Hop to It: Make Your Own Easter Sweets

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No matter how much candy you may find in your Easter basket or waiting for you in dozens of hidden eggs, on Easter Sunday there always seems to be room for another piece of something sweet, right? This holiday, after you finish another successful dinner of  roast lamb or glazed ham, celebrate creative and traditional treats by baking up a few of Food Network's favorite Easter desserts, like Coconut-Covered Bunny Cake, Hot Cross Buns, Carrot Cake and more. Kids and grownups alike will enjoy these after-dinner indulgences, and you’ll be pleased because they're a cinch to put together.

A go-to, last-minute dessert, Food Network Kitchens’ Easter Bunny Cake (pictured above) is a no-bake recipe that can be made in just one hour, thanks to pre-baked or store-bought cake. After building the bunny and covering it in creamy buttercream frosting and sweet coconut, embellish it with any extra Easter candy you have on hand, like licorice and jelly beans. Check out how the Kitchens assembles their realistic-looking rabbit.

A holiday staple in many homes, Easter Egg Bread is light, flaky and bursting with a refreshing light lemon flavor. Food.com’s recipe yields a golden-brown loaf that is dotted with colorful shelled eggs and drizzled with a sweet citrus glaze. Save leftover slices of bread for breakfast tomorrow and spread each with a thin layer of room-temperature butter before enjoying.

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Photo by: Kat Teutsch

Kat Teutsch

Another too-cute cake that will surely wow your guests, Food Network Magazine’s Peep Cake (pictured left) is an oversized replica of the classic marshmallow Peep, complete with a generous dusting of bright-yellow sanding sugar. No fancy baking equipment is required to fashion this giant Peep — the cake is baked in a standard 9”x13” pan and two ovenproof bowls, then is sliced into head-, beak- and tail-shaped parts. Flip through this gallery to see how it’s made.

With a squirt of warm honey and ground nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves, these Hot Cross Buns (pictured right) from Cooking Channel are the ultimate Easter treat. Each soft and fragrant bun is studded with chewy golden and dark raisins and finished with a thick sugar glaze.

Cooking Channel’s Chuck Hughes transforms traditional spiced Carrot Cake into a towering masterpiece by topping his double-layer cake with a mound of maple walnuts. These crunchy bites are toasted then mixed in rich maple syrup until completely coated.

Visit Food Network for more Easter inspiration, recipes and tips.

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