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Spring into Easter with some funny bunny biscuits
Here are two great ways to help the youngsters have fun with their food this Easter, writes Clare Latimer
I LOVE an early Easter because I feel that spring has really come, even if we do still get the odd cold snap. Here are some fun ideas for the whole family to do over the holiday and have a great Easter.
Funny Bunny Biscuits
Kids love to make these and especially with the marshmallow tails.
They can be kept in an air tight tin for at least a week but I am sure they will all be gobbled up over Easter.
Ingredients
125g butter;
175g plain flour;
50g light muscovado sugar;
1/2 teasp ground cinnamon;
Grated rind of one lemon;
Yolk of one egg;
Two-three tbsp water;
One packet baby marshmallows;
Few currants.
Method
Preheat the oven 180°C 350°F Gas mark 4. Cut up the butter and then put into a mixing bowl with the flour, sugar, ground cinnamon, lemon rind and egg yolk.
Mix well and then add enough water to make a soft dough.
Remove from the bowl and knead the dough on a floured surface until smooth and then roll out a 1/4 inch thick.
Cut out the biscuits with a rabbit cutter or make a template and cut out biscuits with a knife.
Carefully put them on a lined baking tray and cook for 10-15 minutes or until light brown.
While still warm poke a currant into each bunny to give it an eye.
Cool on the greaseproof paper and then move onto a plate.
When cold put a small marshmallow on the bottom of each bunny as a tail and stick it with either some icing mix or some butter.
Easter Egg Cake
Chatting in my kitchen I came up with this idea for an Easter cake – one giant egg!
If you have children then they would love icing and filling it and you could do any amount of mixes.
You could flavour the cake with any sponge flavour and then either fill with orange butter icing with hidden sweets and if you have cooked the bunnies in the other recipe then use up the rest of the baby marshmallows in the filling.
You could then cover the outside of the egg with yellow icing to make it look like a real egg or just go for chocolate all round.
Ingredients
225g butter;
225g caster sugar;
Four large eggs;
Two heaped tbsp cocoa;
Eight oz self-raising flour;
One tbsp boiling water.
Method
Preheat oven to 180°C 350°F Gas mark 4. Grease and line two one-pint basins.
In a mixing bowl put the butter, caster sugar, eggs, cocoa and flour and then beat until really fluffy and smooth.
Finally mix in one tablespoon boiling water. This lightens a cake mixture.
Divide the mixture equally between the two basins and level off the tops.
Cook in the oven for about one hour or until a skewer comes out clean when speared right through the middle of the sponge. Turn out gently and then cool on a rack.
Chocolate Butter Icing
Ingredients
225g butter, softened;
500g icing sugar, sifted;
One-two tbsp milk;
Two tbsp cocoa.
Method
Put the butter into a bowl and beat until creamy. Gradually beat in the icing sugar, a few spoons at a time to prevent it flying everywhere.
Add the milk at various times to help mix well. Finally mix in the cocoa and then beat the whole mixture well.
Add more milk if too firm.To make up the cake, cut the tops off each cake to make even surface.
Keep the top bits and break them into a bowl in small chunks. Put one half standing upright on a cake board or plate, spread the surface with icing (hiding sweets in the cake at this point if using) and then put on the other cake upside-down so that you now have an egg shape with a flat top.
Mix the top pieces of cake with some icing and then mould a top onto the cake to make the egg dome.
Then cover the whole egg cake with the rest of the icing and smooth over the surface.
Tie a ribbon round the middle of the cake and leave in a cool place until ready to serve. Cut long thin slices. |
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