Mini Easter Basket Cakes and How to Tint Coconut for Easter “Grass”

Mini Easter Basket Cakes are a fun dessert idea for Easter!

Festive to serve and easy to decorate, filling with colored coconut for “grass”, candy eggs,

and a chocolate bunny or chick, just like an Easter basket!

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 I’ve been hopping lately, with spring on a ladder and planting seed boxes! 

On one of my shopping trips for plants and bulbs I spied a Nordic Ware Shortcake Basket Pan at Walmart,

fun for a mini dessert and to spring into baking!

The shortcake basket pan makes 6 mini 3-inch cakes.

In addition to being ideal for shortcakes, you could fill the top of the basket with any combination of filling,

fruit, and/or whipped or ice cream. If you don’t want to invest in a pan,

you could make these Easter basket cakes

using ready-made shortcake dessert shells from the grocery store!

I tinted some shredded coconut using food coloring for Easter “grass” for the basket cakes.

Tinting shredded coconut is quick and easy! The first way is by placing your coconut

in a plastic bag or bowl, adding a couple of drops food color,

and mixing or massaging your plastic bag until you have your desired color.

Let your coconut dry a little on wax paper and place it in a baggie in the fridge until ready to use.

If you don’t have the exact shade of food coloring, remember

your color mixing from elementary school, red + blue = purple

and yellow + red will make a carrot color :)

I tinted my coconut by adding a couple of teaspoons of water in a jar,

then adding a couple of drops of food coloring,

giving the jar a shake to mix the color with the water for a more even mix of color.

I added the coconut to the jar and shook it again until it the coconut was tinted.

Since I added some water, I placed the coconut on a paper towel to absorb the excess moisture.

I used the recipe that came with the pan for theses mini cakes.

They only require 3 cups of batter, just enough for 6 cakes.

 Whatever cake recipe you use for these cakes, make sure to only fill the molds

3/4 full to avoid overflowing.

I used Baker’s Joy (non stick baking spray with flour) for the molds.

The cakes bake in about 20 minutes. Let them cool 7 minutes in the pan

and then turn out on a wire rack to cool completely.

I added a little confectioners’ sugar glaze, powdered sugar, milk and vanilla extract,

 to drizzle on the cakes before decorating them.

The decorating is the fun part, just like filling a real Easter basket!

Add your tinted coconut to your basket cake, and place candy eggs,

jelly beans or Jordan Almonds in your Easter “grass” nest.

I added a Lindt Chocolate Mini Bunny or Chick to each basket cake.

Mini Lindt Easter Chocolates come in a 5-pack (I found mine at Target).

They have adorable lamb mini chocolates too.

I thought these Easter Basket Cakes were full and cute without handles,

but be creative and have fun decorating and use licorice or

any rope-like candy you want for cake basket handles!

Happy Easter!

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