Easter eats! Try serving stuffed eggs and strawberry punch bowl cake

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Chocolate rabbits and marshmallow bunnies are ready for action, as Easter gets closer. But Cloverfields Farm & Kitchen's Janine Washle is sharing recipes that fit the Easter celebration. She's sharing a stuffed egg recipe and a recipe for a strawberry punch bowl cake that makes a colorful presentation.

Easter symbolizes the renewal of the earth after a cold winter. As with most Christian holidays, this one also has pagan roots. Eostre, the pagan springtime goddess, lent her name to the celebration. As with many pagan rituals, specific symbols had particular meanings: Egg symbolized rebirth, lamb symbolized sacrifice, and breads/cakes symbolized fertility. The egg plays an important part in many cultural celebrations of a new season. Pagans actually believed the world arose from a giant egg. As pagan cultures were touched by Christianity, they were allowed to keep their ancient celebrations as long as a biblical reference was included. For example, egg rolling contests symbolize the rolling away of the stone from Christ's tomb.

Eggs play a big part in the foods associated with Easter. Pagans celebrated with small wheat cakes that were crossed to keep away evil spirits. The church kept the sweet cakes, but blessed them for each family before they ate them. Even today, cultures will bring their Easter meal to church for a blessing by the priest.

Still yet, eggs can be found in just about every Easter dinner dish whether savory or sweet. The most popular way to use up those hard boiled eggs is in stuffed or deviled eggs with egg salad coming in at a close second. Eggs in desserts like custard or a cream pie are very popular.

Fruits combined with a light cake like angel food, or a white cake are a nice break from heavy winter cobblers, and the like. An old favorite is strawberry punch bowl cake. It has several names like angel cake, strawberry angel food dessert, angel food trifle, but no matter what you call it, the ingredients are the same, strawberries, whipped cream, pastry cream, and angel food cake. This dessert is the official start to springtime fruit desserts. This Easter prepare this make ahead that will make you sing it's praises!

Strawberry Punch Bowl Cake

(this recipe uses store bought ingredients for ease of preparation. Get the newsletter recipe for homemade ingredients)

NOTE: Depending on the size of your punch bowl (use a glass salad bowl if you don't have a punch bowl), you may want to double this recipe.

Ingredients:

1 prepared large round angel food cake (deli/bakery department at the grocery)

1 3.5 oz pkg instant vanilla pudding mix

1 8 oz pkg cream cheese, room temperature

2 cups milk (or for extra richness, use half and half)

2 8 oz cartons whipped topping, unthawed, divided

2 pints fresh strawberries, washed, hulled, quartered (save 3 whole strawberries for garnish)

Preparation:

Trim away all the brown crust from the angel food cake. Use a serrated knife to remove this thin brown layer. Don't gouge into the cake. Save the brown crust for hungry family, or discard.

Tear the cake into small pieces. Really take the time to make small bite-size pieces. It is difficult to eat when there are large hunks of cake in the slippery pastry cream.

Secondly, prepare the vanilla pastry cream by using a hand mixer to combine the pudding mix, and cream cheese in a medium size deep bowl. Once mixed, gradually add the milk. Fold in one carton of whipped topping.

Put a 1/3 of the angel food cake bits in the bottom of punch bowl. Top with a 1/3 of the pastry cream mixture. Arrange a 1/3 of the strawberries over the pastry cream.

Repeat this layering two more times. Cover with plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator at least 4 hours or even overnight. You can eat it right away, but it is best when the strawberry juice and pastry cream have softened the angel food cake bits.

Remove from refrigerator about 15 minutes before serving. Top with as much as you like, or all of the second carton of whipped topping. Garnish with the 3 reserved strawberries. Refrigerate any leftovers.

FREE RECIPES BY EMAIL!

Cloverfields Farm and Kitchen also has a special Summer Fruit Recipe Booklet available by email. To ask for a complimentary copy, just email Janine Washle at cloverfields.farm.ky@gmail.com

Janine Washle's CloverFields Farm & Kitchen

Hardin Springs Area

Big Clifty, KY 42712

Connect with Janine and Cloverfields Farm & Kitchen on the website, Facebook, Youtube and Pinterest.

About Janine Washle:

CloverFields Farm & Kitchen is primarily an on-line destination. They are not open to drop-in visitors as it is a private residence.

"Authentically from Farm to Table"

CloverFields Kitchen researches and reinterprets many traditional recipes using local produce, much from their own gardens, and adding a global perspective.

"Exploring Global Tastes through Local Foods"

Janine is working on her first cookbook, but she also has a long resume developing recipes for several companies. She has also won several contests and cook-offs with her original recipes.