Hello everyone. Hope you all are well.
After last week’s fish recipes, I hope you all got a head start on your pickled fish and your fish is all pickling away because Easter Weekend is almost here people!
If you haven’t made your pickled fish yet, today is the perfect day to make it, so it has enough time to pickle so that its ingelê and have all those sweet, sour and spicy flavours, mixed together until all those sousies are pickled to perfection by the weekend.
There is something special about Easter weekend. If you are celebrating, you look forward to a blessed time with family and loved ones and if you do not, you look forward to shorter work weeks and a longer weekend.
Easter comes with a charm of its own. You cannot help but find yourself browsing through the sweetie aisle for a bit longer.
Everyone has a favourite treat this time of year, and I always find a box of soft mallow eggs sneaking into my trolley.
When you go out shopping, you see the excitement on the kiddies’ faces when they choose their favourite Easter eggs or bunny and, if you are lucky, it’s not eaten immediately and it does make its way home.
The kids not only get excited for the treats, but they also look forward to the easter egg hunts.
As long as you have hiding places (inside or outside) hide those choccies, it will keep them entertained and lekker busy.
The only problem you might have is them having a sugar rush, but encourage moderation. Another way to keep the smallies busy is having them join in on kitchen duty.
This week I am sharing some lekker sweet treat Easter recipes for you to enjoy.
It’s perfect to get them in on the baking.
And be sure to grab an extra packet or two of speckled eggs - it comes in handy when they are decorating all their bakes and those little eggs are so colourful, they will add the perfect pop of colour to your Easter table.
Blessed Easter to all those celebrating!
For more recipes or baking and cooking inspiration, visit my website www.sprinklesandspice.co.za or visit my social media platforms on Instagram, Facebook or TikTok @sprinklesandspicect or Sprinkles and Spice by Farzana Kumandan.
Love, Your Cooksister.
Shamima Kamrodien's Chocolate Easter Cuppies
Ingredients
4 eggs
1 ½ castor sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla essence
1 cup milk
1 cup oil
4 cups flour
4 tsp baking powder
3 to 4 tablespoons cocoa
Method
Mix the egg and sugar until nice and fluffy, add the vanilla essence and mix. Add the milk and oil and mix well. Add in 4 cups sifted flour, cocoa and baking powder and mix until smooth and lump free. Pour into cupcake holders and bake for 12 minutes on 180 degrees. Decorate with icing and add your Easter toppers.
Easter Choco Egg Cookies
Ingredients
250g butter
1/2cup white sugar
1/2cup brown sugar
1 egg
1t vanilla
2-3 cups of flour
2 Tablespoons cocoa
¾ cup roughly chopped speckled eggs
Method
Cream together butter and sugar until pale white. Add the egg and essence and mix well. Add in the flour and cocoa and mix until a soft dough is formed. Roll into little balls and press flat on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Lastly, add in the speckled eggs to decorate. Bake for 15-20 minutes on 160 degrees. Once removed from the oven, allow to harden on the tray.
Easter Ring Donuts
Wet ingredients
1 egg
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon vanilla essence
1 cup milk
1 tsp vinegar
Dry ingredients
2 heaped cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
2 heaped tablespoon sugar
For the topping
Melted chocolate.
Sprinkles
Speckled eggs
Method
Whisk together your wet ingredients, add in your dry ingredients, knead to form a dough. If dough is too sticky add some extra flour. Roll out thinly, on a floured surface, (they do puff up) deep fry until golden and dip in melted chocolate. Roughly chop up speckled eggs and sprinkle on top
Hot Cross Buns
Ingredients
5 cups cake flour
1 ½ packets of instant yeast
6 tablespoons castor sugar
2 heaped tsp mixed spice
2 heaped tsp fine cinnamon
2 teaspoons ginger powder
A generous pinch of nutmeg
A generous pinch of salt
1 ½ cups of seedless raisins
300ml of warm milk
½ cups melted butter
2 extra large eggs whisked
Method
Add the flour, yeast, sugar, spices, salt and raisings in a large mixing bowl. Mix with a spoon until well combined. Whisk the egg and add the remaining ingredients. Mix with a wooden spoon until a soft dough is formed. Transfer to a floured surface and knead for at least 10 minutes.
Lightly oil a separate bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl. Cover with cling and a tea towel and allow to rise in a warm spot. Once risen, mix and make balls, transferring to a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Leaving at least a finger space between each bun. Cover and allow to rise for 35 minutes.
After 35 minutes, in a bowl, mix 1/3 cup flour, 1 tablespoon sugar and 3-4 tablespoons cold water to form a thick paste. Transfer to a piping bag and pipe a cross on top of each bun.
Bake in a preheated oven on 190 degrees for 30 minutes.
While the buns are baking, on a stove top, on a low heat add ½ cup of water and ½ cup of sugar to a small pot and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes and once buns come out of the oven, brush the hot syrup over the hot buns.