Saffron Buns

Before my Aunt Jean passed away, she used to make my dad hot cross saffron buns every year for Easter. I attempted a few times to make them but the recipe I had never worked out. This one works amazing, and passed for my dad with flying colors!

Ingredients:

3/4 c. milk
1 tsp. saffron threads
1 tsp. plus 1/4 c. sugar
1/4 ounce pkg. active dry yeast
3 1/2 c. flour (plus 1/2 c. more if necessary)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. salted butter, softened
1/4 c. sour cream, light
2 eggs (plus 1 beaten for glaze)
1 c. currants

Heat the milk, saffron and 1 teaspoon of sugar in a small saucepan until the milk is steamy. Remove the mixture from the heat and stir to dissolve the sugar. Let cool to 115 degrees.

Sprinkle the yeast over the saffron milk and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes. In an electric mixer, whisk the 3 1/2 cups of flour, remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and salt together. Make a well in the center and add the saffron yeast milk, eggs, butter and sour cream.

Mix until well incorporated. Switch to the dough hook and on low speed, start to knead the dough. Add additional flour now if necessary but the mix should still be slightly sticky. Add in the currants. Shape the dough into a ball and place in a large bowl covered with plastic wrap. Let the dough sit in a warm place for 1-2 hours (I turn the oven on warm before hand, and then turn it off when I put the dough in to sit so that the oven stays warm but isn't continually heating).

Once it has doubled in size, for the dough into balls (2-3 inches diameter). Place onto a pan lined with parchment paper 2 inches apart. Cover the dough with plastic wrap ad let rise again for 30 minutes to an hour.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Brush the tops and sides of the buns with egg wash. Place in the oven and bake for 10 to 11 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly before eating.

Frosting:

Combine 2 cups of powdered sugar with 2-3 tablespoons of milk. I added 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Place into a Ziploc bag and snip the corner off. Pipe an "x" on top of each bun and let cool fully before stacking or putting into a container.

Sugar-Free Chocolate Cupcakes with Whipped Chocolate Frosting

Everything around Easter time is always so sugary, and a friend of mine wanted something special for her grandma to be able to enjoy. I tested out these sugar-free cupcakes and they turned out delicious! Make sure you eat them up in the first few days though, because they dry out pretty quickly. The amount of cupcakes always varies for people on how high they fill the cups, but mine made about 18-20 cupcakes.

Ingredients:

1/2 c. cocoa powder
1/2 c. hot water
1 1/2 c. flour
1 c. Splenda, granulated
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 sticks butter, room temperature
2 eggs
1/4 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a cupcake tin with paper liners and set aside. Heat 1/2 c. water in the microwave in a glass measuring cup until it starts to bubble (1-2 minutes). Add the cocoa to the water and whisk until blended (it will start to get thick). In an electric mixing bowl, add the flour, Splenda, baking soda and salt and mix a few times. Add in the butter and mix until the mixture becomes crumbles. In a medium size bowl, mix the eggs, milk, vanilla and cocoa mixture together. On low speed, slowly pour in the wet mixture to the mixing bowl. Scrape down the sides and mix until everything is smooth and combined well. Use a cookie dough scoop (or spoon) and fill the prepared cups about half way full. Bake for 18-20 minutes until the tops bounce back and all of the batter is cooked.

For the frosting....

Ingredients:

2 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1/3 c. heavy whipping cream
1 stick butter, softened
4 Tbs. Splenda
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. coffee extract

In a glass microwave safe bowl, heat the chocolate in 30 second intervals stirring in-between microwave times. Pour the melted chocolate into the bowl of a mixer to cool. Add in the cream on low speed. Add in the butter, Splenda, and extracts and bring the speed up to medium. Beat for about 3 minutes until fluffy.

You can always spread the frosting with a knife, but I prefer to pipe mine for most cupcakes. I added bunny and chick picks to make them festive for Easter!

Easter Eggs, the edible kind!

Many people dye Easter Eggs, as in the hollowed out shells, on a yearly basis. They usually end up looking really pretty, however, why not dye some that you can actually eat?! This recipe to make dyed Easter eggs (devilish ones....) bring some color to your table and taste delicious!

Ingredients:

12 Hard Boiled Eggs
Various colors of liquid food dye
4 tsp. white vinegar
Water

Peel your hard boiled eggs, rinse them to make sure there is no remaining shell, and set aside. I decided to do four different colors. To each bowl, I added 1 tsp. white vinegar, about 2 cups water, 1 drop food coloring, and two hard boiled eggs, peeled and whole. Let them soak for about 15 minutes, turning over half way through to let the other side soak in the color. After 15 minutes, cut each egg in half and scoop out the yolk into a small bowl. Place the egg halves back into the same color, cut side down for five minutes.

Meanwhile make the filling for your deviled eggs. To mine I added the yolk, 1 Tbs. yellow mustard, 1 Tbs. course ground mustard, and about 1/4 c. light Miracle Whip and mixed in a food processor until the filling was smooth (you can add more Miracle Whip or mustard depending on how thick you want the filling). Add the mixture to a piping bag with your tip of choice (or you can spoon this to make things easier).

Line a paper towel, folded over in half, on a flat work surface. Take out the egg halves and let the vinegar water drain slightly before filling. Pipe the filling into the center of each egg and place on your serving platter. Colors will vary depending on how much dye you use, how dark the dye is, and how long you let the eggs sit.

Avocado Deviled Eggs

 Ingredients:

6 hard boiled eggs, peeled
2-3 Tbs. Miracle Whip, light
1 ripe avocado
Fresh Cilantro

Cut each hard boiled egg in half. Add the yolks to a small mixing bowl, along with the Miracle Whip and avocado. Mash well together until there are no more large lumps in the  mixture. Spoon the filling into each egg white, and top with a piece of fresh Cilantro.

My mom and I made this recipe for Easter, and served it as a side with ham.....get it.....green eggs and ham!

(Makes 12 servings, each deviled egg being 2 WW points.)

 (Goes great as an appetizer at a Fiesta party!)

Easter Creme Brulee

Ingredients:

1 c. milk
1 c. heavy cream
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1/2 c. superfine sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Whisk the vanilla, sugar, egg and egg yolks in a bowl together. Pour the cream and milk into a saucepan and heat until almost at the boiling point. Pour the milk mixture over the egg mixture slowly, whisking throughout. Arrange 8 ramekins in the bottom of a 13x9 baking dish. Divide the custard evenly amount the dishes. Fill water half way up the ramekins inside the baking dish. Bake for 30-40 minutes (check after 30 to see if the tops are firm yet). Let cool slightly. Sprinkle the tops with more superfine sugar, and use a creme brulee torch to brown the sugar slightly.

Lemon Overload Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 Box white cake mix (including, oil, egg whites and water called for)
1 1/2 - 2 tsp. lemon extract
1 Jar lemon curd
1 Recipe Simple Syrup Meringue Frosting

Combine box cake ingredients and the lemon extract together by whisking in a medium size bowl. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Divide the batter evenly into 12 jumbo baking cups or liners. Bake for 20 minutes in the oven and check with a toothpick, or touch the top to make sure it bounces back and they are fully cooked. Let cool. Cut the very center of the tops out using a spoon. Place 1-2 teaspoons of lemon curd into each cavity. Pipe each cupcake with the lemon meringue frosting. Refrigerate until serving.

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

4 eggs, room temperature
2 c. flour
2 c. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
3 c. (4 large) carrot, shredded
3/4 c. oil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray two 8" or 9" round baking pans with non stick cooking spray, lining the bottom with parchment paper, and spraying that also. Set aside. In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients (minus the sugar) together and set aside. In a medium size bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar, grated carrot and oil together. Slowly incorporate into the dry mixture. Divide evenly while pouring into the prepared pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean from the center. Cool for 10 minutes in the pans on a wire rack, then transfer the cakes and let cool fully. 

Frosting Ingredients:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. margarine, softened
2 tsp. vanilla
6 c. powdered sugar

In an electric mixer, combine the cream cheese and margarine together until well mixed. Add the vanilla, and 1/2 cup powdered sugar at a time until you reach your preferred consistency. Place one cake layer on a flat surface (or your serving tray). Spread frosting on top (so that it makes an even layer of about 1/4- 1/3 of an inch) and add the second cake layer on top. Start frosting the sides, filling in the crack between the layers if there is one, and then make your way around the cake, finishing with the top of the cake last.

* Side note:  I saved about 3/4 c. frosting to make the carrots on top. 1/2 c. was mixed with orange food coloring and 1/4 c. was mixed with green.

 (Pictures by Jen Grant)

Carrot Cake Cupcakes with #1 Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c. flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

3/4 c. butter, melted

1 c. brown sugar

1 egg

2 Tbs. yogurt, plain, vanilla, or Greek

1 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 c. grated carrots

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners ( I used baking "pots" made of silicone, and make sure to follow the oven degree difference when using them!). In a large bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together and set aside. In a large bowl, mix the butter, brown sugar, egg, yogurt and vanilla together until everything is combined well. Stir in the carrots, and then the dry mixture. Divide among the tins or cups until 3/4 of the way full ( or to the "fill line"). Bake for 25 minutes (or the amount on the box for the silicone cups). Let cool on a wire rack before frosting. 

#1 Cream Cheese Frosting:

8 oz. 1/3 less fat cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 stick butter, room temperature

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 c. powdered sugar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Beat the above ingredients with an electric mixer until the consistency is smooth but is thick enough to pipe. Pipe onto the tops of the cupcakes. (If the mixture is too thick still, add 1 tsp. milk at a time until you reach the right consistency.) I also added green food coloring to the frosting so that I could pipe it like grass, and added a sugar carrot cupcake decoration. 

Happy Easter!