An Easter cupcake, an Easter beagle, and an Easter vacay


I don't do Easter. Not like I do Christmas. I don't go overboard, filling every nook and cranny in my house with Easterly decorations as I do with Christmas. Yes, I add a few touches, a few alusive bits and pieces, mainly in the living room, stuff that can also double up as Spring appropriate. Because Easter holds no special meaning to me.


I think this comes down to not being a christian. I'm not touched by the meaning of Easter, as I cannot bring myself to have the necessary faith to believe in the story of a guy who died on a Friday and by Sunday was doing the happy dance once more, having ressurrected. That's not part of my belief system. A child being born in the deep of Winter, now that's another story, and one I can go along with.


I also think it has something to do with living in the northern hemisphere. Christmas is lived in Winter here. Days are dark and the cold is biting. So that season to me is all about celebrating the hearth. The warmth in our homes, with ours. Those who really, truly warm us, in the end. The immediate family. Those always there, sharing days and nights and good and bad. To me, Christmas is about this: cozyness, warmth, joy in the home, and thus my choice of colours for that season always comes down to reds and golds and greens. Those are vibrant yet sufficiently warm, those are light giving and uplifting, those sing togetherness and family and hearth.


Easter is more about the extended family, and maybe I end up having a problem with that. Also, it's during Spring, when the sun is out and days are long and the temps are just perfecto to invite us outside - I don't fare well with extreme heat, nor extreme cold, thus killing my dreams of spending a winter in Scandinavia... - to have us out of the home, and not in it. So I don't feel Easter in the way I feel Christmas, and it shows - except for Peanuts, my fave episode happens to be The Easter Beagle, so there's a bit of a contradiction - it shows in my countenance and in my house.


Still, as far as I'm concerned, every excuse is good to indulge in a bit of cooking and eating, bringing to the table flavours that are familiar and comforting, or innovative and unknown. 'S all good, as far as I am concerned, I really do love trying out new things, new combinations, new ideas. But I am a creature of habit, and so I do go back many times to the same old, same old, as I cannot get enough of things I find flavourful and to my liking. I end up craving them, at specific times. Like orange and carrots. A combination I cannot get enough of, and find that works pretty well be it in the deep of Winter as in the Spring.


The orange glaze on top of the cupcakes, with those tiny pearls of confectioner's sugar is what makes these look Easter proper, I think. But they can be donned without any glaze at all, and still be gifted to loved ones, or presented at an Easter tea party or as dessert for Easter lunch. They're small-ish, so won't be way too filling, at least I tend to make them quite small. Now for the recipe!


 You will need:

  • 2 medium carrots
  • 1 cup vegetable oil (sunflower, for instance)
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • zest of an orange
  • orange juice and confectioner's sugar for the glaze
Start by turning on the oven at 180 and lining your cupcake tins with either bakig parchment or those pretty cupcake holders in paper that are oven appropriate (widely available now, here in Portugal, Ikea has a good value for money range, Casa has the prettiest ones). Peel and grate the carrots and zest the orange. Add sugar, flour and oil and mix well, until you get a soft mixture. Add the baking powder and the eggs, one by one, beating well together. Scoop the batter into the cupcake tins, up to the middle and bake in the oven for about 30 - 45 m, or until you find they are ready. It will depend on a number of things, like the oven, the baking tins so use your discretion. Let cool on a cooling rack, and get on with the glaze. Use about a coffee cup of confectioner's sugar, to which you will add a spoon of orange juice, mixing well until it's combined. Add more sugar if you find it too runny, or more juice if it's way too thick. Once the cupcakes are cool, drizzle the glaze over each one, and enjoy!! Easy, peasy, right? But oh so delicious!


Thus said, do enjoy your hols and your Easter in the best way you can, I will be aiming for a roast leg of lamb this sunday, a mexican inspired chicken salad this saturday, and have yet to decide on tonight's dinner! Also there are new fresh cakes in my mind to test try their recipes, there's a mousse ready for its close up, there are pictures needing to be edited, and I'm pretty sure there will be tons of dishes to wash, don't know how it its but the longer the weekends, the more I have on my hands!! Have a nice Easter, y'all!!


Comments

  1. Também não atribuo qualquer significado especial à Páscoa, mas adorei a tua sugestão de docinhos! <3

    beijinhos, Nádia
    My Fashion Insider

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  2. We don't decorate our houses for Easter here in Australia, so I was surprised to see wreaths and decorations on doors when I was walking around Brooklyn, NY last year (there to celebrate a special birthday). I think Easter for me is a reminder of love, tolerance and celebrating our differences. That and lots of Easter baking like these yummy looking orange and carrot muffins. I haven't tried that flavour combination before but love the sound of it, I'll try these when my daughter starts back at school after these school holidays to include with her lunch. I cooked roast lamb as well this Easter and love slow cooking it for hours and hours until it melts in your mouth. Btw I fixed my blogger commenting problem, I wasn't logged into Google +.

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    Replies
    1. oh baking delicious goodies should be mandatory, whatever the occasion loool!!!

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  3. para quem não comemora a Páscoa deixáste aqui belíssimas sugestões...e marchavam já 3 desses queques deliciosos e lindos!!!

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