Put flapjack, hot cross buns and Mini Egg cookies on the menu this Easter.
Easter isn’t complete without a sweet treat or two.
While it’s always a good plan to tuck into a chocolate egg, if you want to impress friends and family, it’s all about baking something yourself.
Whether you want to stick to the classics and make seasonally appropriate hot cross buns, studded with raisins, or want to push the boat out with a sugar-fest of New York-style Mini Egg cookies, there’s something for everyone.
These are three of baker Jane Dunn’s favourite Easter recipes…
1. Easter flapjacks
Ingredients:
(Makes 16)
200g unsalted butter
200g soft light brown sugar
200g golden syrup
400g rolled oats
100g milk chocolate chips
200g Easter chocolates
For the topping:
100g milk chocolate, melted
100g Easter chocolates, chopped
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan and line a 23cm square tin with parchment paper.
2. In a medium pan, add the butter, sugar and golden syrup, and melt over a low heat until smooth. Leave to cool for about five minutes.
3. In a large bowl, add the rolled oats, chocolate chips and Easter chocolates, and mix well. Pour the butter mixture over and stir to combine. Firmly press the mixture into the base of the tin and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until it starts to brown around the edges and firm up. Leave to cool fully in the tin.
4. Carefully drizzle the melted milk chocolate over the flapjack while still in the tin. Scatter over the Easter chocolates, then chill in the fridge. Cut into squares with a sharp knife and enjoy.
2. Hot cross buns
Ingredients:
(Makes 12)
225ml full-fat milk
500g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
65g caster sugar
½tsp salt
1tsp ground cinnamon
½tsp ground ginger
½tsp ground nutmeg
Zest of 1 orange
7g dried yeast
50g chilled unsalted butter, cubed
2 eggs
200g raisins
Vegetable oil
For the topping:
30g strong white bread flour
30ml water
1tbsp apricot jam
Method:
1. In a small pan, warm the milk until it’s just about steaming. Leave to one side.
2. In a large bowl, add the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, orange zest and yeast. Add the butter and rub the mixture between your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the warmed milk, eggs and raisins, and mix together. Knead for five to 10 minutes until the mixture is smooth, elastic and springy to touch.
3. Transfer the dough to a clean but lightly oiled bowl and cover with clingfilm. Leave to rise until doubled in size – this usually takes one to two hours. Once risen, turn out onto a floured work surface and knead lightly to ‘knock it back’.
4. Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
5. Divide the dough evenly into 12 balls (each should weigh about 98 grams) and place on the lined tray with a 1cm gap between them. Cover with a lightly oiled piece of clingfilm and leave for 45-60 minutes.
6. In a bowl, whisk the flour and water together and transfer to a piping bag with a piping nozzle fitted. Carefully pipe crosses over the dough balls. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and use a pastry brush to lightly glaze each bun with apricot jam, if you like them sticky and shiny. Leave to cool fully.
3. Mini egg cookies
Ingredients:
(Makes 8)
125g unsalted butter, at room temperature
100g soft light brown sugar
75g white granulated sugar
1 egg
1tsp vanilla extract
300g plain flour
1½tsp baking powder
½tsp bicarbonate of soda
½tsp sea salt
100g milk chocolate chips
250g sugar-coated chocolate mini eggs, chopped
50g sugar-coated chocolate mini eggs, whole
Method:
1. In a large bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar and white sugar together until smooth. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat again. Add the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and sea salt, and beat until a dough is formed.
2. Add the chocolate chips and chopped mini eggs, and mix until well distributed.
3. Portion the dough out into eight balls (each should weigh about 120 grams) and lay out onto a flat tray that fits into your freezer. Once rolled into balls, add a few whole mini eggs to each cookie. Put the balls into the freezer for at least 30 minutes, or in the fridge to chill for an hour or so.
4. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan and line two baking trays with parchment paper. Remove the balls from the freezer or fridge and transfer to the lined baking trays (about four cookies per tray). Bake in the oven for 12-14 minutes. Leave to cool on the trays for at least 30 minutes, as they will continue to bake while cooling.
