Lobster Ravioli 2.0

I made lobster ravioli again; the filling recipe and dough recipes were essentially the same but this time there were several differences in the dish.
#1 I made them at work, not home
#2 The pasta rolling machine broke, so I did most of the rolling by hand which resulted in more work, more time, more muscle, and a slightly thicker dough
#3 I didn't have the little ravioli molds this time, so I hand cut them and pieced them together with round cutters
#4 I paired the ravioli with a different sauce and different sides

Vegan Lemon Pastry Cream

You don't need cream or any dairy or eggs at all to make a nice, smooth, tasty pastry cream.

Vegan Lemon Pastry Cream
1⁄4 cup all-purpose (plain) flour
1 cup non-dairy milk
3 Tablespoons granulated (white) sugar
1 pinch salt
juice of 2 large lemons
1⁄4 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a small saucepan, whisk together the flour with 1/4 cup of the milk. Whisk in the remaining milk, sugar, and salt. Cook the mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly, for 5-6 minutes or until very thick. Add juice and vanilla, then cook again until mixture becomes thickened again. Pour into a bowl and place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface to avoid a skin from forming. Cool and chill.

Ricotta Ravioli

As mentioned in yesterday's post, I made homemade pasta dough and with it a couple batches of ravioli. Following is the recipe for the ricotta filling I used in the triangular-shaped vegetarian ravioli. 

Herbed Lemon Ricotta Filling
1 container (475 grams)
1 Tablespoon chopped tarragon
zest of one lemon
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 Tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
cracked black pepper
salt

Mix all ingredients together. This is just a base recipe - any desired combination of herbs and spices may be used. I used lemon and tarragon as flavors to pair with the lobster ravioli I also made.

Ricotta Ravioli
Roll pasta dough into sheets using the thinnest setting, keeping sheets covered when not in use. If you have a handy ravioli tray, then the process will be easier. If not, you will need cutters of desired shape and size to cut the individual raviolis out by hand.

Drape one sheet over the ravioli tray, and gently press a small spoonful of filling in each cavity. I'm not sure exactly but I think I used about one teaspoon filling for each ravioli. Brush all the edges of dough with egg yolk or water. I just used water for this and used my finger and found no problems with the dough not sticking or the seal breaking. Gently drape another sheet over, then unmold the raviolis as directed. Place on a baking sheet dusted with flour. Repeat until either all the filling or all the pasta has been used up.

Ravioli can be cooked immediately, chilled for awhile before cooking, or alternatively frozen and cooked from frozen as required. Cook in boiling salted water for a few minutes until dough is cooked through, 

Super Rich Cookie Brownies

These brownie cookie bars may be super rich and super sweet, but they are also completely vegan! It just goes to show vegans can eat rich and decadent treats as well.

Brownie Base
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups granulated (white) sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup oil
1 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Caramel Hazelnut Filling
Maple Cookie Mix
1/3 cup flaked almonds

Preheat oven to 350◦F. Mix all brownie ingredients together and spread in a 9x9 inch pan.
Heat together hazelnut paste and sugar to a boil. Spread over brownie as evenly as possible.
Top with spoonfuls of cookie batter, which will spread out during baking.
Top with almonds.
Bake for 25 minutes until set.

Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Pie

This makes a big batch of pumpkin pie....six good sized pies! The filling can also be  baked into tarts, custards, muffins, loaves, etc. It is a classic pumpkin pie recipe with plenty of spice and is super easy to make. Just ensure you  have a bowl or tupperware container big enough to mix the batter in. What's sad is the 12 cups of pumpkin hardly put a dent in our pumpkin supply.

Pumpkin Pie
6 pie crusts, not par-baked
12 cups pumpkin puree
10 cups evaporated milk
12 eggs
6 cups brown sugar
2 teaspoons salt
3 Tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 Tablespoon ground ginger
1 Tablespoon ground nutmeg

Prepare the crusts. Whisk remaining ingredients together. Pour into crusts. Bake at 400◦F for 15 minutes, then at 350◦F for 20 minutes or until set. 

Chocolate Coffee Cake

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there! For Mother's Day this year, I decided to combine two of my mother's favorite flavors, chocolate and coffee, into her cake. I didn't want to make a frosted, piped and decorated cake this year, so I went for something different. I would call it zuccotto-style, but certainly not a true zuccotto. Zuccotto is a semi-frozen dessert consisting of cake, liquor, a cream filling, and usually a glaze. It is a dome-shape.

For this cake, I baked two eight inch round moist chocolate cake layers. Once cool, I pressed one into a plastic-wrap lined bowl. I filled it with a coffee cream filling, then topped it with the other cake layer. I froze it to firm the filling, then inverted it onto a plate. I glazed it with a simple chocolate glaze, and decorated it with chocolate truffles, and coffee icing.

Dough Danish Turnovers

Going along with the same idea as those pie dough scraps from last week, here we have dough 'turnovers' or shortcut Danish pastries. We took the leftover dough from making a tortiere meat pie, and made mini turnovers and one large turnover. We didn't really worry about getting perfect triangles as we were just utilizing scrap dough anyway. 

Some are filled with dark chocolate chips, which melted just enough to form a nice filling but not enough to ooze out of the pastry. Some are filled with spiced almonds, some with crushed maple walnuts, some with cinnamon sugar, and some with a combination of those. They are simply sealed with water, but also could be brushed with egg wash or milk before baking to allow more toppings to adhere. They can be brushed or dipped in melted butter after baking to give them a little more flavor. This is a basic pie dough for a savory pie, so the dough itself is not very sweet, making it the perfect vessel for a maple glaze or a frosting as well.

Vegan Opera Cake

Vegan Opera Cake
'SPONGE' CAKE BASE
1/2 cup all-purpose (plain) flour
2 Tablespoons granulated (white) sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch salt
water, as needed
MOCHA FILLING
10 Medjool dates, pitted
3 Tablespoons mocha flavoring
1/2 cup icing sugar
CHOCOLATE GANACHE
2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1-2 Tablespoons maple syrup
GLAZE
icing sugar
water

SPONGE CAKE BASE: Mix together the dry ingredients, then add enough water to form a batter slightly thicker than pancake batter. Spread into an even rectangle on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake at 350◦F for 10-15 minutes until firm and just golden. Cool.
MOCHA FILLING: Soak the dates in hot water until softened (or very briefly boil them). Drain well, then purée all ingredients together in a food processor until smooth.
CHOCOLATE GANACHE: Whisk cocoa and syrup together until smooth.
GLAZE: Mix together just enough to make a thick, but pourable glaze.

To assemble: Cut the cake into rectangles, you should get 6-8 equal pieces with some scraps. Spread 4 of the pieces with mocha filling. Stack together (fillings not facing each other). Then put a plain cake rectangle on top and top with chocolate ganache. Drizzle with glaze.

The other day at a function, we needed a vegan dessert in a pinch. Chef suggested fruit - but I think vegans deserve something just as good, and similar, to what everyone else is having. So I checked out the desserts, concluded it was something like Opera Cake, then whipped up a similar version in about 30 minutes with no recipe. Its just enough for two servings, and looks and tastes quite similar to the real thing. Just some guidelines: the cake should be spongy and a bit tricky to cut, the filling very thick, the ganache shiny and smooth. Of course, you can certainly serve it with fruit (and sans the whipped cream).

Mushroom Green Pepper Dip/Filling

The secret to the smooth body and texture of this recipe? Tofu - blended until smooth. This adds lots of protein and calcium to the dish, and is also a great alternative for those who love the idea or texture or nutrition that hummus provides, but cannot tolerate beans.

Mushroom Green Pepper Dip/Filling
cooking oil
1 package (8 ounces/250grams) white button mushrooms, finely chopped
1 large green bell pepper, finely diced
1 small or 1/2 large white onion, finely diced
1 package firm tofu, well drained and patted dry
1/4 cup tahini paste
1 Tablespoon prepared mustard
3 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon olive oil
salt, ground black pepper, garlic powder, and paprika, to taste

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, green pepper, and onion and cook, sweating the vegetables but not coloring them, until just softened but not mush. Remove from heat and cool. You may prefer to cook the vegetables one at a time in the pan, they won't take long.

Place remaining ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary, adding more mustard, vinegar, or oil as needed. Stir in the vegetables. 

Now this can be used as a dip, spread or filling. I used it as a filling for Mushroom Green Pepper Pinwheel Bites, using yesterday's vegan pie dough recipe. I rolled it out as thinly as possible, spread thinly with this mixture (I did have some leftover), and rolled it up and sliced it, just like making cinnamon rolls. Then since the dough was very soft I popped them in the freezer for an hour to firm up, then baked them at 350◦F for half an hour until golden. I cut them in half to serve. This made about 25 whole pinwheels, or 50 halves. Makes a nice hors d'oeuvres that freezes well too.

Sweet and Sour Stuffed Dates

There is hardly a recipe for these - just something tasty I recently came up with. Dates can be stuffed with a variety of yummy fillings, the most common being nuts and soft cheeses. Wrapping sweet dates in salty cured meats is also popular. I decided to stuff my dates with a little sweet relish, bound together with a bit of tahini paste. I blended these together using a handheld immersion blender, then thickened the mixture on the stovetop with a small amount of cornstarch. Then I added a good amount of ground black pepper. Theses flavors give an acidic bite to contrast with the sweet date. I like the bright green color from the relish as well, and the consistency of the filling was perfect. 
I then sprinkled the dates with a few crushed red pepper flakes to add some color and extra heat.

The best dates to use for stuffed dates are those big, fresh, soft and sweet Medjool dates if you are able to get your hands on them. They usually have to be pitted, opening up a large cavity for a good amount of filling. These dates can even be cut in half for an open-faced stuffed date, or if you'd you would like smaller bites. I didn't have the Medjool dates, and I wanted tiny dates, so I used the common dates found at grocery stores.To prep in advance, these stuffed dates may even be frozen in a single layer. 

Lemon Coconut Cream Filling

Lemon Coconut Cream Filling
1 can (400ml) full-fat coconut milk
juice and zest of one large lemon
1-2 Tablespoons maple syrup
1 drop almond extract
1 drop vanilla extract

Place the can of coconut milk upside down in the refrigerator overnight. This will cause the fat to separate out - leaving a layer of semi-solid, creamy white coconut fat, and a layer of watery liquid. If you forget to do this or don't have time - you can speed up the process by placing the can in the freezer. Just don't leave it there for longer than a couple of hours or you will end up with a rock-solid block of fat. Sometimes you can get the layer of fat without chilling the can first, but this will yield much less fat.

 Open the can and scoop off the solid fat on top, leaving the liquid and reserving for another use. This can be used for flavorful smoothies, vegan mac and cheese sauces, baked goods, or any other application requiring non-dairy milk, but not non-dairy thick cream. If you place this liquid back in the fridge, it will even thicken a bit as well.

You will need around 1/2 cup of solid fat. Add the remaining ingredients; you can add more or less maple syrup and more or less lemon zest for desired flavor. Mixture will thin out slightly, but will thicken upon chilling. 

Pour into parfait glasses or small bowls, prepared crust, between cake layers, or in desired application. Chill until firm, or freeze to firm it up faster. 

Wild Berry Tarts

A stunning, colorful, individual-sized  wild berry tartlet featuring four juicy berry flavors, lemon, coconut, cream, and almonds!

This is a fruit tart I made as my first creation and my first lunch for the New Year. My boyfriend has been hinting at me for awhile about fruit tarts with lots of berries, and I was excited to finally make one. I will definitely make another version in the summer time when fresh berries are in season, but considering I used frozen berries, this fruit tart turned out pretty darn good. Despite being composed of 0% chocolate and 100% vegan ingredients. It's also chock-full of fruit and nuts, no-bake, gluten-free, and dare I say, healthy?

Components
CRUST (almond cookie crust)
FILLING (lemon coconut cream filling)
TOPPING (four berry compote)
GARNISH (berries)
GLAZE (maple syrup)

Procedure
Prepare the crust and press into two four inch tart pans or miniature aluminum pie plates. Freeze to firm up while preparing filling.

Prepare the filling and pour over the crusts. You can now refrigerate this until firm or freeze it so it firms up within hours. I recommend freezing, especially if you just made the crust, because if the crust is not fully set, it will become too soft in the fridge. Freezing for longer does not seem to affect the texture of the coconut milk in the cream filling.

Prepare the berry compote. Ideally cool the compote completely and chill it first, but if you are short on time like me, you can spoon it straight over the partially set cream filling and smooth it out as best as possible. It may make the filling melt a little, but it will be fine once you pop it back in the freezer. Alternately, chill it in the fridge.

Take the pretty whole berries set aside from the compote and arrange them artistically on the tarts. You want to keep the berries frozen until ready to use because they are too soft to work with (without smushing them) when thawed. However, you don't want to serve a tart with frozen berries, so keep in mind this must be done a little before serving time to allow them to thaw. The tarts can also be placed back in the freezer after topping with the berries if they are being held longer.

Heat a little maple syrup in the microwave for thirty seconds or so and brush over the fruit on top to make it shine. The tarts can be frozen again if you want to hold them, held in the refrigerator briefly, or if you plan to serve them very soon, left at room temperature to warm up a bit before eating. If frozen for more than a few hours, gently place in a container or cover with plastic wrap.

Serving
Gently unmold the tarts from the pans and place on plates. I find this is really easy if you line the tart pans with plastic wrap before filling with the crust mixture - then the tarts simply lift straight out! You can add other garnishes such as lemon wedges, toasted coconut, chocolate sauce, or (coconut) whipped cream, but I like to let these fruit tarts shine on their own.

Planning these ahead and serving them can be slightly tricky. The crust can be made as far in advance as you wish, as long as you have your dates soaked - so I recommend doing this at least the day before to ensure a less soggy crust.

The coconut custard firms up much better in the freezer and causes the crust to become a bit soggy if left for too long at lower temperatures.

The berries place don top of the tart should be done as closely to serving as possible, still allowing enough time for them to thaw out, though I did have success with freezing the tart like this as well.

Glaze the berries last minute for optimum shine.

Ideally thaw frozen tarts only 6-14 hours before serving, and allow to come to room temperature to serve. Do not freeze for longer than a few days, and do not leave at room temperature. This will ensure optimum flavors and textures.

Dried Fruit and Nut Filling

Dried Fruit and Nut Filling
one recipe Khoshaf (dried fruit compote) from October 21st, 2015 post
1 cup ground hazelnuts
1 cup walnut pieces
1/2 cup pistachios, shelled
1/4 cup macadamia nuts
1/4 cup cashews

Pulse all together in a food processor until nuts are chopped, and mixture is combined. It should hold together and not be dry, but not be overly sticky either. If too dry, drizzle in a little honey or fold in an egg white, if too wet, add some more ground nuts (any type).

This is the filling I made for my baklava. It makes quite a large batch and may be slightly more than needed for the recipe. You can use the leftover to make a few more baklava or use it as a filling for cinnamon rolls, use it as a compote, fold it into a cake or fill a cake with it, etc. I think it is tasty eaten as is as well.

It isn't a traditional baklava filling which would just contain nuts, but I incorporated some dried fruit for more taste, texture, and sweetness. This allows the use of less sugar as well. Feel free to vary the types of fruits and nuts to suit your tastes.

Vegetable Samosas

Vegetable Samosas
DOUGH
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup cold water
FILLING
2 large potatoes, cut into fine cubes and boiled until just tender, drained and cooled
1 cup peas (frozen work fine)
1/2 red onion, finely diced
1/2 cup dal (any kind homemade or not)
1 hot chili pepper, minced
juice of one lemon
SPICE MIX (see tomorrow's post)
water

DOUGH: Rub together the flour, salt, and oil. Gradually mix in the water. Knead ten minutes. Spread with oil, wrap and let rest thirty minutes. Then divide into eight balls, roll each out to a six-inch circle and cut in half to form sixteen semicircles.
FILLING: Mix all together, the potato should break and mash a bit to bind everything. Season to taste.

Form each semicircle into a cone, sticking the two sides of dough together with water to moisten. Fill with a good two tablespoons of filling, or as much filling as you can to bring it to the top, but still be able to seal the pocket. Seal, moistening with water again to form a pyramid.
Place on a parchment-paper lined baking sheet and bake at 350◦F for about 20 minutes until golden brown. Serve with  peanut dipping sauce, if desired.

This was my first time making, and eating, samosas. For my version, I made a whole wheat dough and baked them to be healthier. My filling is vegetable-based with plenty of spice. The filling ingredients can be varied of course, and although perhaps not traditional, meat or cheese could be added as well.

Charlotte Russe Malakoff Au Chocolat

Here is the dessert I decided to make for the second European buffet. I wanted to do a dessert (of course, I would do a dessert everyday but I figure I should learn to do some savory foods as well and expand beyond my comfort zone, plus we have two days in each region), and I wanted to do something not so simple. Something extravagant that I had never done before. And what better for a dessert than something classical French.

I settled on making a Charlotte, something I had never made, seen, or eaten in person. For those unfamiliar, a Charlotte is a dessert, often classified as a cake, trifle, or icebox cake. There are, of course much like anything, many variations on this dessert. It consists of a base, either cookie, cake or bread used for lining the mold, and may also contain more layers of this. The filling is typically a mousse, custard, or gelatin. Charlottes may be decorated with fruit, additional cookies, chocolate, whipped cream, nuts, and more. There are several famous types of Charlottes. A Charlotte Russe, invented by Marie-Antoine Carme and named for famous royals, consists of Bavarian cream and ladyfingers; whereas a Charlotte Royale is lined with swiss roll instead.

I did not choose to do an exact, classical Charlotte version, but I got the base of my recipe from "The Art of French Cooking" book by Julia Child, so I figured it would be pretty authentic and successful.

I choose to use ladyfingers as my outside lining for the mold, a chocolate spongecake for the base, and Malakoff au chocolate for the filling, which is a chocolate almond mousse, but I substituted hazelnuts instead (because it reminds me of nutella). I decorated my Charlotte with chocolate whipped cream and dipped the ladyfingers in dark chocolate on one end and white chocolate on the other end.

My Charlotte did not turn out exactly as I had envisioned (just search the internet for pictures of 'Charlotte cake'. The main issue was the ladyfinger batter - I don't think the egg whites were quite stiff enough as the batter was too thin too pipe into the classic ladyfinger shape, so I ended up having to just spread it onto a sheet pan, bake it, then slice into rectangles. It doesn't give the same form of a classical Charlotte, but the taste is equivalent and I think my presentation is nice nevertheless.

Dolmathakia Me Rizi

Dolmathakia Me Rizi
grape vine leaves, briefly blanched
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup finely diced onion
1/2 cup short-grain rice
1 cup vegetable stock
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onion
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 Tablespoon chopped dill
1 teaspoon chopped mint
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
salt and pepper

In a large sauté pan over medium heat, sauté the onions in the oil until translucent. Add the rice to coat, then the stock. Cook until rice is barely tender, it should still be fairly firm since it will be cooked further. Add remaining ingredients.

Place a tablespoon or so of filling in the center of the leaves, then roll up tightly.Reserve broken and small leaves for lining the bottom of a frying pan. Place the rolls in the pan in a single layer, then cover with more leaves. Cover with olive oil, then simmer on low heat for 30-40 minutes until tender.
Yield depends on the number of leaves you have, but this makes enough filling for around 20-30 leaves.

This is one of the dishes I tried out for the buffet yesterday - stuffed grape leaves from Greece. Someone else also made them but made a different filling using ground flank steak. I had never tried or worked with grape leaves before, so it was a new experience for me. I thought they turned out fairly well, but I am not sure what they were supposed to turn out like. The dish is actually fairly easy to make, just the rolling part is slightly tedious. Just like empanadas, ravioli, dumplings, passionrolls, and anything else you fill and roll - it is difficult to get enough filling for a good filling to outside ratio without the filling falling out, I would definitely make these again, I think they would be a nice appetizer. 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Muffins

This is a muffin recipe I came up with, trying to mimic the flavors of a chocolate peanut butter cup. I began with a basic double chocolate muffin recipe, then added some peanut butter to it and peanut butter chips, and made a chocolate peanut butter filling to make them extra rich. These are large, chocolaty muffins with a soft crumb, a smooth filling, and a crisp topping, and they are especially tasty (and messy) warm. 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Muffins
MUFFINS
1 cup buttermilk
1 large egg
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
3 Tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose (plain) flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter chips
FILLING AND TOPPING
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1 Tablespoon chocolate milk

Preheat oven to 375◦F. Grease or line one 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.
FILLING: In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt all ingredients together until smooth. Set aside.
MUFFINS: In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, peanut butter, oil, and vanilla until smooth. Whisk in the sugar. 
In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, soda, and salt. Add to the liquid ingredients and mix until just moistened. Stir in both chips. 
Use half the batter to fill each muffin cup half full. Make a small dent in the center and place a teaspoon of filling in each. Cover with remaining batter, enclosing filling completely. 
Bake for about 20 minutes, until muffins are firm and spring back lightly when touched. A toothpick inserted where there is no filling should come out clean.
TOPPING: If you happen to have any leftover filling, it is perfect for topping the muffins to give them a little more flavor and pizzazz. If needed, gently reheat it to make it thinner, then either drizzle or spread over the muffins. 

Caramel Cream Pie

Caramel Cream Pie
1 nine inch pie crust, baked and cooled
2 packages (four serving size) instant vanilla pudding 
3 cups heavy whipping cream (35%)
thick caramel sauce, as needed

Beat the pudding mixes and cream together for a couple minutes until thickened. Spread a good layer of caramel sauce in the bottom of the pie crust. Top with the pudding filling. Drizzle more caramel sauce over top, then use a fork to swirl it around. 

This is such a simple pie - another one of my 'cheat' cream pies using pudding mix. Alternately, the filling could be made from scratch as well, and any type of pie crust could be used - even shortbread, graham crumb, or chocolate crumb. Caramel isn't one of the typical cream pie fillings, and here caramel is just used on the top and the bottom, with a vanilla filling in between. However, this pie was a huge crowd pleaser, largely due both to its taste and its uniqueness. 

Chick Deviled Eggs

I've never made (or had) deviled eggs before, but I figure I might as well try them for Easter, and make them look like chicks while I was at it to better suit the occasion. To do this, simply hard-boil as many eggs as you need. Actually, technically speaking, eggs should never be boiled, as this causes a sulfur reaction that makes the grey rings around the yolks. Eggs should be simmered gently until of desired doneness.
Once cool, carefully peel the eggs and cut off the top third. Cut a small slice off the bottom if needed so the egg stands up, or use egg cups. Carefully remove the yolks, and place them in a bowl. Mash with a little mustard, mayo, salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, or whatever flavorings you would like. Then pipe, spoon, or scoop this mixture back into the eggs. Top with the top third of egg. Decorate with carrot slices for the beak and arms/feet, and black peppercorns or capers for the eyes. Garnish with chives as grass if desired. 

Easter Egg Cake

I like to bake and decorate a cake every year for Easter. And of course, I always like to change it up. I've done plenty of bunny head cakes in the past, as well as a full bunny cake, a chick cake, a basket cake, cupcakes, and a cake with a bunny and a chick. I've done chocolate, carrot, pineapple, spice, red velvet, and hummingbird cakes. This year I decided to make a lemon Easter egg cake with vanilla buttercream filling and chocolate ganache. 

To make the egg cake, I baked my lemon cake in two eight inch round pans. Once cool, I cut both cakes in two pieces, slightly off the center. I frosted the bottom of both larger pieces with vanilla buttercream and sandwiched them together, cut portions down, on a platter. Then I frosted one side of each of the smaller pieces and stuck them on either side of the large pieces. Then I trimmed the cake so it was level and more egg-shaped. Next, I covered the entire cake with chocolate ganache. Then I colored the buttercream purple, yellow, and green to decorate the cake. I used different tips - a grass tip to decorate the tray around the cake, a flower tip to make purple flowers, a yellow tip to make stars and decorations. I also wrote Happy Easter in the middle of the cake.

When constructing this cake, it helps to briefly freeze the layers before cutting and decorating to make them firmer and less crumbly. In an upcoming post I will share the lemon cake recipe.