Recipes: Cakes and things to make at Easter!

If you’re looking for some Easter inspiration, here are a couple of reliable Easter themed recipes guaranteed to be tasty!

Traditional Simnel Easter Cake

Serves 8-10

Recipe by Sarab Kapoor, courtesy of Cold Storage Singapore

Ingredients:

• 500g mixed dried fruit
• 100g Glace Cherries
• 175g butter
• 175g caster sugar
• 225g cake flour or plain flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon powder
• ¼ teaspoon powdered ginger
• 4 eggs
• ¼ cup milk
• 1kg marzipan
• Zest of one lemon
• Icing sugar for rolling
• 1 tablespoon apricot jam
• 1 egg white

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
2. Cream the butter and sugar, until soft and light. Then add the lemon zest.
3. Place the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and ginger in a bowl; stir to combine.
4. Add one egg to the creamed butter and sugar with two tablespoons of the dry ingredients, then beat in the remaining eggs. Add the rest of the dry ingredients gradually, then milk. Then stir in the fruit.
5. Dust the surface with a little icing sugar and roll out about 400g of the marzipan. Cut it into a six-inch circle.
6. Evenly spoon half of the fruitcake mixture into a six-inch spring-form tin; then lay in the marzipan circle on top, followed by the rest of the mixture.
7. Bake for about an hour and leave in tin to cool.
8. Unspring the cooled fruitcake. Roll out another 400g circle of the marzipan, paint the top of the cake with the apricot jam, then place the marzipan on top.
9. Make 11 one-inch (or approximate) apostle balls out of the remaining marzipan. Secure the apostles around the edge of the cake with lightly beaten egg white.
10. Paint the whole of the cake with egg white, then blow-torch the marzipan until it’s slightly scorched.

coldstorage.com.sg

Hot Cross Bun Baked Pudding

Serves 6-10

Recipe courtesy of Expat Kitchen

Ingredients:

• 6 hot cross buns
• 600ml thickened cream
• 4 free range eggs – yolks only
• 75g caster sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 50g flaked almonds
• 30g sultanas
• 50g unsalted butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (160 degrees Celsius fan-forced).
2. Cut the hot cross buns in half and brush each side with butter; then close them up again.
3. Put into rectangular baking dish approximately 40cm by 20cm.
4. Whisk the egg yolks and caster sugar together until the mixture turns pale and thickens.
5. Put the cream into a small pot on a low flame and gently bring to a boil, stirring along the way. Make sure the cream doesn’t burn on the bottom of the pan!
6. Once boiling, pour a small amount of the boiling cream over the egg yolk mixture and whisk well.
7. Repeat with another small amount, and whisk well. Add the remaining cream and whisk again. Add the vanilla essence and salt, and whisk further.
8. Pour the custard mixture over the buns and let stand for six minutes to absorb the liquid.
9. Sprinkle the sultanas and almonds over and around the hot cross buns.
10. Cover loosely with foil and bake for 15 minutes.
11. Remove foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until golden and just set.

Easter Bunny Cupcakes

1 serving

Recipe courtesy of Expat Kitchen

Ingredients:

• A cupcake (baked from your favourite recipe)
• White icing
• Shredded coconut
• Pink sugar (make by mixing a few drops of pink colouring with 1 cup caster sugar)
• Jellybean nose
• Candy eyes
• Food-safe pen (to draw pupils)
• Large marshmallow
• Mini marshmallows

Directions:

1. Frost a cupcake with white icing and sprinkle on shredded coconut for the fur.
2. Cut a large marshmallow in half width-wise. Squeeze each half slightly to give it an oval shape, then decorate the sticky side of each one by dipping into the pink sugar; set in place for ears.
3. Add a jellybean nose and pop on candy eyes. Draw pupils with food-safe pen.
4. Add mini marshmallows for cheeks.

Hotcross Easter Brownies

Makes 16 squares

Recipe courtesy of Expat Kitchen

Ingredients:

* 200g cooking chocolate
* 200g butter
* 220g caster sugar
* 3 eggs
* 120g plain flour
* 150g walnuts, roughly chopped
* Small servings of pastel and white coloured icing to decorate

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Line brownie pan with parchment paper.
2. Melt butter and chocolate together in double boiler, stirring until the mixture is smooth.
3. Stir the sugar into the chocolate mixture until it’s dissolved, and allow to cool until tepid.
4. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl; add a little at a time to the chocolate mixture.
5. Add in the walnuts, then carefully fold in the flour. Do not over-mix.
6. Pour into the baking tray and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
7. Let cool completely, then cut into bite-sized squares. Decorate with pastel coloured icing.

Devilled Egg Chicks

Recipe courtesy of Expat Kitchen

Serves 10

Ingredients:

* 10 large eggs, hard-boiled (8 minutes)
* 2 tablespoons whole egg mayonnaise
* 1½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
* ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
* ⅛ teaspoon salt, or to taste
* 1 small carrot, peeled and sliced into rings
* 3 packets of Mamee ready-to- eat noodles to make the nest (or substitute with fresh parsley)
* 4 black olives
Note: You’ll also need a sharp knife and a plastic straw

Instructions:

1. Peel hard-boiled eggs. With a sharp knife, slice off a very thin layer from the base of the egg so it can stand. Cut a generous top off the egg, and set top aside. Using a small melon baller, scoop out the yolk carefully (be careful not to break the white part!).
2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine 10 cooked yolks and mash well with a fork. Add mayonnaise, Dijon, garlic powder and salt. Mash everything together until smooth. Transfer mixture to Ziploc or pastry bag and pipe generously into egg bases. Place top 1/3 back over the base and press down slightly to adhere.
3. For the eyes, poke through an olive with a plastic straw several times, then gently squeeze down the straw, and the little circles of olives will pop right out. For the beaks, thinly slice a few rings of carrot and cut each ring into sixths. Insert two olive spots for the eyes and two carrots wedges for the beak. Set chicks on a platter and garnish with noodles, or parsley or dill to give them that “free range” feel.

Expat Kitchen,
9 Norris Road, #02-01
6299 4221 | expat-kitchen.com

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Anthia Chng

Born and bred on this little red dot, Anthia is obsessed with all things beauty and food. When she's not trawling the web for the latest makeup launches and best hair salons, she's busy sussing out the hottest restaurants and bars to visit. Occasionally, she writes about her Muay Thai and baking adventures, too.