Easter Baking & Making with a twist!

Easter is the one time of year where you can wake up and eat chocolate for breakfast guilt free! Tis a magical time when calories don’t add up and sugar isn’t bad for you, or at least that’s what I like to tell myself. Of course there’s nothing like tucking into a traditional chocolate egg, but why stop there, let the fun continue with quirky takes on traditional treats. Here’s a few I came up with this year.

creme eggs benedictCrème Eggs Benedict

Looking for a traditional egg based breakfast, then look away now because this is the unashamedly sinful Crème Eggs Benedict. Halved crème eggs lay innocently upon slices of Chocolate Carrot Cake before being laden with molten milk chocolate. I might have created this but I’m not afraid to say it’s amazing!

If you want to give this a try, you’ll need 1 crème egg per two slices of cake and some melted chocolate to top.

Chocolate Carrot Cake:

175g/6oz Self Raising Flour

1 Tsp Ground Cinnamon

100g/4oz Grated Carrot

100g/4oz Butter

100g/4oz Soft Brown Sugar

2 Large Eggs

25g/1oz Cocoa Powder

Mix grated carrot together with the flour, cinnamon and cocoa, set aside.

Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Whisk in eggs one at a time, spoon in a little flour mixture to stop the eggs curdling. Gradually mix in the flour mixture.

Bake in a loaf tin Gas Mark 3, 325F, 160C for 30mins – 1 hour. Cool on a wire rack.

Once cooled place two cut slices onto a plate. Top each with half a crème egg, make sure you use a sharp knife to cut the crème egg in half or it may squash slightly. Then top with melted milk chocolate.

 

IMG_7852The Mega Egg!

This egg may look innocent enough, but it is in fact a mega egg! That means a chocolate egg which contains a Kinder Egg, but wait there’s more, inside the Kinder egg is a Crème egg! Mega Eggs require a steady hand and a sharp knife but the look on your recipient’s face is definitely worth it.

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Begin by cracking open a Kinder egg, insert a crème egg still in it’s wrapper. Next wrap up your Kinder egg once again so the surprise is hidden.IMG_7779 IMG_7780

Crack open a regular chocolate egg and insert your special Kinder egg. Finally place the original egg back together and rewrap for Chocolate based delight and wonder.IMG_7930IMG_7933

The Ultimate Chocolate Easter Nest

When it comes to chocolate, bigger is almost always better, so with this in mind I made the ultimate chocolate Easter nest. Made by melting chocolate which is then mixed together with crushed shredded wheat cereal, it is then arranged inside a cake tin and topped with Mini Eggs. Much better than individual portions served in cake papers.

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For more quirky Easter ideas check out my previous posts, here are a couple of suggestions:

Easter Egg cakes cooked in real egg shells!

Easter Egg Knitting Pattern

Easter Egg Knitting Pattern Tutorial

With Easter just around the corner there’s every chance that you are looking forward to baskets laden with chocolate eggs and gatherings with your family.

But what if you don’t like chocolate!? Or you’re on a diet and avoiding sugar!? Need you suffer an eggless day with little to bring you cheer? Here at Angel Eden we say no, we think you should knit yourself some calorie free Easter Egg decorations with our brand new pattern 🙂

In fact we think you should knit them even if you are endulging in chocolate, we like them that much!

The Pattern

The eggs were knitted using DK yarn and size 4mm(8) needles.

They could be made larger by using a bigger yarn and needles.

The eggs are knitted in stocking stitch, one row plain and the next purl.

Cast on 10 stitches

Row 1 Purl

Row 2 Knit 1, Kfb (Knit into the front and back of each stitch) all the remaining stitches, (19sts)

Row 3 Purl

Row 4 Knit 2, Kfb (Knit into the front and back of each stitch) all the remaining stitches, (36sts)

Row 5 Purl

Row 6 Knit

Row 7 Purl

Row 8 Knit 1, (Kfb, K1) repeat until last stitch, K1, (53 sts)

Row 9 Purl

Rows 10 – 25 continue in stocking stitch and pattern as desired. The pattern could be different coloured stripes or spots or zig zags.

Row 26 (K2, K2Tog) repeat to end of row, K1(40sts)

Row 27 Purl

Row 28 Knit

Row 29 Purl

Row 30 (K1,K2Tog) repeat to the end of the row, K1 (27sts)

Row 31 Purl

Row 32 Knit

Row 33 Purl

Row 34 K1, (K2Tog) to end of row, (14sts)

Row 35 Purl

Row 36 Knit

Row 37 Purl

Row 38 (K2Tog) to end of row, (7sts)

Cut the yarn and thread through the last 7 stitches and pull up. Sew down the side of the egg and then stuff with toy stuffing. Finish off by running some yarn round the cast on edge and complete sewing up.

Snowman Egg Cosy Tutorial

It has been sometime since we had a tutorial so today I thought I would share my Snowman Egg Cosy pattern. This lovely little chap will not only keep your eggs warm, it will keep them festive and stylish too!

What You’ll Need

Size 3 Knitting Needles

Snowflake Wool

Orange/Red Wool

Black/Brown Wool

Wool Needle

Pattern

This pattern is made extra special by the use of Snowflake wool, if you’ve never encountered this you really must search it out. It’s fluffy, sparkly and notoriously awkward to knit with but the results are beautiful.

Body

Cast on 30 st using the snowflake wool.

Beginning with a K row st-st 22 rows

(K2, K2tog) 7 times, K2 = 23st

P one row

(K1, K2tog) 7 times, K2 = 16st

P one row

K2tog to end = 8st

B & T tightly

Carrot Nose

Cast on 5 st using orange/red wool

St-st 4 rows

B & T tightly

To Make Up

Using your wool needle sew up the two side edges of the body leaving the cast on st free.

Sew up the side edges of the carrot nose leaving the cast on st free.

Stuff the carrot lightly if required & then sew onto the centre of the body.

Next, taking your brown/black wool sew on two eyes and four dots for his coal mouth.

Place over your eggcup and egg and admire!

I think a couple of these would make a lovely Christmas gift, perhaps buying a couple of eggcups and packaging it all in a pretty box.