Easter Cupcakes

Easter is one of my favorite times of year. I have fond childhood memories of egg hunts, chocolate bunnies and peeping yellow chicks. Alberta, the province where I grew up, has a special connection to Easter. The tiny town of Vegreville boasts the world’s largest Ukrainian Easter egg known as a Pysanka.

This week’s recipe is adapted from Ina Garten’s famous coconut cupcakes which are topped with green coconut 'grass' and decorated with chocolate or candy eggs.

Ingredients
Cupcakes
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
5 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
2 1/2 cups all purpose unbleached flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup coconut milk
14 ounces shredded coconut

Frosting and Topping
1 pound cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups shredded coconut
6-8 drops green food color
candy eggs

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 325F. Line a muffin pan with foil liners.
2. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar on high speed. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix well.
3. In a small bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
4. Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients and the milk to the wet ingredients. Mix well. Add another 1/3 of dry ingredients and coconut milk. Mix well. Add remaining dry ingredients. Fold in coconut.
5. Spoon batter into muffin liners and bake until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, approximately 30 minutes.
6. Cool in pan for 10 minutes and remove to baking rack until completely cool.
7. To make frosting, in a large bowl beat cream cheese, butter, confectioner’s sugar, vanilla extract, and almond extract.
8. Using a knife spread frosting on cupcakes.
9. Put shredded coconut in a large Ziplock bag. Add a few drops of food color. Close tightly and shake until the coconut is colored. If you want deeper color, add more food color and repeat.
10. Sprinkle on cupcakes. Gently place two to three eggs on each cupcake. Refrigerate to set the frosting.

Sautéed Scallops with Summer Relish

Scallops are marine animals found in all of the world’s oceans. Closely related to clams, oysters and mussels, scallops are active swimmers and have the distinction of being the only migratory bivalves (two-shelled mollusks).

The term scallop comes from the ancient port of Ascalon which is modern day Ashkelon, Israel. The shell has become associated with Saint James the Greater, a disciple of Jesus. It is also a symbol of fertility - images of Venus, the Roman Goddess of fertility and love, are often associated with the scallop. The most well known example is Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus. As a testament to its enduring appeal, in 1988 the scallop was named the official shell of New York state.

Scallops are popular in Western and Eastern cuisine. In the United States and Europe they are often sautéed (as in this recipe) or breaded and fried. In Japan scallops are served fresh in sashimi, sushi or soup. In China dried scallops, known as conpoy, are used to flavor sauces, stir fries and rice porridge.

In anticipation of summer, this recipe can provide a fresh and tangy start to your meal.


Serves 4 as an appetizer

Ingredients
1/2 ripe mango, peeled and diced
1/4 red bell pepper, minced
1 green onion, minced
1/8 red onion, minced
handful of cilantro, finely chopped
5 tablespoons olive oil
juice of 1/2 lime
1 teaspoon honey
few drops of Tabasco or other spicy sauce
1 lb sea scallops (about 16)
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 lemon, cut into wedges

Directions
1. In a small bowl, mix mango, pepper, onions and cilantro. Set aside.
2. In another bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of olive oil, lime juice, honey and Tabasco. Pour over mango mixture. If making in advance, mix the two just before cooking the scallops.
3. Heat remaining olive oil in a large skillet. Sauté scallops over medium heat, about 2-3 minutes on each side.
4. Season scallops with salt and pepper. Serve topped with mango relish. Squeeze a wedge of lemon over each plate before serving.

Peanut Butter Nanaimo Bars

These are a Canadian classic. To read about the origin and history of Nanaimo bars, see my posting for Peppermint Perfection Nanaimo Bars.

Ingredients
Base
2 cups graham cracker crumbs (12 large crackers)
1 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup peanuts or walnuts, finely chopped
1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten or 1/4 cup pasteurized egg product
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon cocoa

Filling
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons instant vanilla pudding mix
2 cups confectioner’s sugar
4 tablespoons milk

Glaze
5 ounces semisweet chocolate chips or finely chopped baking chocolate
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions
1. Line (with wax paper or parchment) and butter an 8 x 8 inch metal baking pan.
2. To make base, in a large bowl mix graham cracker crumbs, coconut and nuts. Set aside.
3. In a small bowl melt butter. Add sugar, egg, vanilla and cocoa. Beat well.
4. Add wet ingredients to graham cracker mixture and mix thoroughly. Transfer to baking pan and spread evenly using the back of a metal spoon to create an even surface.
5. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
6. To make filling mix peanut butter and butter. Add pudding mix and confectioner’s sugar. Mix until combined. Add milk slowly until the filling is the consistency of toothpaste.
7. Spread on top of the base and use wet fingers to pat down in an even layer.
8. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
9. To make the glaze, mix chocolate and butter and melt in the microwave for 30 seconds to 1minute. Mix until the glaze is spreadable. Apply with a butter knife. Chill to set.
10. To cut the bars bring them to room temperature for 1 or 2 hours so that the glaze does not crack when cut. Use a sharp knife to score the surface and then make deep cuts to divide the bars.
11. Nanaimo bars can keep in the refrigerator for 1 month and in the freezer for 3 months.

Clove Zucchini Bread

Zucchini bread is one of my favorite treats. One of the main reasons is that because it contains zucchini and is baked in a loaf pan, I convince myself that I’m eating bread when really I’m eating cake. After all, just like carrot cake, it contains sugar and eggs. One key difference is that both treats are made with oil rather than butter, which is one justification that slightly assuages my guilt. The other is those pretty green flecks throughout the batter. For more about zucchinis, check out my previous posting for a zucchini soup.

The signature flavor of this treat is cloves which are the aromatic, dry flower buds of the evergreen clove tree. Named for their resemblance to nails (clavus in Latin), cloves are native to the Maluku Islands (the Spice Islands) of Indonesia, though they are now cultivated in countries throughout the Indian Ocean. Cloves have been traded and used in South Asia, the Middle East and Europe since antiquity. In addition to their culinary use, they are valued in Ayurveda, Chinese medicine, herbalism and dentistry for their use to dull pain, expel parasitic worms, improve peristalsis, relieve skin disorders and many other uses.

I can’t promise any medical benefits, but a warm piece of zucchini bread slathered with butter or cream cheese usually hits the spot.


Serves 18-24

Ingredients
3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground cloves
3 eggs
3/4 cup oil (canola or corn)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups brown sugar, packed
2 small zucchini, grated (about 2 1/2 cups)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease two loaf pans. Place parchment in the bottom to prevent sticking and re-grease.
2. In a large bowl, combine first six ingredients. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, beat eggs. Then add remaining ingredients.
4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix well.
5. Divide the batter between loaf pans. There will not be very much batter. Do not worry as it will rise.
6. Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
7. Cool for 15 minutes and then remove from pans to cool completely.
8. Store in an airtight container at room temperature and consume within 2 days. Alternately, it will keep for a week in the refrigerator.