Easter Egg Hunting

 

 You can never get enough of this kind of fun, can you?  

 

This is what we were doing at the farm on Easter Sunday afternoon following a beautiful morning with friends and neighbours at church.  I was told well in advance of Easter Sunday that even though my 3 boys were well into their adult/teenage years (21, 19 & 17), they in no way had outgrown the annual Easter egg hunt and were anticipating lots of goodies in the form of candy and chocolate treats.

They did say however, that they would be willing to let their (much) younger cousins have most of the fun running around the farm, gathering up the eggs from all sorts of secret hiding places. They were even willing to hide the eggs, just as long as there was sure to be enough yumminess to go around.

   

Holidays always seem to bring out the kid in us, even when we’re no longer the kid.  Special rituals and traditions like this never lose their appeal, no matter what our age when it’s shared with special people in our lives.  That’s why we were so excited when my sister promised to visit from Kitchener with her family.  Her children are much younger than mine and so we love it when they can visit. Despite the significant age differences (Liam 9, Elliott 7, Kate 5) we have copious amounts of fun playing and hanging out together.  Coming to visit the farm is always an adventure for them and they love the freedom and fun of playing outside on the big front lawn. 

  

You just never know where you’re going to find an egg.  

 

 Once Kate got going she was determined to fill her basket.

  

Trying to keep all those eggs from spilling out wasn’t easy. 

 

And now for the reward.

Uncovering the treasures and treats inside those beautiful eggs.

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Mini Bundt Easter S’mores

There’s a bandwagon going around full of delicious things like chocolate, graham crackers and marshmallow crème.  I was so taken in by it all, I just had to jump on too.

Who could blame me? Things like this are hard to resist. And who’d want to anyway? You can never have enough deliciousness like this in your life.

I’m a total pushover when it comes to these delightful mini chocolate bundt cakes, topped with  graham crumbs, oozing marshmallow crème and sprinkled with shaved chocolate. And eggs. The eggs represent Easter. New life. Hope.

The little chocolate cakes are mini bundt’s.  I have a new pan that I’ve been wanting to try out so I made this using a chocolate cake recipe that is deliciously light because I decided to use yogurt when I discovered I didn’t have sour cream. Although it’s light, the cake tastes amazingly fudgy when you bite into it which really lends itself to the whole s’mores thing. I  sprinkled them with graham crumbs mixed with melted butter before baking so that they would stick to the chocolate batter when baked. When the mini bundt’s were cool, slightly warm, I topped them with homemade marshmallow crème.  As you can see, because the little bundt’s weren’t completely cool yet, the creme melted slightly and drizzled down the sides which I thought actually ended up looking kind of cute. I sprinkled the marshmallow creme with some shaved chocolate and topped them with speckled Easter eggs.

 

 These s’mores would make  a great treat for family and friends this Easter and they’re not at all difficult to make. For the very first time, I made my own marshmallow crème and could not believe how easy it was.  It had never occurred to me before that you could make marshmallow creme at home using really simple ingredients until Brenda, from a Farm Girl’s Dabbles mentioned it. Brenda makes gorgeous homemade marshmallows.  You can see more of her amazing creations by visiting her blog here.

 These s’mores consist of 5 easy components:

the mini bundt cakes, the graham crumb mixture, the marshmallow crème, the shaved chocolate and the mini chocolate eggs.

Graham Crumbs

Ingredients:

24 graham crackers

6 tablespoons melted butter

Crush the crackers by placing them in a sealed plastic bag and rolling over them with a rolling pin or placing them in a food processor until finely crushed.

Add the melted butter and mix until combined.

Set aside while you make the chocolate mini bundt/cupcake batter.

Mini Chocolate Bundt Cakes/Cupcakes

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon (110 g) butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups plain yogurt

3/4 cup milk

Method:

Preheat oven to 350° and grease mini bundt pan or as another option you can line your favorite muffin pan with cupcake liners.

Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light.  Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition until light and fluffy.

Pour 1/3 cup of the flour mixture into the large bowl and mix until combined.  Add 1/2 of the yogurt and mix until combined. Add another third of the flour mixture and mix until combined. Add the remaining yogurt and flour mixtures, mixing after each addition, until combined.

Add milk and mix until combined.

Scoop into prepared pan until 2/3 full and cover with prepared graham crumbs (see above) using 1 tablespoon per mini bunt or cupcake.

Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until toothpick or skewer comes out without crumbs attached. Try not to over bake these so they come out tender. They are far better slightly under baked, than over baked. Cool on wire racks in pan for 5 minutes, then gently turn onto rack and cool completely.

Homemade Marshmallow Crème

Ingredients:

3 egg whites

2 cups light corn syrup

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups icing sugar (confectioner’s sugar)

1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract

Method:

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine egg whites, corn syrup and salt.

Mix on high-speed for 10 minutes or until thick.

Add in icing sugar.  Before turning on your mixer, you may want to incorporate the icing sugar with a spatula so that it doesn’t all come flying out of the bowl or attach the plastic shield to your mixer, if you have one.

Beat on low-speed until well blended.

Add vanilla and mix until blended.

Note:

}}This marshmallow crème whips up to a glossy white, is satiny smooth and fluffy.

}} It can be used immediately or stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

}}You can flavour the crème by substituting a flavoured extract for the vanilla.

}}You can colour the crème by adding a drop or two of food colour.

S’mores Preparation:

Start with a mini bundt or cupcake, top with a dollop of marshmallow crème, followed by a sprinkle of shaved chocolate and top it off with some of your favourite eggs or chocolate.

Enjoy!

For other wonderful s’mores recipes visit:

 Brandon Matzek at Kitchen Konfidence for Maple Bacon S’mores

 Rosie Alyea at Sweetapolita for Homemade Puffy Cloud S’mores

 Jamie at My Baking Addiction for S’mores Truffles or Giant S’mores Cookies

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