There’s something about being really heavily pregnant that makes me just want to bake! Maybe it’s a nesting thing, or maybe it’s just because it’s something easy to do with delicious results – who knows?! When I was pregnant with Little One, I made a batch of lemon curd and some flapjacks the day before she was born. It has been lovely to make things with her this time round – although I made these during her nap time so that she wouldn’t eat all of the mini eggs in the process! I found this recipe on the Lakeland blog, and it’s really easy to make this delicious Easter treat.

Ingredients

270g plain flour

1tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

170g unsalted butter, softened

100g caster sugar

135g light soft brown sugar

1 tbsp vanilla extract

2 large eggs, beaten

200g white chocolate chips (or a block of chocolate chopped into small chunks works fine)

1 or 2 90g packets of mini eggs

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190c/Gas 5. Lightly grease a 12″ x 9″ traybake tin (I used my brownie pan – anything roughly 1″ deep will be fine).

2. Place the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl and mix together. Set aside.

3. Place the butter, sugars and vanilla extract in a large bowl and, using an electric mixer, cream together until combined.

4. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition.

5. Add the flour mixture, and mix until just combined. Be careful not to over mix. Stir in the white chocolate chips and mini eggs until combined.

6. Press the mix into the traybake tin, and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the edges start to turn golden brown. Allow to cool completely before cutting into 12 squares. Enjoy!

These blondies are so yummy, they didn’t really last long! I’ll have to make another batch before Easter I think. Depending on what happens with our new arrival! I’m hoping to get back into blogging more regularly once things have settled down a bit – I know that’s not the first time I have said that here, but I know I’ve been neglecting this little space a lot and I want to get back to it. So fingers crossed, there will be more posts in the not too distant future!

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I have a really sweet tooth, and I think this is perhaps one of the sweetest things I have ever made. I really LOVE it! This blonde mini egg rocky road is really easy to make, so it’s perfect for a last-minute Easter treat. You can basically adapt this recipe to your taste – I made a fruit and nut free version because Tom isn’t a huge fan of either of these things. So we put all the sweet things in it! I have made a couple of batches to see what works best, and we discovered that unlike some recipes for rocky road, this is best made a day or two in advance. It just gets better after waiting a bit (which is hard because it’s so good!). I also experimented with the size of the biscuit pieces, and we preferred the version where I chopped up the custard creams instead of bashing them. You could always bash half and chop the other half if you prefer.

Ingredients

250g white chocolate, broken into pieces

100g unsalted butter, cubed

2 tbsp golden syrup

150g custard cream biscuits

75g mini marshmallows (chop up larger ones if you can’t find these)

200g chocolate mini eggs, plus a few extra for the top

Method

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.

2. Remove from the heat and add the golden syrup. Mix together until fully combined and leave to cool at room temperature for about 5 – 10 mins.

3. Roughly chop the custard creams into medium-sized chunks (this seems to work better than bashing them in a bag!). Stir into the cooled chocolate with the marshmallows and the mini eggs.

4. Pour the mix into the tin and press down with the back of a spoon until even. Scatter over a few extra mini eggs to make it look extra colourful, pressing them in a little. Leave to set in the fridge, preferably overnight.

5. Remove from the tin and cut into bars to serve. Will keep for up to 1 week in an airtight container – if you can make them last that long! 

If you want to see the original recipe that this blonde mini egg rocky road is adapted from, you can find the recipe here. You might also want some more Easter inspiration, and my Easter Pinterest board is a great place to start!

Post updated 12th February 2020.

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Easter is so late this year! I’m so ready for a holiday and looking forward to having some family time together. 

But it wouldn’t be Easter without a little treat or two, and this year I found this simple and delicious recipe for Mini Egg rocky road, which really is a treat! You can make it with or without the fruit, depending on your taste. It’s super easy to make so will be perfect if you need a last-minute Easter treat!

This recipe is originally from BBC Good Food online.

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 (chop up larger ones if you can’t find these)

50g dried cranberries

200g chocolate mini eggs

Method

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.

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.

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.

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.

5. Remove from the tin and cut into bars to serve. Will keep for up to 1 week in an airtight container – if you can make them last that long!

The post Mini Egg rocky road appeared first on Hello! Hooray!.

This recipe originally comes from the Delicious Magazine website.

Ingredients

425g strong plain white bread flour, plus extra for dusting

½ tsp salt

50g butter, softened

7g sachet easy-blend fast-action yeast

1 tsp ground cinnamon

25g light muscovado sugar

1 eating apple, cored and finely diced (I used a Pink Lady apple)

150g dried cranberries

125ml milk, plus extra for brushing

400g natural colour marzipan

Method

1. Place the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and rub it in until it resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the yeast, then add all the remaining ingredients except the milk and marzipan.

2. Pour the milk into a jug and add 125ml boiling water. Stir into the dough and mix well until it gathers into a soft ball.

3. Turn the mixture out onto a floured work surface and knead for 5 minutes until smooth and elastic. Cut off about 75g marzipan and reserve to make the crosses. Cut the remaining marzipan into twenty four 1cm cubes. Form the dough into a fat sausage and cut into 12 slices, cut each slice in half and place a piece of marzipan in the centre of each and pinch the dough around it. Roll into a ball and place on a baking tray.

4. Roll out the reserved marzipan into tiny thin sausages and use to make crosses on the buns. Cover loosely with cling film. Leave in a warm place, for about an hour, until doubled in size and the dough feels very light and airy.

5. Preheat the oven to 200C/fan180c/gas 6. When ready to bake, brush the top of the risen buns with milk. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes until golden brown.

Enjoy – Happy Easter!

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If you’re looking for a sweet Easter treat, look no further! This delicious citrus and marzipan Bakewell tart is a twist on a classic Bakewell. It is perfect for an Easter lunch – or for any other occasion actually! To make it super special, you could make your own lemon curd. The original recipe says to use a 12 x 35cm tin, but I used two small round loose-bottomed ones instead [Edit: I have used both round and rectangular tins and both work equally well!] I popped one of them in the freezer (un-iced) and it froze very well, so if you’re prepping for a party you could make this in advance.

This recipe comes from the April 2014 issue of BBC Good Food magazine. The recipe suggests using ready-made pastry – I actually made my own from scratch, but you can do whatever you prefer!

Ingredients

375g pack sweet shortcrust pastry (or use this recipe if you want to make it yourself)
Jar of lemon curd (or see this recipe to make your own!)
280g/10oz icing sugar
Juice 1 lemon

For the sponge

100g/4oz very soft butter
100g/4oz golden caster sugar
50g/2oz ground almonds
50g/2oz self-raising flour, plus a little extra for dusting
1/4 tsp almond extract
2 medium eggs, beaten
25g/1oz chopped candied peel
Zest of 1 lemon
Zest of 1/2 orange
50g/2oz block marzipan

Method

1. Roll out the pastry onto a lightly floured surface. Line the tin and then press any overhanging pastry back over the outside of the tin (you can trim after baking). Prick the base all over with a fork and chill for 30 mins.

2. Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas mark 6. Bake the pastry until just cooked but not coloured, and lower the heat to 180C/160C fan/gas mark 4.

3. Make the sponge mixture by beating the butter, sugar, ground almonds, flour, almond extract and eggs together with an electric whisk until well mixed (I don’t have one currently, so followed the usual creaming by hand method).

4. Tip in the candied peel and zests, then coarsely grate in the marzipan – the best way to do this is to keep dipping the end of the block in flour to stop it getting sticky, and stir into the mix every now and then to stop it all clumping back together. Give everything a good stir.

5. Spoon 3 tbsp of the lemon curd into a piping bag or small food bag and set aside for later. Spread the rest (or as much as is needed) over the base of the tart, then spoon over the sponge mixture and spread evenly. Bake for 35-40 mins until golden and firm, before allowing to cool completely in the tin.

6. If serving straight away, sift the icing sugar into a bowl and stir in enough of the lemon juice to get a smooth and thick, but still runny icing. Spread it all over the top of the tart and then pipe the lemon curd onto the top. You could pipe horizontal lines across the length of the tin and then use the end of a cocktail stick to drag lines down the tin, creating a feathered effect.

The tart should keep well for up to 5 days in an airtight container…if it lasts that long! Enjoy!

Post updated 6th May 2017.

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