This stuffed lamb shoulder with feta and apricot serves 6 with leftovers and is easy to carve because it’s boneless. 

We can’t think of a tastier main to serve up this Easter. It’s the perfect combination of salty cheese, plump fruit, and succulent meat. It’s also a really easy-to-carve option as there are no bones. You can marinade the lamb up to two days ahead, just bring it to room temperature before cooking. 

Ingredients

• 1.5kg deboned lamb shoulder, butterflied
• 500ml lamb stock
• 100ml white wine

For the stuffing:

• 2 leeks, finely sliced
• 1tbsp olive oil
• 1tbsp ras el hanout
• 1-2 preserved lemons, flesh discarded, skin finely chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 400g tin chickpeas, drained
• 125g cavolo nero, de-stalked and shredded
• 100g soft dried apricots, chopped
• 100g feta, crumbled
• 25g each fresh coriander and mint, roughly chopped

You will need:

• Kitchen string

Method

1. First, make the stuffing. In a medium saucepan, fry the leeks in the oil until soft. Add the ras el hanout, preserved lemons, garlic, chickpeas and 50ml water. Season, then simmer for 3-5 mins until the water has evaporated and the chickpeas are softening. Crush with a wooden spoon, then add the cavolo nero and allow it to wilt.
2. Take off the heat, stir through the remaining stuffing ingredients and set aside to cool.
3. Heat the oven to 240C (220C fan, Gas 9). Season the lamb (flesh side) with sea salt. Spread the stuffing over the surface and roll up tightly from the short end, securing with string. Rub all over with olive oil, season again, then put in a deep roasting tin.
4. Roast the lamb for 20 mins, then reduce the oven temperature to 180C (160C fan, Gas 4). Pour the stock and wine into the tin and cover with foil. Roast for 1 hr 20 mins, or until a digital probe reads 60C for medium or 65C for well done.
5. Rest the meat on a board, covered with foil, for at least 20 mins. Skim and discard the excess fat from the juices in the tin. Put the tin on the heat and boil for 5 mins to reduce the volume by half. Taste, adding vegetable cooking water or boiling water to taste.

Top tips for making our stuffed lamb shoulder with feta and apricot

The alcohol in the white wine will have cooked off by the time you serve the lamb with the juices, making it perfectly safe for the whole family to eat. 

To check the lamb is cooked to your liking we suggest using a digital probe.

Read our guide on how to cook a leg of lamb, if you’d like more tips and cooking suggestions. We also have recommendations for Easter foods the whole family will enjoy and some alternative Easter lamb recipes if you want more inspiration. 

Our stuffed spring leg of lamb with herby chutney is a delicious easy-to-carve Easter main and leftovers are delicious in a pitta bread with feta and salad. 

This is a wonderful recipe to share with your family because it’s easy to prepare ahead and once it’s stuffed, the lamb only takes around an hour and 15 minutes to cook. Any leftover meat and sauce can be tossed together with rice or couscous and chopped roasted veg for a delicious light lunch. If you want to get the kids involved, let them help make the stuffing and roll up the leg of the lamb. They could also take full control of blitzing the chutney together. 

Ingredients

• 1.5kg butterflied leg of lamb
• 2 onions, sliced into 2cm (3⁄4in) rounds

For the stuffing:

• 1 small shallot, finely chopped
• ½ tbsp olive oil
• 1 small garlic clove, crushed
• 1⁄4tsp sumac
• 75g baby leaf spinach
• 30g rocket, roughly chopped
• 1tbsp chopped parsley
• 40g soft goat’s cheese
• Zest and juice of 1⁄2 lemon
• 15g fresh breadcrumbs
• 1tbsp flaked almonds

For the chutney:

• 30g mint
• 15g coriander
• 15g parsley
• 1tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1tbsp caster sugar
• 2tbsp Greek yogurt

Method

1. Remove the lamb from the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature, while you prepare the stuffing.
2. For the stuffing, in a large frying pan, fry the shallot in the oil, until softened. Add the garlic and sumac, then cook for another 1 min. Stir in the spinach and cook for 5-8 mins. Remove from the heat and stir in the rocket, parsley, goat’s cheese, lemon zest and juice, breadcrumbs and almonds. Allow the mixture to cool.
3. Unroll the deboned lamb leg, then spread the stuffing over the lamb. Roll up again, and use string to tie the roll up. If you have time, marinate in the fridge overnight, otherwise heat the oven to 200C (180C fan, Gas 6).
4. Place the onion rounds on a roasting tray and sit the lamb on top. Season well. Place in the hot oven for 15 mins, then reduce the temperature to 180C (160C fan, Gas 4). Cook for a further 1 hr for medium or 1hr 15 mins for well done. Remove the lamb and allow it to rest for 20 mins before carving.
5. While the lamb is cooking, prepare the chutney. Blitz the herbs, vinegar, sugar and 75-100ml water together until smooth. Stir through the yogurt and season with salt and pepper.
6. Serve the lamb sliced into 5mm slices with the onions and juices from the roasting tin, and the chutney.

Top tips for making this stuffed spring leg of lamb with herby chutney 

Ask your butcher to debone the lamb – this gives you a better ‘roll’ so you can fill it with the stuffing.

To make the herb chutney it’s best to use a small food processor. You could also pound everything together in a pestle and mortar until smooth.

We have lots of Easter lamb recipes and other Easter foods the whole family will love. For more tips on how to cook a leg of lamb, read our expert guide. 

Our Easter coconut and lemon cake is filled with whipped cream and zingy lemon curd. The kids will love decorating the top with chocolate treats and desiccated coconut. 

We love the appearance of a triple-layered cake but if you’ve only got two tins just bake two slightly thicker sponges. You will likely need to add a few minutes to the baking time. The sponge can be made the day before and then you could assemble and decorate the cake with your kids just before you want to serve it. 

Ingredients

For the sponges:

• 4 medium eggs
• 375g (13oz) caster sugar
• 45g (11⁄2oz) creamed coconut block, finely grated
• 200ml (7fl oz) sunflower oil
• 284ml carton buttermilk
• 1tbsp vanilla extract
• 300g (10oz) plain flour
• 45g (11⁄2oz) desiccated coconut
• 1tsp baking powder
• 1⁄2tsp bicarbonate of soda

For the lemon curd:

• 100g (31⁄2oz) caster sugar
• 60g (2oz) butter
• Juice of 2 lemons, plus the zest of 1
• 2 eggs, beaten

To finish:

• 300ml (10fl oz) cream, softly whipped
• 1tbsp desiccated coconut, to sprinkle
• Chocolate eggs and truffles, to decorate – we used Cadbury Mini Eggs, Doisy & Dam Vegan Good Eggs, Divine Milk Chocolate Speckled Eggs, and Lindt Lindor White Chocolate Truffles

You will need:

• 3 x 20cm (8in) springform cake tins, greased and lined with parchment paper

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan, Gas 4). For the sponges, beat the eggs, sugar and creamed coconut for a few mins until slightly thickened.
2. Pour in the oil, buttermilk and vanilla extract, and mix until blended well.
3. Add the flour, desiccated coconut, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda, and mix until just combined.
4. Divide the mixture equally between the 3 cake tins. Place in the oven on the middle shelf to cook for 20-25 mins, until just turning a pale golden brown and the sponge is springy to the touch.
5. Remove them from the oven, then turn them out of the tins onto a wire rack to cool completely before finishing the cake.
6. While the sponges are cooking, prepare the lemon curd. In a small pan over a medium heat, heat the sugar and butter with the lemon juice and zest until the butter has melted. Whisk in the eggs and turn the heat to medium-low, whisking continuously until the curd begins to thicken. When it’s thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, remove from the heat and pour into a bowl to cool. Cover with cling film and set aside.
7. To assemble the cake, make sure the sponges and lemon curd are cool. Lay 1 round of sponge on the base of a cake stand and spread over a third of the whipped cream and a third of the curd. Continue layering sponge, cream and curd. Sprinkle with desiccated coconut and top with the decorations of your choice.

Top tips for making our Easter coconut and lemon cake

You can assemble the cake ahead of time but we’d recommend adding the chocolates to the top just before serving. When the cake is in the fridge the colours might weep into the cream otherwise. We like to remove it from the fridge around 10 minutes before you want to slice and serve as it’s more enjoyable than if the cake is ‘fridge’ cold. 

To make sure the cakes are even, we’d recommend weighing the batter and dividing it equally between the three cake tins.

For more Easter inspiration, try our easy Easter nests. We have lots more Easter foods you can enjoy making with the kids and a simple guide on how to make your own Easter eggs.

Our chocolate orange hot cross buns can be served as an indulgent Easter breakfast treat, afternoon snack, or dessert. 

If your kids are still quite young they might not have the patience to wait for the dough to knead and prove but they will no doubt appreciate your hard work when the smell of the buns coming out of the oven fills the house. The recipe only has four steps in the method and while it’s easiest to knead the dough with a machine, it can also be done by hand. 

Ingredients

• 500g strong white flour, plus extra to dust
• ½tsp sea salt
• 80g caster sugar
• 2tbsp cocoa powder
• 7g sachet fast-action yeast
• 2tbsp mixed spice
• 280ml milk, warmed
• 75g butter, cubed
• 1 medium egg, beaten
• 100g mixed peel
• 100g dark orange chocolate, chopped into little pieces
• 50g plain flour
• 2tsp sunflower oil
• 1tbsp marmalade

You will need:

• Piping bag fitted with a small round nozzle

Method

1. Put the flour, salt, sugar, cocoa powder, yeast and mixed spice into the bowl of a stand mixer. Warm the milk; once steaming, remove from the heat and stir in the butter to melt. Add to the dry ingredients with the egg. Mix with the dough hook attachment until everything comes together. Increase the speed to knead for 10 mins. Add the mixed peel and mix again to incorporate. Cover the bowl with cling film and leave to rise somewhere draught-free for 1 hr-1 hr 30 mins or until doubled in size.
2. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and fold in the chocolate, kneading again to distribute it. Divide the dough into 13 even (90g) pieces, then shape each into a smooth ball by cupping your hand over each piece of dough in a claw shape and rolling on the worktop. Arrange on a lined baking tray in a tight circle. Cover and prove for 1 hr.
3. Heat the oven to 170C Fan/Gas 5. Mix the plain flour, oil and 50ml cold water to make a smooth paste, fill a piping bag, then pipe a cross over each bun.
4. Bake for 20 mins. While warm, brush with marmalade, then leave to cool.

Top tips for making our chocolate orange hot cross buns  

When you knead the dough by hand it will take a little longer but just persist until it’s soft and springy. When gently pressed the dough should spring back. This is how you know it’s ready to prove.

Read food editor Jessica Dady’s full KitchenAid stand mixer review to learn about all the reasons why you need one in your kitchen. 

There are so many Easter foods you can make and enjoy with the kids including these adorable Easter nests. We also have an easy guide on how to make your own Easter eggs if you don’t want to buy one and a great range of Easter cake ideas to choose from too.

These marbled Easter biscuits take 30 minutes to prepare and the decoration is easy once you know our simple method. 

If you’ve browsed our Easter cake ideas but would prefer something quicker and easier to make, biscuits are always a great option. Bake the biscuits ahead and then set up a few decoration stations on the kitchen table so you can sit down with the kids and have a fun afternoon of decorating. 

Ingredients

• 225g cold unsalted butter, diced
• 375g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 75g cornflour
• 1⁄2tsp salt
• 125g golden caster sugar
• 2 medium eggs
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• Zest 1 lemon

For the icing:

• 3 medium egg whites
• 500g icing sugar, sifted
• 1-2tsp lemon juice
• 3 different food colourings of your choice

You will need:

• Easter-themed cookie cutters in various sizes
• 2-3 large baking trays lined with baking paper
• Piping bag fitted with a fine writing nozzle (optional)

Method 

1. In a food processor, pulse the butter, flour, cornflour and salt to the consistency of fine breadcrumbs. Add the sugar and pulse again to combine. Beat the eggs, vanilla and lemon zest together, then add to the food processor with the motor running until the dough comes together.
2. Turn out and bring together into a smooth dough, then roll between 2 sheets of baking paper to a 4mm thickness. Chill for 30 mins.
3. Use your chosen cookie cutters to cut out as many shapes as you can, then arrange on the lined trays, spaced well apart. Gather the offcuts, re-roll and repeat. Chill the biscuits for 30 mins.
4. Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan, Gas 4). Bake the biscuits for 12-15 mins, until they are a light golden colour. Cool on the trays. You may need to do this in batches if your oven is not big enough or you don’t have enough trays.
5. When the biscuits are almost completely cool, prepare the icing. Mix the egg whites, icing sugar and lemon juice together in a large bowl. Divide between 3 bowls. Colour a few tbsp icing from each bowl in a separate small bowl, then drizzle through the white icing to marble. Dip the biscuits in the icing, allowing the excess to drip off, then set aside to dry (at least 4 hrs or overnight).

Top tips for making marbled Easter biscuits 

To add even more detail to your biscuits, reserve a portion of the white icing and add more icing sugar so that it’s thicker. Transfer to a piping bag and once the biscuits are completely dry, pipe decorative patterns on top. 

If you’re a regular baker, swap baking paper for some reusable silicone mats instead... 

Browse these Easter foods and you'll find plenty of options to make with the kids over the holidays. You might even like this guide on how to make your own Easter eggs. For something simpler, check out our easy Easter nests. 

From the best supermarket Easter desserts including M&S, Tesco, and Aldi to independent sellers like LAKRIDS by Bülow, here are the best Easter desserts for 2024 all tried and tasted by our expert Food Team.

If you're planning an Easter gathering or hosting a Sunday roast with family and friends, make sure to include one of these indulgent Easter desserts. Ranging from Aldi’s banoffee-inspired hot cross bun bread and butter pudding to vegan options such as Abel and Cole’s blueberry and lemon tart, or even chocolate gifting with an epic selection box, there's something for everyone.

There's an abundance of creative desserts out there, so to truly impress us, these desserts needed to excel in both taste and appearance. This year, our panel of food experts - GoodtoKnow, Woman & Home, and Woman's Weekly's in-house Food Team, consisting of Food Director Jen Bedloe, Food Editor Jess Meyer, Deputy Food Editor Rose Fooks, Junior Food Writer Georgia Sparks and Food Writer Amanda James, put an array of Easter desserts to the test.

With years of experience and a vast amount of culinary expertise, this team is well-versed in identifying what makes the best Easter dessert whatever you’re after, meaning you can trust their judgment and feel confident that they would only score a product highly if they thought it was worth it. With that in mind, here are this year's favourites.

Where to buy the best Easter desserts online

• Ocado: The best all-rounder and winner of The Best Easter Dessert 2024 available now online 
• Tesco: Belgian Chocolate Plant Pots with Daisies and other chocolate delights to serve for an easy dessert
• Aldi: Fruity Easter pudding or a banoffee pie twist to serve as an Easter dessert

Best shop-bought Easter desserts 2024

• M&S Egg & Soldiers Mousse Cakes - £5.25 - Ocado

• M&S Baa Baa Cheesecake Sheep - £5.25 - Ocado

• Sainsbury's Crackin Good Egg Panna Cotta, Limited Edition, Taste the Difference - £10 - Sainsbury’s

• Aldi Specially Selected fruited hot cross bun pudding - £3.99 - View at Aldi 

• Aldi Specially Selected Banoffee hot cross bun pudding - £3.99 - View at Aldi 

• LAKRIDS BY BÜLOW Spring selection box - £38 - View at LAKRIDS BY BÜLOW

• Cutter & Squidge, Vegan Cookie Easter Egg - £23.99 - View at Cutter & Squidge

• Abel & Cole, Mr. Prempy’s Blueberry and Lemon Tart - £20 - View at Abel & Cole

• Belgian Chocolate Plant Pots with Daisies, Tesco Finest - £6 -Tesco

• Waitrose Lemon and Raspberry Torta - £8 - Waitrose

How did we test the best Easter desserts?

Using their experience as professional recipe developers and food journalists, Jen, Jess, Rose, and Georgia tasted each Easter dessert. Whilst taste is of course the team's top priority, judges were looking for creativity too.

Tasting almost 20 Easter desserts, the food team used their experience as professional recipe developers and food journalists, to decide what you should be putting in your trolley. 

First and foremost, the flavour of the dessert was considered. The judges were looking for an Easter dessert that wasn’t overly sweet and the flavours were balanced. Another consideration was that the flavourings were not synthetic tasting and were true to the product description.  

Once the flavour of the dessert had been assessed, judges turned their attention to the appearance of the dessert. Whilst taste is of course the team's top priority, judges were looking for creativity too. Judges enjoyed desserts that had a novelty element as well as tasted great too. 

Meet the experts: Tried and tested by...

Looking for more Easter inspiration? We've got delicious Easter cake ideas, simple Easter desserts you can try making at home as well as Easter lamb recipes and fun Creme Egg recipes the kids are going to love.

Here are the best Simnel cakes to buy from supermarkets such as M&S, Asda, and independent shops for Easter 2024. All tried, tested, and recommended.

It starts with just a few Malteser bunnies and foiled chocolate eggs lingering by the tills, but as soon as you know it, Easter is well and truly on the way when the supermarket starts stocking Simnel cake. 

Simnel cake is a fruit cake, but lighter and less rich than Christmas cake and with an added gooey internal marzipan layer. If you're lucky it also has a thick lid of marzipan topped with 11 marzipan balls (that are socially acceptable to pick off and eat while no one is looking). It’s an Easter food specialty as each ball represents an apostle of Jesus.

This year's panel of judges for our annual Easter taste test comprised of the GoodtoKnow Food Team: Food Director Jen Bedloe, Food Editor Jess Meyer, Deputy Food Editor Rose Fooks, and Junior Food Writer Georgia Sparks. The team has an abundance of expertise in all things food particularly when it comes to the best seasonal choices. Every one of these Simnel cakes has been highly rated by all of the judges making them a reliably lovely addition to your Easter feasting. 

Where to buy Simnel Easter cakes online

• Ocado: Home of our winning Simnel Cake from M&S as well as an array of Easter treats
• DukesHill: If you fancy pushing the boat out this year then this is a great destination for all the best Easter food from meat to chocolate
• Asda: For a great value Simnel cake Asda came out on top - plus lots more Easter goodies

Best Simnel cakes for Easter 2024

• M&S Simnel Cake - £14 - Ocado

• Simnel Cake - £26.50 - DukesHill

• Asda Simnel Bar - £4 - ASDA

• Simnel Loaf Cake - £14 - Cartwright & Butler

• Simnel Cake - £13 - Waitrose

• Simnel Cake - £33 - Meg Rivers

How did we test the best Simnel cakes?

We had early access to a range of Simnel cakes from both supermarkets and independent producers which we tasted blind to establish the best. 

• Taste: When judging Simnel cakes we first and foremost consider the flavour, ideally, the cake will have a mild spice and orange zest, maybe a hint of alcohol, it should be rich and flavourful, but lighter than a Christmas fruit cake. This is usually achieved by omitting treacle, which would typically be used in Christmas cake, in favour of soft brown sugar. We enjoy cakes with a mild spice, a hint of booze is a treat. 
• Texture: In terms of texture, we favour a cake that is moist enough to hold together when cut, but still has a delicate crumb and is laden with juicy vine fruits and candied peel (we are divided when it comes to the inclusion of cherries, although I consider it to be a must other members of the team are indifferent). Nuts are not usually in the cake, they are reserved for the marzipan. Marzipan with a strong almond flavour and smooth texture is our preference and it’s often the marzipan that sets a good cake aside from the best. Cakes that skimp on marzipan quantity are downgraded. 
• Look: Aesthetics are important, especially as this is likely to be brought out for a celebration, although we have also considered cakes that might be better for gifting or enjoying in a more low-key situation with a cup of tea. As long as they taste great we have included them in our roundup.  Each Simnel cake is independently judged before the scores and feedback are discussed, however, there is typically a consensus on the most popular.

Meet the experts: Tried and tested by...

Looking for more Easter inspiration? We've got delicious Easter cake ideas, simple Easter desserts you can try making at home as well as Easter lamb recipes and fun Creme Egg recipes the kids are going to love.

A great alternative to a traditional roast dinner, this stuffed pork belly is a beautiful centrepiece - ideal for Christmas feasts or at Easter. 

Our stuffed pork belly is flavoured with a mixture of fennel, apple, sage and pistachios and could be made separately if you’re looking for a new stuffing recipe. The other star of this stuffed pork belly recipe is the delicious crackling on top. Keep and eye on the cooking times to get the best crunch to your crackling. For optimum results, it’s best to prep the pork two night before so that it can rest in the fridge, then make the stuffing and stuff it the day before you plan to eat, and rest it again the night before cooking.

Ingredients

• 2kg boneless pork belly

For the stuffing:

• 2 tsp fennel seeds
• olive oil, for frying
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 200g pork mince
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 apple, grated
• Small handful sage leaves, fine chopped
• 4 tbsp breadcrumbs
• 45g pistachios
• juice and zest of ½ lemon
• ¼ tsp grated nutmeg

Method

1. Score the pork belly skin with a sharp knife in lines. Lay the belly cut on a board, skin side up, and place, uncovered, in the fridge overnight.
2. The next day, make your stuffing. Dry-fry the fennel seeds in a pan over a high heat for 1-2mins, then tip into a pestle and mortar and leave to cool. Grind well, then mix with a good pinch of salt and place in a large bowl.
3. Heat the olive oil in a non-stick frying pan and add the onion. Season and cook gently over a low heat for 10mins. Add the garlic, and cook for another 2mins, then add the mince. Cook until the mince is browned. Set aside and leave to cool.
4. Transfer the mince and onion mix to the bowl with the fennel seeds, and add the egg, apple, sage, breadcrumbs, pistachios, lemon juice and nutmeg.
5. Lie the pork belly on a board, skin-side down. Place the stuffing into a sausage shape lengthways down the middle of the belly. Wrap the sides of the belly around the stuffing and tie with butcher’s string. Place seam-side down in a roasting tin, uncovered, and chill for at least 2hrs, preferably overnight. You want the skin to dry out completely so that it crisps up when you roast it.
6. To cook the pork, take it out of the fridge about an hour before cooking to come to room temperature. Heat oven to 180ºC/350ºF/Gas 4 and cook the pork for about 2hrs, turning the tin every 30mins or so. After 2hrs, turn the heat up to 220ºC/425ºF/Gas 7 and cook for another 20mins. Remove from the oven and leave to rest for 15-20mins. Carve and serve with sides.

Top Tip for making stuffed pork belly

If you have time, allow the meat to rest in the fridge overnight (uncovered) as it really helps get that crackling going.

How do you get the best crackling on roast pork?

The secret to the best crackling on pork is to get the skin as absolutely dry as possible. That's why it helps to leave it uncovered in the fridge for two nights before cooking. Each time you take it out, dab the skin with paper towels to remove as much of the extra moisture as you can.

What's the best way to score pork belly?

Traditionally pork belly is scored in a diamond pattern, but for the best crackling and the easiest carving, score it in horizontal lines. Look at your pork belly before you start and work out which way you want to roll it up. Score the lines in the same direction that you will roll the pork in. Use a really sharp knife - a scalpel is even easier. Score through the skin to the fat, but not into the meat below. Score on lots of lines - about 1cm apart. When you come to carve through the crispy crackling, you will find these lines make it so much easier. 

You might also like...

• How to cook roast pork with crackling
• How to roast pork belly
• Roast pork loin with rosemary

This vanilla fudge recipe takes 20 minutes to prepare and is only 71 calories per piece. 

Making smooth, sweet vanilla fudge is easier than you might think. This recipe has been tried and tested to ensure you have perfect results every time. You can wrap the pieces individually and package them up as an edible gift or make a batch for your next dinner party and serve with coffee or tea to finish the meal. 

Ingredients

• 450g (1lb) granulated sugar
• 85g (3oz) butter
• 150ml (¼ pt) milk
• 175g (6oz) evaporated milk
• Few drops of vanilla extract
• A little vegetable oil

Method

1. Tip the sugar, butter, milk, and evaporated milk into a heavy-based pan and heat gently, stirring frequently, until the sugar has dissolved.
2. Bring to the boil and as the temperature rises, stir the fudge occasionally (be careful as the mixture is very hot) so that the sugar doesn't stick and burn.
3. Continue boiling until a temperature of 116C is reached on a sugar thermometer. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
4. Pour into an 18cm shallow square tin brushed with a little vegetable oil, and leave for 10-15 minutes or until almost set.
5. Mark the surface of the fudge with a sharp knife, this vanilla fudge recipe makes about 36 squares. Leave to cool completely then cut into squares and serve.

Watch how to make this vanilla fudge recipe

Top tips for making our vanilla fudge recipe

Fudge is easy to make but there are a few tips and tricks that can help make it even simpler. Brush the sides of the pan with a brush dipped in water before cooking, this will help stop the fudge from crystallising. 

To achieve perfect results, every time, we recommend using a sugar thermometer such as this one from Tala so you can accurately read the temperature of the fudge. 

Once you’ve mastered this fudge, you should try our easy chocolate fudge or for the grown ups, try our Irish liqueur fudge. We also have a microwave fudge recipe if you want another quick and easy option. 

Goose fat roast potatoes are popular at Christmas but they are delicious at any time of year. This easy recipe takes an hour 20 minutes to make and serves 10. 

If you love crispy roast potatoes, you’re going to love this recipe. Goose fat gives the potatoes a wonderful rich flavour without compromising on a fluffy inside and crunchy exterior. The recipe couldn’t be easier as you need just two ingredients and a generous sprinkling of salt for seasoning. 

Ingredients

• 2kg (4½lb) large potatoes for roasting (eg, Maris Piper, King Edwards, Desiree or Kestrel), peeled and cut into chunks
• 4 tbsp goose fat

Method

1. Put the potatoes into a large pan of cold water, bring to the boil and then cook for 8 minutes until tender. A cutlery knife should easily be inserted into the outer 1cm of the potato. Drain well, keeping the water for cooking the other vegetables or making the stock for the gravy later on. Steam dry for a couple of minutes.
2. Meanwhile, set the oven to 200C (180C fan, Gas 6). Spoon the goose fat into a large, shallow roasting tin and put in the oven for at least 10 minutes to heat up.
3. Put the drained potatoes back in the pan, place over a medium heat and shake the pan to “rough up” the edges (this will help them turn nice and crispy in the oven later on.)
4. Carefully tip the potatoes into the hot fat in the roasting tin and turn them so that they’re nice and evenly coated in fat. Roast for 30 minutes, then turn them and cook for a further 30 minutes or more, until they’re nice and crisp.

Top tips for making goose fat roast potatoes

Always heat the fat and the roasting tray before you add the parboiled potatoes to it. This is non-negotiable for perfect crisp roasties.

For this recipe you need a large baking tray. We recommend a non-stick one as it’s easier to clean and will ensure none of your roasties get left behind. 

For something a little different, try these roasted sweet potatoes. You might also like our garlic roast potatoes or for something zesty these lemon roast potatoes are delicious. 

Gordon Ramsay's honey-glazed carrots and parsnips are easy to make using a select few spices and herbs to make them even tastier. 

Gordon cooks his carrots and parsnips on the hob in a large sauté pan so you don’t have to worry about oven space! These are perfect with any roast dinner and would make an excellent addition to your festive spread. Leftovers can be chopped up for bubble and squeak or mixed into a pie filling. 

Ingredients

• 500g parsnips
• 500g carrots
• 2–3 tbsp olive oil
• Few thyme sprigs
• 1 cinnamon stick, broken in two
• 3 star anise
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1–2 tbsp clear honey
• Splash of water
• Few knobs of butter

Method

1. Peel and halve or quarter the parsnips and carrots so that the pieces are of a similar size.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan, then add the carrots and parsnips and toss to coat in the oil. Add the thyme, cinnamon, star anise and some seasoning.
3. Cook over a medium heat for 15–20 minutes, turning the vegetables frequently, until golden brown and almost cooked through.
4. Drizzle over the honey and cook until the vegetables start to caramelise. Deglaze the pan with the water and increase the heat. Cook for 2–3 minutes, until the liquid has evaporated and the carrots and parsnips are cooked through.
5. Stir through a few knobs of butter to glaze.

Top tips for making Gordon Ramsay's honey-glazed carrots and parsnips

If you don’t have fresh thyme sprigs you can substitute them with rosemary, or use half a teaspoon of dried thyme. 

This Gordon Ramsay beef Wellington recipe is another festive classic but it’s great for any special occasion. Gordon Ramsay's Brussels sprouts with pancetta are another classic side dish for over the festive season. You might also like this Gordon Ramsay turkey , it has a delicious flavoured butter.

Salt beef is a melt-in-the-mouth sandwich favourite and if you've ever thought about making your own, here's how.

It's actually really easy. All you need to do is make up a salted, spiced brine and then leave the meat to soak for a few days before you boil it until it's falling-apart-tender. The meat you start with is a very flavoursome but quite tough cut, and treating it in this way makes it into a real melt-in-the-mouth masterpiece. Salt beef is a staple of Jewish cooking, and in New York it's practically a food group in its own right. It's absolutely unbeatable piled into bagels or on rye bread, topped up with plenty of pickles and some smooth, mild mustard. 

Ingredients

• 300g soft light brown sugar
• 350g coarse sea salt
• 2tsp black peppercorns
• 2tsp juniper berries
• 1tbsp coriander seeds
• 6 bay leaves
• 1tbsp mustard seeds
• 50g saltpetre (optional)
• 2kg piece beef brisket
• 1 large carrot, cut into large chunks
• 1 onion, quartered
• 1 celery stick, cut into chunks
• 1 leek, cut into chunks
• Handful of parsley stalks
• 6 unpeeled garlic cloves

Method

1. Place the sugar, salt, peppercorns, juniper berries, coriander seeds, 4 bay leaves, mustard seeds and saltpetre in a very large pan. Add 2 litres water and bring to the boil, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved. Simmer for 2 mins. Remove from the heat and leave until cold.
2. Pierce the piece of beef all over with a skewer. Place in a large clean heavy duty polythene bag or a sterilized plastic food tub. Add the cold spiced liquid and seal the bag or cover the container, making sure the meat is covered by the liquid. Leave in a cool place or fridge for 7 days, turning the bag everyday.
3. Rinse the meat thoroughly in cold water then roll up and tie with string. Place in a large pan with the vegetables, parsley stalks, remaining bay leaves and garlic. Cover with water, bring to the boil and simmer for about 2½ hrs until meltingly tender. Leave to cool in the cooking liquid then cut into thick slices or tear into pieces with two forks.

Watch how to make this salt beef recipe

Top tips for making salt beef

Where you leave the beef brisket while pickling is very important – make sure you leave it in a cool place or in the fridge for the seven days it’s resting in the liquid. During this time it's also important that you turn it everyday to make sure the brine soaks through the whole beef brisket.

What cut of beef is salt beef made from?

Salt beef is made from beef brisket - a cut taken from the brest or lower chest area. It's a great cut of meat - flavourful and shot through with fat marbling which makes it extra tasty. But it's a relatively inexpensive cut which makes home-curing it to make salt beef even more tempting.

How long does it take to make salt beef?

You can do it in a couple of days, but for the best flavour, start making your salt beef a week before you want to start eating it. Once you made it, it will last about another week. 

What is saltpetre?

Saltpetre is the culinary name for potassium nitrate - a preservative that is traditionally used for making salt beef. We've used it as an optional ingredient here - the recipe will still taste lovely if you leave it out. However, it's relatively cheap to buy (less than £5 at Amazon or on home-curing websites) and it does give the finished beef to most amazing, appetising deep purple colour, so we'd definitely recommend including it if you can.

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• Roasted beef fillet
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Quick apple croissants have all the flavour and satisfaction rating of a homemade bake, but they're simple and speedy to make.

Good croissant dough is one of the most technically difficult baking techniques for novice cooks. But if you want to have the joy of baking them at home without having to do an advanced patisserie course, just cheat a bit. This recipe uses pre-packaged, uncooked croissant pastry, which you can find in the chiller cabinets in supermarkets, next to the butter and other pastries. We added sultanas to the lightly stewed apples recipe, for a bit of extra juiciness, and topped them with a simple icing to make them extra special.

Ingredients

• 2 cooking apples, peeled, cored and sliced
• 2 tbsp runny honey
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• ½ tsp ground mixed spice
• 2 tbsp sultanas
• 1 can croissant dough

For the icing:

• 60g (2oz) golden icing sugar
• 1 tsp runny honey
• Baking sheet, lined with baking parchment

Method

1. Put the apple, honey, lemon juice, spice and sultanas into a bowl. Microwave on High for 4-5 mins, until the fruit is tender. Alternatively heat them gently in a pan, to soften. Cool.
2. Set the oven to Gas Mark 6 or 200°C. Open the can and unroll the croissant dough. Cut through the perforations to separate it into triangles.
3. Spoon a tsp of apple mixture on to each triangle and spread it over. Roll up to create a crescent shape and put on the baking sheet. Bake for 10-15 mins until golden brown.
4. To make the icing: Sieve the icing sugar into a bowl and mix in the honey and 2 tsp hot water. Drizzle the icing over the cooling croissants.

Top Tip for making quick apple croissants

If you don't like sultanas, swap them for some chopped dried apricots or dried cherries instead.

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• Croissant recipe
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Salmon terrine takes a little bit of time to make but it's easy to do and the results are so much better than anything you get in a packet.

This is one of those dishes where the homemade version is a completely different experience to shop-bought - it's so delicious. Starting with a piece of fresh salmon, you simply bake it, flake it up, mix with the rest of the ingredients and bake it for just under an hour. It's baked in a special way, with the pot resting in a bath of hot water, called a bain-marie. Most people are familiar with a stove-top version of this as a way to melt chocolate on the hob. Here it keeps the moistness and texture of the terrine so it doesn't dehydrated and crack on top.

Ingredients

• 450g piece of salmon
• 1 small lemon
• 10g fresh dill, finely chopped
• 100g cream cheese
• 2 medium eggs
• 2 tsp light soy sauce
• 3 spring onions, finely chopped
• 50g panko breadcrumbs
• Bread, to serve, optional
• Pea shoots to serve, optional

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/Gas 4. Line a 19x9cm loaf tin with baking paper.
2. Season the salmon with sea salt and wrap it in foil. Bake for 15-20 mins until the entire top has turned a pale pink.
3. Flake the salmon off the skin into a large bowl. Zest the lemon into the bowl. Mix in the cream cheese, soy sauce and eggs. Followed by the breadcrumbs and spring onions. Mix to combine.
4. From the zested lemon cut three thin slices and place these into the lined tin. Pile the salmon mixture on top and firmly press flat.
5. Tightly cover with foil and place the loaf tin into a small high-sided baking tray. Put the baking tray into the oven and pour in just-boiled water to create a water bath. Cook for 45-55 mins. The terrine is ready when just firm to the touch. Remove the foil and allow the terrine to cool before tipping out of the tin. Chill in the fridge. Serve with pea shoots and bread.

Top tips for making salmon terrine:

Using the best quality salmon you can afford will help ensure the nicest results and the most vibrant colour. If you don't have panko breadcrumbs, use fine white breadcrumbs instead.

Can I make this salmon terrine a couple of days in advance?

You can make this up to three days in advance and store it in a sealed container in the fridge until needed.

• Easy smoked mackerel paté
• Three pork paté
• Pork terrine 

These pretty bouquet of flowers cupcakes are deceptively simple to make if you have a few pieces of specialist equipment. 

For the flower petals you will need a plunger blossom cutter, and to shape the flowers you'll need a ball tool. These cake decorating tools are not expensive and easily available in cook shops. However, and if you do not have them, you can get creative with items you may already have such as a ball ended cocktail stirrer instead. For the petals, you can make a stencil from paper and cut them out by hand. This recipe makes 12 cupcakes - feel free to change up the colours according to your theme. You can even buy a dozen ready made un-iced cupcakes for speed, and simple decorate them.

Ingredients

• 150g butter, softened
• 150g caster sugar
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 150g self raising flour
• ½ tsp baking powder
• Grated zest and juice of ½ lemon
• 3 tbsp warmed, sieved apricot jam
• 500g ready-to-roll sugar paste
• Blue, pink, green and yellow food colourings
• Pink and white shimmer balls

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/ 350°F/ Gas Mark 4. Line a cupcake tin with 12 white paper cupcake cases.
2. Place the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat with a wooden spoon or electric mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs a little at a time until smooth, adding a little flour if the mixture curdles.
3. Stir in the flour, baking powder and lemon zest and juice, beat until smooth.
4. Place the cakes in the oven and bake for 20-25 mins until golden brown, risen and just firm to the touch. When cool brush the top of each cake with apricot jam
5. Colour half the sugar paste with blue food colouring, knead well until the colour is even then roll out thinly on a work top dusted lightly with icing sugar. Using a round biscuit cutter that is slightly larger than the cupcake, cut out 12 circles and press each one over a cupcake smoothing it down well.
6. To make the bows, roll out a small piece of white sugar paste on a work top dusted with icing sugar and cut into 1 cm wide strips, shape into bows and press onto the cup cakes. Add your shimmer balls.
7. To make the flowers, divide the remaining sugar paste into 4 pieces, leave one white, colour one piece green, one piece pink and one piece yellow by adding a tiny drop of food colouring to each piece with a cocktail stick. Knead well until the colour is even then wrap each colour tightly in cling film until ready to use. Roll out the sugar paste for your flowers on a work top lightly dusted with icing sugar and cut out large blossoms.
8. Using a ball tool, thin each petal so the blossom petals form cups. If liked cut out smaller blossoms and place inside the larger ones, securing with a dab of water. Place them on scrunched up kitchen towel to dry overnight so that they keep their shape, or press onto the cakes. Roll out the green sugar paste and cut out leaves and leave to dry.
9. To secure the flowers and leaves to the cake, mix a tiny piece of sugar paste with a drop of water until it makes a paste which you can use as a glue to attach each flower.

Top tips for making bouquet of flowers cupcakes

For the most professional results, make the flower decorations a day or two before you make and decorate the cakes. This will give them time to dry out and and firm up before you use them. If you don't have time, it's fine to do them on the day you present the cakes.

Can I use liquid instead of gel food colouring?

Always use gel or paste food colourings to add to sugar paste as liquid food colourings will make the icing too sticky to use. If you want to make very fine or elaborate flowers use flower paste available from cake decorating stores which can be rolled very thinly and sets very hard so you can keep the flowers forever.

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• Cupcake bouquet
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Make these carrot cake cupcakes in just 50 minutes and enjoy them as an afternoon treat or pack on your next picnic. 

This cupcake recipe is easy to follow and makes 15 cupcakes. The sponge is moist and lightly spiced but if you don’t like cinnamon feel free to leave it out. The cakes can be enjoyed on their own but if you have time, the orange cream cheese frosting is delicious. 

Ingredients

• 225g grated carrots
• 130g raisins
• 2 large eggs
• 130g caster sugar, preferably golden
• 120ml sunflower oil
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp fresh orange zest
• 120g plain flour
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• Pinch of salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon

For the orange cream cheese icing:

• 175g cream cheese
• 450g icing sugar
• 125g unsalted butter, at room temperature
• Zest from 1 orange
• Edible carrot cake toppers (optional)

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan, Gas 4). Line two 12 hole muffin tins with cupcake cases.
2. Combine the grated carrots and raisins in a large bowl using a wooden spoon and put to one side. In another bowl, beat the eggs and sugar together for several minutes and then carefully add the oil, vanilla extract and orange zest.
3. Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt, and cinnamon into a separate bowl and then slowly add these ingredients to the egg and sugar mixture, beating well after each addition.
4. Pour this mixture into the bowl containing the carrots and raisins and mix by hand using a wooden spoon or spatula until they are well incorporated.
5. Spoon the mixture into the cases, filling each case about two-thirds of the way.
6. Bake for 25 minutes. When cooked the cupcakes will be quite dark brown in colour and feel ‘spongy’ to the touch. Allow them to cool in their tins for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
7. For the orange cream cheese icing: Put the cream cheese, icing sugar, butter and orange zest in a large bowl and beat well until thoroughly combined and the icing is smooth and pale.
8. Pipe or spoon the icing onto the cupcakes and top with an edible carrot cake topper and an extra sprinkle of cinnamon, if liked.

Top tips for making carrot cake cupcakes

You can enjoy these cupcakes warm but if you plan to ice them it’s important to let them cool completely. The cupcakes will keep well in an airtight container for a few days if you are not icing them. The icing must be stored in the fridge as it contains cream cheese but will keep well. Before reusing, let it come to room temperature and then beat again.

For more carrot cake cupcake tips, continue reading below. 

If you like this classic, you should try our vanilla cupcake recipe next. If you’d prefer something more colourful and fun, our rainbow cupcakes are the best choice. Alternatively these mini cupcakes are delicious and almost too cute to eat. 

Our lemon cupcakes are easy and delicious to make. They have a lemon curd centre and you can omit the icing if you want to keep them simple. 

This cupcake recipe includes buttermilk in the cake batter which gives a wonderful light finish to the baked sponge. Although we have decorated the cakes with icing flowers, you could also simply dust the cupcakes with icing sugar for a delicious but simple finish. The recipe makes 12 cupcakes but you could easily half the ingredients and make six if you have fewer people to bake for. 

Ingredients

• Zest of 1 lemon
• 2 tbsp of fresh lemon juice
• 80ml buttermilk
• 115g unsalted butter at room temperature
• 150g golden caster sugar
• 150g self-raising flour
• ¼ tsp baking powder
• 2 eggs
• ½ tsp vanilla extract

For the toppings:

• 150g fondant
• 150g icing sugar
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• Yellow food colour
• Sprinkles of your choice, optional 

Method

• Heat the oven to 160C (140C fan, Gas 3). Line two deep hole muffin trays with 12 paper cases.
• Add the zest and lemon juice to the buttermilk and leave to one side.
• Cream the butter and sugar until light in colour and fluffy.
• Combine the flour with the baking powder. Add the eggs one at a time to the butter mixture with a third of the flour mix and stir until just combined. Repeat until all the flour and eggs have been added.
• Add the buttermilk mixture and vanilla extract then fold with a metal spoon until everything is combined.
• Fill the cases to 2/3rds full (this will leave you enough room for the icing) and bake for 25 minutes until golden brown and spring back to the touch. Remove and cool on a wire rack
• When the cakes are cooled, cut out a piece of cake in the middle of the cake and pop a teaspoon of lemon curd in the hole then replace the piece of sponge to fill the hole.
• For the topping: Roll the fondant and cut 12 large flowers using a large flower cutter. Using a small flower cutter or a round cutter, cut the centres out of the large flowers. Leave to dry on parchment paper.
• Mix the lemon juice into the icing sugar a little at a time until you have a thick shiny paste. Add the yellow colouring and mix again.
• Spread a thin layer over the tops of the cooled cupcakes and pop a flower on top – do this straight after icing each cake otherwise the surface will crack once it’s set.
• Add sprinkles to the centres of each flower and leave to set.

Top tips for making lemon cupcakes

If your lemon icing is too thick, add a dash of water to make it thinner. You could also opt to add more lemon juice for a zinger flavour.

You could also top these classic lemon cupcakes with lemon buttercream instead. Lemon buttercream can be easily smoothed over the top of the cupcakes with a palette knife or can be piped on using a piping bag.

For this recipe you’ll need a deep muffin tin tray. You can use two six-hole trays or consider buying this 12 hole one from Wilton for ease.

For another classic bake you must try Mary Berry’s foolproof lemon drizzle cake. Although if you’d prefer to stick to cupcake size these mini lemon cakes are super cute and tasty. Those looking for a sophisticated twist on lemon drizzle should try out lemon pound cake which has cream cheese in the batter for a rich finish. 

This chocolate cupcake recipe makes 12 standard cupcakes with a delicious chocolate buttercream. 

This cupcake recipe is easy to follow and will quickly become a family favourite. The buttercream icing is a simple and effective decoration but the cupcakes are also delicious on their own. If you don’t like icing but want an extra chocolatey hit, try adding a handful of chocolate chips to the cake batter before baking. 

Ingredients

For the chocolate cupcakes:

• 100g plain flour
• 20g cocoa powder
• 140g caster sugar
• 1.5tsp baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 40g unsalted butter at room temperature
• 120ml whole milk
• 1 egg
• ¼tsp of vanilla extract

For the chocolate buttercream:

• 600g icing sugar sifted
• 200g unsalted butter
• 80g cocoa powder
• 80ml whole milk

Method

1. Heat the oven to 170C (150C fan, Gas 3). Line a 12 hole cupcake tin with paper or silicone cupcake cases.
2. Put flour, cocoa, sugar and baking powder, salt and butter in the bowl of a free-standing mixer. Using the paddle attachment, mix the ingredients together until you have a sandy consistency.
3. Whisk the milk, egg and vanilla in a jug. Slowly pour half into the mixture, beat to combine and then turn the mixer up to high speed to get rid of any lumps.
4. Turn the mixer down to a slower speed and pour in the remaining mixture. Continue to mix for a couple of mins.
5. Divide the mixture evenly between the cases and base in the centre of the oven for 20 minutes or until risen and spring back when lightly pressed on top.
6. Once baked, transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool while you make the buttercream.
7. Beat the icing sugar, butter and cocoa powder together in a free-standing mixer on a medium speed. Turn down to a low speed and add milk gradually, once mixed turn up to a high speed again and beat for approx 5 mins and mixture is light and fluffy.
8. Use a piping bag and metal nozzle to pipe onto top of cooled cupcakes.

Watch how to make our chocolate cupcake recipe

Top tips for making this chocolate cupcake recipe

Try adding some additional decorations to the top of the cakes. You could add chocolate chips, roughly chop your favourite chocolate bar or use chocolate buttons. 

Food writer Jessica Ransom says: ‘I like to scatter over some roughly chopped honeycomb or a chopped Crunchie bar over the cupcakes for a little pop of golden colour and a delicious crunchy texture.’

If you prefer, fresh fruit like raspberries, strawberries or blueberries all work nicely. For more helpful tips and tricks, continue reading below. 

In this recipe we recommend using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Read food editor Jessica Dady’s KitchenAid stand mixer review here.

Once you’ve mastered this recipe give our vanilla cupcake recipe a try. You could decorate them with any leftover chocolate buttercream you have. Alternatively, our mini cupcakes and rainbow cupcakes both make fun options for parties. 

With this gluten-free veggie wellington, you will have nearly all possible dietry restrictions covered.

There no need for anyone to feel like they're missing out on the feast with this beautiful centrepiece dish. It's vegetarian and suitable for anyone with a gluten intolerance. Plus we've even added easy swaps you can do below to make it suitable for vegans and anyone with a dairy intolerance. It's easy to make, even for inexperienced cooks and, including the chilling time, it's ready in under two hours. This recipe serves 6-8 depending how thick you cut the slices, and any leftovers are just as delicious the next day.

Vegetarians won’t feel like they’re missing out on Christmas Day with this yummy meat-free alternative to the classic beef wellington. Preparing and cooking this gluten-free crowd-pleasing recipe is so simple to do, making it ideal for novice cooks. Once sliced into individual portions the array of colours in each layer make for a really pretty plate of food, and you’ll no doubt be tempted to stick your fork in for a bite the minute it’s served up. This vegetarian recipe doesn’t need any accompaniments, but some seasonal greens or roasted root veg would compliment it really well. Expect to go back for seconds.

And what would a wellington be without any complimenting vegetable side dishes? Have a go at following our guide on how to make easy roast potatoes for the most classic and adored roast side.

Looking for another delicious, festive treat that's also gluten and dairy free? Why not try our tasty Gluten and dairy-free mince pies!

Ingredients

• 1 small red onion, sliced
• 1½ tsp mustard seeds
• 2tbsp olive oil
• 1tbsp sherry vinegar
• ½ tsp caster sugar
• 1tbsp fresh thyme leaves
• 200g (7oz) cooked beetroot, chopped
• 200g (7oz) green beans
• Gluten-free flour, for dusting
• 500g (1lb 2oz) ready-rolled gluten-free puff pastry
• 150g (5oz) soft goat’s cheese
• 60g (2oz) walnut halves
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 egg, beaten

Method

1. In a pan, cook the onion and mustard seeds in the oil for 5-10 mins. Add the vinegar, sugar and thyme. Cook for 2 mins, stirring. Mix in the beetroot, then chill. Blanch the green beans for 2 mins, then plunge into iced water.
2. Dust the worktop with gluten- free flour and unroll the pastry out flat. Cut off a strip at the end of the pastry to make a decoration to place on top.
3. The wellington will be assembled upside down. To start, spread the goat’s cheese down the middle of the pastry, leaving a 2cm (3⁄4in) border around the edge.
4. Mix the walnuts with the honey, then layer on top of the goat’s cheese, keeping the nuts quite flat. Layer half the blanched green beans over the walnuts, then top with the beetroot mixture. Layer over the remaining green beans, which will become the base of the wellington.
5. Brush the pastry edges with egg wash. Fold the shorter sides over the edges of the veggies. Bring 1 longer side of the pastry into the middle, followed by the second, overlapping at the seam to enclose. Ensure there are no gaps in the pastry, then turn the wellington over onto a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper.
6. Cut a star from the strip of leftover pastry, and secure to top. Brush with egg wash and lightly score the pastry with a sharp knife. Chill for 30 mins. You can complete up to this step 4 the day before.
7. Heat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/Gas 6. Bake the wellington for 35 mins until golden brown.

Top tip for making gluten-free veggie wellington

To make this vegan, switch the goat’s cheese and honey for a vegan crème fraîche (such as Oatly) and maple syrup. Brush the pastry with vegan milk or a vegan spread instead of egg.

You might also like...

• Beef Wellington
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Our Baileys fudge has just the right amount of kick to it to make the perfect adults-only treat. 

It's really easy to make with just five ingredients - plus any toppings you want to add to make it even more spectacular. You'll only need half an hour to make it, plus an hour or two for it to cool and set in the fridge. 

This creamy Irish liqueur fudge is so easy to make using only 5 ingredients. It's the perfect food gift for St Patrick's Day or as a cheeky treat for Christmas or birthday's. You can make these fudge pieces ahead of time so they're ready to eat when needed. Once cooled, store in an airtight box or wrap in clingfilm to make sure the fudge stays fresh.

Learn how to make our classic vanilla fudge with our simple recipe!

Ingredients

• 397g can condensed milk
• 150ml/¼ pint Baileys or other Irish Cream Liqueur
• 450g/1lb demerara sugar
• 125g/4oz butter
• 2 tbsp Irish whiskey

Method

1. Grease a 7inch/18cm square tin.
2. Place all the ingredients, except the whiskey, into a large non stick saucepan and heat gently stirring until the sugar has dissolved.
3. Bring the mixture to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes stirring continuously until the temperature reaches 116º/240ºC on a sugar thermometer (make sure you stir continuously scraping into the sides of the saucepan or the cream and butter will burn and give you brown specks in your fudge). Don't worry if you don't have a sugar thermometer fill a small bowl with cold water and drop a teaspoonful of the mixture into the water - roll it between your fingers it should form a soft ball. If not simmer and stir for a little longer and try again until a soft ball is formed.
4. Remove the pan from the heat and beat for 5 minutes with a wooden spoon until thickened and slightly grainy. Stir in the whiskey and pour into the prepared tin. Allow to cool. When cold cut into squares. Store in an airtight container for up to a month.

Top tip for making Baileys fudge

This makes a great St Patrick's Day treat. You can decorate with green shamrocks too. Simply roll 50g/2oz green coloured fondant icing (from supermarkets) in your hands until soft and pliable. Pinch off 4 small balls - roll three into balls. Flatten slightly and shape into hearts for the petals. Arrange on a piece of fudge. Roll the remaining piece into a small sausage shape for the stem and arrange on the top of the fudge to complete the shamrock shape. Press down gently to make it stick. Repeat with the remaining fondant icing. 

Flavour variations:

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• Vanilla fudge recipe
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This soft, moist lemon drizzle cake recipe is by baking legend Mary Berry. Infused with lemon zest and drizzled with a zingy lemon juice icing.

Using store cupboard ingredients to make this delicious lemon drizzle cake is an easy way to impress your friends and family. It takes 20 minutes to prepare and uses Mary’s classic ‘all-in-one method’. This means all of the ingredients are mixed together at the same time, saving you time and washing up as you can weigh the ingredients straight into the same bowl. 

If this is not what you're looking for we've got a great range of other lemon cakes to choose from too including our easy-to-make lemon pound cake, mouthwatering lemon cupcakes, and lemon cake with poppy seeds.

Ingredients

• 175g caster sugar
• 175g self-raising flour
• 175g softened butter
• 3 eggs, beaten
• Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• ¾ level tsp baking powder

For the lemon drizzle topping:

• 100g granulated sugar
• Juice of 1 lemon

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan, Gas 4). Grease and line a loaf tin with enough baking paper to leave a small overhang. This will make it easier to lift the cake out.
2. In a large bowl add the sugar, flour, butter, eggs, lemon zest and baking powder. Beat together with an electric whisk until smooth.
3. Pour the cake batter into the prepared cake tin and promptly place it on the middle shelf of the oven. Bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown, shrinking away from the sides of the tin and springy to touch.
4. Meanwhile, make the lemon drizzle topping. Mix together the sugar and lemon juice. When the cake is out of the oven and still warm, carefully spoon over the drizzle mixture.
5. Once the cake is cool, lift it out of the tin and slice.

Watch how to make Mary Berry's lemon drizzle cake recipe

Top tips for making Mary Berry's lemon drizzle cake

For the best lemon sponge cake, Mary recommends cooking the cake in the middle of the oven at 180C. She explains: "To avoid cakes cracking, don’t bake them too high in the oven. If you do, the crust forms too soon and cracks as the cake continues to rise." Personally, we think the cracks on a cake can look quite attractive and they act as delicious craters for the icing to pool in. The cake will still taste fantastic even if you don’t achieve perfect results visually. 

This lemon drizzle loaf will be kept in an airtight container or cake tin at room temperature for three days and will freeze well for up to two months unsliced and wrapped tightly in clingfilm. 

So, if you want to understand why two sugar varieties are needed for this recipe or how to stop your cake from sinking, read our top tips below. 

If you like this recipe, browse more of our favourite Mary Berry recipes. Flapjacks and fairy cakes are great recipes to make with kids and Mary Berry's chocolate cake recipe makes an indulgent afternoon treat to share with friends or family. 

Top these delicious gluten-free scones with a rich, creamy clotted cream and strawberry or raspberry jam for the perfect afternoon tea treat.

Whip up a batch of soft gluten-free scones in just 30 minutes. We've used cream fraiche, milk and eggs to help bind the gluten-free flour and gluten-free baking powder together. While these gluten-scones may not rise quite as much as scones made with regular flour, the flavour and texture will be just as good.

Ingredients

• 250g gluten free flour
• 1tsp gluten free baking powder
• 3tbsp crème fraiche
• 100ml cream
• 1 egg, beaten
• 75-100ml milk
• 1tbsp sugar to top
• Whipped cream and jam, to serve

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C/Gas 7. In a large bowl, mix together the flour and baking powder. In a jug, measure out the crème fraiche, cream and milk and whisk in the egg. Pour the wet mixture into the dry and mix until it comes to a soft dough.
2. Place on a well-floured surface and shape to a circle of about 5cm/2inches thickness. Cut out 8-10 rounds or cut into squares and place on a baking sheet. Brush the top with milk and sprinkle with sugar, bake in the hot oven for 10-15mins until golden brown and cooked through.
3. Remove and allow to cool slightly before serving with cream and jam. 

Watch how to make gluten-free scones

Top tips for making gluten-free scones

It can be tricky to roll out mixtures made from gluten-free flour as they can be crumbly, so an alternate method for portioning your scones is to use an ice-cream scoop. Just brush a little egg over the top and sprinkle with sugar when on the baking tray.

Can you freeze gluten-free scones?

Make these ahead of time and pop into the oven to warm up before serving. The scones can also be wrapped in a freezer bag and frozen for up to one month. Allow the scones to defrost for a few hours and then refresh them in a hot oven before serving.

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• Gluten-free recipes
• Strawberry jam
• Raspberry jam

Mary Berry's chocolate cake recipe serves six people and takes under an hour to make. 

This chocolate cake recipe is made in one large mixing bowl for a quick and easy method with minimal washing up. The sponges are sandwiched together with apricot jam and a rich chocolate ganache but fresh whipped cream would work well too. 

Ingredients

• 3 large eggs
• 175g (6 oz) self-raising flour
• 175g (6 oz) caster sugar
• 175g (6 oz) softened butter
• 1½ level tsp baking powder
• 40g (1½ oz) cocoa powder
• 4 tbsp boiling water
• 4 tbsp apricot jam

For the chocolate icing:

• 150ml (5fl oz) double cream
• 150g (5oz) plain chocolate, broken into pieces
• A little icing sugar, to serve

Special bakeware / equipment

• 2 x 17cm (7 in) deep sandwich tins, greased and lined with non-stick baking paper
• Electric whisk

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan, Gas 4). Put the eggs, flour, caster sugar, butter, and baking powder in a large bowl and beat until smooth.
2. In a small bowl, mix the cocoa powder with the boiling water a little at a time to make a stiff paste. Add to the cake mixture and beat until combined.
3. Divide the mixture between two 17cm sandwich tins which are greased and lined with a circle of baking paper.
4. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until shrinking away from the sides of the tin and springy to the touch.
5. Leave to cool in the tin, then turn on to a wire rack to become completely cold before icing.
6. To make the icing: measure the cream and chocolate into a bowl and carefully melt over a pan of hot water over a low heat, or gently in the microwave for 1 min (600w microwave). Stir until melted, then set aside to cool and thicken.
7. To assemble the cake, spread half the jam over one of the sponges. Top with half the ganache then put the second sponge on top. Repeat with the remaining apricot jam and chocolate ganache. Dust with icing sugar, if using.

Watch how to make Mary Berry's chocolate cake recipe

Top tips for making Mary Berry's chocolate cake

If the sponge of your cake cracks, it could be because you've been putting them on the wrong shelf in your oven. Thankfully Mary Berry has some advice on how to prevent this from happening. She told us: 'To avoid cakes cracking don’t bake them too high in the oven. If you do the crust forms too soon and cracks as the cake continue to rise.' 

For more chocolate cake tips, continue reading below. 

Use this ganache recipe to cover the cake instead or you could try our chocolate buttercream icing. If you want another Mary Berry classic, you need to try this lemon drizzle cake.

This delicious berry-topped bake would make a glorious celebration centrepiece for the Jubilee. 

Kirstie Allsopp’s Union Jack celebration cake takes its inspiration from a classic two-layer Victoria Sponge, but raises it to another level. Kirstie often uses Carnation condensed milk in her cake batters. It make the sponge dense and moist, which makes for a really lovely cake. There's a traditional layer of jam in the middle, plus a sweet layer of buttercream on the top, under the lovely fruits. If you're making this for an event, you can get ahead by making the sponge in advance. Store it for a couple of days in a sealed tin until you're ready to decorate.

Ingredients

• 200g (7oz) plain flour
• 405g can light condensed milk
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 150g (5½oz) margarine or butter
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 6 tbsp strawberry conserve or jam
• 200g (7oz) icing sugar
• 100g (3½oz) margarine or butter, softened
• 2tsp vanilla extract
• 200g (7oz) mixed summer berries, to decorate

You will need:

• 2 x 18cm (7in) sandwich cake tins, base lined with parchment

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.
2. Place the flour, condensed milk, egg, vanilla extract, margarine and baking powder in a bowl and beat with an electric hand mixer for 2-3 minutes until pale and fluffy.
3. Spoon into the tins and bake for approximately 25-30 minutes until springy to the touch and golden brown. Cool slightly then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
4. Place one half of the cake onto a serving plate and spread with the jam. Sandwich together with the other half.
5. Beat the icing sugar, butter and vanilla with a few drops of water to bring the mixture to a soft consistency. Spread onto the cake. Arrange the berries on top in a Union Jack shape.

Top tip for making Kirstie Allsopp's Union Jack celebration cake

Look out for natural vanilla extract – not essence. It is widely available in all good supermarkets and makes all the difference to baking homemade treats.

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Jubilee cakes

British cakes

Jubilee cake recipe

Gorgeously gluten-free pecan cookies each topped with a nut.

If you're new to gluten-free baking, cookies are a great place to start. In bread or cake baking, gluten is the protein in flour that makes the dough stretchy. It helps bakes rise so you get a lovely airy, lightness. But with biscuits you don't need the dough to rise - it bakes pretty much at the height you shape it it. That means using gluten-free flour in baking doesn't affect the finished result much, so it's easy to do. Dove's Farm is a good brand to use, they produce several gluten-free flour options including brown rice, oat, teff and coconut. They also do a free-from baking powder. In fact, most baking powders are gluten-free but it's always worth checking the label.

Ingredients

• 100g butter, softened
• 75g light muscovado sugar
• 1 egg
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• 200g gluten-free flour
• 1 tsp gluten-free baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 75g pecan nuts, finely chopped plus 16 pecan halves

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190ºC/375ºF/Gas Mark 5 and line 2 baking sheets with baking paper. Using an electric mixer or wooden spoon, beat the butter and sugar together until soft and creamy. 
2. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract. Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the chopped pecans and mix to form a firm dough.
3. Roll the dough into 16 even-sized balls and place on the baking sheets allowing space between each one for them to spread. Flatten slightly with the back of a fork and place a pecan half on the top of each one. Bake for 15 mins until golden.
4. Leave on the baking sheets for 5 mins before transferring to a wire rack to cool. As they cool the cookies will become firm and crisp. Store in an airtight container.

Top tip for making gluten-free pecan cookies

Gluten-free flour sometimes absorbs more liquid than ordinary flour, so if the mixture is too crumbly to form a dough add a little milk or water and mix until the dough comes together in a ball.

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Chocolate chip cookies recipe

Sugar cookies recipe

Peanut butter cookies

This is such a simple and classic cookie recipe - perfect for kids and grown-ups.

Candy cookies are absolutely plain biscuits, with a few colourful candy-covered chocolates pressed into the top just before baking. We love them because they look so retro and they taste really nice too. They're perfect for making with kids - let them choose the chocolates to go on top and press them in themselves. They're also a great option for taking to a bake sale, or bringing along to a kids party as a little gift. This recipe makes a good haul of 20 biscuits, and you can have them baked in under half an hour. If you need a lot, just double all the amounts.

Ingredients

• 175g (6oz) unsalted butter, softened
• 125g (4oz) light muscovado sugar
• 1 medium egg
• 175g (6oz) self-raising flour
• Pinch of salt
• 1-2 tubes candy-coated chocolates, eg, Smarties

You will also need:

• Baking sheets, lined with non-stick liners or baking parchment

Method

1. Set the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.
2. Cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg and stir in the flour and salt. Wrap dough in a plastic bag and chill it for 30 mins, or until it’s firm enough to handle. Knead dough lightly until smooth.
3. Divide the dough into 20 and roll each piece into a ball. Flatten them and place on the baking sheets.
4. Press 6 candy-coated chocolates on to the top of each in a flower pattern or around the edge.
5. Bake the cookies in the centre of the oven for about 15 mins, or until they are starting to turn pale golden.
6. Remove the cookies from the oven. Leave them to cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. The cookies will keep for up to 3-4 days if stored in an airtight container.

Top tip for making candy cookies

If you don't fancy chocolate but you still want the colourfulness of these cookies, you can make them with Skittles instead. They colour may run a little when they're in the oven, but they still come out really bright like a rainbow.

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Chocolate chip cookies recipe

Sugar cookies recipe

Peanut butter cookies

Fabulous chocolate bites with a silky smooth truffle at the centre.

These truffle cookies are like a halfway point between sweet chocolate truffle and a biscotti. You bake them until the outside is crisp but the inside is still soft and truffly. They are smaller than classic chocolate chip cookies, more like a nibble to have with your morning coffee, or as a treat to serve up with coffees after a dinner party. This recipe makes around 40, and most guests will probably want two or three, so this will be plenty for most tables. Any leftovers will keep well in a tin for a few days. Use the best chocolate you can for these - the quality will show in the the truffles.

Ingredients

• 250g (9oz) continental plain chocolate (70% cocoa solids), broken
• 60g (2¼oz) cocoa powder, sifted
• 110g (4oz) butter
• 3 eggs
• 200g (7oz) caster sugar
• 1½ tsp vanilla extract
• 75g (2¾oz) plain flour
• 1⁄4 tsp baking powder
• 1⁄4 tsp salt
• 150g (5½oz) continental plain chocolate (70% cocoa solids), chopped into small chunks

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas mark 4.
2. Combine the broken chocolate pieces, the cocoa powder and butter in a metal bowl and place over a pan of simmering water. Stir occasionally until the chocolate and butter have melted. Remove from the heat, stir to combine and set aside to cool.
3. Beat the eggs and sugar, using an electric mixer, until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla extract and chocolate mixture. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to the butter mixture together with the chopped chocolate and stir until just combined.
4. Cover the dough and chill for at least 3 hours. Even after chilling, the dough will be quite soft.
5. Quickly roll the dough into heaped teaspoon-sized balls (roughly 3cm/1in wide) and place 5cm (2in) apart on ungreased or parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the tops are crispy and the centres just set.
6. Allow to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheets then transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely. Dust with cocoa powder to serve.

Top tip for making truffle cookies:

Try dipping these cookies in white chocolate for an extra special treat.

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Chocolate chip cookies

Sugar cookies recipe

Peanut butter cookies

These flower cookies look impressive and take longer to decorate than to bake but with some practise you’ll soon be an expert. 

Our easy chocolate chip cookies are chewy and delicious but if you want something that looks a little more spectacular, this is the recipe for you. Using shop bought sugarpaste is an effective and quick way to make your cookies look professional. 

Ingredients

For the cookies:

• 25g unsalted butter, softened
• 150g caster sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 1 medium egg
• 250g plain flour
• Few drops of vanilla extract

For the decoration:

• Approx 500g sugarpaste in assorted colours, eg, pink, blue, yellow and orange
• 500g packet royal icing sugar
• Paste food colourings in blue, yellow, pink and orange
• Sugar-coated chocolates, eg, Smarties

You will also need:

• Blossom-shaped cookie cutters
• Piping bags and plain writing piping tubes, eg, No 2

Method

1. Set the oven to 160C (140C fan, Gas 3). Cream together the butter, sugar and salt, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the egg with a spoonful of flour. Beat in the vanilla extract and then the rest of the flour, until the mixture binds together to form a dough. If the dough is very soft, put it in a plastic bag and chill until it’s firm enough to roll out.
2. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to about 5mm thick and use the cutters to cut out an assortment of sizes. Place them on lined baking sheets.
3. Bake the biscuits for 15-20 minutes, or until the cookies start to turn golden at the edges. Remove from the oven and slide the cookies on to a wire rack. Decorate immediately, so that the sugarpaste will stick to them from the heat of the biscuits.
4. Knead the sugarpaste to soften it and roll out on a surface lightly dusted with icing sugar. Use the cutters to cut out shapes and press on to the warm biscuits.
5. Colour the royal icing with your choice of colourings and fill piping bags with the writing tubes. Pipe petal shapes on the cookies and place a sweet in the centre of each flower before the royal icing dries.
6. Leave the icing to dry and set before serving.

Top tips for making flower cookies

You can flavour your cookies with other extracts instead like almond, orange or caramel. Another easy flavour boost is adding the zest or an orange or lemon to the biscuit dough. 

With this adjustable rolling pin you can be confident you’ve rolled the biscuit dough and sugar paste to the correct thickness. It’s one of our best kitchen gadgets under £50.

Try this sugar cookies recipe next and then bake a batch of our vanilla cookies too. You might also like our Snickerdoodle cookies.

Our Mini Egg cookies require only 5 ingredients and bake in as little as 7 minutes

Although our easy chocolate chip cookies are delicious, if you want a little Easter twist, this recipe uses Mini Eggs instead of chunks of chocolate. They are an excellent bake if you have lots of leftover Easter chocolate but if you can get hold of Mini Eggs, you can bake them at any time of year. We would estimate a minimum of 40 Mini Eggs for the 8-10 cookies, but if you have more that’s great! 

Ingredients

• 100g butter
• 100g light brown sugar
• 1 medium egg
• 200g self-raising flour
• 1 pack of Mini Eggs

Method

1. Heat oven 180C (160C fan, Gas 4). Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper. In a large mixing bowl add the butter, sugar, egg and flour. Mix together using a wooden spoon or clean hands to form a dough.
2. Remove half the Mini Eggs from the bag and lightly crush the remaining candy in the bag using a rolling pin. Add to the dough, continuing to knead until they’re evenly spread through the dough.
3. Roll out golf ball size pieces of dough and pop onto the baking tray. Pat down a little to flatten and leave about a 2cm gap between each cookie as they’ll grow.
4. Once you’re happy with your cookies, push a few of the reserved whole Mini Eggs into the tops of the cookie dough.
5. Bake in the oven for 7-10 minutes until golden. Leave to cool on the tray.

Top tips for making Mini Egg cookies

To make these cookies extra chocolatey, swap 50g of the self-raising flour for cocoa powder instead and make them double chocolate cookies.

If you’re a frequent baker, it’s probably more cost effective and environmentally friendly to invest in some reusable mats.

We have lots more Mini Egg recipes and plenty of Easter cakes and bakes you can make with kids. You might also like this sugar cookies recipe which only uses seven ingredients. 

These chunky oatmeal cookies are dotted with big chunks of chocolate for the perfect treat with your afternoon cuppa.

Gluten-free chocolate chip cookies can suffer from being too crumbly. Gluten normally helps to bind the ingredients together, but the secret ingredient here is the peanut butter. Together with the egg, it improves the texture of the cookies, so you should get a good bite to them without them falling apart. This recipe is so simple to make. It's really only four steps: mix, chill, shape and bake. It makes a batch of 20 cookies (or two batches of 10 if you freeze half the dough). And each biscuit is only 152 calories. If you don't need a gluten-free version, try our classic chocolate chip cookies instead.

Ingredients

• 100g butter, softened
• 60g crunchy peanut butter
• 100g light brown soft sugar
• 1 egg
• ½ tsp vanilla essence
• 200g medium oatmeal
• 50g gluten-free plain white flour
• ¼ tsp gluten free baking powder
• 100g dark or milk chocolate, cut into small chunks

Method

1. Cream the butter, peanut butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Mix in the egg and vanilla essence then the oatmeal, baking powder and chocolate chips. Chill the dough for 20 mins.
2. Divide the mixture onto two pieces of cling film. Shape two 15cm long logs. Chill in the fridge or freezer until firm.
3. Heat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6. Cut each cookie dough sausage into 1.5 cm thick disks. Space out on a couple of lined baking trays.
4. Bake in the oven for 8-10 mins until golden. Cool on the tray a little before transferring to a cooling rack.

Top tips for making gluten-free chocolate chip cookies

Cooling is essential with gluten-free cookies, to get the right texture and prevent them from spreading too much in the oven. Make sure to chill your dough thoroughly - at least two hours in the fridge, or pop it in the freezer if you don't have that long. After baking, allow the cookies to cool completely before serving.

Senior Food Writer Jessica Ransom recommends using the best quality peanut butter you can afford so that you limit additives and unnecessary sugars and sweeteners. She recommends ManiLife Deep Roast Crunchy Peanut Butter. You can add some extra peanuts to the top of these biscuits for added crunch if you like.

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Sugar cookies recipe

Peanut butter cookies

Snickerdoodles

Planning an Easter party this weekend? Send your guests searching for chocolate treasures with our Easter Egg hunt ideas and clues.

Your Easter egg hunt party doesn’t need to take long to prepare. We’ve suggested clever places to help you hide the eggs around your home or garden and Easter egg hunt clues that the kids will love - especially when they find chocolate at the end. Not only is it loads of fun but our family Editor Stephanie Lowe tells us how Easter egg hunts are great for problem-solving too; “Setting up an Easter egg hunt with picture clues for little ones and longer wordier ones for teens, are a great way to get mind's racing and problem-solving. Maybe even suggest they team up for optimum results? Then off they run - a great way to burn off some energy too!”

And, what Easter egg hunt party would be complete without some fun Easter games and activities, Easter eggs for kids, and Easter craft ideas for kids.

Easter egg hunt ideas and clues

Planning your Easter egg hunt

1. Pick up some chocolate treats and gifts There’s nothing more exciting to kids than finding a pile of treasure, so make sure you get lots of different Easter treats. It doesn’t just have to be chocolate eggs, you can hide little Easter gifts for kids and inexpensive toys too. They don't have to cost the Earth. You can buy value packs of chocolate eggs and toys from most supermarkets and pound shops these days. Do prepare some Easter egg baskets as well so your collectors can carry their precious finds. To make your own budget versions, pick up some paper bags and ask the kids to decorate them with colourful Easter drawings beforehand. It's all part of the fun.

2. Be allergy aware Check with your guests if they have any allergies or intolerances. Gluten, milk-free options, and vegan Easter eggs are widely available now. You might like to add tags on the eggs for those with allergies, hide them at random, and get the guests to hunt for their own ones.

3. Decide where to hide the eggs Keep them hidden, but do consider levels and visibility, depending on who you have coming. Tiny tots will never spot full-on camouflaged eggs or those on top shelves.

4. Put out some extra treats Easy-to-find extra treats without clues are also a good idea, in case any younger children find themselves down in numbers at the end. You could also consider letting the youngest ones go first - depending on how competitive you expect it to get.

5. Write out your Easter egg hunt clues Write down our suggestions on some coloured cards and give them out to your guests when you are ready, not before, as there’s no holding some chocolate fiends back. You can also try hiding some extra ‘getting closer’ or ‘red hot’ clues near the Easter eggs. You can adjust them depending on the age ranges, or even do separate ones for grown-ups and little ones (if this party planner is you, you get an extra chocolate egg for ambition).

Easter egg hunt clues ideas

1. Next to the phone (Clue: I go ring, ring, ring and your treats are waiting next to me) 2. On a bookshelf – for older kids, send them to a specific book (Clue: I’m sitting on a shelf and I’m filled with words and pages) 3. On the mantelpiece (Clue: I’m just above the fireplace and there are often ornaments on me) 4. In the fridge (Clue: I keep everything nice and cool. Today I’ve got some tasty eggs inside me) 5. Under a chair (Clue: Come and sit on me if you need a rest, but make sure you look underneath me too!) 6. In a plant pot (Clue: I’m outside by the front door, there are pretty flowers in me and some tasty chocolate surprises too) 7. In the garden shed (Clue: I’m keeping the garden tools dry, and these Easter eggs hidden from your view!) 8. Under a big tree (Clue: I’m really tall and leafy and your treats are underneath me) 9. In a watering can (Clue: I have a handle and you can use me when the plants are thirsty. Today I’ve got Easter eggs in me) 10. In a flower bed (Clue: Out in the garden where the flowers grow, you’ll find Easter treats under the [insert flower name])

Easter decoration ideas

Set the scene for your Easter egg hunt with some Easter decorations – from Easter wreaths to crackers and Easter trees, there are loads of options online and in the supermarkets. Or, how about your very own cute Easter bunny bunting? Guaranteed to get some smiles from your Easter egg hunt party guests. You can make any colour you like, and kids will love helping out – especially when it comes to sticking the pom-pom tails. And if short of time or energy, a simple fresh yellow cloth and a vase of daffodils bring Easter to the table.

Little ones will absolutely love pretending to be the Easter bunny with this lovely rabbit mask. A lot of the things you'll need to make this fun face will already be around the house, and it's so simple to make - just follow our video!

Watch the video: How to make rabbit maks 

Easter treats

Let’s face it, Easter food is all about lovely tasty treats and we all love to eat chocolate at Easter. These no-bake mini Easter rocky roads are made with milk chocolate, golden syrup, shortbread, Mini Eggs, fudge, and marshmallows. Drool. These Creme Egg rocky roads are also delicious as well as these Easter nests. And the best bit? These recipes are no-bake - so they're perfect for getting the kids involved in the kitchen. Great news for your chief taste testers and little hands that like to get messy - are we right?

And, we have four words for you: Cream Egg ice cream. Serve these at your Easter egg hunt party and just wait for the impressed and happy looks to come your way!

For more ambitious bakers, check out our impressive ideas for Easter biscuits, and Easter desserts. The kids will especially love these Easter chick cupcakes, which can be adjusted to be dairy-free by switching out the milk and butter for like equivalents. You are WELCOME. Serve these at your Easter egg hunt party and just wait for the rounds of applause to come your way.

Plus, we have so many impressive Easter cakes and bake recipes to try. From this incredibly indulgent Easter chocolate cake (pictured below) to our hot croissant ring cake (which tastes as good as it sounds) are just a couple of the show-stopping ideas you could try.

Easter lunch ideas

Whether you’re throwing your Easter egg hunt party on Easter Sunday or not, it’s always a good idea to think about lunch. There are lots of foods we traditionally eat at Easter, but a roast lamb is often the centerpiece for many sit-down meals. Check out our Easter lunch menus ideas. We’ve got every type of roast and side option covered, from meats to meat-free alternatives like a delicious sweet potato and nut roast. We also have plenty of buffet party food ideas and canapes.

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Best Easter hampers Best Easter decorations Best Easter gifts for kids Best Easter baskets Best kids' Easter eggs Best vegan Easter eggs Best personalised Easter eggs Best online Easter eggs

These simple currant biscuits are topped with a sweet crunchy layer of sugar and look so pretty for Easter.

These are classic Easter biscuits, dotted with currants and infused with spices. The spices are traditionally said to represent the ones used to embalm the body of Christ when he was taken down from the cross, before the resurrection. Even if your Easter isn't religious, the bunny shape makes then very Easter-appropriate. This recipe makes a batch of 20-25 biscuits, and they are ready in under an hour. They are a great treat to enjoy with a cuppa over the bank holiday weekend.

Ingredients

For this Easter recipe you will need:

• 125g softened butter
• 75g caster sugar, plus 1-2 tbsp for sprinkling
• 1 egg, separated
• 200g plain flour, sifted
• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp mixed spice
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 75g currants
• 2 tbsp milk

You'll also need:

• A rabbit-shaped cutter

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6.
2. In a bowl, beat the butter and sugar together, using a wooden spoon or electric hand whisk, until pale and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolk, reserving the white. Then, using a round-bladed knife, gently stir in the sifted flour, spices, lemon zest and currants. Gradually stir in the milk until the dough starts to come together - you may need slightly less, or a little more, milk.
3. Tip the dough onto a lightly floured worktop and knead gently until smooth. Roll out to about 5mm thick then cut out the biscuits using a rabbit-shaped cutter, a 7.5cm round cutter, or shape of your choice.
4. Place the biscuits on 2-3 greased baking trays and bake each tray in batches for 10 mins. Remove from the oven.
5. Whisk the reserved egg white very slightly, brush lightly over the biscuits then sprinkle with sugar. Return to the oven for a further 5 mins, until just golden. Remove and place on a cooling rack.

Top tip for making these currant biscuits

The biscuits can be stored in an airtight container for 2-3 days. Freshen homemade biscuits, by placing them in a warm oven for 3-4 mins.

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Easter biscuits

Easter sugar cookies

Easter egg cookies

This easy Easter cookies recipe by TV chef Gizzi Erskine makes a delightful batch of biscuits ready for the kids to get busy decorating.

Decorated cookies for Easter are quick and easy to make, then you can leave the icing to the kids. Let them go wild with different coloured icing pens and extras to stick on. We love using hundreds and thousands, Smarties, chocolate buttons, edible glitter and small colourful sweets like jelly tots. The recipe takes about an hour and a half, but that includes an hour where the dough is just chilling in the fridge before cooking. This step is important for getting the best texture in the finished biscuits.

Ingredients

For this Easter recipe you will need:

• 90g butter, softened
• 100g golden caster sugar (eg. Billington's)
• 1 egg
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 200g plain flour
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ salt
• Coloured icing pens and and toppings of your choice, to decorate

Method

1. Sieve the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until pale.
3. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract. Add the flour to the butter mix and mix until the dough is formed.
4. Wrap the dough in cling and chill for at least 1 hr.
5. Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/Gas 3.
6. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to about 0.5cm. Cut out the cookies and transfer to baking sheets.
7. Roll up the trimmings and repeat stages above to make more cookies.
8. Bake for 8-12 minutes until golden. Remove and transfer to a cooling wire and leave until completely cool before decorating.

Top tip for making decorated cookies for Easter

If kids are doing the decorating, give each of them a large dinner plate to work on, then most of the loose sprinkles and drips will be caught instead of ending up on the table.

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Easter biscuits

Easter sugar cookies

Easter egg cookies

A simple, tangy Easter shortbread recipe you can cut into rabbit and egg shapes.

Our Easter shortbread recipe is so simple to follow and makes a lovely springtime treat. Lemon lifts and lightens the biscuits, and is a good contrast to the traditional spiced Easter biscuits. Plus there are no currants or raisins in these - great if you have picky eaters who don't like dried fruit. Kids will enjoy helping to make and decorate these, with Smarties or coloured dragées. This recipe makes 8-12 biscuits but if you've got extra guests coming or you're baking for a bake sale, it's easy to double all the ingredients to make two batches.

Ingredients

For this Easter recipe you will need:

• 150g (5oz) plain flour
• 50g (1¾oz) caster sugar
• Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• 100g (3½oz) unsalted butter

For the decoration:

• Tubes of ready-to-use icing fitted with writing piping tubes

For the rabbits:

• Blue- and pink-coloured sweets e.g. Smarties
• Pink sugar

For the eggs:

• Multi-coloured sugar dragées or Smarties
• Easter egg and/or rabbit cutters
• Baking sheets, greased or lined

Method

1. Set the oven to moderately hot: 180°C/350°F/Gas mark 4. Tip the flour into a bowl and stir in the sugar and lemon zest. Add the butter and rub it in until the mixture starts to bind together. Alternatively, whizz all the ingredients together in a food processor or until the ingredients bind together into a dough. Wrap in cling film and chill for 15 minutes.
2. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface and use the cutter(s) to cut out shapes. Lay the biscuits on baking sheets and chill for another 10 minutes.
3. Bake in the centre of the oven for 15-18 mins, or until they are a light-golden colour. Remove from the oven and leave them to cool for a few minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
4. Decorate the cold biscuits using the tubes of icing. While the icing is still soft, stick the coloured sweets on to the rabbits for the eyes and noses, and sprinkle the pink sugar on to the rabbit ears. Stick the coloured sugar balls on to the egg-shaped biscuits. Leave the icing to set before serving the biscuits.

Top tip for making Easter shortbread

Chilling is one of the most important steps in a shortbread recipe, and it needs to be done twice: once before shaping and cutting, and once after. This makes sure the butter in the recipe hardens after mixing, so it cooks at the right speed and gives the best texture.

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Easter biscuits

Easter sugar cookies

Easter egg cookies

Darkly spiced Easter cookies with beautiful royal flood icing to decorate. These are miniature works of Easter art.

This spiced Easter biscuits recipe makes around 36-48 biscuits, depending on the size of the cookie cutters you are using. It's a good batch size if you want to package the biscuits up to give as Easter gifts. You can either arrange them in layers in boxes, or slide 3-5 into a clear cellophane bag and tie it up with a nice bow. The biscuits have a lovely spicy kick from the mixed spice and cinnamon. Traditionally, this is to symbolise the embalming ointments used on Jesus before the resurrection.

Ingredients

• 100g (3½oz) butter, softened
• 200g (7oz) caster sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 300g (10½oz) plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground mixed spice

For the icing:

• 1 sachet egg white powder
• 4 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 300g icing sugar
• Icing pens in red, white and green (optional)

Method

1. Beat the butter and caster sugar together in a large bowl until pale and creamy. Add the egg and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy. In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and mixed spice. Add to the butter mixture and mix thoroughly. Add 1 tsp cold water to bring the dough together if you need to. Wrap the mixture in baking parchment and chill for at least 30 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas mark 4. Line two baking sheets with baking parchment.
3. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to about 4mm (¼in) thick and, using cookie cutters, stamp out shapes. Using a palette knife, lift the shapes carefully on to the baking parchment.
4. Bake for 15–18 minutes, or until lightly golden in colour. Allow to cool on a wire rack.
5. To ice the biscuits: make up the egg white powder using 30ml (2 tbsp) warm water and lemon juice as directed on the packet. Sift the icing sugar into a bowl and add the blended egg white mixture to make a smooth spreadable icing. Divide the mixture into three. Leave one white and use the food colouring to colour one pink and the other mauve. For each colour, spoon 1-2 tbsp of the icing into a small piping bag fitted with a No2 plain piping nozzle. Pipe a line around the edge of each biscuit, about 1mm from the edge. Then spoon about 1 tsp icing into the centre of each biscuit and spread to fill the outlined area. Leave for 30 minutes to set. Finish decorations with icing pens, if desired.

Top tip for making spiced Easter cookies

Leftover biscuits can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days – but of course are best when they are served fresh.

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Easter biscuits

Easter sugar cookies

Easter egg cookies

A really traditional Easter biscuit with currants and spices, and a crunchy sugar topping.

These Easter bunny biscuits are so easy to make. The recipe is only four steps and you can have them out of the oven and cooling in 30 minutes. You should get a dozen bunny-shaped biscuits from this dough. You don't need to use it all at once, either. Wrap it in cling film and chill or freeze it, unbaked, and use it the next time you fancy some fresh, homemade snacks with your afternoon cuppa. Swap the currants for raisins or sultanas if that's what you have, or use a mixture.

Ingredients

For this Easter recipe you will need:

• 100g (3½ oz) butter
• 75g (2¾ oz) caster sugar and extra for sprinkling
• 1 large egg
• 225g (8 oz) plain flour
• ½ tsp mixed ground spice
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 50g (1¾ oz) currants - 12 currants for eyes
• 2 tbsp milk

To decorate:

• pretty ribbon

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6. Grease two baking sheets. Cream the butter and sugar together with an electric whisk. Add the egg and whisk again.
2. Add the flour, spices and currants and gently fold in. Lightly knead, then roll out to a 5mm (¼ inch) thickness. Use a bunny or other shaped cutter to press out about 12 biscuits, re-rolling the dough as necessary.
3. Arrange the biscuits on a baking tray and brush with milk. Make eyes with the extra currants and sprinkle over the remaining sugar. Bake for 12-15 mins or until golden.
4. Cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Tie ribbons around the necks of the bunnies.

Top tip for making these Easter bunny biscuits

To make sure your biscuits have the best, crumbly texture, treat the dough gently once you add the flour. Don't vigorously mix it - just use a palette knife to fold the flour in. And don't overknead the dough - it only needs a gentle touch.

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Easter biscuits

Easter sugar cookies

Easter egg cookies

Easter cakes and bakes shouldn’t be forgotten when it comes to the Easter weekend feast. And, there are so many options, from Simnel cake to hot cross buns to easy Easter biscuits and spring-themed treats. Choose from one of our best Easter cake ideas.

"The Easter holidays are perfect for baking with kids, whether it is to use up excess chocolate over Easter or to make some yummy treats to enjoy over the Easter period," says Ruth Chubb of  Three Bears Cookery Club. "Not only is baking with your children a great way to keep them entertained over the holidays, but it also has so many benefits – it prepares them for later life and helps build their confidence and their academic skills, from maths to literacy to science, and you get something yummy at the end!"

Baking an Easter cake is the perfect opportunity to give a classic treat an Easter twist. Whether you're decorating your cake with Creme Eggs with one of our popular Creme Egg recipes or decorating with Mini Eggs too, like our Mini Eggs recipes. It's a good chance to get your kids in the kitchen.

Scoffing copious amounts of chocolate eggs is a crucial activity of any Easter weekend (though there are also lots of other Easter food traditions, lest we forget) and, of course, anything made from chocolate has to be top of the list when it comes to baking. Alas, we have naturally included a lot of choc-based treats in our collection of Easter cakes – including our finest, not-to-be-messed-with Easter chocolate fudge cake.

Our best Easter cake ideas

1. Mini Eggs chocolate nest cake

Skill level: Easy | Prep time: 20 mins | Cook time: 25 mins

This rich chocolate cake is ingeniously decorated with pretzel sticks dipped in chocolate and a handful of Mini Eggs to make a very convincing Easter nest. "This is a great one for older children to do to impress family and friends," says Ruth Chubb. 

A top tip after you've wowed your dinner guests with how fancy it looks is to remove the whole nest from the cake before you slice it, so you don't end up with bits of nest flying all over the table – which would never do.

Get the recipe: Mini Eggs chocolate nest cake

2. Mini Egg cake

Skill level: Medium | Prep time: 30 mins | Cook time: 30 mins

Never mind topping a cake with a smattering of Mini Eggs, we are taking things to a new level – covering every bit of the surface and sides with them (maybe we should give out a prize for the person with the closest guess as to exactly how many there are?!). 

Lashings of Nutella are needed to stick them all in place, of course. And if all that chocolate is slightly too much chocolate (as if), then there's always the option of doing the cake as a vanilla sponge instead, just to mix things up a bit. One of our favourite Easter cake ideas.

Get the recipe: Mini Eggs cake

3. Mini Egg brownie tart

Skill level: Easy | Prep time: 30 mins | Cook time: 20 mins

This delicious, gooey and rich Mini Egg brownie tart is one of our favourites in this collection. It is so simple to make (but doesn't look it – always our favourite sort of recipe) because you can just buy the pastry case ready-made – though, of course, there's nothing to stop the pastry experts among us from making their own. 

Serve it warm after dinner, especially with good quality vanilla ice cream or fresh pouring cream.

Get the recipe: Mini Egg brownie tart

4. Nadiya Hussain’s red berry Simnel cake

Skill level: Medium | Prep time: 30 mins | Cook time: 2 hours

What Nadiya Hussain can't do with a cake isn't worth knowing about, frankly, and, here, the most successful ever winner of The Great British Bake Off has dared to mess with tradition - with some sterling results. She's taken the classic Simnel cake to the next level by adding fresh fruit in the cake and freeze-dried berries to the marzipan to give it that vivid colour. Purple power.

Get the recipe: Nadiya Hussain's red berry Simnel cake

5. Easter chocolate fudge cake

Skill level: Easy | Prep time: 30 mins | Cook time: 25 minutes

This rich Easter chocolate fudge cake is decorated with Mini Eggs and crumbled Flakes (though feel free to go off-piste and decorate in any way you wish). It's rich and luxurious and feeds at least 12 people.

 It's also worthy of getting out your finest china and your best cake stand, don't you think? The top tip we can give you here is to remember to ice and decorate it on the serving plate, to avoid any disasters – it’s almost impossible to move once decorated. 

Get the recipe: Easter chocolate fudge cake

6. Creme Egg cake

Skill level: Medium | Prep time: 25 mins | Cook time: 30 minutes

You'll need to get down to the shops in plenty of time before they run out of Creme Eggs for this one. The ganache is made with five eggs, there are another three in the filling, plus three more and you'll also be needing a packet of miniature Creme Eggs for the topping. 

But, hey, you can never have too many Creme Eggs, can you? The cake is an easy, simple choc sponge, and overall, it looks rather fancy, wouldn't you agree? One of our most popular Easter cake ideas.

Get the recipe: Creme Egg cake

7. Easter nest cake

Skill level: Medium | Prep time: 25 mins | Cook time: 30 minutes

Why just have mini Easter nests when you can have an entire Easter nest cake? Take a regular sponge cake, cover it with melted chocolate, and press Easter nest mix along the edges. 

The nest is made from crushed Shredded Wheat tossed in melted chocolate, and assembling it is messy and very fun. You stick clumps of this to the sides, stacking it up as you go until the whole cake is covered - one for the kids to get stuck in with.

Get the recipe: Easter nest cake

8. Mini Eggs Simnel cake

Skill level: Medium | Prep time: 30 mins | Cook time: 1 hr 40 mins

Traditional Simnel cake is usually decorated with 11 marzipan balls to represent the Apostles, but we're rewriting the rule book and also adding Mini Eggs to the decoration – because, surely, there is absolutely nothing that isn't made better with the addition of Mini Eggs? 

It might encourage kids who wouldn't normally partake in a slice of simnel cake to get stuck in (though there is a flaw in this plan, as it will leave less for us adults...). One of our best Easter cake ideas.

Get the recipe: Mini Eggs Simnel cake

9. Happy Easter cake

Skill level: Easy | Prep time: 30 mins | Cook time: 20 mins

Top a delicious chocolate cake with seasonal decorations to turn it into a worthy dessert for an Easter Sunday. Filled with buttercream and topped with pretty pastel flowers and Maltesers, it could also easily be a cake for a Spring birthday. Get your poshest teapot out and make it part of an Easter tea party, with your finest cucumber sandwiches. A delight.

Get the recipe: Happy Easter cake

10. Mini Egg chocolate brownie bars

Skill level: Easy | Prep time: 30 mins | Cook time: 15 mins

Wonderfully moist and jolly indulgent, the brownies are topped with a delicious buttercream frosting (you weren't expecting that, were you?) and are entirely enveloped in chocolate – plus a little row of Mini Eggs, because it would be rude not to.

Get the recipe: Mini Egg chocolate brownie bars

11. Simnel cake

Skill level: Medium | Prep time: 1 hour | Cook time: 3 hours

One for the more serious of bakers, this is the most iconic of all Easter bakes. For the uninitiated, simnel cake offers a nod to the true meaning of Easter, as it is topped with exactly 11 marzipan balls to represent the twelve apostles, minus Judas – he doesn't get one for his betrayal of Jesus. 

You'll need to be a fan of marzipan to truly appreciate the joys of a simnel cake - it's not only the topping, but there's a layer baked inside – and this step-by-step recipe guides you through.

Get the recipe: Simnel cake

12. Hot croissant ring cake

Skill level: Easy | Prep time: 35 mins | Cook time: 25 mins

Using shop-bought croissant dough, you'll need to get your hands on a bundt ring, in which this cake will rise triumphantly, producing the perfect breakfast for a bank holiday weekend. Served warm in slices (or even toasted), it’s a delight at breakfast time over the Easter bank holiday. 

You don’t even have to add toppings because it has jam, spices, and raisins hiding inside. A spot-on way to start the day. One of our favourite Easter cake ideas.

Get the recipe: Hot croissant ring cake

13. Hot cross buns

Skill level: Medium | Prep time: 1 hour | Cook time: 15-20 mins

"Hot cross buns are made with a rich, sweet dough. They taste great, but this also means the dough can take longer to rise than one made without butter, sugar and eggs. Give your dough time to rise - around an hour and a half once kneaded," says baker Rhiannon Abbott of The Epsom Bakehouse, who runs classes teaching people to make their own hot cross buns. 

While most people opt for the shop-bought variety, you'll have your baking credentials massively upped by serving them homemade this Easter. Delicious straight out of the oven with a little – or a lot of – butter.

Get the recipe: How to make hot cross buns

14. Blueberry hot cross buns

Skill level: Easy | Prep time: 40 mins | Cook time: 15 mins

Once you've mastered the art of basic hot cross buns you can play with the flavours. These blueberry hot cross buns will make a lovely breakfast treat on Easter Sunday. 

"The crosses on hot cross buns are usually a flour and water paste piped on before baking. But you could also try piping crosses using icing sugar and water paste once the buns are baked and cooled," says Rhiannon Abbott. The whole blueberries reduce down slightly when baked but still add a fruity twist.

Get the recipe: Blueberry hot cross buns

15. Lisa Faulkner’s choc chip hot cross buns

Skill level: Medium | Prep time: 20 mins | Cook time: 25 mins

Because chocolate goes with everything, we are big fans of this pimped-up hot cross bun recipe by Lisa Faulkner. The choc chips replace the usual raisins (though you could always add both). 

We're sure the Celebrity Masterchef winner and her chef hubby John Torode will be sitting down to a freshly baked batch of them, dripping with butter, this Easter weekend, as will we. Put the kettle on, will you?

Get the recipe: Lisa Faulkner's choc chip hot cross buns

16. Vegan hot cross buns

Skill level: Medium | Prep time: 45 mins | Cook time: 20 mins

Because why should vegans miss out on all the Easter indulgence? Using soya milk and vegan margarine in place of butter, you wouldn't even know these hot cross buns are entirely free of egg and dairy-free. Moist and delicious, they're warmly spiced with fresh lemon and currants (though you could swap those out for dark chocolate chips if you fancy) and are most delicious fresh out of the oven.

Get the recipe: Vegan hot cross buns

17. Chocolate hot cross bun bread and butter pudding

Skill level: Easy | Prep time: 30 mins | Cook time: 50 mins

There's a glut of chocolate and a glut of hot cross buns around the house at this time of year, so this is a smart way of using them all up and creating a fancy pudding. You soak the buns in a creamy, homemade custard, and can scatter them over either dark choc chips or pieces of smashed-up Easter egg. 

Make sure you save plenty of room after your Easter Sunday roast because this ain't a light dessert. We're sure you'll power on through though.

Get the recipe: Chocolate hot cross bun bread and butter pudding

18. Hot cross bun cupcakes

Skill level: Easy | Prep time: 20 mins | Cook time: 25 mins

"This is a great recipe to do with young children, they can help stir the mixture and have a go at spooning it into the cases," says Ruth Chubb. It's also a good recipe for adults who don't fancy their chances with a home-made hot cross bun, with none of the hassle of all that proving and rising. The crosses are easier too, made from strips of marzipan. Sssh, don't tell the traditionalists but we think they're every bit as good as the real deal.

Get the recipe: Hot cross bun cupcakes

19. Hot cross bun loaf

Skill level: Medium | Prep time: 10 mins | Cook time: 4 hours

"Who doesn’t love home-baked bread?" says Ruth Chubb. "Plus using hands in this recipe to knead the dough is great for children’s sensory development." So get the kids on board to make this hot cross bun loaf, a great recipe for a Bank Holiday when you've got plenty time to potter about. It's great for breakfast, spread with butter and jam – we find apricot works particularly well, but there are no rules.

Get the recipe: Hot cross bun loaf

20. Easter bread

Skill level: Medium | Prep time: 30 mins | Cook time: 30 mins

This tasty recipe is made with cinnamon and orange zest and topped with colourful eggs. You'll also impress your guests with your culinary cultural know-how – because this sweet bread is what the Greeks eat at Easter. Known as Tsoureki, there are lots of versions of this bread, and it can be iced, or covered in sesame seeds – or even multi-coloured sprinkles. 

Get the recipe: Easter bread

21. Easter nests

Skill level: Easy | Prep time: 15 mins | Cook time: No bake

"If you've had too much chocolate over Easter and want to use it up, this is perfect and an easy one for little ones. You will need to melt the chocolate but they can mix it all together and spoon it into the cases," says Ruth Chubb. The Shredded Wheat makes the nests look particularly, well, nesty, but these can, of course, also be made with cornflakes or rice krispies. One of the most popular Easter cake ideas.

Get the recipe: Easter nests

22. Mini Egg chocolate meringue nests

Skill level: Medium | Prep time: 10 mins | Cook time: 1 hr 30 mins

A gluten-free dessert, sure to put a smile on the faces of anyone with an intolerance, these crisp and gooey meringue nests are a kooky, unusual pudding for your Easter table. Mastering your own meringue is nothing as tricky as you might imagine, either. Top with the classic Mini Eggs or take it one step further and top with gooey Creme Eggs instead. Or both, because there are no rules.

Get the recipe: Mini Egg chocolate meringue nests

23. Chocolate bread and butter pudding

Skill level: Easy | Prep time: 30 mins | Cook time: 35 mins

For a really filling, comforting pud, classic bread and butter pudding is always a winner - but then along comes Essentials magazine's recipe for chocolate bread and butter pudding. Best made the day before to let everything soak in and become seriously flavoursome, this dessert can be served with ice cream, thick pouring cream, or the classic custard – heck, hardy chocoholics could even be bold enough to go for a chocolate custard.

Get the recipe: Chocolate bread and butter pudding

24. Easter rocky road

Skill level: Easy | Prep time: 20 mins | Cook time: No-bake

"No oven required for this one, the kids will have fun bashing up the biscuits and squashing it all together, using any leftover Easter chocolate," says Ruth Chubb. Made with the usual sultanas and marshmallows, as well as fudge and shortbread, but with added Mini Eggs for a seasonal twist. This fridge cake takes a mere 20 minutes to put together, but you'll have to exercise patience while it spends a few hours chilling before you get stuck in. 

Get the recipe: Easter rocky road

25. Chocolate cornflake nests

Skill level: Easy | Prep time: 45 mins | Cook time: No-bake

An oldie but a goody, you can't really go wrong with a chocolate cornflake cake, especially when it provides a nest for some pretty pastel-coloured mini eggs. Melted chocolate and cereal are such a simple but wonderful combination. Older kids could go independent on these and make them for the rest of the family (with a wee bit of background supervision while they do the melting) - just make sure they don't eat it all in the process.

Get the recipe: Chocolate cornflake nests

26. Creme Egg brownies

Skill level: Easy | Prep time: 30 mins | Cook time: 20 mins

These Easter egg brownies smoosh (isn't that a great word?) Creme Eggs and mini eggs into slightly undercooked brownies before you stick them back in the oven for them all to melt together. 'The kids will love this one, breaking up the Creme Egg to squash into the nearly cooked brownie. Once out of the oven, all you need is a spoon!" says Ruth Chubb. So messy, like a lot of the best things are. One of our favourite Easter cake ideas.

Get the recipe: Creme Egg brownies

27. Creme egg cupcakes

Skill level: Medium | Prep time: 20 mins | Cook time: 25 mins

These chocolate cupcakes are really easy to make and seriously moreish. For Easter, decorate them with mini Creme Eggs – or you could use Smarties, Maltesers, Flakes, or any other topping you please if you're making them for kid's birthday parties at another time of the year. "This is great one for children to practice hand-eye coordination with their piping skills," says Ruth Chubb. 

Get the recipe: Creme egg cupcakes

28. Easter chocolate torte

Skill level: Medium | Prep time: 15 mins | Cook time: 40 mins

Putting us in mind the sort of sweet treat you might get in a Viennese coffee house, this stunning torte is made with ground almonds, breadcrumbs, marzipan, double cream, and chocolate, and decorated with foil-wrapped mini eggs. 

It's made with apricot jam, but you could switch this to a different flavour of yours. We feel this one simply must be served with a strong and sophisticated coffee while reading a book or making your way through the Sunday papers.

Get the recipe: Easter chocolate torte

29. Chocolate orange liqueur Easter cake

Skill level: Medium | Prep time: 45 mins | Cook time: 1 hour

A rather, posher, more adult bake than a lot of offerings on the Easter treat front, this chocolate orange Easter cake recipe is reminiscent of an Austrian sachertorte. It makes good use of Cointreau (though this could be swapped in for a coffee or almond liqueur for a totally different take) and is topped with extra chocolate (of course) and a chocolatey nest. Beautiful, and decadent. Maybe a shot of Cointreau on the side? It is a Bank holiday, after all.

Get the recipe: Chocolate orange Easter cake

30. Truffle cake

Skill level: Medium | Prep time: 1 hour | Cook time: 35 mins

Chocolate cake, covered in chocolate and topped with more chocolate? Sure. Bit of a showstopper this one, and ideal for dark chocolate lovers. As much as we love Mini Eggs, there are a lot of them around at this time of year, so this cake is mixing things up a bit by using cocoa-dusted truffles as a rather more fancy topping. You could always mix and add different chocs from your Easter box too. One of our favourite Easter cake ideas.

Get the recipe: Chocolate truffle cake

31. Easter gingerbread cottage

Skill level: Medium | Prep time: 2 hrs 15 mins | Cook time: 15 mins

Could this Easter gingerbread cottage be any more adorable? We'd quite like to move in, given half a chance. Sure, gingerbread houses are traditionally popular around Christmas, but we're all for tearing up the rule book, and this cottage has been given a spring clean. So, make like Hansel and Gretel,  bake up some gingerbread, and turn it into the cutest house you've ever seen. 

Get the recipe: Easter gingerbread cottage

32. Chunky Mini Egg cookies

Skill level: Easy | Prep time: 20 mins | Cook time: 10 mins

Roll up those sleeves and get creative with your Mini Eggs. These delicious, buttery cookies can be made in minutes and eaten as soon as they come out of the oven. There are crushed Mini Eggs in the cookie dough, and you'll be wanting extras to decorate the top. The best thing of all is that if you scoff them warm from the oven, the Mini Eggs will be a little bit gooey. And all the better if you crumble them up over some vanilla ice cream.

Get the recipe: Chunky Mini Egg cookies

33. Easter egg biscuits

Skill level: Easy | Prep time: 20 mins | Cook time: 15 mins

The ultimate recipe for easy baking with the kids, whip up a batch of these very easy Easter egg biscuits and let them go crazy with the icing pens. You could also add sprinkles, edible glitter, or whatever they fancy – there are no rules. These could be good ones to give out as little Easter gifts to friends and family, in a decorative box, all tied up with spring-coloured ribbons in yellow, pink, and pale blue.

Get the recipe: Easter egg biscuits

34. Easter vanilla cupcakes

Skill level: Easy | Prep time: 20 mins | Cook time: 25 mins

Striking but simple, these vanilla Easter cupcakes make the perfect base for whatever seasonal decorations you wish to try out on top. They also have a mere five ingredients, so manageable to even the most amateur of bakers. Add a few drops of food colouring to make pretty pastel icings to be piped on the top. Gorgeous additions to any special occasion, not just for Easter.

Get the recipe: Easter vanilla cupcakes

35. Orange and elderflower cupcakes

Skill level: Easy | Prep time: 15 mins | Cook time: 30 mins

A touch of floral essence brings a lovely spring taste to your bakes, this orange and elderflower cupcakes recipe is the perfect base for an Easter-themed topper. We've used orange sugar pearls, yellow hundreds and thousands and white flower paste to top them, and orange zest, orange juice, and elderflower cordial in the cakes. Delightful, aren't they?

Get the recipe: Orange and elderflower cupcakes

36. Spring meadow biscuits

Skill level: Easy | Prep time: 35 mins | Cook time: 15 mins

These pretty little biscuits make the perfect project to do with the kids during the Easter holidays. Decorate them in any colour combination you fancy. Using ready-to-roll icing and cookie cutters, in both flower and butterfly shapes, they look fancy but are pleasingly simple. Pop them in a decorative tin, or pop in a Kilner jar and give them out as presents.

Get the recipe: Spring meadow biscuits

37. Easter egg hunt cupcakes

Skill level: Medium | Prep time: 1 hr | Cook time: 30 mins

Take your garden egg hunt to the next level by making our Easter egg hunt cupcakes, complete with arrows and written instructions in icing to help little hunters find their eggs. 

"All kids love an Easter egg hunt but it is always over so quickly! I love this idea as you can make the cupcakes with your kids, write out the signs that you want to put on the cakes and get the kids to decorate them.  Send them off and set up the Easter egg hunt – a perfect rainy day activity," says Ruth Chubb. One of our favourite Easter cake ideas.

Get the recipe: Easter egg hunt cupcakes

38. Spiced Easter cookies

Skill level: Easy | Prep time: 3o mins | Cook time: 15 mins

Instead of giving Easter eggs this year, you could always bake these spiced Easter cookies – great for anyone suffering with chocolate fatigue (if, indeed, there is such a person). Baked with mixed spice – or cinnamon if you prefer – they're cheap to make, using standard baking ingredients, so you just need cookie cutters and coloured icing to decorate. Make bunnies, eggs and spring lamb shapes. Cute and tasty.

Get the recipe: Spiced Easter cookies

39. Kirstie Allsopp's Easter biscuits

Skill level: Easy | Prep time: 4o mins | Cook time: 10 mins

She might be best known for finding properties for folk on the telly, but Kirstie Allsopp is also a crafty type and loves a good bake. A fun one to make with the kids, her Easter biscuits couldn't be more simple and you can follow along with her step-by-step video as she shows you how. Use tubes of coloured icing and glitter and any other decorative bits you fancy.

Get the recipe: Kirstie Allsopp's Easter biscuits

40. Easter bunny cupcakes

Skill level: Medium | Prep time: 1 hour | Cook time: 25 mins

How professional do these bunny cupcakes look? Worthy of a place on any bakery counter, these cute treats are actually easy to make at home. Topped with a super delicious buttercream, our step-by-step recipe shows you how to make the decoration with just a few pieces of ready-to-roll fondant. And you want to know how to perfect those rabbit whiskers? They're actually made from Chinese rice noodles. Brilliant.

Get the recipe: Easter bunny cupcakes

41. Easter chick cupcakes

Skill level: Easy | Prep time: 50 mins | Cook time: 30 mins

How cute are these little fellas? We're not sure we can actually bring ourselves to eat them. Our Easter chick cupcakes are topped with a cute fondant topper that is actually really easy to make, but doesn't look it in the slightest – the kids will love assembling their little faces. Definitely, one to gift to friends, to show off your clever fondant skills - they'll be an Easter talking point, for sure.

Get the recipe: Easter chick cupcakes

42. Vanilla and poppy seed cupcake with lemon icing

Skill level: Easy | Prep time: 20 mins | Cook time: 20 mins

Our lemon and poppy seed cupcakes will be a big hit with the kids, thanks to the little birds' nests and chicks on top. The zesty lemon icing is made from just icing sugar and lemon juice. Grate over the lemon zest, add crumbled chocolate flakes and Easter-themed toppings, and arrange them on your finest cake plate as part of a Bank Holiday tea party.  

Get the recipe: Lemon and poppy seed cupcakes

43. Sheep cake pops

Skill level: Medium | Prep time: 30 mins | Cook time: No-bake

The sweetest of cake pops, both to eat and to look at.  Use licorice buttons for the sheep's heads and white candy melts for their fur and, with all that energy needed for decorating, you can keep the cake simple by buying one ready-made and shaping it into ovals. It's a tad fiddly but so worth it. Just make sure you don't eat them all before you've had a chance to show them off.

Get the recipe: Sheep cake pops

Video of the Week

Easter food traditions, from giving Easter eggs to eating hot cross buns, have been an important part of our Easter celebrations for years. 

But have you ever wondered why these Easter food traditions are so important this time of year? Is there a hidden deeper meaning why Easter lunch comprises of roast lamb and heaps of carrots? And why are there eleven marzipan balls on top of a simnel cake? Many of our Easter food traditions, like dyeing eggs in bright colours, have been a part of Christianity for centuries. Others, like eating roast lamb or cured ham, are even older and can be traced back to Jewish Passover traditions or pagan springtime rituals that are the reason why we celebrate Easter.

Easter is big business nowadays, with one of our relatively new customs - giving Easter eggs - among our most essential. According to study by Kantar, we spent £153 million on chocolate eggs last year, with the majority being Easter eggs for kids. But the older traditions are still going strong too - Easter hampers are proving popular this year, as are non-chocolate Easter gifts for kids - and an average of £37 million is spent on hot cross buns.

GoodtoKnow's Senior Content Editor, Jessica Dady says; "Every year it seems Easter food is getting bigger and bigger. And it's not just about chocolate eggs. Easter food traditions and gifts are now more popular than ever. Hot cross buns have been given a makeover and are now flavoured with lemon, chocolate, or even cheese and tomato. It's certainly interesting to learn where all this Easter food has originated from. And to truly understand the traditions behind why they are served at Easter time - and why they continue to be so popular."

1. Chocolate eggs

Symbolises: New life, rebirth, fertility, and the brightness of spring.

History: Compared to many Easter traditions, several of which pre-date Christianity, chocolate eggs are relatively new. Eggs are an ancient symbol of fertility, but making them from chocolate originated in France and Germany in the early 1800s. By 1875, a certain Mr. Cadbury was making them. Originally they were dark chocolate, and some were solid, while others were filled with sweets like sugared almonds. In 1905, Cadbury Dairy Milk was born and the Easter egg market began to boom. Today they’re probably the most popular Easter food traditions and a symbol of Easter indulgence.

How to make them at home: It’s so simple to make your own Easter eggs. You can do it even if you don’t have a mould, using real eggs. Once you’ve removed the egg from the inside, clean out the shells and fill them with milk, white or plain chocolate. If you prefer a more traditional, the larger egg gets creative with our in-depth guide to homemade Easter eggs, below. We’ll even show you how to decorate the outside in contrasting chocolate.

Recipes to try:

• Mini chocolate eggs 
• Homemade Easter eggs 
• Stripy Easter eggs

2. Hot cross buns

Symbolises: The cross on top symbolises the crucifixion, the spices may also symbolise spices used to embalm Jesus after the crucifixion.

History: No one is quite sure where hot cross buns originated. The first literary reference to them is not until 1733 (from the rhyme ‘One a penny, two a penny, hot cross buns'). But they were definitely eaten before then. It’s possible they originated in St Albans in the 12th Century when a monk made them on Good Friday to distribute to the poor. In the 1500s, Queen Elizabeth I banned them except at Easter, Christmas, and funerals because they were thought to have magical healing powers.

How to make them at home: You need a bit of patience to make hot cross buns, but it’s a simple process with plenty of downtime. They require kneading, then proving, then kneading and proving again - about two hours in total. You can make the crosses either by scoring the top of the buns or making a paste out of plain flour and water to stick on top.

Recipes to try: 

• Hot cross buns 
• Vegan hot cross buns 
• Chocolate hot cross bread and butter pudding

3. Simnel cake

Symbolises: The eleven who went to heaven. Simnel cake is usually topped with 11 balls of marzipan, to represent the twelve apostles, minus Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus with a kiss.

History: The story is a little fuzzy, but it seems simnel cake was originally more of a Mother’s Day tradition - in fact, Mothering Sunday is sometimes known as Simnel Sunday. In the UK, this falls on the fourth Sunday in Lent, a day when servants would return to their mother church (and see their families). The fasting rules of Lent were relaxed and simnel cake was made. Now it’s usually eaten for tea on Easter Sunday.

How to make it at home: Similar to a Christmas cake with lots of dried fruit and spices, simnel is quite an easy cake to make. The ingredients list is long, but everything is easy to source. You can make your own marzipan (see the red berry recipe) or use shop-bought. There is traditionally a layer of marzipan through the middle of the cake, as well as on top.

Recipes to try:

• Classic simnel cake 
• Simnel cupcakes 
• Red berry simnel cake

4. Roast lamb

Symbolises: Purity and goodness, and also Jesus’ sacrifice.

History: Long before Easter was a Christian tradition, the lamb was the main meal of the Jewish Passover. This usually falls around Easter so when Christianity was born, converting Jews brought the tradition along. It’s neat too since Jesus is the ‘Lamb of God’ and he sacrificed himself at Easter.

How to make it at home: Roasting lamb is easy - if you’ve roasted a chicken, you can roast lamb. The leg is probably the easiest cut and takes about 25 minutes per 500g to cook medium/medium-rare. To keep it really simple, just cover it in a garlic and herb rub (try lamb boulangere). If you’re hoping for something a little speedier, try a rack of lamb, which takes more than 15 minutes per 500g. Alternatively, go for a really low and slow cook - shanks or shoulder are great cuts for this. Cooked for a few hours, the meat should be meltingly tender, and just fall off the bones. These cuts are also great with some hefty fruity flavours like prunes, pomegranate, or orange.

Recipes to try: 

• Easter roast lamb recipes 
• More roast lamb recipes 
• Slimming World Leg of lamb

5. Easter bread

Symbolises: The end of the Lenten fast, and peace and good luck in the coming year.

History: Bread has always been important at Easter, a symbol of Christ’s body during holy communion, and The Last Supper. Easter bread varies wildly by country but it’s very common for people to share and give traditional bakes as gifts. In Greece, Turkey, and Eastern European countries there is plaited wreath bread with brightly dyed eggs pushed into the dough. In Germany and the Netherlands, people eat Osterbrot or stol, which is like Christmas stollen. Italian delis sell a version of panettone which is usually shaped like a dove of peace.

How to make it at home: Using fast action yeast and the kneading attachment on a mixer, it’s very easy to make traditional Greek Easter bread with coloured eggs. You can knead the bread yourself if you don’t have a mixer - it takes about 10 minutes and lots of people enjoy the little workout it gives your arms. You then divide the dough into three sausage shapes and plait it. Finally, you need to hard boil the eggs and dye the shells red, pink, or blue (you don’t eat them), and push them into the dough as beautiful decorations.

Recipes to try:

• Classic Easter bread 
• How to make stollen 
• Panettone Classico

6. Easter bunny bakes

Symbolises: Fertility, and possibly the virgin birth.

History: The Easter bunny (or at least his cousin the Easter Hare) has been busy delivering eggs to children since the 1600s, originally in Germany. And just like Santa, he traditionally decided whether children were naughty or nice first. Rabbits are a symbol of fertility because they reproduce prolifically. Hares were originally thought to be hermaphrodites, which meant they were associated with virgin births.

How to make them at home: Our Easter bunny cupcakes topped with fondant icing are a really delightful project, and great to bake with older children. All you need is some ready-to-roll white and black fondant icing, and food colour gels in pink and yellow. The step-by-step guide takes you through each of the steps you need to make each part of the face.

Recipes to try: 

• Easter bunny cupcakes 
• Hidden bunny loaf cake

7. Carrots

Symbolises: Springtime, plenty and food for the Easter bunny

History: It’s probably not as common as leaving them out for reindeer at Christmas, but traditionally children would leave out carrots for the Easter bunny. It makes much more sense, too. Reindeer wouldn’t naturally eat carrots - but bunnies definitely would. British carrots are available all year round, so it also makes a handy side dish for your Easter feast. And they’re not limited to savoury dishes. Carrot cake became popular during the Second World War, when sugar was rationed. In recent years, carrot cake with white frosting, decorated with mini eggs or little marzipan carrots, has become one of the most popular Easter food traditions.

How to make them at home: For adding some wow factor to your Easter spread, try our recipes that use whole chantenay carrots. They’re so sweet and delicious you don’t need much in the way of extra ingredients - just minimal herbs and spices, butter and maybe some honey to glaze. It’s so quick and easy.

Recipes to try: 

• Carrots in cumin and coriander butter 
• Hairy Bikers' glazed carrots 
• Easter carrot cake

8. Cooked ham

Symbolises: Feasting. There’s no deeper meaning here - in some parts of Northern Europe ham was the meat that was most readily available at this time of year, so it became the Easter tradition.

History: Spring celebrations to celebrate new seasons and rebirth predate Christianity, and eating ham at this time probably does too. There is evidence people were eating it in Germany as early as the sixth century. In America it’s now the most popular choice for Easter Sunday lunch.

How to make it at home: Cooking a ham as a centrepiece for a big family dinner can be as daunting as a Christmas turkey, so prepare for it in the same way. Check the cooking instructions and your recipe a few days beforehand. If your ham is salt-cured you may need to soak it before you start. You might need to parboil it before roasting it, too. Give yourself plenty of time to get everything ready, and cook in advance if you can, so it’s as stress-free as possible.

Recipes to try: 

• How to cook a ham
• Cranberry-glazed roast ham 
• Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall's glazed baked ham & figs

9. Pretzels

Symbolises: Prayer

History: Originally pretzels were a Lenten snack, which appeared on Ash Wednesday (the day after Pancake Day) and were eaten up until Easter Sunday. Early Christians did not eat dairy products during Lent, and pretzels were made simply from flour, salt and water. The word means ‘little arms’ because it’s meant to look like arms locked in prayer.

How to make them at home: One of the easiest Easter food traditions, these are simple to make because there are so few ingredients. Our soft pretzel recipe contains yeast so the finished bake rises a little. Knead the dough until it is soft and stretchy to make it easier to shape into the classic cross. If you don’t fancy making your own from scratch, use shop-bought ones to decorate brownies or chocolate slab.

Recipes to try: 

• Soft pretzel recipe 
• Salted caramel brownies with pretzels 
• Caramel chocolate slab

10. Boiled eggs

Symbolises: Fertility, the tomb of the resurrection and, when dyed red, the blood of Christ.

History: Decorating eggs is an ancient craft. Ostrich eggs from the palaeolithic era have been discovered with engraving on them. Early Christians used to paint chicken eggs red to symbolise Christ on the cross. Over the years it has become an Easter food tradition to paint emptied eggs as a fun Easter craft for kids, and hang them on trees for decoration. More recently, cracking the eggs open has come to represent the opening of Jesus’ tomb after the resurrection, which is why it’s common to eat hard or soft boiled eggs on Easter morning. In the North of England, egg jarping is a traditional Easter game that involves knocking the pointed end of a hard boiled egg agains opponents eggs. The last egg to crack is the winner.

How to make them at home: Boiled eggs are one of the most basic recipes and a foundation of learning to cook (in her book ‘How to Cook’, Delia Smith makes it the very first thing she teaches). It’s very easy, but precise - you will need an egg timer to get the cooking right. Both our recipes below have videos to guide you through.

Recipes to try: 

• How to make a hard boiled egg 
• How to make a soft boiled egg

11. Spiced Easter biscuits

Symbolises: The crucifixion.

History: Special Easter biscuits are a common Easter food tradition from the South-West of England. Slightly-spiced, sultana currant biscuits are made in the West Country to celebrate the festivities. Original recipes included cassia oil in the belief that it was used to clean Jesus's body after his crucifixion, and spices have the same connotation. These Easter biscuits can be left as they are, but often take on Easter-themed shapes or decorations - like the Easter bunny.

How to make them at home: Cassia oil has a cinnamon flavour, but it can be hard to source in food grade quality. Our biscuits use cinnamon and mixed spice instead for the same effect. You will need rabbit shaped cookie cutters for these recipes.

Recipes to try: 

• Easter Bunny currant biscuits 
• Spiced Easter cookies 
• Bunny melting moments

12. Decorated Easter cakes

Symbolises: New life and spring

History: Chicks, lambs and flowers are all popular motifs on easter cakes. Like many Easter traditions, these probably reflect the pre-Christian pagan traditions of Eostre and the coming of spring. In more recent times, flowers and baby animals like chicks, ducks, rabbits and lambs have all become important motifs for all kinds of Easter decorations - including Easter food traditions.

How to make them at home: Basic cupcakes are one of the easiest cakes to cook, using little more than butter, sugar, eggs and flour. These give you a nice smooth surface to create your mini work of art on. Ready rolled fondant icing is brilliant for creating chicks and daffodils, but get creative with sprinkles, mini marshmallows (for lamb wool) and other cake decorations. These recipes are fun projects to do with kids at Easter.

Recipes to try: 

• Easter chick cupcakes 
• Sheep cake pops 
• Daffodil cupcakes

Video of the Week

Lovely golden crunchy biscuits with just enough spice to make them a real Easter treat.

These easy Easter egg biscuits are a fun afternoon project to take on over the long weekend. If you have kids, it's a great recipe to get them involved with too. You can add all sorts of decorations, it doesn't have to stop at icing. Try hundreds and thousands, edible glitter or silver balls, or even stick on chocolate buttons or jelly tots. A batch of this dough makes 10 biscuits. If that's too many to make at once you can chill the dough for a couple of days in the fridge before making more. You can even freeze it, unbaked, for up to three months. If you're looking for a homemade Easter gift these are just perfect. Pop into a gift box and tie with a ribbon.

Ingredients

For this Easter recipe you will need:

• 100g unsalted butter, softened
• 200g golden caster sugar
• 1 large egg
• 300g plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt
• 1 tsp ground allspice

For the icing:

• 250g icing sugar
• food colouring in colours of your coice

You will need:

• Piping bags
• Round and star shaped piping nozzles

Method

1. Beat the butter and caster sugar together in a large bowl with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy.
2. Add the egg and vanilla and beat again to combine.
3. In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, salt and and ground allspice. Add to the creamed butter and sugar mixture and briefly beat again with the electric mixer. Bring together the mixture in the bowl with your hands to form a ball of biscuit dough. Add 1tsp cold water to bring the dough together if you need to. Wrap the mixture in cling film and chill in the fridge for 30 mins.
4. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4. Line a large baking tray with baking parchment.
5. Lightly flour a work surface, then roll out the dough to about 1/2cm thick. Use a medium-sized Easter egg shaped-cutter to cut out shapes. Lift the shapes carefully on to the baking tray using a fish slice or palette knife.
6. Bake for 15 minutes, or until a light golden colour. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
7. Make up the icing by mixing the icing sugar in a large bowl with approx 3 tbsp water. Mix with an electric whisk until you get a firm, malleable consistency. Divide the icing between bowls depending how many colours you want to make and add the food colouring a little at a time until you get the desired colour. Transfer to piping bags to decorate the biscuits. Use the star nozzle to make little flower shapes, and the round one for lines.

Top tip for making these Easter egg biscuits

If you find it easier, you can just use writing icing pens to decorate the biscuits.

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Easter biscuits

Easter sugar cookies

Easter egg cookies

Pretty Easter egg cookies that are simple to make and fun to decorate as creatively as you like.

This cookie recipe is so easy to do and makes really delicious biscuits. In fact, to make it as simple as possible, Kirsty talks us through the whole method in this five-minute video. The condensed milk makes the dough really sticky and caramelly. The lemon zest and mixed spice add a lovely kick. You can either make the biscuits yourself and then pass them over to the kids to decorate, or make the dough together (Kirsty says it's pretty kid-proof, with not much that can go wrong). This recipe makes about 20 cookies, depending on the cutter you use. If you cut them all as Easter eggs, you could make decorating them into a party game with each child getting one or two cookies, which they can eat or take home after.

Ingredients

For this Easter recipe you will need:

• 150g (5½ oz) butter
• 150g (5½ oz) brown sugar
• 175g (6oz) condensed milk
• 1 egg
• 175g (6oz) plain flour
• 115g (4oz) self-raising flour
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• Zest of 1 lemon (optional)
• Coloured icing tubes and confectionary, to decorate

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas mark 4. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
2. Beat the butter, sugar and condensed milk together until creamy.  Add the egg (don’t worry if it looks like its curdling, it will come together). Beat well and then add the flours. Mix to a firm dough and cover in clingfilm then refrigerate for 30 mins.
3. Roll the dough out on a floured surface to the thickness of a pound coin. Cut shapes out.
4. Transfer the biscuit shapes to the trays and bake for 10 mins until light golden. Cool completely on a wire rack. Ice and decorate the biscuits.

Top tip for making these Easter egg cookies

To get a nice even colour on your cookies, turn the once tray while it's in the oven. Most ovens have warmer and cooler spots, so this should make sure your cookies get a nice uniform colour.

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Easter biscuits

Easter bunny cookies

Easter sugar cookies

Learn how to make these Easter sugar cookies in just a few simple steps.

Biscuits are a great option for making with the kids over the Easter holidays. They're quick to bake and then your children can take as long as they like over decorating them. We've kept the recipe for these biscuits really simple and speedy, but make sure to leave enough time for them to cool. And leave plenty of time for the decorating, as that's the best bit.  This recipe will make between 20-30 biscuits depending on the size and shapes you decide to cut. These Easter biscuits can be stored in an airtight container for up to three days.

Ingredients

For this Easter recipe you will need:

• 100g butter, in chunks
• 100g caster sugar
• 225g plain flour
• ¼ tsp baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 1 medium egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

To decorate:

• 100g each white, black, yellow, blue and pink ready-coloured fondant icing
• 3 tbsp apricot jam, melted with 1 tbsp water to loosen
• White, black, orange and yellow writing icing
• 50g white mini marshmallows
• 100g natural marzipan
• Small amount candy floss (optional) - we used Hope & Greenwood, which comes in a small tub
• small amount thin, coloured ribbon (optional)

Method

1. Line two baking trays with greaseproof paper.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, flour, salt and baking powder until you have a mixture that resembles fine breadcrumbs.
3. In a separate bowl, beat the vanilla essence into the egg. Pour this into the flour mixture and briefly combine to form a dough. Don't overwork the dough at this stage, or it can make the biscuits tough. Roll into a ball, wrap in cling film, and chill in the fridge for 20 minutes to firm it up.
4. Preheat the oven to 160°C/320°F/Gas Mark 3. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to about 3-4mm (nearly ¼in) thick and use round, oval and rabbit-shaped cutters to cut out shapes we cut twice as many ovals as other shapes, as they make the chicks and Easter eggs, but adjust to your own decorating preferences. Re-roll all the trimmings and repeat until all the dough is used up. Place the cut-outs on the lined baking trays. Return to the fridge for 15 minutes before baking.
5. Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 15-20 minutes, until the biscuits are starting to turn golden on the edges. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.
6. To decorate the lambs: Cut a circle of white icing the same size as the round biscuits. Brush the top of the biscuits with melted jam and place the fondant icing over the top so that it sticks in place. Cut little faces for the lambs out of black fondant icing. Brush the top of the white fondant icing with the melted jam all over, then stick the faces into the middle of the biscuits. Cover the rest of the white fondant with mini marshmallows. Add two dots of white writing icing for the eyes.To decorate the chicks: Cut an oval of yellow fondant icing the same size as the oval biscuits, and an oval of blue icing. Attached the yellow icing to the biscuits in the same way as you did for the lambs. Cut the blue ovals in half using a zig-zag line across the middle, so it looks like half a cracked egg. Attach this to the bottom half of the yellow biscuits. Add an orange beak and black eyes using the writing icing. You can leave the blue eggs off half of the chicks and instead draw on wings with the yellow writing icing and feet with the orange.To decorate the Easter eggs: Cut ovals of pink, yellow and blue fondant icing the same size as the biscuits and attach them in the same way as you did for the lambs. Use contrasting colours to add stripes over the top, or decorate with the writing icing.To decorate the bunnies: Cut a bunny shape of marzipan the same size as the bunny biscuits, and attach it in the same way as you did for the fondant icing shapes on the lambs. Add an eye using the black fondant icing, and use white writing icing to cover the tail area. Stick a small piece of candy floss onto the white icing to make a fluffy tail. Finish by tying a little ribbon bow around the bunnies necks, if you like.

Top tip for making Easter sugar cookies

You can be as creative as you want with the decorations here - we done eggs, chicks, lambs and rabbits, but you could make flowers, ducks or butterflies too. You can get really intricate with the eggs, using writing or piping icing to create lots of interesting patterns. Add sprinkles and smarties or jelly tots too if you like.

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Easter biscuits

Easter bunny cookies

Easter egg cookies

A decadent chocolate ganache tart, prettified with jewel-like little Easter eggs.

This Easter tart is so rich and delicious - and so easy to make. Because there is no cooking required, it only takes 30 minutes. However, you will need to make it in advance as it needs time to set in the fridge - ideally, overnight. We've added a gorgeous, grown-up flourish to the base by flavouring a standard cheesecake base with mixed spice and lemon thyme leaves, for extra oomph. The filling is a classic chocolate cream ganache that all the family will love. This is a big tart - it serves 12. However, it's really moreish so you may find some of your guests want seconds. It also keeps well in the fridge for a couple of days.

Ingredients

for the base:

• 190g digestive biscuits, finely crushed
• 170g unsalted butter, warm and melted
• 4 sprigs lemon thyme (leaves only)
• ½ tsp mixed spice

for the filling and decoration:

• 250ml double cream
• 350g dark chocolate, finely chopped
• 100g chocolate mini eggs

you will need:

• 23cm loose-bottomed baking tin, greased

Method

1. For the base, in a large bowl, mix the biscuits with two-thirds of the butter, plus the thyme leaves and mixed spice. Press into the base and sides of the cake tin using the back of a spoon until around 4mm thick. Pop into the fridge to cool.
2. For the filling, gently warm the cream and remaining butter in a pan over a low heat until smooth and combined. Remove from the heat and add the chopped chocolate, stirring well until melted and glossy-looking. Allow the mixture to cool for 5 mins, then pour into the cold biscuit base.
3. Chill for 40 mins, then check if the tart is ready to decorate by pressing 1 mini egg into the top of it. If it sinks in nicely without creating any cracks in the chocolate, continue with all the mini eggs. If it creates a crack, allow the tart to come to room temperature and try again. Pop into the fridge for 3-4 hrs or overnight to set. Cut into slices and serve, decorated with mini eggs.

Top tips for making this Easter tart

We've used Easter eggs to decorate this tart, but you can make this at any time of year and decorate it accordingly. For birthdays it looks great dotted with white chocolate buttons - especially if you can get a mix of regular and giant ones. Add in some crunch as well because it's such a great contrast to the smooth ganache. Chunks of honeycomb or crushed Maltesers would be ideal. Candied ginger works well too - swap the mixed spice in the base for a pinch of ground ginger to bring out the flavour even more.

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Easter bread

Simnel cake

A simple sponge cake decorated to look like a pretty Easter egg.

This easy Easter egg cake is such a delight to make. It's covered in a thick, layer of chocolate - just like a real Easter egg. However, instead of being hollow inside, there is a lovely sponge cake with a layer of chocolate through the middle. This cake serves six and it's ready in about an hour an a half, plus a little time for cooling in between stages. We've used chocolate spread for the filling of this vanilla sponge. However, if you prefer you could use jam, whipped cream or buttercream.

Ingredients

For this Easter recipe you will need:

• A two-layer plain sponge cake, cooked in oval cake tins
• Chocolate spread, for the filling
• 2 x 100g milk chocolate bars
• Ready-to-roll icing
• Food colouring (we used green, orange and pink)
• Icing sugar for dusting

You will also need:

• Oval-shaped baking tin
• Circle-shaped cutter
• Piece of ribbon, to make a bow

Method

1. First bake the cake in oval-shaped cake tins. If you only have one tin, split the cake batter into two and cook each half in the same tin, one after the other. Allow the layers to cool before you assemble your cake.
2. Assemble the cake on a large plate or board. Lay the first oval on the board and spread with a generous layer of chocolate spread. Place the second oval over the top.
3. In a large, microwave-proof bowl, melt 1 bar of milk chocolate in small bursts on a low heat, stirring in between, until it's easy to pour. Pour the chocolate into the centre of the top layer of cake and smooth it around covering the top and letting it drip down the sides. Pop the cake in the fridge to set for 10 mins.
4. While the cake is chilling, prepare the polka dot ready-to-roll shapes. Cut off a piece of the icing and knead in the food colouring of your choice (we used 1-2 drops of orange, green and pink food colouring for a pastel effect). Once you have the right colour, dust your work surface with a little icing sugar, and roll out the coloured icing to the thickness of a £1 coin. Cut out 1-2 circles. Repeat with the different colours and leave to one side.
5. Take the cake out of the fridge and melt the next bar of chocolate in the microwave until easy to pour. Pour this again in the centre of the cake, and smooth it out using the back of a spoon until the cake is evenly covered. Let the mix run down the sides. Add your coloured circles and bow and pop back in the fridge to set for 15-30 minutes.
6. Just before serving, remove the cake from the fridge and add a ribbon across the middle, with a pretty bow.

Top tip for making this Easter egg cake

You can cheat this cake buy buying two plain, un-iced sponge tray bakes and cutting them into oval shapes for the cake. Make yourself an oval stencil to cut around so your layers are exactly the same. If you prefer, you can make a chocolate sponge instead, or make a three layer cake in pastel colours to match the icing circles on the outside of the cake.

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Easter bread

Simnel cake

This beautiful Easter bread is something a little different to bake for the long weekend. 

Easter bread is very traditional in Italy and and Greece. It is slightly sweeter than normal bread - a little like brioche. And it makes wonderful toast at breakfast time, with some butter and jam on top. There are many variations on this recipe. For instance, the bread can be dusted with sprinkles or icing sugar, for sweeter versions, or sesame seeds for more a more savoury take. The colourful eggs, which you don't eat, are baked into the dough as decoration. We've made ours into a large, centrepiece wreath decorated with several eggs, but if you prefer you can make four smaller, bun size rings with a single egg places in the middle of each. Either way, it makes a great addition to an Easter breakfast spread.

Ingredients

For this Easter recipe you will need:

• 500g strong white bread flour
• 50g butter
• 2 tsp easy bake or fast action yeast
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 150ml milk
• 75ml water
• 6 eggs: 1 beaten; 4 for boiling to decorate, plus 1 to glaze
• Grated zest of 2 oranges
• Good pinch of ground cinnamon
• Red and blue gel or paste food colouring

Method

1. Place the flour in a mixing bowl, add the butter and rub in until it forms fine crumbs. Stir in the yeast, sugar and salt.
2. Warm the milk until it is just hot, then add the water – the mixture should be just warm to the touch. Add to the flour with the beaten egg, orange zest and cinnamon and mix well to make a soft dough. Add a little more water or milk if necessary.
3. Knead in an electric mixer for 5 mins or turn out onto a lightly floured work top and knead for 10 mins until smooth and elastic.
4. Divide the dough into 3 equal pieces. Roll each into a long sausage about 45cm long. Join together at one end, then plait and join the ends together to form a circle. Place on a baking tray and cover loosely with oiled cling film. Leave in a warm place to rise for about an hour or until doubled in size.
5. Meanwhile, prepare the 4 eggs for the decoration. Add food colouring to two pans of boiling water, divide the eggs between the pans and boil for 10 mins. Remove and allow to cool.
6. Preheat the oven to 190°C/170°C Fan/Gas Mark 5.
7. When the dough has doubled in size, make an egg wash for the glaze by beaten the last egg in a small bowl with a tablespoon of water. Brush the dough with the beaten egg wash. Push the boiled eggs onto the plait, pressing them down into the dough. Bake for 25-30 mins until golden brown, risen and it sounds hollow when tapped underneath. Allow to cool on a wire rack before serving.

Top tip for making Easter bread

This bread is best eaten the day it is made, but can be toasted the next day.

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Easter nests

Flat chocolate eggs decorated with gooey marshmallow and crushed Mini Eggs, these rocky road Easter eggs are cheap to shop for and easy to make. 

You only need four ingredients to make 6-10 eggs (depending how large you cut them). If you have other things in the cupboard to use up - a couple of smashed up digestives or a handful of sultanas - toss them in. This is a great Easter recipe for kids, and we've highlighted all the areas where little chefs can help out. One of the things we love about this recipe is that you make the rocky road, then cut out the egg shapes from it. This means you will have a few off-cuts at the end. They're perfect for little helpers to have a go at tasting.

Ingredients

• 350g white chocolate
• 15g unsalted butter
• 150g marshmallows
• 100g Mini Eggs
• Sprinkles (optional)

Method

1. First line a 12 x 9 inch baking tray with a sheet of baking paper. Place this to one side while you make the rocky road.
2. Place the Mini Eggs into a freezer bag or sandwich bag and seal. Your little helper can now enjoy bashing the Mini Eggs with a rolling pin.
3. Ask your child to help weigh the white chocolate and then break it up into squares. There is quite a lot of chocolate to get through, so you may have to assist.
4. Once the chocolate is all broken up into squares, transfer it to a microwaveable bowl and add the butter. Place the bowl into the microwave and heat in 20 second intervals on high, stirring in between. If preferred, you can melt the chocolate and butter in a bowl placed over a pan of simmering water, making sure that the bowl does not touch the water.
5. Once the chocolate and butter has melted, tip the marshmallows into the bowl. Stir quickly before pouring the mixture straight onto the lined baking tray. Use the back of the spoon to level the surface as best you can, making sure that the mixture is in one thin, even layer. Don't worry if it doesn't quite reach the edges of the tin!
6. Your little helper can now sprinkle the crushed chocolate Mini Eggs over the chocolate and marshmallow mixture. Lightly press in the Mini Eggs. If you are using the sprinkles, now's the time to add them!
7. Place the rocky road straight into the fridge to set for 1 hour or so.
8. Once the rocky road has set, take it from the fridge and allow it to come back to room temperature. This will make it easier to cut into shapes. Cut out the egg shapes with your cutter. There's no reason why you can't use different sizes.

Top tips for making rocky road Easter eggs

These rocky road eggs will easily keep for up to a week... though they are unlikely to last that long.

How can I make it easier to cut these rocky road Easter eggs?

You may find it easier to cut through the rocky road if you wipe a little oil over the edges of the cutter before you cut with it.

Can I use milk chocolate to make these rocky road Easter eggs?

Yes, use any kind of chocolate - even the recently released rose chocolate if you want to make pink eggs. In fact, why not make a selection of different shades of eggs, topped with different colour mini eggs?

Can I use leftover Easter egg chocolate to make these rocky road Easter eggs?

Yes, this is a great way to use up leftover Easter eggs. They melt down well and are even nicer once you've added in the rocky road extras.

You might also like...

• Rocky road ice cream
• Rocky road brownies
• Rocky road cake

A crisp and buttery layer of shortbread, covered with decadent salted caramel and topped with Mini Eggs and chocolate.

This Mini Egg Millionaire's shortbread is shortbread a triple-layered delight. It's really simple to make. All you need is a little time and patience between making each layer for it to cool and set. But it's worth the wait. It cuts into eight generous slices that make a delicious teatime treat. Alternatively, you could serve it up for pudding after an Easter Sunday roast. The chocolate topping will harden into a solid layer so use a warm knife to cut it into neat pieces, otherwise the chocolate can crack in unexpected places.

Ingredients

For this Easter recipe you will need:

• 150g butter
• 75g caster sugar
• 200-225g plain flour

For the salted caramel:

• 150ml double cream
• 100g light muscovado sugar
• 30g salted butter
• Pinch of sea salt

For the chocolate topping:

• 200g milk chocolate
• 1 pack Mini Eggs

Method

1. Preheat oven 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4 and line a deep edged baked tray with greaseproof paper.
2. In a large mixing bowl beat the butter and sugar until pale. Sift the flour and mix until combined.
3. Tip the mixture into the baking tray and bake for 30 mins until golden, leave to cool.
4. For the salted caramel: Place the cream, sugar and butter in a small pan and heat gently, stirring until the sugar has dissolved and the butter has melted.
5. Bring the mixture to the boil and then simmer for 2 mins until it begins to thicken. Taste and add some salt accordingly.
6. Pour the salted caramel over the cool biscuit base and leave to cool in the fridge for about 10-20 mins.
7. Crush most of the Mini Eggs in a small cellophane bag using a rolling pin, leave some whole for decorating, and sprinkle half over the salted caramel.
8. For the chocolate topping: Melt the chocolate on a low heat in the microwave, stirring every now and then until melted. Leave to cool slightly and then pour over the Mini Eggs and salted caramel. Sprinkle with the remaining crushed Mini Eggs and then pop back in the fridge for about 5 mins. Add the whole Mini Eggs and leave in the fridge until ready to serve.

Top tip for making Mini Egg millionaire's shortbread

We've used milk chocolate for the topping here, but for a slightly more grown up version you can use dark chocolate, which will be less sweet. If you're making this at any other time of year, you can use milk or dark chocolate, and then swirls of white chocolate over the top to create a lovely two-tone effect. Top with smarties or silver almonds.

You might also like…

Mini Egg recipes

Mini Egg Cookies

Easter biscuits

These mini egg cupcakes have a moist chocolate sponge, rich chocolate buttercream and can be topped with as many Mini Eggs as you like! 

Put an Easter twist on your favourite cupcake recipe with these mini egg cupcakes. The sponge has cocoa powder in but for added indulgence you could add a few crushed mini eggs too. If you don’t like buttercream, melt some chocolate and use this to stick the mini eggs on top. 

Ingredients

• 275g plain flour
• 100g caster sugar
• 50g cocoa powder
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 100g butter, melted
• 300ml milk
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1tsp vanilla essence

For the icing:

• 225g icing sugar, sifted
• 100g butter, softened
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 2 tbsp hot water

For the decorations:

• 2-3 Mini Eggs per cupcake (24-36 eggs)
• 2 Cadbury Flakes, crushed
• 12 yellow Easter chicks

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan, Gas 6). Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper muffin cases.
2. Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa and baking powder into a large bowl.
3. In a jug, mix the butter, milk, eggs and vanilla. Stir into the flour mixture and beat until the mixture is just smooth - do not overbeat.
4. Spoon the mixture into the paper cases and bake for 20-25 minutes or until risen and firm to the touch. Cool on a wire rack.
5. To make the icing, beat the icing sugar and butter together. Blend the cocoa and water to a smooth paste and beat into the butter mix. Divide the mixture into two equal portions. Spread one portion in a smooth layer over the top of each of the 12 cupcakes.
6. Put the remaining buttercream icing into an icing bag with a thin, round nozzle. Pipe the icing onto the cupcakes in rough circles so it looks like a twiggy nest. Crumble a little crushed Flake chocolate over the top to look like more twigs. Place two or three Mini eggs and one little yellow chick in the centre of each 'nest'.

Top tips for making mini egg cupcakes

Swap the Mini Eggs for other Easter themed chocolates instead like Creme Eggs or hollow mini eggs instead. If you’d like more mini egg cupcake tips, continue reading below. 

In step three of the recipe we recommend combining the wet ingredients in a jug. This makes it easy to gradually pour into the flour. If you don’t already have a Pyrex glass jug, we recommend adding one to your kitchen equipment. 

For a treat you can make at any time of year, we recommend our vanilla cupcake recipe. If you want something fun and colourful these rainbow cupcakes are perfect or our mini cupcakes are very cute. 

Our Mini Eggs rocky road features decadently thick slabs of chocolate tossed with all sorts of crunchy, biscuity, chewy and gooey things.

If you're looking for a simple recipe to make with the kids over the Easter holidays, this rocky road is a great option. The only 'cooking' that's required is melting the chocolate and butter and golden syrup together. Then it's just a case of stirring in the shortbread, Mini Eggs, fudge, and marshmallows. It only takes about 20 minutes to assemble everything, but you'll need 20-30 minutes for it to set in the fridge afterwards. Once it has set you can add on any extras you like for topping. This is a really chilled recipe because you can swap or change any part of it you don't like. See our top tips for ideas.

Ingredients

• 390g milk chocolate
• 75g butter
• 5 tbsp golden syrup
• 200g shortbread
• 50g chocolate mini eggs
• 125g fudge
• 100g mini pink and white marshmallows

For the topping:

• 150g milk chocolate
• 50g Mini Eggs
• 15g butter
• 50g fudge

Method

1. Grease and line an 18cm x 28cm tin with baking parchment. Put the chocolate, butter and golden syrup into a bowl, resting over a pan of simmering water and heat until melted.
2. Meanwhile, put the shortbread into a large plastic bag, tie a knot to secure and bash with a rolling pan, to crush. Put 50g Mini Eggs in a plastic bag and bash to crush. Cut the fudge into small pieces with scissors.
3. Take the chocolate off the heat, tip in the biscuits, Mini Eggs, fudge and marshmallows. Stir until the mixture is well combined. Tip into the prepared tin and chill.
4. For the topping: Melt the milk chocolate with the butter. Pour over the chilled rocky road mixture, to cover. Scatter over the fudge and Mini Eggs, then chill until set or ready to serve. Cut into 16 even squares.

Watch how to make our Mini Eggs rocky road

Top tip for making this Mini Egg rocky road

There aren't really any hard and fast rules for rocky road - you can add or swap ingredients as you like. For instance, if you don’t have shortbread or you’re not a fan, swap for any other kind of biscuit. Digestives are an obvious choice, but Ginger Nuts work really well too. Opt for chocolate biscuits for an extra chocolaty taste. Throw in some currents or sultanas, or chopped almonds or pecans to change up the texture.

Swap the milk chocolate for dark chocolate for a richer option or white chocolate for a sweeter choice. Or use a mixture - one for the base and another for the topping.

You might also like…

• Rocky road ice cream
• Rocky road brownies
• Rocky road cake

Easter baskets are the perfect place for kids to stash their goodies during an Easter egg hunt - and these are the cutest ones you'll find.

An Easter basket, a bit like the best Easter hampers,  is a Stateside tradition that has grown in popularity on this side of the pond in recent years to help celebrate Easter. Traditionally filled with Easter eggs for kids (and even small Easter gifts for kids and Easter games given to loved ones, an Easter basket also doubles as the perfect place for kids to keep the chocolate they find during an egg hunt. As Easter marks the end of Lent, an Easter basket may be a particularly welcome sight if you've resisted chocolate or other treats for the preceding 40 days!

This year, Easter Sunday takes place on 9 April 2023. From Easter decorations to vegan Easter eggs, there are lots of ways to make Easter feel special without spending a fortune. From simple baskets to more elaborate, personalised options that would make a lovely keepsake gift, we've found the best Easter baskets money can buy, whatever your budget. All that's left for you to do is plan an egg hunt and choose which Easter eggs to pop in the basket...

The best Easter baskets 2023

1. John Lewis Felt Chick Basket (Pack of 2)

Top of our list of the best Easter basket for 2023 is this adorable felt Easter chick basket. You get two for £8, which is a steal, and they're the perfect size for both filling with Easter gifts and taking on an egg hunt. A very cute bunny version is also available at John Lewis.

VIEW AT JOHN LEWIS | £8

2. Jute Burlap Gift Bags with Drawstring

If you'd rather keep Easter simple, how about these cute little Easter bags? Hand printed and made with high-quality food-grade, eco-friendly linen material, they're just the right size for a toddler-friendly egg hunt.

VIEW AT AMAZON | £6.99

3. Easter bunny basket bag

If you're looking for an Easter gift for a special little bunny, this cute basket bag is the perfect pressie. Pop an Easter egg inside or take it on an egg hunt and when Easter is over for another year, it'll look lovely in a little one's bedroom.

VIEW AT MONSOON | £14

4. Personalised Easter Basket

If you want to mark a little one's first Easter with a keepsake gift, this traditional Easter basket is perfect. It comes with a personalised plaque as well as a sweet little decorative wooden rabbit. Precious. You could even add a personalised Easter egg.

VIEW AT NOT ON THE HIGH STREET | £27

5. Etsy Easter Buckets

If you like the idea of a personalised Easter basket but don't want to spent a lot, go for these charming personalised Easter. Little eyes will light up at the sight of these filled with chocolate on Easter morning, and they're robust enough to withstand even the most energetic Easter egg hunt.

VIEW AT ETSY | £5

6. Personalized Easter Bunny Bag

Here's another personalised Easter basket option that won't break the bank. A lovely gift for baby's first Easter, these are also perfect for storing hair accessories or other trinkets until next year's egg hunt!

VIEW AT ETSY | £5

7. Long Ear Bunny Fur Baskets

We included this adorable bunny basket in our roundup of the best Easter baskets on the strength of the reviews. Here's what one happy customer had to say: 'I received the Easter bunny basket this morning and it’s absolutely gorgeous! It’s a good size, so plenty of Easter treats will go in it. It’s so soft. I love it!'

VIEW AT ETSY | £7.49

8. Bunny Basket

Bunny baskets are multipyling around here like... bunnies! This one isn't cheap but it found its way onto our best Easter baskets list (and into our hearts) because of its embroidered face and cute little pom-pom tail. We particularly like the sturdy handle - there's nothing worse than your Easter basket falling apart in the middle of your egg hunt - but our favourite feature is the gingham lining which you tie to form the bunny's floppy ears. Aww.

VIEW AT CHILDREN SALON | £38

9. Crochet Bunny Basket

One of these crocheted bunny basket is bound to be treasured by any little person lucky enough to receive it as an Easter basket. Embroidered with a rabbit's face and featuring cute crocheted flopsy ears and fun facial expressions, we think it would make a lovely keepsake gift for a little one's first Easter. 

VIEW AT ETSY | £4.67

10. John Lewis Wicker Bunny Basket

It's hard to beat this bunny basket when it comes to style. Made from natural wicker with robust, upright ears, it's our pick of one of the best Easter baskets you can buy and re-use year in, year out.

VIEW AT JOHN LEWIS | £14

11. Easter Small Woven Treat Basket - Yellow

Speaking of budgets, this little Easter basket is as cheap as chips but priceless when it comes to the cute factor. Factor in price-per-use and the fact that it will probably need replacing - unlike some of its pricier companions - but for affordable Easter fun, this basket wins.

VIEW AT POUNDSHOP | £1.25

12. Easter Flower Basket

Still within budget and with a springtime theme - because it's not all bunnies and chicks! Kids will love this cute floral basket, and we reckon it's versatile enough to use for other occasions too.

VIEW AT POUNDSHOP | £4

13. Large Bamboo Basket

Sticking with affordability, we love the colours of this purse-friendly bamboo basket. It will add wow factor to a stash left by the Easter bunny but it'll also hold plenty of chocolate treasure on an egg hunt. Plus we can imagine little ones getting hours of play from it afterwards - teddy bear's picnic, anyone?

VIEW AT ASDA | £2 

14. Happy Easter Egg Hunt Bags

These colourful bags made it straight onto our best Easter baskets roundup because you get six in a pack! So they're perfect if you're hosting an egg hunt or if you plan to spoil more than one child at Easter. They're made from high-quality non-woven fabric and will look fabulous filled with treats from the Easter bunny.

VIEW AT AMAZON | £5.99

15. Colour Your Own Easter Bag

This is a cute idea if you're hoping for an Easter lie-on or hopping in the car to visit friends and family. It comes with five felt-tipped pens and this review convinced us that it's one of this year's best Easter basket options: 'I bought these for Easter prizes for my class. They were lovely. The children really liked them and it was better than giving them an Easter egg! Cheaper too.'

VIEW AT AMAZON | £5.99

16. Truly Bunny Bunny Bag

I can't help but wonder whether certain little bunnies might be hopping around on Easter Sunday filling these cute little bunny bags with eggs by Royal appointment? Definitely Easter baskets fit for any prince or princess.

VIEW AT PARTY PIECES | £5.99

17. Personalised Rabbit Easter Gift Bag

Just when we thought we'd found all the best Easter baskets for this year, we happened upon this snazzy little personalised tote. We love it because it won't sit gathering dust until next year but could double as a book bag or shopping tote all year round.

VIEW AT NOT ON THE HIGH STREET | £8

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