To celebrate Easter this year, I invited my family and friends over for a Chocolate Bunny Cafe where the drinks were inspired by Easter candy and paired alongside a classic Easter brunch!
Watch the cafe come to life in video form by clicking the links below:
- Part 1 – the planning and decorating
- Part 2 – the recipe prep
- Part 3 – the morning of & the final cafe!
Coffee Essentials:
- Milk Frother
- Espresso Machine
- Iced Coffee Glasses
- Pebble Ice Machine
- Ice Mold
- Syrup Jars
- Hyperchiller (a must for chilled drinks!)
- Custom Stickers
Easter Plates, Linens & Serveware:
Easter Decor Roundup:
Note: the baskets were all thrifted over time and the faux greenery was from Homegoods!
The Theme
After a gloomy midwest winter, there is nothing I crave more than all the colors of spring around my house and Easter always feels like the perfect way to bring that in. I love to lean into various colors, florals, patterns, etc. as well as bring the outside in through plants and elements found in nature. Of course in our house, we need to do everything in a cat safe way, but I still want it to be beautiful!
For the Chocolate Bunny Cafe, I wanted to make a storefront inspired greenery and basket installation that would frame the coffee bar. I also wanted to create a mossy mantle above the fireplace that was adorned with upside down terracotta pots that acted as tiny taper candle bases as well as some faux potted daffodils. In front of the coffee bar, I hauled in a green chippy painted table that I had thrifted the year prior and put it right in front of it so that my guests would be close by and I could feel more involved in the party even when making the drinks!
Last Easter I made a carrot floral arrangement for the first time and I think it will be a staple every spring from there on out! I made one again for this Easter and I just love how colorful, overgrown, wild and fun it feels.
Of course, what is Easter without an egg hunt?! I filled eggs with candy and my family and friends loved the thrill of the competition. The guest who found the most eggs and the guest who collected the most candy (there were different amounts inside each egg) won a giant golden egg that had additional candy and a scratch off inside! This inspired me to plan an intricate egg hunt next year… we’ll see!
For cafes, I always like to have some handmade elements, one of which being a custom menu for the guests to fill out and order their drinks from. I design them on Adobe InDesign then print them out at home, cut them to size and have them dispersed on small clip boards. I also ended up making a custom cafe sign to hang above the cafe bar which was made possible with a wooden plaque that I painted. For the lettering, I used my Cricut to cut out a stencil to paint over. I then simply drilled some holes in the plaque to screw in some hooks and hung it from the archway with command hooks!
THE TIMELINE
Hosting and parties of all kinds can seem intimidating or stressful, but I make sure to plan for them in a way that creates the most low stress hosting experience possible so I can actually enjoy the event alongside my guests. Here is a rough outline of how I would recommend preparing for this specific at home cafe!
Month-Week Prior:
- Invite your guests (of course!)
- Draft a menu and grocery list, inclusive of dietary needs and taste preferences of your guests
- Take inventory of plates, linens & serve ware to ensure you’re covered based on the amount of guests and types of dishes/drinks
- Order any supplies or ingredients that need to be purchased online
- Test out your recipes
- Design menus for your guests to order off of
Week Of:
- Decorate your space in all the ways that can be done in advance (you can do this sooner than the week of if you don’t have cats like me, haha!)
- Main grocery shop of everything that can be purchased in advance
- Make food labels/signs for anything that will be self serve
- Gather, organize and label all serve ware so it’s ready to be set out
Day Before:
- If needed, secondary grocery shop as soon as the store opens to get any final needs and so you have as much time as possible
- Prep any recipes and ingredients that can be made in advance, such as the coffee syrups, hot chocolate, marshmallow meringue, carrot cake muffins & frosting, chicken salad, and quiche filling. You’ll also want to prep your deviled eggs by getting them in the natural food dye (if choosing to color them) and preparing the filling for the centers. I like to pipe them the day of to keep them fresh though!
- Any final decor touchups
- Clean and set up your space!
Morning Of:
- Finish any day of recipes, such as the quiche as well as filling the deviled eggs, in this case
- Finalize setting up your space and of course, get yourself ready!
During:
- Take the orders from your guests, make the drinks and enjoy!
Bonus Tips:
- Have food made in advance throughout the week that you can eat while prepping because you probably won’t want to be cooking when prepping multiple dishes for your party, plus it saves time!
- Run and empty your dishwasher before the party so you can load everything instead of hand washing and taking up counter space. The easier the cleanup the better!
- Clean your spaces the night before hosting then do last minute touch ups prior to guests arriving
THE MENU
Below is everything that I included on the menu. There are only a few recipes to make and overall is super customizable and in turn dietary inclusive. I always aim to make everything super easy to prepare when hosting so you won’t be stressed putting these together!
Here are the recipes I used in order to create the syrups used in the below drinks:
Carrot Cake Syrup (click here!)
Vanilla Syrup
- Combine 1 cup of vanilla coconut sugar or 1 cup of granulated cane sugar with 1 cup of water in a sauce pan on the stove and bring to a simmer.
- Once the sugar has dissolved and you’ve created a simple syrup, remove the pan from the heat.
- Once cool, stir in 2 tbsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste and mix until fully combined.
- Pour into a container or jar with a lid and keep refrigerated.
The Drinks:
Hot or Iced Chocolate Bunny Mocha
- 2 shots espresso, 1/2 cup milk of choice, 2 oz chocolate syrup
- topped with toasted meringue and served with a mini chocolate bunny in a mini basket!
- this is the marshmallow meringue recipe I use and swear by!
Hot Chocolate with Whipped Cream or Marshmallow Meringue
Hot or Iced Toasted Peep Latte
- 2 shots espresso, 1/2 cup milk of choice, 2 oz vanilla syrup
- topped with toasted meringue and sprinkles
- this is the marshmallow meringue recipe I use and swear by!
The Brunch Spread:
- click here for the recipe!
- to make them colored, I use this natural dye (click here)! Be sure to use enough so that the color is more vibrant. Allow the egg whites to sit in the dye until they’ve reached desired color. I kept mine in the coloring in the fridge overnight!
- click here for the recipe! Note that this recipe can be made as a snack cake or as muffins and both method are included in the blog post within the recipe card!
Smashed Potato Crust Leek & Shallot Quiche
- Ingredients:
- 3 lbs yukon gold potatoes, washed (not necessary to peel!)
- olive oil or avocado oil (to drizzle onto the potatoes)
- 8 eggs
- 2 cups cream
- 2 cups leek & shallots (total combined, doesn’t have to be too exact!)
- 8 oz shredded cheese (I like a light, soft cheese or sharp cheddar)
- salt & pepper
- chives, to garnish (optional)
- Instructions:
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
- In a large pot on the stove, cover the potatoes with water and boil until they are fork tender (the time will depend on the size of the potatoes, anywhere from 15-30 minutes).
- Drain the potatoes and then add them to a large skillet or pie dish (I use a 12 inch circular skillet with high rims for easy removal! If you have something smaller, cut the full recipe in half! If your dish or skillet sticks, be sure to generously grease it prior to adding the potatoes.)
- Drizzle the potatoes with about a tbsp of oil and a generous amount of salt.
- Using the bottom of a jar, smash the potatoes into the bottom of the skillet or dish in an even layer to form the base, then bring some of the potatoes up the sides to create the crust. All of the potatoes should be an even thickness with no gaps or holes so that the filling doesn’t leak.
- Bake the potato crust for 30 minutes.
- Prepare your filling by whisking together the eggs with the cream and salt, then once smooth, add in the leek slices, diced shallot and shredded cheese.
- Once the crust is baked, turn the oven temperature down to 350 degrees F, pour in the filling, and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
- Once baked, remove the quiche from the oven, allow to cool slightly, then slice and serve! Top with chives if desired.
Tarragon Dijon Roasted Chicken Salad
- Ingredients:
- Roasted Chicken:
- 3 lbs chicken breast
- 1/4 cup Dijon
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp thyme
- Chicken Salad:
- 2 cups grapes, halved
- 2 1/2 cups celery, diced
- 1 onion, duced (sweet or red)
- 1 1/2 cup mayo
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1/4 cup fresh tarragon, chopped
- Roasted Chicken:
- Instructions:
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
- Line a large baking sheet with parchement paper and space out your chicken breasts onto it.
- Combine the Dijon, apple cider vinegar, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and thyme together, then paint it onto each piece of chicken on both sides until fully covered.
- Bake the chicken for 40 minutes or until the internal temperate has reached 165 degrees F.
- While the chicken cooks, prepare the remaining ingredients.
- When the chicken is done cooking, shred it to desired size. I like to shred mine very fine in my KitchenAid stand mixer. I find that the finer the pieces, the easier it incorporates into the salad!
- When the chicken has cooled (so that the herbs don’t wilt against heat), mix everything together.
- Refrigerate until time to serve! Pair with bread or potato chips and enjoy.
Also on the table:
- Various Easter candies
- Bread to pair with the chicken salad
More recipes to consider:
- Carrot Juice Bloody Mary aka “Bunny Mary”
- Honey Bunny Iced Latte (aka Fluffy Honey Vanilla Latte)
- Strawberry Salad with Sticky Date Granola
- Hummus Veggie Garden – click here for the hummus recipe! To turn it into a garden, top with toasted breadcrumbs and add in the tops of assorted veggies! I used broccoli, carrots, radishes, peppers and cherry tomatoes.
- Honey Roasted Carrots with Lemon Garlic Whipped Ricotta
- Naturally Dyed Homemade Reese’s Eggs
- Vanilla Prosecco Berry Cake
- Gluten Free Stuffing
- Garlic & Chive Mashed Potatoes
- Sparkling Peach Sangria (Zero Proof Compliant)
- Green Goddess Pasta Salad
- 4 Ingredient Mini Chocolate Tarts
- Homemade Ranch Veggie Cups
- Protein Reese’s Eggs
- Pesto Hummus
For more spring dessert recipes, click here!
For lots of fun, produce forward drink recipes (coffees, mocktails, juices, etc.), click here!
A NOTE ON CALORIE COUNT, NUTRITIONAL INFO AND SERVING SIZES
Due to my past experiences, I do not include most of the above information within my recipes as it is unsafe for me to do so personally. While I try to share a rough estimate when it comes to the serving size, please note that it is very subjective as we all have different hunger levels both from person to person and even from meal to meal.
If any of the above information is important to you, I understand! We are all different and have various goals and needs. If you’d like, you are welcome to calculate the information needed based on the ingredients you use when making one of my recipes.
I hope you understand! This comes from a place of love and protection both for myself and others like me. If you ever have any questions, send me an Instagram message for the quickest response time! Thank you for being here!
FOLLOW ALONG!
Be sure to follow me on Instagram and TikTok to see all of the behind the scenes of recipe creation as well as how to videos to watch them come to life! You can also head over to my Pinterest to save all of my recipes in one spot that you plan whip up in the future.
PS – If you make any of these recipes or are inspired to host a similar event, I would be so grateful if you left a review so I can hear what you think! I also am happy to answer any questions you may have on here, but if you want a quicker response, be sure to shoot me a message on Instagram. Thank you so much and talk soon!
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