Happy Easter!

In my book, it's impossible to go wrong with Meyer lemon and raspberries. A friend of mine sent me this recipe from Kitchen Trial and Error and I knew it would work perfectly for our family's Easter dinner dessert (plus Monday morning breakfast, yes!).

I baked mine with a gluten-free baking mix and the consistency of the cake was spot on. I also cut some of the the sugar in the frosting and doubled the cream cheese. 

Cake Ingredients:

9 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 eggs, separated
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup plain greek yogurt
1 cup raspberries, fresh or frozen

Buttercream Ingredients:

4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
zest & juice of 1 Meyer lemon 
Pinch of salt
2 cups powdered sugar

1. For the cake, preheat your oven to 320F. Grease and line two 6" cake pans with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolks one at a time, mixing after each addition. 
3. Add the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda and mix until mostly combined. Add the yogurt and mix until combined. 
4. Beat the egg whites to medium peaks and fold into the cake batter. Fold in the raspberries.
5. Divide the batter evenly between the two pans and bake 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. 
6. Let the cakes cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before turning them out onto a wire rack to cool completely before icing.
7. To make the buttercream, cream the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add the lemon zest and juice and salt and mix until combined. Slowly add the powdered sugar and mix until combined. Mix on medium speed for a couple minutes until light and fluffy. If your buttercream is softer than you'd like, you can either add more sugar or chill it for 30 minutes.
8. To make a four layer cake, slice each cake layer in half. Spread with buttercream and top with another cake layer. Continue until all layers are used. Spread the cake with remaining buttercream. Store finished cake in the refrigerator.

It's been a joy to ship out Easter basket surprises. We hope your little bunnies enjoy the festivities of the weekend!

xoxo,
Kari

Have you planned out your little one's Easter basket? In addition to sweet treats, how about adding a sweetly soft animal or doll? Starting today and going through Wednesday, April 16th, our entire collection of Animals and Dolls is 20% off! 

Enter "EASTERTREATS" at checkout to apply the discount. 

Many children are on Spring Break next week, including mine! I'm excited to take my three to the local botanical garden to take in the blooms...and when we're not out and about, we might try our hand at a few crafts, like these:

1) Easy Easter Marshmallow Pops

2) Origami Bunny Baskets (Free Printable)

3) Bird's Nest Cookies

When I became a new mother almost eight years ago, living in Norway and discovering the world of toys for the first time, I fell in love with playsilks. My daughter Sydney and I would play peek-a-boo with the silky pieces of cloth...the stimulation and color was so perfect for a newborn! I really do think my strong belief in freeform play was helpfully shaped by these vibrant playsilks.

Beyond the obvious manner of using our playsilks for peek-a-boo or as a lovey, here are some other ways you and your baby can enjoy them:

1) Use one as a substitute for tissue paper when giving a baby gift.

2) A blue scarf makes a fun (non-messy!) lake to sail a boat.

3) As a fun accessory to wave around during music/dance time.

4) A red scarf can make a doll an instant superhero.

5) Use as soup when playing with pretend food. 

Hope you have a wonderful weekend. Annie and I are sending out the April newsletter in just a few days, so be sure to sign up if you haven't had a chance yet (see the upper righthand side of our homepage).