Easter Dessert Recipes

Easter marks the resurrection of Jesus Christ following his death by crucifixion on Good Friday. An Easter feast is not complete without a delicious Easter dessert. I've included a few of my favorite desserts, starting from the easiest to a slightly time-consuming one. Pick whichever suits you best.

Easter Egg Nest (great for kids)

Serves 24

Ingredients

• 4oz Rice Krispies
• 6 oz good-quality dark chocolate
• 72 mini chocolate eggs
• 24 tart shells

Preparation

Roughly chop up all the dark chocolate. Heat water in a pot by bringing it to a boil and then turning off the heat. Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and melt it over the hot water. Add the rice krispies and stir. Ensure all the rice krispies are generously coated with chocolate. Fill the tart shells with the mixture. Make a little dip in the center and place 3 mini chocolate eggs in each tart. Allow to set and serve.

Layered Lemon Custard and Berries Dessert

Serves 7 to 8
Ingredients

• 1 pint fresh strawberries, stemmed and halved lengthwise
• 1 pint fresh blueberries
• 1 pint fresh blackberries
• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut in chunks
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 lemons, zested and juiced
• 6 large egg yolks
• 2 cups sweetened whipped cream
• ¼ cup Lemoncello or Grand Marnier liqueur (optional)
• Fresh mint leaves, for garnish
• 1 regular pound cake, sliced

Preparation

There are two steps for this recipe. One is to make the lemon curd and the next is to form the layers. If you don't have the time to make the lemon curd, you can buy it from a store.

Lemon Curd: Whisk the egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice, and zest in a heat-resistant bowl until it is smooth. Bring water to boil in a pot, then reduce the heat to low and allow it to simmer. Set the bowl over the simmering water, without letting the bottom touch, and continue to whisk. It may take you anything between 10 and 30 minutes, but once the curd increases to twice the original amount and turns yellow and thick, you may stop. Ensure you don't allow it to boil during the process. Once it is ready, place it away from the heat and stir in the butter. Keep mixing till the butter melt and blends into the curd. Refrigerate until the custard is cold and firm.

Layering: Add whipped cream to the cold custard till it takes on the consistency of a mousse. Mix the berries together. Your serving dish should be a glass bowl. Now, your lowest layer is a layer of pound cake brushed with Lemoncello. Over it goes a layer of lemon curd and over that the berries. You may repeat the layers as many times as you want or until all your ingredients get over. For the sake of presentation, it is best for the topmost layer to be the berries.

Cool it before serving and garnish with mint leaves.

Easter Margarita Cheesecake

Serves 20
Ingredients

• 7 tablespoons of butter
• 4 packages cream cheese, softened (8 ounces each)
• 8 ounces or 65 wafers of vanilla wafer cookies
• 5 limes
• 1 orange
• 4 large eggs
• 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
• ¼ teaspoons salt
• 1 container sour cream (8 ounces)
• ¼ cups orange-flavor liqueur or orange juice
• Orange and lime slices, for garnish

Preparation

Heat the oven to 350° F.

Use a 10" by 2 ½" springform pan. Wrap the outside with foil to prevent any leakage. Now generously coat the inside of the pan with butter.

Use the limes to squeeze out ½ cup of juice. Grate the peel till you have 1 and ½ tablespoons of it. Make ½ teaspoon of orange peel.

Put the vanilla wafers and ½ tablespoon of lime peel in the food processor and run it till it turns into fine crumbs. You need about 2 ½ cups of crumbs. Melt the butter in the springfoam pan in the oven. Now mix the crumbs with the butter. Spread it evenly over the bottom and along the side of the pan, about 2 inches high. Press it down and bake it for 15 minutes. This will form the crust used as the base and sides of the cheesecake. Allow it to cool completely in the pan.

In a large bowl, whip up the cream cheese with a mixer until it is smooth. At regular intervals, scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula, to ensure that all of the cream cheese gets evenly whipped. Gradually add the sugar and salt and continue to blend. Set the mixer speed to low and add the eggs, one at a time. Between each egg, add sour cream, liqueur, orange peel, lime juice, and the remaining 1 tablespoon of lime peel. Continue to blend until smooth.

Pour the cream-cheese mixture into the crust. Bake cheesecake for 45 minutes. Even if it still jiggles in the center, it is done. Turn off the oven and leave it there for an hour to cool and set. After an hour, put it in the refrigerator for another 6 hours till it cools completely. It can also be left this way for up to two days.

To serve it, carefully remove the side of the springform pan. Let cheesecake cool down to room temperature before you serve it. To make the cheesecake look as good as it tastes, arrange orange and lime slices on top of cake for garnish.

As you enjoy these heavenly desserts with your family and friends, take a moment to think about the moment you are commemorating. Easter brings with it a clean slate from all our transgressions (provided we are sorry for them) and the promise of a new life, as a member of God's family.