Easter can get a little overloaded on the chocolate treats.
To be honest, I’m not too fond of the masses of chocolate eggs and the excessive sugar.
I like the thought of giving and sharing.
Especially at the moment, a little homemade delight can say a thousand words and just show that you care.
I have mixed up the recipes with a few traditional and a few options for the dietary and even health conscious.
Traditional Easter biscuits
I found this recipe in my nan-in-law’s old recipes from the UK.
Easter biscuits are traditionally made and shared with friends and family for Easter.
I love the thought of giving and these buttery biscuits studded with currants are simple to make and delicious to eat.
MAKES 24
Preparation: 45 minutes (includes resting)
Cooking: 10 minutes
Skill: easy
140g golden caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
1 medium egg, separated
1 lemon, zested
300g flour
Generous grating of nutmeg
Pinch salt
80g currants
Method
Preheat the oven to 180degC/160degC fan bake.
Beat the softened butter and sugar together until light and creamy.
Add the egg yolk and beat into the mixture until well combined.
Add the lemon zest and nutmeg and beat again.
Add the flour, salt and currants and mix to combine. The dough will be quite firm. Wrap and chill in the fridge for 20-30 minutes.
Line 2 baking sheets with baking paper.
Lightly dust your work bench with a little flour.
Roll the dough to 0.5cm thick. Cut out biscuits using a 6cm fluted cutter (if you have one or use a round cutter or glass). Place on to a baking sheet and allow space in between for spreading. Re-roll any off cuts to make more biscuits.
Brush the tops with egg white and sprinkle over a little sugar.
Bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly golden in colour.
Cool completely before eating.
Simnel cake
I had heard of this traditional Easter cake which dates back to medieval times, but had never made it or tried it. It is a fruit cake with marzipan baked into the cake and decorated with eleven marzipan balls to represent the 12 disciples (minus Judas).
If you haven’t attempted a fruit cake you will be surprised at how easy they are. You just need to be patient as it cannot be rushed in the baking, long and slow. It will also keep for weeks in an airtight container.
SERVES 12-16
Preparation: 45 minutes
Cooking: 1 hour 45 minutes
Skill: medium
200g sugar
200g butter
3 medium eggs
225g flour
1 tsp mixed spice
50g flaked almonds, toasted
225g sultanas
225g currants
100g glace cherries
50g candied peel
1 orange, zest
1 lemon, zest
1 Tbsp apricot jam or glaze
500g marzipan
Method
Preheat oven 150degC.
Line a deep 20cm round cake tin with baking paper.
In a large bowl beat together the sugar and butter, add the eggs one at a time, beating well.
Fold in the flour and mixed spice and mix through to combine.
Add the dried fruit, nuts and zest, mix through the cake batter so they are evenly distributed. Set aside.
Lightly dust a clean work surface with icing sugar and roll out 1/3 of the marzipan to create a circle, slightly smaller than the cake tin.
Spoon half the cake batter into the cake tin, place the marzipan circle on top, cover with remaining mixture.
Bake for 1 hour and 20 to 45 minutes (approx). To check whether the cake is cooked, insert a skewer into the cake centre, it will come out clean when cooked.
Allow the cake to cool for 20 minutes in the tin before turning out to cool completely.
To finish
Roll out half of the remaining marzipan on a lightly dusted surface so that it forms a circle to cover the top of the cake.
Brush the top of the cake with the apricot jam.
Carefully place the circle of marzipan on top of the cake.
Roll remaining marzipan to form 11 small balls.
Place the balls around the top of the cake.
Vegan hot cross bun brownie
This is a combination of a decadent brownie infused with Easter flavours and to finish it off I made it vegan, so no eggs, no dairy and I also removed the gluten. The end results are still delicious. It just means that everyone can enjoy a little indulgence this Easter!
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Skill: easy
200g of 70% chocolate, roughly chopped
250g golden caster sugar
80g plant-based margarine
½ tsp instant coffee granules
1 tsp vanilla extract
125g gluten-free flour
2 Tbsp ground flaxseeds
70g ground almonds
50g cocoa powder
½ tsp baking powder
¼ ground cloves
15g glace cherries, chopped
15g dried cranberries
15g mixed peel
Cross paste
50g flour
60ml water
Method
Preheat the oven 170degC/150degC fan bake.
Line a 20cm square baking tin with baking paper.
In a small saucepan, over low heat, melt 120g of the chocolate with the sugar, margarine, coffee granules and 80ml water. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and cool slightly.
Put the dry ingredients into a bowl and whisk them to remove any lumps.
Pour the chocolate mixture into the dry ingredients and mix to combine.
Add the remaining chopped chocolate and dried fruits and spice. Mix gently to combine and pour into the prepared tin. Smooth over the surface.
Make the cross paste by stirring the flour and water together until a thick paste forms with no lumps.
Pour into a piping bag with a very thin plain nozzle. Pipe lines to form crosses. You need to visualise where you will cut the brownie so the crosses will fit into each square when cut.
Bake for 30-35 minutes (it is better undercooked).
Cool slightly and cut into squares.
Will last for 5 days in the fridge.
Fruity, nutty energy eggs
These balls of goodness are really just that. They are perfect for dairy-free, gluten-free, plant-based lovers.
The dates act as a natural sweetener and are filled with fibre, by adding nuts you get healthy fats and protein and I threw some chia seeds in to get more fibre and a healthy superfood boost.
As long as you follow the quantities you can pretty much mix up the nuts, fruits etc to suit your tastes.
MAKES 12
Total time: 15 minutes
Skill: easy
1 cup pitted fresh dates or prunes
½ cup dried cranberries
1 cup nuts (cashew, almond, walnut)
¼ cup cocoa powder
1 Tbsp chia seeds
Pinch of salt
Coconut or more nuts to coat (optional)
Method
Put all the ingredients except the optional coconut/nuts into a food processor.
Process on high until the mixture becomes well blended and comes together when moulded between your hands.
Roll the mixture into 12 even-sized balls.
You can keep them as is or roll them in coconut, chopped dates, cocoa powder.
Store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Options for different flavours
Omit the prunes and use dried apricots, mixed peel etc, replace the cocoa with coconut. Do the same process as for above.
