Easter Cupcakes

This is a little off topic for my ‘crunchy’ blog, but I really wanted to share my Easter cupcake idea nonetheless! Being Christian, it is important for me to teach my little ones the meaning of Easter (aside from all of the candy and chocolates, which to little ones is pretty much all there is to this joyful occasion).

I began searching for a way to explain this important holiday that wouldn’t be too gory for them, as I don’t really think explaining crucifixion would be suitable subject matter for a 2 and 3 year old. Also, atonement can be a difficult subject for even adults to understand, I thought, how am I supposed to correctly relay this to preschoolers?

Well, the good Lord always comes through with an answer, because out of the blue, Phil Vischer, one of the founders of Big Idea Productions (the creators of Veggie Tales) came on the radio and explained the best way to talk about Easter with little ones. His advice, keep it simple. Jesus paid a debt for us that we couldn’t pay on our own. That’s it, no gory details or intense discussions on the subject of atonement, sounds good to me!

You may be asking, now what does all of this have to do with cupcakes! Well, my little girls (as do most little ones) love cupcakes! Well, actually, one sometimes loves cupcakes (she’s our picky one), but our other little one is actually obsessed with them, so I thought what better a way than to explain Easter with cupcakes! I’ve posted the recipes I’ve used below for any of you interested in trying this.

I made a batch of vanilla cupcakes, and once they were cooled, took an apple corer and cored the cupcakes (not all the way to the bottom though). Then I took aside the ‘core’ (cupcake piece) that I extracted and placed a chocolate coin inside, then I replaced the chuck of cupcake that I had taken out to cover the coin. I then iced the cupcakes so no one could see that the cupcake had been cut into.

I spoke my favorite Bible verse to the girls “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16), and then gave them their cupcakes (although they had enjoyed a few earlier before mommy had a chance to explain them, so they already knew about the coin). I said that each cupcake has a special gift, just like Jesus gave each of us a special gift. When they got to their coins, I explained how our special gift from Jesus was that he paid our debt so that we can live forever. They got the message, and enjoyed some cupcakes in the process, I’d call that a success!

I got my vanilla cake recipe here:
http://kitchensimplicity.com/moist-vanilla-cake/

I got my icing recipes here: (I used chocolate to ice the cupcake and vanilla tinted with natural dye to make little crosses)
http://savorysweetlife.com/2010/03/buttercream-frosting/
http://savorysweetlife.com/2011/04/chocolate-buttercream-frosting/

Enjoy!