Easter Egg Cake Pops In Phyllo Nests Recipes

EASTER EGG CAKE POPS IN PHYLLO NESTS

Steps:

• Stir the lime zest, lime juice and salt into the frosting in a small bowl.
• Crumble the cake into a large bowl; break up large chunks, but don't crumble it too finely. Spoon the frosting into the bowl 1/2 cup at a time and mix thoroughly until the mixture holds its shape when pinched.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop a heaping tablespoon of cake mixture into your hands and roll it into a ball. Place on the baking sheet and continue with the remaining mixture, then chill the cake balls until firm, about 30 minutes in the freezer or 2 hours in the refrigerator.
• Remove the cake balls from the freezer. Roll each ball into an egg shape. Place on the baking sheet so that the egg is standing on its fatter end, pressing it down lightly so that it doesn't fall over. Freeze or refrigerate the eggs until you're ready to dip them.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Place the phyllo cups on a baking sheet and spray with oil spray. Bake until crisp, about 3 minutes.
• Stir together the chocolate chips and 2 teaspoons of the vegetable oil in a medium microwave-safe bowl or other microwave-safe container and microwave, stirring every so often, until completely softened. Stir well until the mixture is smooth, adding the remaining 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil if needed. Allow to cool until just warm.
• Place the candy sprinkles into small bowls or shallow dishes (you can do a separate bowl for each color or just do multicolored sprinkles for all the cake pops).
• Spear the flat end of an egg cake pop with a wooden skewer and dip the egg into the melted chocolate to coat. Allow the excess to drip off, then dip into or sprinkle with candy sprinkles while the coating is still wet. Place the skewer in a glass so the egg is upright. Repeat with the remaining egg cake pops. If the coating on the completed eggs begins to soften, put them back in the freezer or refrigerator for a few minutes to firm up again.
• Place the phyllo cups on a large serving platter. Put the coconut in a bowl and add a few drops of green food coloring, then stir until all the coconut is bright green, adding more food coloring if needed. Place a spoonful or two of the green coconut into each phyllo cup. Remove the eggs from the skewers, then nestle an egg into each cup. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 3 days.

PHYLLO NESTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brush a 12-cup muffin tin with butter. Pull phyllo into 1-inch-thick bundles; cut bundles into 2-inch lengths. Place in a bowl; separate into a loose pile with fingers. Toss with butter, sugar, and cinnamon, if using.
• Divide among 12 muffin cups; press into bottom and up sides. Cook until golden and crisp around the edges, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool; fill with jelly beans.

EASTER EGG NEST CAKE

Steps:

• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a large metal mixing bowl (about 10 1/2 inches in diameter) with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
• Combine the cake mix, eggs, oil and 1/2 cup water in a large bowl. (The water and oil is less than what the box instructions call for.) Mix with an electric mixer on medium speed until fully combined, about 2 minutes. Pour the batter into the prepared bowl and bake until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Let cool for 15 to 20 minutes in the bowl, then remove from the bowl and let cool completely on a cooling rack, about 2 hours.
• For the nest: Meanwhile, spray the same bowl you used to bake the cake in with nonstick cooking spray.
• Melt the butter and marshmallows together in a large pot over low heat, stirring frequently. Add the white chocolate and cinnamon and stir until fully combined. Add the brown and yellow food coloring and mix until blended. Add the chow mein noodles and mix until all the noodles are coated with the marshmallow mixture. Transfer the mixture to the prepared bowl and quickly press into the bowl to form a nest shape. If your hands start to stick, spray them with cooking spray (Caution: the mixture is hot, but you have to work quickly or it will harden; you can wear gloves for this step if necessary). Let cool about 2 hours.
• Remove the nest from the bowl and line the bowl with plastic wrap, letting some plastic wrap hang over the edge of the bowl. Place the nest back in the bowl, over the plastic wrap. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
• For the eggs: Place the white chocolate in a small microwave-safe bowl. Heat in 30-second increments, stirring after each, until melted, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. (Do not overheat.) Divide the melted chocolate into 2 bowls. Whisk 6 drops blue food coloring and 5 drops green food coloring into one bowl until a robin's egg blue color is created.
• Gently push the pointed end of a skewer into the bottom of each chocolate egg, slightly off-center (do not hit the seam of the egg, or the egg will split along the seam). Gently dip the egg into the blue chocolate and turn until the egg is evenly coated. Lift the egg out of the blue chocolate and hold above the bowl to allow excess to drip off. Push the flat end of the skewer into a foam block or container of sugar or salt to allow the egg to dry undisturbed. Repeat this process to dip 4 more eggs into the blue chocolate. Dip the remaining 5 eggs in the white chocolate in the same manner. (If at any point the melted chocolate becomes too thick, microwave for 30 seconds more to loosen.) Set the eggs aside to harden for 1 hour.
• Remove the eggs from the skewers and place on a paper towel-lined tray.
• Combine 4 drops green food coloring and 4 drops blue coloring with 1 tablespoon water in a small spray bottle. Lightly spritz the green mixture onto the eggs in a speckled pattern. Allow the eggs to dry again for 1 hour.
• For decorating: Spread 1 can of the cream cheese frosting into the nest, leaving the outer border unfrosted.
• Slice 1 1/2 to 2 inches off of the flat side of the cake so that it will fit well inside the nest. Using a spoon, remove some cake to hollow out a depression in the top (the flat side) of the cake, leaving a 2-inch border intact along the outer edge of the cake.
• Place the cake hollowed-side up into the frosted nest. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a large tip with the remaining cream cheese frosting and frost the top of the cake; spread evenly using an offset spatula or a spoon. Sprinkle the toasted coconut over the top of the cake, making sure to coat completely. If not using immediately, refrigerate. (Let the refrigerated cake come to room temperature for 1 hour before serving.)
• Using the excess plastic wrap, pull the nest cake out of the bowl and place on a cake stand or platter. Arrange the eggs in the nest, then decorate with mint sprigs and edible flowers, and serve.

PISTACHIO BIRD'S NESTS

Steps:

• Lemon syrup: Combine the sugar, water, lemon juice, and zest in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat to dissolve the sugar. Lower the heat to medium and keep at a low boil until thickened, 15 minutes.
• Clarify butter: In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and bring to a simmer, 5-7 minutes. Once the white foam begins to form on the top, skim it off with a small ladle or spoon and discard. Continue to skim off the milk solids until the butter is clear. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Nests: Before assembling the nests, set up your work area. Lay the phyllo sheets on the work surface and cover with a dry towel or a sheet of parchment (to prevent drying). Place a sheet of parchment paper in front of you to work on, and have a baking sheet nearby. Place one sheet of phyllo on the parchment paper with the shorter side facing you. Lightly brush clarified butter across the top, in the center, and across the bottom. Fold the edge of the phyllo closest to you up to within 1 inch of the top edge. Place the wooden dowel on the bottom folded edge, with the end of the dowel meeting the left edge of the phyllo, and begin to loosely roll the phyllo around the dowel, stopping when you reach the inch of extra dough. Lift the dowel and gently push the phyllo to the left end, scrunching the dough together. Slide it off the dowel, and gently shape it into a circle, with the reserved inch of phyllo serving as the center of the nest. Place nest on the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining sheets of phyllo. Bake until lightly golden, 15 minutes.
• Assembly: Remove from the oven and fill the centers of each nest with about 2 tablespoons chopped pistachios. Use a small measuring cup or ladle to soak each nest with 3 tablespoons of lemon syrup. Set aside to cool on the baking sheet. Once cool, use a spatula to remove the nests from the pan. Serve at room temperature with some of the extra syrup from the baking sheet.