round, 3-inch-deep (6"x3") cake pans by greasing with shortening, placing a baking paper round on the base, greasing again, and flouring. If you only have four that's fine, you can do your baking in two rounds; just divide your recipe listed above in two and make two rounds of batter.
• In a medium-size bowl, combine your egg whites, whole eggs, 1/2 cup of your milk, and vanilla and whisk to combine. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine your cake flour, sugar, optional whole milk powder, baking powder, and salt and mix on low speed for a few minutes until combined.
• Add in your butter and keep mixing to begin moistening your dry ingredients for about 20 seconds. Stream in your remaining 1 1/2 cups milk, half a cup at a time, continuing to beat on the lowest speed. Raise the speed to medium and continue to beat for about 1 minute.
• Scrape your bowl, and then return the batter to low speed. Add your egg mixture in three batches, allowing each to incorporate fully before adding the next. Scrape again and mix briefly.
• Divide your cake batter into four portions, with two portions being slightly larger and two slightly smaller. Color the larger portions light blue and pink, and the smaller portions a deeper blue and yellow. I use Americolor Electric Blue, Electric Pink, and Electric Yellow in small amounts to create soft but vivid pastel colors.
• Split your light blue batter between half of your pans, alternating large spoonfulls of it with spoonfulls of your dark blue batter. Run a toothpick or a skewer through the batter, swirling gently. Repeat with the remaining cake pans using your pink and yellow batter.
• Bake your cakes for roughly 30-35 minutes, but keep an eye on them starting at minute 25. You'll know they're baked through when you press down in the center of each cake and it springs back. You can also insert a cake tester, and it should come out clean with at most a few moist crumbs clinging to it.
• Remove your cakes from the oven and allow to come to room temperature on a rack. Then, I like to wrap them up in plastic and put them in the fridge for at least half an hour, preferably overnight before I remove them from the pans. The cakes should be cold all the way through before attempting to trim them!
• Prepare Your Layers:.
• Level and torte each of the 8 small cakes into ½ inch layers.
• The best way I found to create the embedded egg shape within the cake was to label my round cutters with numbers 1-9 (1 being the largest cutter, 9 the smallest) to keep organized. The shape is created by punching holes in the blue cake and filling the holes by inserting equally sized rounds of pink cake, some of which get a further hole cut in them to create the hollow we're filling with jelly beans. I created the layers of the cake as follows:.
• Layers 1-3: Just regular blue cake layers.
• 4th Layer: Blue cake layer with cutter #7 used to create the pink insert.
• 5th Layer: Blue cake layer with cutter #3 used to create the pink insert, then the pink insert hollowed with cutter #8.
• 6th Layer: Blue cake layer with cutter #1 used to create the pink insert, then the pink insert hollowed with cutter #5.
• 7th Layer: Identical to layer six.
• 8th Layer: Blue cake layer with cutter #1 used to create the pink insert, then the pink insert hollowed with cutter #7.
• 9th Layer: Blue cake layer with cutter #3 used to create the pink insert.
• 10th Layer: Blue cake layer with cutter #5 used to create the pink insert.
• 11th Layer: Blue cake layer with cutter #9 used to create the pink insert.
• 12th Layer: Regular blue cake layer.
• 13th-14th Layer: Blue cake layer hollowed with the #1 cutter.
• Stack Your Cake:.
• Layer your cake in the order listed above, starting with Layers 1-3 to form the base and then working your way through to the 14th. As a rule of thumb, use blue buttercream to cover blue cake between layers, and pink buttercream to cover pink cake. You can be more precise if you use piping bags to lay down your buttercream.
• Once you get to the final layer where the pink has been hollowed out, layer 8, fill the cavity you've created in the cake with jelly beans, pushing them down lightly to make sure you can fit in as many as possible. Continue with your layering until you reach the top.
• Pipe a thin wall of blue buttercream along the inside of the lip of cake you've formed at the very top of the cake with your two hollow blue layers, just to give them a little extra stability. Smooth it out and place your cake in the refrigerator to firm up.
• Ice Your Cake:.
• Once your cake has had 15-20 minutes to chill, trim the caramelization off the sides. Apply a crumb coat of white buttercream and return to the refrigerator to allow it to firm up.
• Fit four pastry bags with couplers and fit two of those with Ateco #48 small basketweave tips (if you have four #48s, go ahead and fix them to all four bags). Fill the bags with pink, white, green, and yellow buttercream.
• Pipe your basketweave around the outside of the cake by creating vertical stripes alternating between pink and yellow all the way around the cake. Use your green and white to create alternating bands of buttercream "woven" into the stripes to create your basketweave look.
• Cap the basketweave with a blue piped rope border using a small open star tip of your choosing-I used an Ateco #199. Refrigerate the cake.
• Make Chocolate Eggs:.
• Melt your candy melts in the microwave, stirring frequently until no lumps of chocolate are left. Using a paintbrush, paint thin strokes of chocolate into your silicon egg mold's egg-shaped cavities, vertically or horizontally, then freeze for at least 5 minutes to allow to firm up. Fill each cavity with a different color of chocolate all the way, or add just a dollop and paint that color in to create a 1/8th inch shell. Freeze again until firm, and if you've created hollow shells, fill these with jelly beans and dollop chocolate over the top to seal the candy inches Freeze until ready to use.
• Finishing Touches:.
• Pop your chocolate eggs out of their molds by pushing firmly from the bottom until they come free.
• Pipe dollops of blue buttercream into the depression at the top of the cake and place 4-5 of your chocolate eggs inside, then sprinkle with more jelly beans to create a fun basket of candy.
• When you're ready to cut the cake, remove your eggs first, then cut straight down halfway through the cake and remove the front half to reveal your hidden candy egg inside!

Steps:

• For the devil's food cake: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a 9-by-13-inch cake pan and line the bottom with parchment with an overhang on the longer side. Grease the parchment.
• Combine the chocolate, cocoa and instant coffee in a large bowl. Pour the hot water over to melt; let sit 2 to 3 minutes and then whisk until smooth. Let cool slightly.
• Add the sugar, flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt to a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on low to combine.
• Add the buttermilk to the chocolate mixture to cool it slightly more. Add the eggs, oil, vanilla and chocolate-buttermilk mixture to the stand mixer. Turn the mixer on low and combine until the dry ingredients are moistened. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes, scraping halfway through.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs, 58 to 60 minutes. Allow the cake to cool completely in the pan, then wrap the whole thing in plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours in the refrigerator.
• Unmold the by unwrapping the plastic, placing a fresh piece of parchment and a wire rack on top of the cake, then turning the cake out of the pan. (Cold sheet cakes are easier to unmold and have less chance of breakage.) Flip the cake onto a serving board. Trim the sides and level if necessary.
• Mix the buttercream with 2 parts green and 1 part yellow gel food coloring until it's tinted light green. Transfer about 1 1/2 cups of the buttercream to a small microwave-safe bowl and microwave it about 5 seconds to soften. Frost the top of the cake and then the sides with the warmed buttercream. Use a scraper to square off the edges. Chill in the refrigerator until the buttercream is no longer sticky, 20 to 30 minutes. Frost the cake a final time and chill in the refrigerator until the buttercream is firm, about 30 minutes.
• Fit a pastry bag with a grass tip. Divide the remaining green buttercream between two small bowls and darken 1 bowl with more green and yellow food coloring. Fill the pastry bag with the two colors, allowing them to mix slightly, then pipe grass on the top of the cake.
• Cut the rolled wafer cookies pieces in half so they are about 1/2-inch higher than the top of the cake. Attach to the sides of the cake with a little bit of extra buttercream, leaving some space in between. Place the chocolate eggs in the grass.