Easter Recipes!

Easter Recipes!

All these recipes are from BBC good food, please see link to individual recipe underneath the method.

"Easter biscuits:

INGREDIENTS:

  • 300g plain flour , plus extra for dusting
  • 150g white caster sugar
  • 150g slightly salted butter , chopped
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

For the iced option

  • 500g royal icing sugar
  • your favourite food colouring gels

For the jammy middle option

  • icing sugar , for dusting
  • 400g apricot jam , or lemon curd
  • STEP 1

Weigh the flour and sugar in a bowl. Add the butter and rub together with your fingertips until the mixture resembles wet sand, with no buttery lumps. Beat the egg with the vanilla, then add to the bowl. Mix briefly with a cutlery knife to combine, then use your hands to knead the dough together – try not to overwork the dough, or the biscuits will be tough. Shape into a disc, then wrap in cling film and chill for at least 15 mins. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Line two baking sheets with baking parchment.

  • STEP 2

Dust a work surface with flour. Halve the dough, then roll one half out to the thickness of a £1 coin. Use an egg-shaped cookie cutter (ours was 10cm long; you could also make a cardboard template to cut around) to stamp out as many cookies as you can, then transfer them to one of the baking sheets, leaving a little space between the biscuits. Repeat with the other half of the dough. If you want to make jammy biscuits, use a small circular cutter to stamp holes in half of the biscuits (where the yolk would be). If you intend to make both iced and jammy biscuits, only stamp holes in a quarter of the biscuits.

  • STEP 3

Bake for 12-15 mins, until the biscuits are pale gold. Cool on the sheets for 10 mins, then transfer to a wire rack to cool fully. Once cool, decorate to your liking (see next steps). Will keep in an airtight container for up to five days.

  • STEP 4

To decorate the biscuits with icing, add enough water to the icing sugar to make a thick icing – it should hold its shape without spreading when piped. Transfer about a third of the icing to a piping bag fitted with a very small round nozzle (or just snip a tiny opening at the tip). Pipe an outline around the biscuits, then draw patterns in the middle – lines, spots and zigzags work well. Leave to dry for 10 mins. Divide the remaining icing between as many colours as you'd like to use, then use the gels to dye them. Loosen each icing with a few drops of water, then transfer them to piping bags. Use the coloured icing to fill the empty spaces on the biscuits. You may need to use a cocktail stick to tease it into the corners. Once covered, leave to dry for a few hours.

  • STEP 5

To make the jammy middle biscuits, dust the biscuits with holes in the middle with a heavy coating of icing sugar. Spread the jam or curd generously over the whole biscuits, then sandwich the dusted biscuits on top of them.

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/iced-easter-biscuits

Carrot Patch Cake:

  • 175ml vegetable oil , plus extra for the tin
  • 75g natural yogurt
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 200g self-raising flour
  • 250g light muscovado sugar
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • ¼ fresh nutmeg , finely grated
  • 200g carrots (about three), grated
  • 100g sultanas or raisins
  • 100g pistachios , finely chopped (or slivered if you can get them)

For the icing

  • 100g slightly salted butter , softened
  • 200g icing sugar
  • 100g full-fat cream cheese
  • 100g fondant icing or marzipan
  • orange food colouring

METHOD:

  • STEP 1

Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Oil and line a 900g loaf tin with baking parchment. Whisk the oil, yogurt, eggs and vanilla in a jug. Mix the flour, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg with a good pinch of salt in a bowl. Squeeze any lumps of sugar through your fingers, shaking the bowl a few times to bring the lumps to the surface.

  • STEP 2

Add the wet ingredients to the dry, along with the carrots, raisins and half the pistachios. Mix well to combine, then scrape into the tin. Bake for 1 hr 10 mins or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. If any wet mixture clings to the skewer, return to the oven for 5 mins, then check again. Leave to cool in the tin.

  • STEP 3

To make the icing, beat the butter and sugar together until smooth. Add half the cream cheese and beat again, then add the rest (adding it bit by bit prevents the icing from splitting). Remove the cake from the tin and spread the icing thickly on top. Scatter with some of the remaining pistachios. Dye the fondant or marzipan orange by kneading in a drop of food colouring. Roll into little carrot shapes, then use a skewer to make indentations and poke a few pistachios in to look like fronds. Top the cake with the carrots, then serve. Will keep in the fridge for up to five days (eat at room temperature).

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/carrot-patch-cake

Herby Spring Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp olive oil , plus a little extra for brushing over the pastry
  • bunch spring onions , sliced into 3cm pieces
  • 250g frozen spinach
  • 6 ready-cooked chicken thighs (or see tip, below)
  • 350ml hot chicken stock
  • ½ tbsp wholegrain mustard
  • 200g frozen peas
  • 200ml half-fat crème fraîche
  • ½ small bunch tarragon , leaves finely chopped
  • small bunch parsley , finely chopped
  • 270g pack filo pastry

Method

  • STEP 1

Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Heat the oil in a large, shallow casserole dish on a medium heat. Add the spring onions and fry for 3 mins, then stir through the frozen spinach and cook for 2 mins or until it's starting to wilt. Remove the skin from the chicken and discard. Shred the chicken off the bone and into the pan, and discard the bones. Stir through the stock and mustard. Bring to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 5-10 mins.

  • STEP 2

Stir in the peas, crème fraîche and herbs, then remove from the heat. Scrunch the filo pastry sheets over the mixture, brush with a little oil and bake for 15-20 mins or until golden brown.

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/herby-spring-chicken-pot-pie

Chocolate checkerboard hot cross buns

Ingredients

  • 250ml whole milk
  • 50g butter , chopped into chunks
  • 2 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 500g strong white flour , plus 100g for the crosses
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 85g golden caster sugar
  • 7g sachet fast-action dried yeast
  • 1 large egg
  • 150g mixed dried fruit
  • 50g dark chocolate , chopped into small chunks
  • 1 orange , zested
  • 50g dried sour cherries
  • 50g white chocolate , chopped into small chunks
  • oil , for the bowls and baking tray
  • 2 tbsp apricot jam (optional)

Method

  • STEP 1

Warm the milk in a saucepan until steaming. Remove from the heat, then add the butter. Swirl to melt the butter and cool the milk a little. Mix the cocoa with 2 tbsp boiling water, then set aside to cool.

  • STEP 2

Mix 500g flour, the cinnamon, sugar, yeast and ½ tsp salt in a bowl. When the milk mixture is still warm, add it to the flour bowl along with the egg, and mix to form a sticky dough (use a tabletop mixer if you have one). Continue mixing, then kneading, until the dough is less sticky and feels springy – about 8-10 mins. Add the dried fruit and mix again until the fruit is evenly spread through the dough.

  • STEP 3

Put a clean bowl on your scales. Scrape the dough into this bowl to weigh the full quantity, then return half of it to the original bowl. Add the cocoa mixture, dark chocolate and orange zest to one bowl, and the white chocolate and cherries to the other. Knead each dough for a further minute or until well mixed. Return each dough to a cleaned, oiled bowl, cover with a tea towel or cling film and leave somewhere warm for 1-2 hrs (depending on your kitchen temperature) until the dough has roughly doubled in size.

  • STEP 4

Knead and fold each dough a little bit to knock out some air. Divide each dough into six balls (use the scales if you want your buns to be perfectly sized.) To shape the buns, take a piece of dough in your palm, pull a corner into the middle and press to seal. Continue doing this around the edge of the dough to create a tight bun shape when you flip the dough over. Shape all the buns, then arrange them on a lightly oiled tray in a chequerboard pattern, leaving about 1.5cm around each one to allow space for rising. Cover the tray loosely with oiled cling film and set aside for 30 mins-1 hr until almost doubled in size again. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.

  • STEP 5

Mix the remaining our with enough water to make a thick paste, about 80ml. Transfer the paste to a piping bag and snip a small opening. Uncover the buns and pipe a line along each row, then repeat in the other direction to make crosses. Bake for 25-30 mins until the buns are golden brown. Leave to cool.

  • STEP 6

Warm the jam in a saucepan and brush over the buns for a glossy finish, if you like. To serve, split the buns, toast them under the grill and enjoy with salted butter.

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/chocolate-checkerboard-hot-cross-buns

Chocolate egg baked tart

Ingredients

For the base

  • 80g butter , softened
  • 40g golden caster sugar
  • 120g self raising flour

For the filling

  • 75g butter
  • 100g dark chocolate (70% cocoa)
  • 75g golden caster sugar
  • 50g plain flour
  • 4 large eggs , beaten
  • 2 x 80g bags of chocolate eggs (we used Galaxy Golden Eggs)
  • crème fraîche , to serve

Method

  • STEP 1

For the shortbread base, beat the butter and sugar together until light and creamy, then mix in the flour. Press the dough into the base of a 20-21cm tart tin and put in the fridge for 20 mins to harden.

  • STEP 2

Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/ gas 4. Prick the base all over with a fork and bake in the centre of the oven for 15 mins until lightly golden.

  • STEP 3

Meanwhile, melt the butter and chocolate together in a saucepan over a low heat. Once melted, stir in the sugar and flour, then gradually beat in the eggs. Pour the filling over the base and cover the top in chocolate eggs. Return to the oven and bake for 12-15 mins or until the filling is just set at the edges but the centre is still shiny and a bit wobbly. Remove from the oven and put in the fridge to chill. Can be made a day ahead and kept in the tin overnight. To release from the tin, warm the sides with a hot dishcloth for a couple of mins. Serve with crème fraîche.

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/golden-egg-baked-chocolate-tart

Easter rocky road

Ingredients

  • 225g dark chocolate , broken into pieces
  • 100g unsalted butter , cubed
  • 2 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 2 tbsp golden syrup
  • 100g rich tea biscuits
  • 50g mini marshmallows
  • 50g dried cranberries
  • 200g chocolate mini eggs

Method

  • STEP 1

Line a 20 x 30cm traybake tin with 2 sheets of cling film (in a criss-cross pattern). Put the chocolate and butter in a large bowl set over a saucepan of gently simmering water, and melt until smooth and glossy.

  • STEP 2

Remove from the heat and add the cocoa powder and golden syrup. Mix together until fully combined and leave to cool at room temperature for about 15 mins.

  • STEP 3

Put the biscuits in a freezer bag and use a rolling pin to bash them, leaving some pieces chunkier than others. Stir into the cooled chocolate with the marshmallows, cranberries and 150g of the mini eggs.

  • STEP 4

Pour the mix into the tin and press down with the back of a spoon until even. Scatter over the remaining mini eggs, pressing them in a little, and leave to set in the fridge for 1 hr.

  • STEP 5

Remove from the tin and cut into bars to serve. Will keep for up to 1 week in an airtight container.

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/easter-egg-rocky-road

One Pan Lamb with Hasselback potatoes.

Ingredients

  • 1 leg of lamb , about 2kg
  • 2 garlic bulbs
  • 15 sprigs rosemary
  • 15 sprigs thyme
  • 1.7kg medium-sized potatoes (Maris Piper work well), unpeeled
  • 14 bay leaves
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 lemon , juiced

Method

  • STEP 1

Use a small, sharp knife to make at least 30 small, deep, incisions all over the lamb. Halve the garlic bulbs, so at the top the cloves fall away and at the bottom, they remain attached. Peel and slice the tops that have fallen away and keep the other halves for later. Use your fingers to push the slices into each slit. Next, pull off small sprigs of rosemary and thyme, keeping the stalks on, and poke them into the slits, too. Can be done a day ahead, then cover the lamb and chill. Remove from the fridge 1 hr before roasting.

  • STEP 2

Heat oven to 210C/190C fan/gas 7. Sit each potato between the handles of two wooden spoons and cut widthways at 3mm intervals – the spoon handles will stop you slicing all the way through. Slot a bay leaf into the middle slit of each potato. Tip the potatoes into a large roasting tin with the halved garlic bulb and the rest of the rosemary and thyme. Drizzle with half the oil and season, then toss to coat and turn the potatoes so they're all cut-side up. Nestle the lamb in the middle of the tin, pushing the potatoes to the outside, then rub the lamb with the rest of the oil and the lemon juice and season generously.

  • STEP 3

Roast for 1 hr 30 mins, basting the potatoes and shaking the tin occasionally, until the lamb is dark brown and the potatoes are crisp and golden. The lamb will be pink in the middle but cooked. For rare, cook for 10 mins less, and for well done, 15 mins more. Remove the lamb from the tin and leave to rest for 15 mins, putting the potatoes back in the oven if you need to. Serve drizzled with our green olive & herb dressing."

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/one-pan-lamb-hasselback-potatoes

Happy Easter from all of us at Evolution Properties!

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