Hello HC Cuties! Hopefully most of you survived the dreaded first week of classes. I know right now there is a lot of pressure in trying to get used to your new professors or getting the hang of that nasty math class you have to take, but I think we should take some time out of our busy schedules to celebrate Easter. My dentist must hate me for this but I love Easter because of all of the sweets that come along with it: Peeps, chocolate eggs, and jelly beans galore! So today I am going to show you how to make a delicious, Easter-friendly dessert you can share with your friends and family on that special day.
Materials:
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Cake/cupcake mix (plus all the ingredients you need to make the mix)
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Peeps
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Candy eggs
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Shredded wheat cereal (I like to buy the cheap 99 cents kind)
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Nutella or condensed milk or marshmallow fluff
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Icing (preferably a light-colored one like vanilla or cream cheese)
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Green food coloring
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Icing bag
Step 1: Following the instructions on the box, prepare the cake mix and bake into cupcakes. You can make them big or small or regular sized. For this, I would suggest regular-sized cupcakes but I’m going to make them big so I can show you guys in more detail. (I also don’t have regular sized molds, so it works out for everyone!) Here you can add in whatever you want into the mix, whether it be chocolate or sprinkles or nuts.
Step 2: After they have finished cooking, take the cupcakes out of the oven and leave them to cool for 15-20 minutes. I can never wait that long because I’m always so excited to start decorating them but if you don’t let them cool long enough, the icing usually ends up melting off.
Step 3: While the cupcakes are cooling, take some time to prepare the toppings. We’ll make two different types of decorations: a nest with eggs and chicks on grass.
To make the nest decorations:
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Take 2-3 handfuls of the shredded wheat cereal and crunch it up so it becomes not powdery but like small twigs. Using the nutella/condensed milk/marshmallow fluff (you can actually use anything that is sticky), add 3-4 tablespoons to the shredded wheat. Mix with your hands until it is all equally mixed and it can be easily molded.
To make the chicks on grass decorations:
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Take some of the icing (you can decide how much you need based on how many cupcakes you’re making or how much icing you like to put on the cupcakes) and add 1-2 drops (or more depending on how dark you want it) of the green food coloring. Mix thoroughly until it is all evenly incorporated.
Now it’s time to put the cupcakes together!
Step 4: First we’ll start making the nest cupcakes. Grab a small handful of the shredded wheat mixture. Mold it into a nest-like shape and place on top of the cooled cupcake. To finish, place 2-3 little candy eggs on the top. It’s that easy!
Step 5: Now let’s make the chicks on grass cupcakes. First, load your icing bag (I like to use the tip that makes grass/spaghetti type decorations) or a plastic sandwich bag with a tiny hole in the corner with your green icing. Then, ice your cupcakes so that they look kind of hairy and grassy. When you are content with the grassiness of your cupcakes, add a Peep on top. Voila! You eggs have hatched into beautiful chicks!
Step 6: Forget about your diet and enjoy your delicious creations!
Have a Happy Easter HC Cuties!