It’s the Easter holidays and if you are in need of some form of distraction from revision, essay fuel, or just want to celebrate the season with baked goods, you have come to the right place…
Chocolate Easter Nests:
I have (controversially, perhaps) used cornflakes as my cereal of preference in this recipe, though I do realise that rice crispies and shredded wheat are also viable candidates. It comes down to personal choice and childhood experience – choose wisely and choose well!
150g cornflakes
250g plain chocolate
50g butter or margarine
2 tablespoons golden syrup
1 bag mini eggs
1) Melt the chocolate, syrup and butter/margarine together in a bowl. I find the best way to do this is to place the bowl over a saucepan filled a third of the way up with simmering (not boiling) water. Make sure the water and the bottom of the bowl don’t touch, as this can burn the chocolate.
2) Crush the cornflakes in a large bowl, leaving some whole, some broken and some rubble. Pour over the chocolate mixture and mix together well.
3) Line a cupcake tin with 12 cupcake cases. Put a large spoonful of the mixture into each case. Place a few mini eggs on the top of each nest and leave to cool in the fridge for about 45 minutes until set.
Hot Cross Buns:
You probably know that you can, especially at this time of year, buy hot cross buns pretty cheaply just about anywhere. However, I can promise that these are a million times better than those shop-bought disappointments (if you don’t believe me, just ask Paul Hollywood). On the subject of Paul Hollywood, in his recent Easter Masterclass with Mary Berry (aka the DREAM TEAM), he added a chopped apple to his buns – I tried this out and was slightly shaken by the experience (too far, Hollywood. TOO FAR). The recipe does take about 3 hours in total – but during most of that time, you’re just waiting for the dough to rise, so it’s a great way to schedule in chunks of revision time (yay!)
– 500g strong white flour, plus extra for kneading 
– 1x 7g packet fast-action yeast
– 1 teaspoon salt
– 75g caster sugar
– 50g butter or margarine
– 1 egg
– 300ml milk (you may use less than this)
– Zest of 2 oranges
– 100g sultanas
– 50g mixed peel (if you don’t have this, I wouldn’t worry too much – though hot cross bun enthusiasts may disagree with me!)
– 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
For the cross:
– 75g plain flour
For the glaze:
– 4 tablespoons of apricot jam or marmalade OR 2 tablespoons caster sugar
1) Put the flour into a large bowl. On one side of the bowl, empty the packet of yeast and on the other, place the salt (these shouldn’t touch each other straightaway as the salt slows down the yeast).
2) Warm the milk in a saucepan over a medium heat until it is steaming. Add the sugar, butter/margarine, and the egg to the flour and then pour in about half of the milk. Start bringing the dough together in the bowl gently with your hands. Add more milk until the mixture forms a soft, slightly sticky ball.
3) Add the orange zest, sultanas, mixed peel and cinnamon to the dough, mix together, then turn it out onto a floured surface. Knead the dough by stretching, folding and turning it – do this for at least 5 minutes. For some beautiful Hollywood kneading images, see here: http://metro.co.uk/2013/03/26/7-pictures-of-paul-hollywood-sensuously-kneading-bread-3560375/ (I know, I’ve got a problem)
4) After you’ve kneaded like a pro, form the dough into a ball and place into a large bowl. Cover the bowl with cling film (make sure no air can get in or out) and place the bowl in a fairly warm place. Leave your dough for an hour to rise, or ‘prove’, as Mr Hollywood would call it (shush).
5) After the dough has proved (it should have doubled in size), remove from the bowl and do some gentle kneading on a floured surface. Shape it into a sausage and cut in half, then cut each half into 3 segments. With each segment, knead, flatten, then shape into a ball before placing onto a lined baking tray. The 12 buns should be placed about 2cm apart.
6) Cover the tray with cling film and leave the buns to prove for another hour, when they should have doubled again in size.
7) Preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius/Gas Mark 7 (or for fan ovens, 200 degrees). Make sure the buns are just touching each other on the baking tray.
8) To make the crosses, put the plain flour into a bowl and vigorously whisk in enough water for it to become a paste, with the consistency of PVA glue. You can then either carefully pour or pipe (I find using a piping bag easier and less messy) this paste in a vertical line across each row of buns, then again in a horizontal line, to make a cross.
9) Bake the buns for 25 minutes in the oven until golden brown. When they come out of the oven, apply the glaze straightaway whilst the buns are hot. Warm the apricot jam/marmalade in a saucepan and brush some over each bun. If you don’t have apricot jam or marmalade lying around, you can use a sugar glaze to make the buns shiny – just mix 2 tablespoons of caster sugar with 2 tablespoons of warm water.
10) Leave the buns to cool slightly, then tear apart and eat with mountains of butter and a cuppa!