7 Fun Easter Bakes

Serves: 8, Time: 40 minutes

INGREDIENTS

For the buns:

• 6 apple and cinnamon hot cross buns
• 2 tbsp of unsalted butter
• 3 eggs
• 230ml of single cream
• 300ml of milk
• 2 tsp of ground cinnamon

For the crumble:

• 100g of plain flour
• 100g of rolled oats
• 100g of brown sugar
• 60g of melted butter
• ¼ tsp of baking powder

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C Fan/Gas Mark 4.
2. Slice the hot cross buns in half and butter each side.
3. Place them into a baking dish, half facing up and the other down.
4. In a jug, whisk together the eggs, cream, milk and cinnamon. Pour this over the buns.
5. To make the crumble, combine the ingredients. Sprinkle this evenly over the dish.
6. Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes until the custard has cooked.
7. Served warm with more cream or a scoop of ice-cream.

Serves: 24, Time: 50 minutes

INGREDIENTS

For the cakes:

• 300g of plain flour
• 1 tbsp of ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp of ground nutmeg
• ½ tsp of ground ginger
• ½ tsp of ground allspice
• 1½ tsp of baking powder
• ¼ tsp of baking soda
• ½ tsp of sea salt
• 140g of unsalted butter, softened
• 200g of granulated white sugar
• 110g of light brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract
• 175ml of buttermilk

For the frosting:

• 220g of carrots, finely shredded
• 220g of unsalted butter, softened
• 220g of cream cheese
• 500g of icing sugar
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C Fan/Gas Mark 4 and line two cupcake tins with 24 cupcake liners.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, granulated sugar and light brown sugar with an electric hand mixer on high speed until fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.
4. Add in the eggs and vanilla. Mix on medium then medium-high speed until smooth, pale in colour and slightly fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
5. Alternate adding the flour mixture and the buttermilk to the butter mixture a little at a time, until each has been added completely. Mix on low then medium speed just until the batter is combined and smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.
6. Add in the grated carrots and mix on low speed just until dispersed through the batter.
7. Evenly distribute the cupcake batter between the cupcake liners. Each liner will be about three-quarters full.
8. Bake the cupcakes for about 20 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to completely cool.
9. To make the cream cheese frosting, add the butter to a large bowl and whip on high speed with an electric mixer until pale in colour and fluffy, about 5-10 minutes. Then add in the cream cheese and mix on medium-high speed until thoroughly combined.
10. Sift in the powdered sugar, a little at a time, and mix on low then medium-low speed until combined.
11. Lastly, add in the vanilla and mix on high speed until the frosting is light and fluffy, 1-2 more minutes. Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a decorative tip.
12. When the cupcakes are completely cooled, pipe a generous amount of cream cheese frosting onto each, and sprinkle with chopped walnuts.