Spring into Easter with

Tired of the same old chocolate or candy Easter eggs? Spring into Easter with spongy egg-shaped cakes!

Target (and I am sure other area stores) carries a “Mini Eggs Pan” that is nonstick, quick-release and dishwasher-safe. Made by Wilton, the cake decorating gurus, the pan is formed with six egg-shaped indentations. The “eggs” have indented decorations so that if you would like to make some quick brownies they would look decorated without any frosting fuss.

But for cakes, the frosting fuss is really necessary to achieve the full pastel Easter effect. For an Easter brunch place setting, frost cakes in Easter colors, write each name in a darker color of frosting, set the cakes in white paper doilies and you have an instant place card/table decoration that is also delicious!

Any cake recipe or box cake will suffice, but I used a buttermilk cake recipe and frosted the eggs with butter cream frosting colored green and blue with food coloring, then sprinkled them with pastel sugar sprinkles. Wilton markets “6 Mix Sprinkles,” which are a variety of spring-colored toppings such as Lavender Sugar, Easter Egg Mix, Pink Sugar, Light Green Sugar and Bunnies and Ducks Mix.

For my table I fashioned individual eggs around a large egg baked in a traditional square pan, then cut to egg shape and frosted. Fresh calla lilies lent an airy touch. For the background I used a pastel green kitchen towel to give the display an upbeat spring hue!

Brown Sugar

Buttermilk Cake

Sift

3 cups flour

2 cups brown sugar

2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

Add

2 cups buttermilk

1 cup corn oil

2 eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 tsp. almond extract

Mix with beaters until smooth and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until cake springs back.

Note: If baking in egg-shaped pan, please follow directions on pan wrapper.

Butter Cream

Frosting

1/2 cup butter or margarine

4 cups powdered sugar (1 box)

4 tbsp. cream or half ’n half

3/4 tsp. salt

2 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. almond extract

Beat on low to mix, high to blend.