American Classics
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[Photograph: Alexandra Penfold]

This recipe is inspired by a 1950s Swan's Down Cake ad I discovered via Pinterest. The beauty of it is that you can make it however you please, just choose your favorite cake and frosting recipe; it's all about how you assemble and decorate the cake. If your Easter cooking time is already booked up with preparing the main feast, you can use a boxed cake mix (shhh!) paired with a quick homemade frosting or make things even easier on yourself by using the canned stuff. I promise I won't tell.

I happen to be a big fan of the traditional yellow cake, but you can use any recipe that makes two 8-inch layer cakes (or boxed mix for that matter). Because the frosting is essential to holding the cake together and giving it the rounded egg shape, you need a lot. If you're pressed for time and using pre-made frosting, I'd recommend 2 (16-ounce) containers to be on the safe side. I was able to create this cake with a single (12.6-ounce) ounce of dark M&Ms, using nearly all the M&Ms, but if you are very particular about the colors and pattern you create on your cake, you may want to purchase 2 bags to ensure that you have more than enough of the colors you want, especially since the distribution of colors can vary from bag to bag (believe me, I did a high school statistics project on this ages ago).

About the author: Alexandra Penfold is mild-mannered literary agent by day, food ninja by night. Never one to skip dessert she's the Brownie half of Blondie & Brownie, a Midtown Lunch contributor, and co-author of the forthcoming book New York à la Cart: Recipes and Stories from the Big Apple's Best Food Trucks. You can follow her on Twitter at @blondiebrownie.

Every recipe we publish is tested, tasted, and Serious Eats-approved by our staff. Never miss a recipe again by following @SeriousRecipes on Twitter!

About This Recipe

Yield: Serves 12
Active time: 1 1/2 hours
Total time: 2 hours
Special equipment: 2 (8-inch cake pans), electric stand mixer

Ingredients

  • For the Cake:
  • 2 (8-inch) round layer cakes such as this Yellow Birthday Cake from Flour by Joanne Chang, or your favorite boxed cake mix
  •  
  • For the Chocolate Frosting:
  • 20 tablespoons (2 1/2 stickes) unsalted butter, slightly softened
  • 12 ounces (about 2 cups) confectioner's sugar
  • 12 ounces 72% cacao chocolate, melted in a double boiler or microwave-safe bowl
  • 1 (12.6 ounce) bag of Easter M & Ms (I used the dark chocolate ones)