easter cakes

This easy carrot loaf cake makes a great afternoon tea recipe. The nut-flecked loaf topped with orange cream frosting is a winning combination.

Carrot cake loaf

140 milliliters/4¾fl oz vegetable oil,

free-range eggs

light brown sugar

grams/10½oz grated carrot (grated weight)

grams/3½oz raisins

pecans

flour

salt

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

cinnamon

½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg

½ tsp mixed spice

full-fat cream cheese,

grams/1¾oz butter,

tsp vanilla extract

grams/1¾oz icing sugar, sifted

orange, zest only

This chocolate drip cake is the ultimate birthday treat for chocolate fans.

For this recipe you will need four 20cm/8in sandwich cake tins (approximately 4cm/1.5in deep), a 20cm/8in and a 30cm/12in cake board, two non-slip cake mats trimmed to about 18cm/7in and 25cm/10in diameter, a cake side scraper and a medium piping bag with a large star-shaped nozzle. 

Chocolate drip cake

400 grams/14 ounces plain flour,

cocoa powder

1½ tsp baking powder

1½ tsp baking soda

dark chocolate,

270 milliliters/½ pint milk

300 grams/10½oz dark soft brown sugar

300 grams/10½oz caster sugar

free-range eggs, beaten

double cream

250 grams/9 ounces salted butter,

icing sugar

tbsp vanilla extract

chocolate,

grams/1½oz salted butter

golden syrup

sunflower oil

grams/3½oz chocolate,

Edible gold lustre dust, for dusting the dark chocolate shards

Our easy carrot cake recipe only needs one tin and two bowls – just add the wet ingredients to the dry and bake.  This classic carrot cake has a touch of orange and walnuts plus the obligatory cream cheese icing. It's incredibly quick to put together, but because it is baked in a single layer, it needs to cook slowly all the way through to the centre. This results in a dense, moist carrot cake that isn't too sweet with too much icing. It will keep for several days in an air-tight tin, if you can restrain yourself.

Easy carrot cake

eggs,

200 milliliters/7fl oz vegetable

raisins

grams/3½oz walnut pieces,

tsp mixed spice

tsp bicarbonate of soda

grams/5½oz unsalted butter, softened

tbsp caster sugar

300 grams/10½oz full-fat cream cheese,

Homemade carrot cake and rich cheesecake batters are swirled together to create the ultimate springtime dessert. A topping of sweetened sour cream offers a delightful tang, and the carrot ribbon garnish makes an elegant presentation.

Carrot Cake Swirl Cheesecake

Cake Ingredients

all-purpose flour

granulated sugar

baking soda

vegetable oil

butter (melted)

eggs (beaten)

carrots

Cheesecake Ingredients:

cream cheese (at room temperature)

vanilla extract

eggs

sour cream

Icing Ingredients:

Carrot ribbons or grated carrots (for garnish (optional))

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Spray a 9 inch spring form pan with flour-based cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. Stir in the oil and melted butter, then add beaten eggs and mix until combined. Add the grated carrots and chopped pecans, stir until combined. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Stir in salt and all-purpose flour. Mix in the vanilla and eggs, beating well between each addition. Add sour cream and mix until thoroughly combined. Set aside.

Pour 2/3 of the carrot cake batter into the prepared pan and smooth with a spatula. Pour in 1/3 of the cheesecake mixture on top of the carrot cake batter. Alternate the remaining carrot cake and cheesecake batters, ending with the cheesecake batter on top. Insert a butter knife into the layered batters and swirl. Place the cheesecake in the oven and bake until center is slightly jiggly, about 1 hour.

Remove from oven and let cool at room temperature 1 hour, then refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight. Run a knife around inside of spring form pan to loosen the sides of the cake, but do not release from pan.

Just before serving, preheat oven again to 350 degrees. Thoroughly mix sour cream and sugar by hand in a medium bowl, then pour over top cheesecake and smooth with a spatula. Place in the oven and bake for six minutes. Remove the cheesecake from oven and let cool for about 10 minutes. Release the collar from the spring form pan.

Garnish the top of the cheesecake with the chopped pecans and carrot ribbons.

Get the kids helping out in the kitchen to decorate these cute chocolate Easter cupcakes. Choose from bunnies, chicks and sheep – they're equally delicious

Easter cupcakes

light brown soft sugar

self-raising flour

tsp baking powder

tbsp milk

unsalted butter

ready-rolled white fondant icing

orange, yellow, pink and black gel food colourings

white mini marshmallows (check the label if vegetarian)

Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Tip the brown sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder and a pinch of salt into a large bowl. Whisk the eggs, oil and milk in a jug. Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry, whisking until smooth. Line a 12-hole cupcake tin with paper cases. Divide the mixture between them, then bake for 20 mins until risen. Leave to cool in the tin.

Meanwhile, make the icing. Beat the icing sugar and butter with an electric whisk until pale and fluffy. Whisk in some of the milk to loosen to a pipeable consistency, if needed.

For the chick decoration, colour a small piece of fondant orange using a drop of food colouring gel and another small piece black. Colour a few tablespoons of the icing yellow and spoon into a piping bag fitted with a large round nozzle. Pipe a yellow blob in the centre of the cupcake and a smaller one on top. Roll the black fondant into two small balls and place them as eyes. Roll a little cone of orange fondant for the beak. For each foot, roll three small, longer pieces and pinch them together at one end. Push the feet in beneath the body, hiding the pinch.

For the bunny, beat the cocoa and 1 tbsp milk into a few tablespoons of the icing. Spread over the cupcake. Spoon a few tablespoons of the plain icing into a piping bag fitted with a large round nozzle and pipe a small blob on top. Stick a mini marshmallow on top of that for a tail. For the feet, shape two small pieces of white fondant into ovals and press down to flatten. Colour a small piece of fondant pink and form two balls and six smaller ones. Press the balls into the flattened ovals in a paw pattern. Place the feet on either side of the rabbit’s bottom.

To make the sheep, colour a piece of fondant black and shape a small piece into an oval. Use a skewer to press nostrils into the bottom end. Pinch two smaller pieces into ears and stick these on using a little water. Roll two small balls of white fondant and two smaller black balls to make eyes. Cover the cake with a layer of plain icing and fix the face in the middle. Surround with mini marshmallows for the woolly coat.

Top 5 easter cakes recipes from across the web

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Carrot cake loaf

Chocolate drip cake

Easy carrot cake

Carrot Cake Swirl Cheesecake

Easter cupcakes

Top 5 easter cakes recipes from across the web

The most viewed easter cakes recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Carrot cake loaf

Chocolate drip cake

Easy carrot cake

Carrot Cake Swirl Cheesecake

Easter cupcakes

The most viewed easter cakes recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine