Easter
563 recipes found
Giant Strawberry Turnover
This showstopping strawberry turnover is like your favorite toaster pastry, writ large and ready to share. It’s also easy to achieve with flaky layers of store-bought puff pastry, and a jam-enhanced strawberry filling means that it will be delicious even if your berries aren’t top notch. The final flourish is a buttery vanilla glaze, which is just sweet and rich enough to make this giant turnover look beautiful and feel extra special. It’s the perfect centerpiece for a festive brunch and is sure to wow any guests.
Cherry Almond Scones
All you need is a bowl and a baking sheet to make these buttery, fruit-filled scones (no rolling pin required!). Bringing the dough together with a fork and then gently folding it in half helps to avoid overmixing while creating tender, flaky layers. Toasty almonds and a sprinkle of sugar give these scones a crisp exterior, while cherries provide pops of sweetness and color. Fresh or frozen cherries work equally well, so you can make them any time of year.
Easy Carrot Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting
The whole point of carrot cake is that, in its most ideal form, it’s a vehicle for cream cheese frosting, a triple stack of fluffy spiced cake, finished with generous swoops of frosting. Baking the cake batter in a half-sheet pan, then cutting the flat cake into three rectangles delivers thin, even layers and skips the hassle of baking and slicing tall cake rounds. To highlight the tang of cream cheese, this frosting includes sour cream instead of butter. It gives the whole thing a fresh lightness, each forkful equal parts tender cake and silky frosting. The resulting cake looks modern with its sharp angles but can still be cut into classic triangular wedges.
Grilled Asparagus With Burrata and Furikake
There’s something truly special about this combination of charred asparagus and scallions, milky burrata and crunchy furikake, a Japanese condiment of seaweed, sesame seeds and fish flakes. Maybe it’s the umami of the naturally savory asparagus, which intensifies on the grill; or the nubbly seeds blanketing the soft cheese; or the ingredients so redolent of land and sea. It’s probably best to not overthink it, and just dig in. Serve it alongside lentils, grains or grilled chicken, seafood or mushrooms for a full meal.
Roasted Carrots With Whipped Tahini
For a spectacular vegetable side at home, try this tried-and-true formula: A swoosh of sauce on a plate topped with a cooked vegetable and a confetti of finely chopped garnish. For this iteration, blend the base (a cloud of yogurt, tahini, citrus and garlic) and chop your garnish (a pretty pile of pistachios, dill and chives) while the carrots roast. Set on a platter, served hot or at room temperature, it’s a special side dish that can also hold its own as a vegetarian main, supplemented with chickpeas, quinoa, couscous or toasted bread.
Herby Asparagus Salad With Beets and Prosciutto
Asparagus is absolutely a symbol of spring, so what better way to celebrate the season than by centering them in a salad. A platter of green spears, bathed in a mustard-tinged vinaigrette, would be perfectly fine, but for something more celebratory, it’s nice to dress things up, with finely slivered raw beets, a shower of dill, parsley and mint leaves, and chopped (or quartered) soft-cooked egg. A few slices of prosciutto complete the colorful assembly. For the best flavor, look for the freshest firm, shiny asparagus available, whether pencil thin, medium or hefty.
Lemon Cake With Strawberries and Cream
For dessert, a bowl of strawberries and cream is always a winner. But instead, consider this lemony spongecake topped with strawberries and cream, which may well generate applause. It’s worth seeking out smaller strawberries, which tend to be riper and sweeter than the large, white-shouldered type. The spongecake may be baked in advance, up to 2 days ahead. It’s fun to hide the strawberries under a thick layer of whipped cream, but you can serve the cream on the side if preferred.
Lemon Layer Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting
This soft and moist lemon cake is doubly lemony, thanks to lemon juice and lemon zest, and is soaked in a tangy lemon syrup to further boost the flavor. These cake layers bake up nice and flat, so you don’t even need to worry about trimming them. The cream cheese frosting comes together easily with two simple tricks: Start by blending the powdered sugar with the butter until thoroughly smooth before adding the cream cheese, and be sure to use room-temperature cream cheese so it incorporates easily. (Firm cream cheese can lead to overbeating and liquidy frosting.) Practice your piping skills by using a little bit of the frosting and a star pastry tip to pipe a few rosettes around the border of the cake. If you’d prefer not to pipe, thinly sliced lemons make a lovely garnish all on their own, too.
Lamb Shoulder With Greens and Beans
Spring and lamb are synonymous, so in honor of the season, make this succulent lamb shoulder braised with white wine and aromatics. While the lamb is, of course, a showstopper, the real star is a mélange of greens (chard, kale or large spinach) and beans, punched up with rosemary, hot pepper and orange zest. Look for fresh favas, or substitute the peeled frozen variety (found at Middle Eastern grocery stores), frozen edamame, baby limas, green peas or a combination. An ideal dinner party main, every part of this dish can be prepared hours (or a day) ahead and reheated just before serving.
Chocolate Easter Egg Nests
Loved by adults and children alike, Easter nest “cakes” are the perfect no-fuss baking activity for the whole family. These couldn’t be simpler: Just stir, portion, chill and fill with as many candy eggs as you can. If you can find golden syrup (a wondrous sweetener from Britain and a product you’ll never regret having in your pantry), you’ll get a more complex sweetness and chew, though corn syrup will work, too.
Princess Cake
Princess Cake, or Prinsesstårta, makes a spectacular centerpiece for any celebration, but despite its regal appearance, this simplified version is far easier to make than it looks. The original recipe from Sweden called for three layers of soft spongecake and custard, coated with stiffly whipped cream and covered with a thin layer of green-dyed mandelmassa (almond paste), finished with a single pink rose. While the essence and color scheme have endured, almond paste has been replaced with sweeter, smoother marzipan and the pleasing domed shape — thought to allude to a crown — is a modern addition. Purists may argue that jam, which did not appear in the original recipe but is a fixture of contemporary versions, does not belong, though the tart tang is most welcome among the sweet muddle of soft, creamy layers. Here, the usual three cake layers are reduced to two, and using good-quality shop-bought jam saves time. The entire cake is built in a bowl, allowing you to take your time with each layer. Once turned out, it reveals a beautifully smooth dome, fit for any princess.
Broken Egg Salad
This dish has all the elements of a classic egg salad — eggs, mayonnaise and mustard — with one radical change: The cooked eggs are simply torn into deliciously irregular chunks of whites and yolks in a more laid-back approach. Egg salad recipes usually call for hard-boiled eggs, but since they stay largely intact here, this recipe calls for just-set yolks that are golden and jammy at their core. When cooking eggs, every second counts, so make sure you set a timer as soon as the eggs hit the water to avoid overcooking. Eat this egg salad as you would the classic: with bread as a sandwich or tartine, tossed with some chickpeas or grains, or served alongside roasted veggies.
Frosted Carrot Cake With Ras el Hanout
In this twist on the classic carrot cake, ras el hanout, a vibrant Moroccan spice blend, replaces the recipe’s typical spices. Translating from “top of the shop” in Arabic, ras el hanout refers to a blend of the finest available spices in the shop. Its warm, complex flavor, rich with cinnamon, ginger and coriander, adds a delightful kick and fragrance that perfectly complement the tangy cream cheese frosting.
Gnocchi Gratin
This speedy take on potato gratin uses store-bought potato gnocchi instead of sliced potatoes. Not only does the switch cut down on prep time, but the gnocchi get soft and luxurious as they warm in the heavy cream. A sprinkle of nutty Gruyere and salty Parmesan melts into the creamy sauce, which is also scented with garlic, sage and nutmeg — that is, except the layer of cheese on top, which browns and crisps. Serve this as a side to roasted cabbage, asparagus, chicken or another protein.
Slow-Roasted Lamb With Grapes
There’s something deeply satisfying about a slow-roasted lamb that requires minimal effort but delivers big reward. This version, rubbed with cumin, salt and a touch of sugar, falls effortlessly off the bone, its richness perfectly complemented by a sticky-sweet sauce of roasted grapes and bright lemon. The rub lightly cures the lamb, enhancing its flavor in just 30 minutes before roasting; the flavor develops further as the lamb roasts. After three hours of cooking, the heat is turned up and the grapes are added, caramelizing and releasing their juices, which commingle with the lamb juices in the pan, resulting in a glossy sauce that clings to the lamb. Pair it with crispy potatoes, a sharp green salad, or lean into the spiced undertones with fragrant rice. However you serve it, this slow-cooked lamb is the kind of dish that feels both special and effortless, perfect for gathering around the table.
Simple Whole Artichokes
An artichoke, which is actually the flower bud of a thistle, is a beguiling thing to eat, with its prickly outer leaves, purple inner leaves and a hidden, tender heart. This cooking method is as straightforward as they come, with minimal preparation and a luxurious sauce of melted butter for dipping. Spike the butter with the same ingredients used to season the boiling water; that could be lemon, black pepper and bay leaves, as written, or switch it up with dried chile, garlic, sage leaves or coriander seeds. Just keep the lemon, which adds brightness and keeps the artichokes from browning as they cook.
Rhubarb-Almond Crumble
This tangy, fruity dessert is gluten-free, vegan and suitable for Passover (those who choose to avoid cornstarch at Passover can use tapioca starch in the filling). The topping is a bit sandier and more caky than a classic crumble, with a subtle, nutty sweetness from a combination of almond flour, almond butter and shredded coconut. Paired with the jammy fruit, the almond butter gives this crumble distinct PB&J energy. Note that almond butter brands vary widely; some are loose and runny, others thick and pasty. If yours is on the thicker side, you may need to add a bit more to get the crumbs to hold together. Leftovers make a terrific breakfast, topped with yogurt if you like.
Lemon Butter Salmon With Dill
Glossed with a tangy blend of honey and lemon, this salmon caramelizes around the edges while staying juicy and tender. Dill, lots of it, brings freshness, green as cut grass. Wild salmon works especially well here because the butter in the sauce gives the lean fish richness. (Fatty farmed salmon will simply taste even richer, not a bad thing at all.) Quick-pickled cucumbers and mustard seeds offer a cool, crunchy pop to this dish, but the salmon is also tasty on its own. Serve this with rice, potatoes or a tray of asparagus roasted alongside the salmon.
Spice Muffins
Deep, complex flavors from molasses and stout distinguish these muffins from the typical sweeter varieties, and nutty brown butter and spices like cardamom, allspice and cinnamon bring a toasty warmth. Those familiar with Jamaican spice bun will be pleasantly surprised to find many parallels between that cake and these muffins. The chewy, spicy tendrils of crystallized ginger — which are optional in this recipe but highly recommended — stand in for the traditional fruit mix and further amplify the ground ginger in the batter.
Old-Fashioned Coconut Cake
The variations of coconut cake in the South are nearly endless and depend a lot on where you live. Pecans make an appearance on occasion. The frostings range from cream cheese to buttercream. Yellow cake layered tightly with custard and topped with meringue is not uncommon either. This version, though, is simple and traditional, and about as delicate and old-fashioned as they come. It is pared down to a soft white cake and a delightful Swiss buttercream that centers the coconut. It’s a perfectly elegant way to celebrate spring and all of the holidays that come with it.
Chocolate Pretzel Shortbread
In this sweet and salty shortbread, finely ground pretzels replace a portion of the flour to deliciously toasty effect. Use any style of salted pretzels you have on hand; just make sure to finely grind the pretzels until they are the texture of almond flour for the best results. (If the ground pretzels are too chunky, the shortbread will not hold together.) Bittersweet chocolate chips add richness to this simple cookie, but any type of chocolate chips will do the job. Slice the baked shortbread with a very sharp knife to reduce crumbling.
Orange-Ginger Brussels Sprouts
Bring sunshine to your vegetable routine with a sharp dressing of turmeric, ginger, citrus and lots of black pepper. The combination is reminiscent of nose-clearing tonics and the spices in sabzis which can brighten roasted brussels sprouts as well as cooked beets, squash, carrots, cabbage or other hardy vegetables. Juicy orange chunks, chopped peanuts and cilantro (including crunchy stems) add pops of texture and freshness. This side would glow on a dinner party spread, or make it a weeknight meal by stirring in chickpeas or eating it with grains and yogurt.
Bomboloni
Bomboloni are filled Italian doughnuts, often enjoyed with morning coffee or as a snack in the afternoon. They are referred to as “bombe,” or “bombs,” in some parts of Italy, possibly because the filling often explodes from the inside when you take a bite.
Rumbledethumps (Potato Mash With Cabbage and Cheddar)
A traditional Scottish potato-cabbage mash, rumbledethumps is named for the sound a spoon makes as it rattles along the sides of the pot as you mash all of the ingredients together. This version is adapted from Ali Stoner (or “Roving Haggis” as she is known on Instagram and YouTube), who updates traditional Scottish recipes for the modern palate. She takes a few liberties, replacing cabbage with brussels sprouts and boosting flavor and texture with caramelized onions, fresh chives, punchy mustard and a crunchy panko topping. This humble mash invites variation, whether you prefer it chunky, creamy or topped with extra cheese and cream. It is complex enough to stand alone, with a sharp green salad, but it also pairs well with beef tenderloin, a simple roast chicken or a good pot of beans.