Spring hasn't Sprung

It is officially spring.  Even though it is still pretty wintry i can see some crocuses peeping out in the park and i hear some birds from our bedroom in the morning.

Of course spring means Easter, and Easter means opportunity for fun!

I made modified deviled eggs, two desserts, and an Easter bread. 
Since i made so many things i am only going to give an overview.  If anyone wants the full recipes you can email me.  The next post will be one cake full recipe . . .I promise.  (I have it all ready to write . . .I am so behind!!)

EGGS:  SPRING PEA DEVILED EGGS
It is Easter right . . . so you gotta make something with hard boiled eggs!!  For some reason i got it into my head to make deviled eggs. 

My sister in law, Aimee, make this great spring-time guacamole for St. Pat's (bc it was green).  It had pureed peas in it.  SO i took that idea and incorporated it into my eggs.

1. First step is to boil the eggs.

• I've has a hard time lately peeling eggs nicely so i followed a new cooking technique that seemed to work:  place eggs in 1" of cold water.  Bring to bare simmer.  Simmer for 10 minutes.  Shock in cold water and leave to cool.  They peeled pretty good.  I only lost 1 1/2.

• Next I threw the yolks into my food processor with some cooked pees.  Then I added mayo, sour cream, paprika, Dijon mustard, and salt and pepper to taste.  (I would suggest not adding the sour cream bc it made my filling too loose.)

• They were a hit!  Of course i forgot to take a final pic :-(

Dessert 1: KEY LIME CAKE
I feel like spring time you need something bright and sunny for dessert, so i tend towards something with citrus. 

Since we just got back from our trip to Miami and Key west I had a great idea to do a Key Lime Pie . . . . in a cake version. 

(KEY WEST SUNSET)

This one is an Olivia original recipe and it turned out wonderfully.

• First you need to make the key lime curd. 
• I used the filling recipe from my "Silky Lemon Pie" post, and just used lime juice instead of lemon juice. 
• I also cooked it on the stove top instead of in the oven. 
• After it cooled I added 1 cup of whipped cream to make the filling more apt for cake use.

• Next you need to make the cakes. 
• I used my recipe for S'mores cake, which I will share with you at the appropriate camping time. 
• This recipe uses graham cracker crumbs in lieu of flour, which is ridiculously fun.  Since Key Lime Pies use graham cracker crusts i figured this was perfect for this cake!! 
• The only thing i changed from the original recipe was the addition of lime zest to the batter.

• (Robby bought the most retro looking beat up box of graham cracker crumbs he could find at the store! )

• The final step is to make the icing and then layer and decorate the cake. 
• I used my red velvet cake frosting, bc it is the best frosting ever!  It consists of vanilla whipped cream folded into sweetened mascarpone cheese. 
• I again used my decorating gun and covered the cake in star tip swirls, which make the cake look like it is covered in roses

• For the final decorating step I candied some lime slices and one lime peel for a rose.
• 

Dessert 2:  CARAMELIZED COCONUT CUSTARD TART
For some reason I also always associate coconut with Easter . . .
I am not sure why really . . .
IS it bc you can die it green and it looks like grass? 
Or put it on a bunny cake and it looks like fur? 

Let me know if you can think of a reason for this association. 

Again, since we were just in Miami, i was thinking of doing some kind of Latin American coconut thing, influenced by our trip to little Havana.

(CUBAN FOOD IN LITTLE HAVANA)

So I made a Caramelized Coconut Custard Tart.

• First step is the tart shell. 
• I, again, did a 'qucik' crust in the food processor. 
• Since the recipe said to do a 12" . . . that's right 12" . . . tart pan i did 1 1/2 cups flour to 1 1/2 stick butter with 1/4 cup water and 1 tbs sugar.

• The only pain with this recipe is that it required you to par bake the shell, which annoys me, but it has to be done! Bake at 350 for 20 min . . .with pie weights . . . let cool



• The next step is to make the vanilla custard for the bottom of the pie.  In all honesty this recipe was very weird and i am not sure if i would recommend it, although the final product was pretty tasty. 
• To make the custard you need:
• 2 large egg yolks
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• seeds scraped from 1 vanilla bean,
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• In a medium saucepan, whisk the egg yolks with the flour and vanilla seeds until smooth. Gradually whisk in the milk. Cook over moderate heat, whisking constantly, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Scrape the custard into a medium bowl. Press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the custard and let cool.

•  Spread the custard in the tart shell in an even layer.

• In a large skillet, toss 1 bag shredded coconut with the 1 1/2 cups brown sugar over moderately high heat, stirring, until the coconut becomes translucent, about 1 minute. Spread the shredded coconut over the custard in an even layer.
• Bake the tart for about 45 minutes, until the coconut is richly browned. Transfer the tart to a rack and let cool to warm or room temperature

EASTER BREAD: Easter breads are a fun tradition that, depending on your ethnic background, can take all shapes and sizes. 

My mom makes a sweet bread with colored eggs woven into the braids.  I have tried this in the past, but this year i opted to do something different and I got a recipe from my coworker/friend's Mom. 

I am calling it a Russian Easter bread and it was a hit.  You also make a 'cheese' spread to go with it.  It is kinda weird but delicious.  (Thanks Ana's Mom.)

OK that is it for Easter . . . . . text time is chocolate TOMATO cake?!