Cooking for Children 1: Easter Treats Round Up

Well here it is - the inaugural Cooking For Children foodblogging event! This month's theme was Easter Treats and it was lovely to see the creativity and variety involved.

The picture above is from Kate at Pie in the Sky and her Eggspanding, Organegg Eggstravaganza! Kate mentioned to me that the souffle part of her Eggstravaganza might be a little hard for little hands, but using natural dyes to colour the shells and then turning them into herb planters is just right methinks! And for the curious at heart, there are updates here and here.


These Meringue Mice came all the way from Montreal and aren't they amazingly cute? Just look at those almond ears! They remind me of the sugar mice in the Enid Blyton books I read avidly as a child. Zoubida at Kitchen Culture whips these up for her sons each Easter. A great idea for a contrast to all the chocolate!


Fellow Melbourne girl Vicious Ange made Nigella Lawson's Easter Egg Nest Cake. I mentioned that I'd made this one year, but Ange's looks far more together than mine, (which was a bit of a shambles, but the kids only had eyes for the tiny coloured eggs). Ange managed to get her hands on some of those too, but I recommend stocking up early! This dessert is a rare thing - a rich chocolately adult taste but with such appeal for children too!


Ramya from Cooking Within My Grasp decided to join in the fun at short notice and I'm so glad she did. This is a fruit Easter bunny, made of sliced bananas and apples. Ramya says that this is her "simplest treat for my little boy" but it's also delightful!


Another Melbourne blogger at Lazy Cow came up with a plateful of goodness - Hot Cross Buns courtesy of Delia. My heart just melts when I look at the expression on the Girl's face as she reaches for one. This is what festivities are all about.


My own little effort at Trish Deseine's Easter Eggs can be found here (or you could just scroll down the page, he he). I had more ambitious plans to tackle these little cupcake Easter chickies as mentioned by Cate from Sweetnicks, but a trip to my favourite Nut Shop found them all out of shredded coconut. Now I thought it unlikely that everyone in the area had suddenly decided to make Spring Cakes (dear Martha's not that big in Melbourne, or Australia really) but I couldn't be bothered to trek round and find some more. Next time perhaps.

And speaking of next time, I'd like to nominate Birthday Party Food as the next theme (could she possibly have an ulterior motive you ask?). Please email your entries to favouriteplum(at)yahoo.com.au by 29 May 2006. And remember, it doesn't have to be a new post - any great ideas from your archives are very welcome here!

A very big THANK YOU to everyone who participated. And I know that a couple more contributions might be in the works - send 'em on in and I'll put them up. Happy Easter everyone!