MAKE EASTER ‘EGGSTRA’ SPECIAL

EASTER BUNNY BUTT CAKE

• Nonstick cooking spray

• 2 eggs, plus 4 egg whites, at room temperature

• 3/4 cup cream of coconut

• 1/2 cup crushed pineapple, drained

• 2 teaspoons coconut extract

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 2 1/4 cups flour

• 1 cup sugar

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

• 3 cups powdered sugar

• 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

• 3 tablespoons milk

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1/2 teaspoon coconut extract

• 4 thin pretzel sticks

• 1 bag (10 ounces) sweetened shredded coconut

• 8 drops green food coloring

• 2 large round chocolate candy melts

• 6 chocolate chips

• Mini candy-coated chocolate eggs, for garnish

Heat oven to 325 F.

Line muffin pan with four paper liners. Spray oven-safe glass bowl with nonstick cooking spray.

In large bowl, whisk eggs, egg whites, cream of coconut, pineapple, coconut extract and vanilla extract until combined.

In food processor, pulse flour, sugar, baking powder and salt until combined. Add 6 tablespoons butter. Pulse until combined. Add remaining butter. Pulse until coarse meal forms.

In large mixing bowl, add coarse flour butter meal. Add half of egg mixture. Beat 1-2 minutes. Add remaining egg mixture; beat until combined.

Fill each muffin cup 2/3 full. Bake 18-20 minutes, or until done. Cool completely.

Pour remaining batter into prepared oven-safe bowl. Bake 1 hour, 40 minutes, or until done. Cool completely.

To make buttercream frosting: In large bowl, add powdered sugar and butter; beat until fluffy. Add milk, vanilla extract and coconut extract; beat until creamy.

Turn bowl upside-down on cake stand until cake removes from bowl. If cake needs leveled, turn cake over and trim to flatten. Frost cake.

Remove wrappers from cupcakes. Using two pretzel sticks, press into base of cupcakes and anchor to bottom rim of bowl cake to create bunny feet. Frost feet.

Take third cupcake and cut muffin top off. Cut muffin top in half. Using one pretzel stick, anchor one muffin top half at bottom of full cupcake to form toes. Repeat with second muffin top half for other foot. Frost toes.

Attach final cupcake with remaining pretzel stick to butt area of cake to make tail. Frost tail.

Apply 1 1/2 cups shredded coconut all over cake. Press chocolate candy melts into bottoms of bunny feet to resemble foot pads. Add chocolate chips to resemble pads for toes.

Place remaining coconut in plastic bag. Add green food coloring. Toss in bag until coconut is colored. Spread around base of cake for grass. Decorate grass with chocolate eggs.

Tips: Spoon flour into dry measuring cup and level off excess. Scooping directly from bag compacts flour, resulting in dry baked goods. Add 1 tablespoon additional milk if frosting is too stiff. Keep adding until desired consistency.

HOW TO HARD COOK EGGS

Easter is about traditions, both old and new, as well as celebrating family and creating lifelong memories. In fact, nearly 8 out of 10 Americans will celebrate the holiday this year, according to the National Retail Federation, which often includes egg decorating amongst the fun.

Decorating eggs for Easter is a tradition that dates back to the 13th century. Eggs were once viewed as a forbidden food to some religious entities, so people would paint or decorate them to highlight the end of penance and fasting.

Yet still today, coloring eggs can help bring the whole family together and inspire simple moments of connection and creativity. From dunking eggs in neon dyes to embellishing them with paint, glitter and more, PAAS® brand – named after the Dutch word for Easter, “Passen” – offers these expert Easter egg dyeing tips based on its 140 years of experience.

Hard-cooked eggs are best when you want a sturdy egg for hiding and to eat when you’re done. They are also easier for younger children to handle. Eggs can be hard-boiled or baked to achieve tender eggs perfect for dyeing. Consider these tips from the Easter egg decorating experts at PAAS to cook eggs for decorating:

HARD BOIL DIRECTIONS

• Place eggs in saucepan large enough to hold them in single layer.

• Add cold water to cover eggs by 1 inch.

• Heat pan over high heat until just boiling.

• Remove pan from burner.

• Cover pan.

• Let eggs stand in hot water about 15 minutes for large eggs. Time may need adjusted for smaller or larger eggs.

• Cool completely under cold running water or in bowl of ice water.

• Refrigerate until ready to use.

BAKING DIRECTIONS

• Preheat oven to 325 F.

• Place eggs individually in muffin tins to prevent them from rolling while cooking.

• Cook 30 minutes.

• Fill large bowl with ice water. Set aside.

• Remove eggs from oven.

• Transfer eggs carefully, one-by-one into ice water using tongs.

• Remove from water after 10 minutes.

• Refrigerate until ready to use.

EGG DECORATING KITS TO MAKE EGG DYEING EASY

There’s more than one way to dye an egg. To meet various needs and interests, PAAS offers a variety of kits, including:

• Traditional Kits – Deluxe, Classic and Color Cup kits allow families to create a full spectrum of colored eggs.

• Craft Kits – Craft kits help users create their own one-of-a-kind works of art, such as color whipping eggs, adding sparkles or speckles, or creating neon tie-dyed eggs.

• Eggsperiment – Active Volcano – This kit allows users to dye eggs by lowering them into an overflowing volcano.

• Craft-A-Scene – These kits, which come in multiple versions, offer not only dyes and decorations to create character eggs, but also different backdrops that can be used in stop motion movies using a free app.

• Themed Eggs – These include Dino Eggs, Forest Friends, Rides and Superheroes kits that allow families to bring characters to life.