Sweet Pastel Easter Brunch

Hands up if you love Easter! Well I know I do and let's be honest, it's an excuse to eat all the chocolate you want without being judged :)

This fun pastel Easter dessert buffet was inspired by my current love of pastels and ribbon! I wanted to create a dessert buffet which would incorporate gorgeous ribbons in a range of fun colours but also have that soft, girly look. The main colours for the table are pink, mint greens, lilac and a pop of periwinkle! I made the backdrop from strips of ribbon tired onto a piece of rope - I really love how this makes the table and pulls everything together. The printable food tags have a gorgeous pale pink background from the lovely Cristina Re line, which I attached to mini bunnies as stands. I placed a few ceramic bunnies around the table to ensure the Easter 'look' was present.

There is nothing more fun than coloured food! I ensured the colours were incorporated in all the foods to tie it altogether. The main cake is a 3 tier sponge cake with a rough ombre look topped with a gorgeous flower. Push pops in mint and lilac as well as cake pops brought height to the table and were super tasty! Little nest cupcakes with mini easter eggs (large and small - lets be honest, you can never have enough cupcakes), white chocolate mousse with cute little bunny spoons tied with a gorgeous purple stripped ribbon, yummy macarons and mini meringues finished off the dessert table perfectly.

Hope you can grab some inspiration from this little dessert buffet and create something for your family and friends this Easter! Enjoy and eat lots of chocolate :)

Sweets: 'St Patricks Day' Baileys Irish Cream Cupcakes

Baileys Irish Cream Cupcakes

(18 cupcakes)

- 1 2/3 cups plain flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 1/4 cups boiling water
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
- 1/4 cup Baileys Irish Cream
- 120 gms unsalted softened butter
- 2 large eggs 
- 1 tsp vanilla extract

Baileys Irish Cream Buttercream

- 250 gms unsalted butter
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp milk
- 4 cups icing sugar
- 4 tbsp Baileys Irish Cream
- Pinch of salt

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 170°C and line 2 muffin pans with baking cups.  Place boiling water, Baileys and cocoa in a small bowl and stir until combined; set aside for later use.

2. In a large bowl, beat sugar, butter, and vanilla extract at medium speed until fluffy and creamy. Add the eggs and beat well until combined.

3. Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Add the flour mixture to butter mixture and beat until combined. Add the cocoa mixture and beat until just combined.

4. Fill each baking cup 1/4 inch below the top of the liner. Bake cupcakes for about 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove cupcakes from tray and place on a wire rack to cool.

4. Beat butter in a large bowl on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 4 minutes). Reduce speed to low; add the rest of the ingredients. Increase speed to medium and mix for 6 minutes until light and fluffy.

5. Fit a piping bag with a decorative tip of your choice and pipe away!

Note: I crumbled a cupcake into the buttercream to give it some texture, you don't need to do this if you don't want to :)

Sweets: Cookie Dough Cupcakes

On Sunday I had massive craving for Ben and Jerry's cookie dough ice-cream, but I really didn't want to have to venture out of the apartment to go hunt some of it down (seriously why is it so scarce in Perth?!), so I decided I could whip something up just as delicious with ingredients I already had in my pantry.

I give you, I quote from my husband, 'the best cupcakes I've ever eaten'.

I hope you enjoy this yummy cupcake recipe with the awesome cookie dough centre!

Sweets: Orange Cupcakes with Fruit Tingle Frosting

Now this is a cupcake you just have to try! If you're a lover of fizzy, sherbet type sweets then I guarantee this will become a favourite of yours. If you aren't a fan of orange flavour, you can substitute the orange flavouring with whatever you please (but seriously who isn't a fan of orange??).

Now for the recipe!

Ingredients:
Orange Cupcakes
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cup (195 grams) all purpose flour (I used the one for baking cakes)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2/3 cup (130 grams) castor sugar
- 1/4 cup (60 mls) milk
- 1/2 cup (115 grams)  unsalted butter at  room temperature
- 1 large orange, squeezed
- Zest of squeezed orange
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Fruit Tingle Frosting
- 250 grams unsalted butter
- 3 1/2 cups soft icing sugar sifted
- 5 rolls of Fruit Tingles, crushed finely 

Method
Orange Cupcakes
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C and line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.
2. Place the butter and castor sugar in a large bowl and cream together with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
3. Add the eggs one at a time and then add orange juice, zest and vanilla - mix until fully combined.
4. In a separate bowl, combine flour and baking powder together. Alternately add the flour mixture and milk to the butter mixture, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour.
5. Evenly fill the cupcake liners with mixture and bake for about 15 - 18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean.
6. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool ready for icing.

Fruit Tingle Frosting
1. Place the butter in a large bowl and beat  on high with an electric mixer until smooth and fluffy.
2. Turn the mixer on low and gradually add the icing sugar in small portions, careful not to let the icing sugar fling out of the bowl ;-P
3. Once all the icing sugar has been added and the mixture is combined, add your crushed Fruit Tingles and mix until well combined (you can crush the Fruit Tingles by placing them in a ziplock bag and banging with a rolling pin).

Once your cupcakes are cooled, you can now ice them with your delicious frosting! I use a flex piping bag with just a plain nozzle and pipe the frosting onto the cupcake in a circular motion, gently lifting as I go.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do, and have fun baking!