Peep Peep - An Easter Story

Happy Easter Monday, everyone! Hopefully you've had time off over the last few days to relax and enjoy good eats with those you loved. 

One of my favourite things about Easter is that I get two days off from work (and for those of you who know that I usually work 7 days a week, this is a big deal!) I also get another chance to dream up some special holiday-themed cupcakes to bring in to work. I actually found the inspiration for this Easter's batch of desserts back in January and have been sitting on it ever since.

Ta da! This year's Easter Offering: Lemon Peep Cupcakes! Cake and icing are lemon, surrounding a gorgeous raspberry curd filling. DROOL. Between the flavour combinations and the decorating, I'm really happy with how these turned out. I got the design idea from Hoosier Homemade and the cupcake recipe from Your Cup of Cake. I'm a big fan of adding either sour cream or yogurt to your cake bases, as this helps create a very dense and moist cake once it's been baked.

To be perfectly honest, I've never actually had a Marshmallow Peep (the treat these cupcakes are modeled after) and I've never seen them sold in Canadian stores. Apparently they are a huge deal in the United States and many newspapers sponsor Peep diorama contests! The biggest contest is held annually by The Washington Post and they just announced their list of winners. My favourite? Hands down, "Everyone Peeps".

Surprise! Raspberry curd filling.

Coworkers definitely enjoyed today's sugary pick-me-up and I've left a few at home to nom on with the roomie. No immediate plans for the next batch because a) it's weird making cupcakes for your own birthday, and b) the next holiday to come up is Victoria Day, which isn't exactly inspiring me theme-wise. 

Maybe I'll have to wait until Canada Day to break out the next batch. Any quintessential Canadian flavour combos out there that you suggest I try?