Jamie Oliver’s Chocolate Hot Cross Buns
Makes 12
- 50g unsalted butter
- 50g golden caster sugar
- 1 heaped tsp mixed spice
- 1 whole nutmeg, for grating
- 200ml semi-skimmed milk
- 1 large free-range egg
- 400g strong white bread flour, plus 2 tbsps and extra for dusting
- 50g quality cocoa powder
- 1 x 7 g sachet of dried yeast
- 150g quality dark chocolate (70 per cent)
- 100g raisins, or mixed dried fruit
- 3 tbsps runny honey
Place the butter, sugar, mixed spice, a good grating of nutmeg and a pinch of sea salt in a pan over a low heat and warm gently until melted, stirring occasionally.
Remove from the heat, pour in the milk, then crack in the egg and whisk well.
Sift the flour and cocoa powder into a large bowl and tip in the yeast. Make a well in the middle, then gradually pour in the milk mixture, stirring and bringing in the flour from the outside to form a rough dough.
Knead on a flour-dusted surface for around 5 minutes, or until smooth and springy. Transfer to a flour-dusted bowl, cover with a clean damp tea towel and prove in a warm place for 1 hour 30 minutes, or until doubled in size.
Chop half the chocolate into 12 equal-sized pieces and put aside, then finely chop the remaining chocolate into tiny chips. Chop any large dried fruits into smaller pieces.
When the dough is ready, transfer to a clean surface and use your fist to knock out the air. Roughly stretch and flatten out the dough, sprinkle over the chocolate chips and dried fruit, then knead for a few minutes until smooth again, pushing any chocolate or fruit that escapes back into the dough.
Preheat the oven to 180ºC/160ºC Fan/Gas Mark 4, and grease and line a 25cm x 35cm baking tray.
Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. Flatten one piece slightly, push a piece of chocolate into the centre, snapping it to fit, if needed, then fold the dough back over the chocolate to trap it inside. Shape the dough into a neat ball and place on the prepared tray. Repeat with the remaining dough, leaving a small gap between each bun.
Cover with a damp tea towel and leave to prove in a warm place for around 45 minutes, or until doubled in size.
Mix 2 tablespoons of flour with enough water to give you a thick batter consistency, then transfer to a piping bag. Pipe thin crosses across the top of the buns.
Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden, then transfer to a cooling rack. Warm the honey a little to loosen, then gently brush over the buns to glaze.
Slice open while warm to enjoy the melting middle – delicious served with a little butter and a pinch of sea salt, if you like.
Recipe from jamieoliver.com
Mary Berry’s Easter Simnel Cake
Serves 12
- 115g red or natural glacé cherries, quartered
- 225g baking spread, straight from the fridge
- 225g light muscovado sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 225g self-raising flour
- 225g sultanas
- 115g currants
- 115g ready-to-eat dried apricots, snipped into pieces
- 55g candied peel, chopped
- finely grated zest of 2 lemons
- 2 level tsps ground mixed spice
- For the filling and topping:
- 500g almond paste or marzipan
- 2 tbsps apricot jam
- 1 large egg, beaten, to glaze
Preheat the oven to 150°C/130°C Fan/Gas Mark 2. Grease a 20cm (8in) deep round cake tin then line the base and sides with non-stick baking paper.
Place the cherries in a sieve and rinse under running water. Drain well then dry thoroughly on kitchen paper.
Measure all the cake ingredients into a large mixing bowl and beat well until thoroughly blended. Place half the mixture in the prepared tin and level the surface.
Take one-third of the almond paste or marzipan and roll it out to a circle the size of the tin and place on top of the cake mixture.
Spoon the remaining cake mixture on top and level the surface. Bake in the preheated oven for about 2½ hours until well risen, evenly brown and firm to the touch. Cover with foil after 1 hour if the top is browning too quickly. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes then turn out, peel off the baking paper and finish cooling on a wire rack.
When the cake is cool, brush the top with a little warmed apricot jam. Roll half the remaining almond paste into a ball, then roll out to a 20cm (8in) circle. Press firmly on the top and crimp the edges to decorate. Mark a criss-cross pattern on the almond paste with a sharp knife. Form the remaining almond paste into 11 balls.
Brush the almond paste with beaten egg and arrange the almond paste balls around the edge of the cake. Brush the tops of the balls with beaten egg, too, then place the cake under a hot grill to turn the almond paste golden.
Extracted from Mary Berry’s Baking Bible by Mary Berry (BBC Books, £28)
Easter Nest Cupcakes
Serves 10
- 125g self-raising flour
- 2 tbsps cocoa powder
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 115g caster sugar
- 75g vegetable fat, at room temperature
- 2 large eggs
- 3 tbsps milk
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
To Decorate:
- 100g butter, at room temperature
- 225g bcing sugar
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- 2 chocolate flake bars, crumbled
- 30 mini chocolate Easter eggs
Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C Fan/Gas Mark 4. Place 10 large paper cup cake cases into a bun tin.
Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt into a mixing bowl. Add the sugar, vegetable oil, unbeaten eggs, milk and vanilla extract. Use a wooden spoon to beat the mixture together until smooth and creamy — this will only take one to two minutes.
Spoon the mixture into the paper cases. Transfer to the middle shelf of the oven and bake for 22-25 minutes, until risen and firm. Cool in the tin for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
To decorate, beat the butter, icing sugar and cocoa powder together for three to four minutes until light and fluffy. Pipe or spread the topping onto the cakes, leaving a slight depression in the middle. Sprinkle chocolate flake around the edges, then place three chocolate eggs in the middle of each cake.
Recipe by Trex
Happy Easter Cake
Serves 6
- A little vegetable oil, for greasing
- 125g self-raising flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 115g caster sugar
- 75g vegetable oil, at room temperature
- 2 large eggs
- 3 tbsps milk
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Filling and decoration:
- 100g butter, at room temperature
- 250g icing sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 2-3 drops pink or yellow food colouring
- 3-4 tbsps raspberry jam
- Small Easter eggs and tiny icing flowers
Position the oven shelves towards the centre of the oven. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C Fan/Gas Mark 4. Lightly grease two 18cm (7in) sandwich tins with a little vegetable oil, then line the bases with greaseproof paper.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a mixing bowl. Add the sugar, Trex, unbeaten eggs, milk and vanilla extract. Use a wooden spoon to beat the mixture together for 1-2 minutes until smooth and creamy.
Divide the mixture between the prepared tins and level the tops. Bake for 18-20 minutes. To test that the cakes are cooked, they should be golden brown, and when touched lightly the tops should spring back into place.
Put the tins on a wire rack to cool for a few minutes. Remove the cakes from the tins and cool completely, then remove the lining paper.
Meanwhile, beat together the butter and icing sugar until light and creamy. Stir in the vanilla and food colouring.
Spread half the buttercream over one cake. Spread the underside of the second cake with the raspberry jam. Sandwich the cakes together and spread the remaining buttercream on top. Decorate with small Easter eggs and tiny icing flowers.
Recipe by Trex
Easter Bunny Crumpets
Serves 2
- 2 crumpets
- 2 medium eggs
- Ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano or mixed herbs
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 25g grated cheddar or mozzarella
- Toppings of your choice such as sliced olives, sliced mushroom, peppers, etc
- Small bunch of chives
Preheat the oven to 200°C /180°C Fan / Gas Mark 6. Crack the eggs into a jug. Add a little black pepper and the herbs, then use a fork to beat everything together.
Pour 1/2 tsp of olive oil into two little ovenproof dishes (12-16cm across) and brush it around the base and sides. Place a crumpet in each dish then pour an equal amount of eggs over each crumpet so it fills up the holes. Leave it to soak in for at least 5 minutes.
Sprinkle grated cheese over the crumpets. Next, decorate each with your choice of toppings to make Easter Bunny faces. When you’re done, stand the dishes on a baking tray and carefully put in the oven.
Bake for 15 minutes until the egg has set and the crumpets are golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for a few minutes.
Use the chives to make whiskers then they’re ready to serve.
Recipe by British Lion Eggs
Easter Simnel Muffins
- 250g mixed dried fruit
- 1 orange, zest and juice
- 175g butter, softened
- 175g golden caster sugar
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 300g self raising flour
- 1 ½ tsps mixed spice
- ½ tsp nutmeg, freshly grated
- 5 tbsps milk
- 200g marzipan
- 200g icing sugar
- 1 lemon, juice
- Mini chocolate eggs
Tip the fruit into a bowl, add the orange zest and juice and leave to soak for 1 hour.
Line 12 deep muffin tins with muffin cases. Preheat the oven to 180˚C/160˚C Fan/Gas Mark 4.
Beat together the butter, sugar, eggs, flour, mixed spice, nutmeg and milk until light and fluffy, then stir the fruit in well.
Cut 100g of the marzipan into small pieces and stir into the cake mix. Divide the mix evenly between the muffin cases and bake for 25-30 minutes, until risen, golden and firm to touch. Leave to cool.
Beat together the icing sugar and lemon juice to make icing thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.
With the remaining marzipan, make 12 discs to fit on top of each muffin. Stick onto the top of each muffin with a little bit of icing and toast (brown off), either using a blow torch or placing under a hot grill, until golden.
Allow the marzipan to cool then drizzle the icing over the top, add a cluster of eggs and leave to set.
Recipe by Carr’s Flour.
