Pink lemonade Easter egg cake

Directions

Royal Icing 

1. Place the icing sugar, meringue powder and water in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on low speed until the icing sugar is incorporated. Increase the speed to medium and beat until the icing comes together and is fluffy about five minutes. Set aside for assembly. 

Butter Cookies

1. Using electric beaters or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat the butter until smooth. Add the icing sugar and lemon zest. Starting on low speed, work in the sugar, and then increase the speed to medium-high and beat until fluffy, about two minutes.
2. Beat in the egg yolks and vanilla. Add the flour and salt and beat on low speed until the dough comes together. Divide and shape the dough into four discs, wrap in plastic and chill for at least two hours.
3. Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C) and line two baking trays with parchment paper.
4. On a lightly floured surface, knead the first disc of dough a little to soften it and then roll it out to just under a quarter-inch (six millimetres) thick and an oval just over seven inches across and nine inches long.  Use your egg-shaped template to cut out an egg shape with a hole in the centre.  Carefully lift the dough onto the baking tray.  Repeat with the remaining discs of dough.  Any remaining scraps can be gathered up, re-rolled and cut into Easter shapes, to be baked separately.
5. Bake the large egg cookies for 12 to 14 minutes, or until slightly golden at the edges. Cool the cookies on their trays on racks.  Smaller cookies take eight to 11 minutes to bake.

Pink Lemonade Cream 

1. Whip the cream until it holds a soft peak when the beaters are lifted.  Set aside.
2. Stir the mascarpone by hand in a large bowl to soften it.  Add the sugar, lemon zest and vanilla and stir well.  Add the lemon juice and stir in well (switch to a whisk, if needed).
3. Fold in the cream in two additions, until it is fully incorporated.  Add pink food colouring, as desired.

Cake

1. Use a large piping bag fitted with a half-inch plain piping tip and fill it with lemonade cream. Place a cookie layer onto your cake stand or serving platter and pipe the cream in dots to completely cover the cookie – the dots should be close enough together that they touch at their circumference.  For precision, it’s easiest to pipe the outside ring first, then pipe around the inner, round, cut out and fill in from there.
2. Gently place a second cookie layer on top of the cream and repeat with the piping.  Do this with the third and fourth cookie layers, finishing with a layer of piped cream dots on top.
3. Decorate the top of the cake with the Easter candies (and/or cookies, macarons or other treats, or fresh fruit).  Chill for at least four hours and up to a day ahead before serving.

Serve 

1. Slice and serve this as you would a cake – the cream will soften the cookie layers slightly so that they slice easily, without crumbling or cracking. Enjoy!