Taste it: Cupcakes for Easter

Since Easter is right around the corner, it's only fitting that we start baking special Easter treats.

This recipe and idea is so cute and I would share this with my family and friends.

What you'll need:

9 large eggs (Only one will get used in the cake. The rest are just used for the shells. I'm going to post a fantastic French toast recipe soon that used up six of the eggs.)
1/2 Cup flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
a pinch of salt
1/2 Cup sugar
1/4 Cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 tsp lemon extract
1/4 Cup sour cream

Prepare the eggs

Carefully poke a small hole in the top of each egg. I found that the easiest way to do this was to use the tip of a corkscrew bottle opener.

Once you have poked a tiny hole, peel back the edges of the hole to expand it a bit. The holes need to be large enough to fit the tip of a piping bag inside. You can always make the hole larger when you are ready to pipe so err on the smaller side during this step.

Turn the egg upside-down and dump out the contents. Keep the contents of one egg separate to use in the cake recipe. If you plan on using the other eggs for baking, it might be helpful to store them in small plastic containers in groups of two (otherwise it will be hard for you to later tell how much of your big bowl is two eggs). You may wonder why there is a thermometer in the photo. I used the tip of the thermometer to help get all of the egg out of the shell.

Rinse the insides of the eggs out thoroughly over the sink. Then, immerse them in saltwater for thirty minutes.

Rinse the egg shells in cold water and lay the eggs hole side down on a paper towel to dry.

Prepare the cake mix

Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium-sized bowl and set aside.
In a large bowl, mix one egg and sugar until light and creamy.
Add the butter and lemon extract and mix until fully integrated.
Mix in the dry ingredients until just combined.
Add the sour cream and mix until smooth.

Assembly

Place the prepared egg shells into a cupcake tin. Use aluminum foil to help them stand upright.

Load the batter into a piping bag fitted with a large round tip. Make sure that the tip can fit all of the way inside of the egg hole. If it can't, expand the hole a little bit at a time until it fits. Fill your eggs about 3/4 full with batter. This is the tricky part. If you underfill the eggs, you won't have a complete cake egg inside when you crack them after baking. If you overfill the eggs, cake will overflow out of the egg during baking.

I found that it was best to let the cake overflow out of the top of the egg and then simply pick it off (eat it) and clean the shell with a damp towel before serving.

Bake the eggs at 350 F (180 C) for 23 minutes.

Images and recipe by Cupcake Project