Hey there, and welcome back, friends.

You are in for a Spring treat!

Speckled Easter Cake

Speckled Easter Cake is a soft coconut lemon layer cake recipe decorated as an Easter speckled egg.

I have to warn you right up front, we are going to get romantic about cake today. It’s been a while since I made a cake that I was in love with and this weekend, I was reminded why I started baking and love decorating cakes again.

It’s officially the first day of spring tomorrow and I decided to make a cake that encompasses everything I love about spring to celebrate the change in seasons. Coconut, lemons, and of course the pretty pastel colors floating everywhere came to mind and this coconut lemon layer cake was the resulting combination.

A super soft white coconut cake with lemon zest is covered in bright yellow coconut swiss meringue buttercream. Like WHOA!!

It brings sunshine to your day. Inspiration for the decoration obviously came from the tons of easter speckled eggs laying around my kitchen. Don’t you think this will be a stunning centerpiece to any Easter dining festivities?

I am seriously excited about this yellow egg cake!! I love decorating cakes and it is one of the reasons I started baking/blogging in the first place.

But sometimes amid the chaos of birthday cakes, cookies, brownies, and the rest, I forget how amazing it is to just be in my kitchen with layers of cakes ready to be stacked and brought to life with no agenda. On a lazy Sunday afternoon last weekend, after baking the cake layers and letting them cool, I whipped up my very best and favorite buttercream; swiss meringue buttercream.

It is silky smooth and the best decorating weapon. The plain white coconut frosting was boring so I experimented with a few test colors.

I tested a few pastel colors like teal, a light shade of pink, lavender, and yellow. Once I colored the yellow, I knew I had to go with it in the end. It was so bright and perky… I was instantly excited! Colors really do that to me.

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The post Speckled Easter Cake (Lemon Layer Cake) appeared first on A Classic Twist.

Hi friends!

Coming in last minute with a quick how-to!

How to Dye Eggs Without a Kit

Learn how to dye eggs without a kit using only 3 ingredients. You will end up with colorful and beautiful Easter eggs using just the materials and tools you already have in your pantry!

If you are like me, you forget to grab the kit until Easter is upon you. Don’t worry, this tutorial has your back. 

Everyone loves dying Easter eggs, and it’s a favorite tradition when it comes to this springtime holiday. It is one of my favorite activities with my kids and I’m sure it is for many of you too.

With Easter not that far away, there is still plenty of time to gather around the table with your family and dye some Easter eggs.

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The post How to Dye Eggs Without a Kit appeared first on A Classic Twist.

Hi friends! I have a short and sweet post for you today.

Easter Chocolate Cupcakes

These Easter Chocolate Cupcakes are a fun way to get the kids involved in Easter. Topped with cute eggs, they are perfect to bring along to Easter events.

I think sometimes we all just want a simple and/or easy recipe to make for a holiday. Ditch the layer cakes and complicated recipes for more straightforward ones.

I’m sure you busy people agree with me, especially when you have little ones running around. These Easter chocolate cupcakes are just that simple and easy recipe you need!! Even the kids will love helping with these.

There’s nothing complicated here but the cute factor is high with the ‘nested’ eggs and green grass. They are as easy as using your favorite chocolate cupcake recipe (below), your favorite icing with a special tip and some M&M eggs.

The only key step is to color your frosting green and use a pastry bag fitted with this Wilton Decorating Tip #233 Multi-Opening to create the grass effect. That’s it!!

Easter Chocolate Cupcake Ingredients

• all-purpose flour
• sugar
• cocoa powder
• baking soda & baking powder
• salt
• an egg
• buttermilk
• hot water or hot coffee
• vegetable oil
• vanilla extract & coconut extract (optional)
• unsalted butter
• confectioners’ sugar
• milk
• green gel paste (or food coloring)

How to Make Easter Chocolate Cupcakes

For the chocolate Easter cupcakes:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin tins with cupcake liners.
2. Sift together all the dry ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer.
3. In a medium bowl, combine all the wet ingredients using a whisk.
4. Mix the dry ingredients on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the mixer and add the wet ingredients. Mix for 2 minutes on medium speed and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Mix for an additional minute on medium speed.
5. The batter will be thin. Divide evenly among the cupcake liners.
6. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean.
7. Cool cupcakes on wire racks completely. Meanwhile, you could start on the frosting.

For bird’s nest frosting:

1. Whip butter for 8 minutes on medium speed using the paddle attachment of an electric mixer. The butter will become pale and creamy. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix on low-speed for 1 minute. Then increase speed to medium and mix for 6 minutes until the frosting is very light, creamy, and fluffy. Add in food coloring and whip for an additional minute.
2. Using Wilton tip #233 and a pastry bag, frost the cupcakes. Top with Easter egg M&Ms.

How to Store Easter Chocolate Cupcakes

OK friends, that’s it for now!

Hope you are thinking of your Easter menu and now have a few (fun) ideas to consider: 

• Speckled Easter Cake
• Classic Carrot Cake
• Baked Carrot Cake Donuts 
• Easter Cake Pops
• Easter Cookies

What do you think of these amazing chocolate Easter nest cupcakes? What would you serve with these cupcakes? Let me know in the comment section below. 

If you share across social media, make sure to tag #aclassictwist, so I can see your beautiful creation come to life!

Happy baking, friends!

Chocolate Easter Cupcake Recipe

Print

Yield: ~12-15 cupcakes

Easter Chocolate Cupcakes

These Easter Chocolate Cupcakes are a fun way to get the kids involved in Easter. Topped with cute eggs, they are perfect to bring along to Easter events.

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

For Chocolate Cupcakes:

Toggle ingredient group

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• ⅓ cup Cocoa powder (I used Ghirardelli)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 egg, at room temperature
• ½ cup buttermilk, at room temperature
• ½ cup hot water or hot coffee
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon coconut extract (optional)

For frosting

Toggle ingredient group

• 3 sticks unsalted butter, softened and cut into cubes
• 3 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 2-3 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon coconut extract (optional)
• pinch of salt
• 2-3 drops green gel paste (or food coloring)

Instructions

For the Cupcakes:

1. Preheat oven to 350degrees F. Line muffin tins with cupcake liners.
2. Sift together all the dry ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer.
3. In a medium bowl, combine all the wet ingredients using a whisk.
4. Mix the dry ingredients on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the mixer and add the wet ingredients. Mix for 2 minutes on medium speed and scrape the sides and bottom of bowl. Mix for additional minute on medium speed.
5. The batter will be thin. Divide evenly among the cupcake liners.
6. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean.
7. Cool cupcakes on wire racks completely. Meanwhile you could start on the frosting.

For frosting:

1. Whip butter for 8 minutes on medium speed using the paddle attachment of an electric mixer. The butter will become pale and creamy. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix on low-speed for 1minute. Then increase speed to medium and mix for 6 minutes until the frosting is very light, creamy and fluffy. Add in food coloring and whip for an additional minute.
2. Using Wilton tip #233 and a pastry bag, frost the cupcakes. Top with Easter egg M&Ms.

Making this Recipe?

Share it with us on Instagram using #aclassictwist so we can see what you are baking up in your kitchen!

The post Easter Chocolate Cupcakes appeared first on A Classic Twist.

Hey there, and welcome back, friends.

You are in for a treat!

Basketweave Cake

Creating a beautiful Easter basketweave cake is easier than you think with these step-by-step instructions. All you need are the right tools and buttercream frosting. 

I have been making this cake in my head for years but I don’t seem to ever get it done. At first, it was a chocolate-covered strawberry basket cake that I had in mind for Valentine’s day; a strawberry cake with chocolate frosting in basketweave style topped with chocolate-covered strawberries.

Wouldn’t that be cute??

Yeah, that is what I thought but never got around to it year after year. Luckily, this year I got my act together and I am putting my piping skills to work with this Easter basketweave cake.

This basketweave cake will be great for any Easter celebration. You can easily redesign the topping for a great Mother’s Day cake.

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The post Easter Basketweave Cake (Step-by-Step Directions) appeared first on A Classic Twist.

Hello friends! Easter is right around the corner and I have some new recipes for you. Starting with this easy Easter Cake pops. 

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The post Easter Cake Pops appeared first on A Classic Twist.

Hi friends!! I have a sweet and short post for you today. You need to add these coconut meringue nests to your Easter weekend as they are incredibly delicious and easy to make. If you are like me and have not yet completed your plans, then these meringue nests are for you. And if you are not celebrating Easter, that’s fine too because these are Spring perfect with a good dose of coconut and lemon.

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The post Coconut Meringue Nests appeared first on A Classic Twist.