Wilton Blog - Ideas from Wilton

Spring is upon us and that means that the Easter holiday is fast approaching so I wanted to offer some great baking ideas. When I normally think of Easter, of course, a lot of different decorations, designs and colors come to my mind such as bunnies and eggs, and different bright pastels.

The one recipe my family usually enjoys is a red velvet cake. I’m from Texas and it hardly seems like Easter without it. I do usually use a cream cheese icing and add less liquid so the decorating techniques are stronger. I would use fondant on other flavor choices that are more dense like a great sour cream pound cake. There is also a chocolate sour cream recipe on Bake Decorate Celebrate! which is the Wilton Public Television show (working on our 8th season). Red velvet tends to have a lighter texture so a lot of fondant covering/decorations might not be the best choice.

Wilton offers many Easter themed baking ideas and I would love to share some with you!

The first idea is for cakes lovers who enjoy different colored flowers. The Pastel Posies Cake has many softly colored flowers set against a white background (you could make it ivory or light yellow) which just makes the colors and designs POP! This is an example of a simple yet elegant design that is easier to create and does not take up a lot of time. You could make all of the flowers the same color too. You begin by baking two round cakes and allowing them to cool completely; then stack the two cakes with buttercream in between. If making red velvet use a cream cheese icing. Next you simply ice the cake and imprint with a cookie cutter. Lastly, decorate to your liking using a star tip to fill in the flowers, a round tip for the stem and a leaf tip for the leaves plus the large star for the bottom border. One of my favorites.

While I am on the topic of flower designs, I also wanted to make you aware of the Flowers and Candy Cupcakes. You just need some cupcakes, gumdrops, scissors and sugar or make some cookie pops and use them as the centerpiece. Cookie Pop Trio are tasty individual portions which are easy to make but the arrangement of them produces that WOW. For those of you looking for a challenging yet rewarding cupcake design, you may want to check out our bonnet season cupcakes which feature a cupcake base with a beautifully designed bonnet on the top as the focal point.

Many other great cake recipes and decorating ideas may also be found on our Wilton website, such as our Checkerboard Pastel Easter Basket or our Pure Egg-Stravagance Cake that both create beautiful desserts. Or if you are looking for a uniquely shaped treat you may want to look at our Sunny Funny Bunny Cake or our Sweet Kaleidoscope Cake. (I love butterflies because they are beautiful, signify spring and are free to flit between flowers.) Both of these cakes may be prepared with our Step-By-Step Bunny Pan or Butterfly Pan and beautifully decorated with a buttercream icing. If you are looking for a cake for religious purposes, you may want to check out our Rejoice, Alleluia Cake which features a beautifully decorated traditional cross and is sure to inspire all for the Easter season!

Here in the Chicago area, lamb cakes are very, very popular. If you buy the pan, there are some great ideas included. One is to cover him in coconut, another is to decorate with rosettes….it looks just like curly wool. You could just ice him smooth. I used the pan for a cheese “ball”/lamb and a tuna pate. I used green onion tops to surround him in “grass,” olives for his eyes, a piece of red pepper for his nose and olive pieces for his lips. I almost hated to eat it.

There are so many different recipes to bake for the Easter season and then how to decorate?! Too many choices that it’s hard to narrow down. Do I make the traditional item that the family has grown to love, or venture out and experiment with new flavors and designs? The ones above are only a small offering of what we actually have on our website. So as always, feel free to check it out.

Desiree is the Public Relations Manager at Wilton. She spends her days monitoring media opportunities, working with newspaper, magazine and television contacts, collaborating with bloggers and handling a variety of other odds and ends. Desiree has a degree in journalism and experience writing for newspapers and television. Outside of Wilton, she enjoys running and planning outings with friends.