The Easter holidays have arrived, offering plenty of opportunities to conjure up some Easter magic with your budding junior chefs. We're thrilled to share a collection of our favorite Easter bakes. Dive into our baking ideas and easy recipes, and savor memorable moments with your little ones during this festive season:
Meringue Nest Cheesecake with Mini Easter Eggs
Not your traditional Easter cake, but irresistibly delicious. And remember, decoration is key!
Ingredients:
- 100 g butter, plus extra for greasing
- 14 chocolate digestives
- 397 g can condensed milk
- Juice of 2 lemons
- 280 g cream cheese
For Decoration:
- 25 g toasted coconut flakes or white chocolate curls
- 3 meringue nests
- 9 mini eggs
- Hundreds and thousands
Instructions:
-Grease an 18 cm loose-bottomed round cake tin with a little butter and line it with a circle of baking paper.
-Melt the butter in a large heatproof bowl in the microwave or in a medium-sized pan over low heat.
-Crumble the chocolate digestives in a food processor until reduced to fine crumbs, then tip into the melted butter.
-Spoon the biscuit mixture into the base of the prepared tin and press down well with the back of a spoon.
-In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the remaining cheesecake ingredients, then pour the mixture into the tin. Smooth the top with a spatula and place it in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight.
-When you're ready to serve, carefully transfer the cheesecake to a serving plate or cake stand. Sprinkle the top with coconut flakes, making a bigger mound in the center. Arrange the meringue nests on top and fill them with mini eggs. Add an extra sprinkling of coconut, hundreds and thousands, and the fluffy chicks.
Bunny Cupcakes
A traditional Easter dessert with a twist. Irresistible cupcakes, decorated with the cutest Easter bunnies, featuring a fresh hint of lemon flavor.
Ingredients:
- 185 g self-raising flour
- 120 g golden caster sugar
- 120 g butter, softened
- 100 g pot natural yogurt
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 2 eggs
- 250 g pack fondant icing
For the frosting
- 85 g unsalted butter, softened
- A few drops of vanilla extract
- 200 g icing sugar
- A few drops of green, or the color of your choice, food coloring
Instructions:
-Heat the oven to 190°C/170°C fan/gas 5 and line a 12-hole bun tin with paper cases. In a bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, butter, yogurt, lemon zest, and eggs using electric beaters until smooth. Spoon a large tablespoon of the mixture into each paper case, ensuring even distribution. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the cakes are risen, golden, and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow them to cool on a wire rack.
-For the frosting, beat together the butter, vanilla extract, and icing sugar until the mixture is pale, creamy, and thoroughly combined. Add a few drops of green coloring and beat until well incorporated. If using a piping bag, transfer the frosting to one fitted with a star nozzle and pipe green icing stars on top of the cakes to resemble tufts of grass. If not piping, spread the icing over the cakes and use a fork to create a grass-like texture.
-Roll the fondant icing into small balls, each no larger than a walnut (these will be the bunnies’ bottoms). Roll smaller balls for tails and attach them on top of the larger balls. Place one rabbit on each cake. To create the feet, roll two additional small balls for each bunny and shape them into ovals. Position these at one end of the ball to resemble feet.
Easter Brownie Bites
Indulge in the irresistible allure of chocolate. These Easter brownie bites will linger in your dreams.
Ingredients:
- 175 g butter, chopped
- 150 g dark chocolate
- 250 g light brown soft sugar
- 85 g self-raising flour
- 50 g cocoa powder
- 3 large eggs, beaten
- 100 g milk chocolate chips
- 24 mini chocolate eggs, plus extra to decorate
Instructions:
-Heat the oven to 180 C/160 C fan/gas 4. Line 24 holes of a mini muffin tray with paper cases. Put the butter, dark chocolate, and sugar in a pan and heat it very gently, stirring all the time until the butter and chocolate have melted. Remove from the heat and leave to cool for a few mins.
-Meanwhile, sift the flour, cocoa, and a good pinch of salt into a large bowl. Stir in the warm, melted chocolate mixture and the beaten eggs, then add half the chocolate chips and mix until just combined.
-Divide the mixture between the cases and place a mini egg into the middle of each muffin, pushing down gently. Bake for 12-15 mins until cooked but still gooey in the centre – they will continue cooking a little as they cool down. Leave to cool for 10 mins in the tin before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Melt the rest of the chocolate chips in short bursts in the microwave, or in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring frequently. Leave to cool until it is quite thick, then dot a small amount on each cake and stick on some more mini eggs.
