Easter spiced currant biscuits

After all that chocolate, I thought I would bake something fruity and traditional. What better than a lovely buttery currant biscuit, not too sweet, not too spicy.

Currant biscuits are a traditional English Easter treat, but  they are frankly great at any time of year. Biscuit baking is much more forgiving than cake baking and  is something I should do more of.

These bakes expand only slightly whilst baking and store well in an airtight tin, they would also make a fab gift in a pretty basket or box for any celebration.

What you need

• 300g plain flour (gluten free works ok, just watch the texture)
• 150g icing sugar
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• 175g butter, cold and diced
• 1 egg - beaten and mixed with 1tbsp of water
• 125g currants
• 1 egg white
• caster sugar for sprinkling

Prepare a couple of baking trays - lightly brushed at oil

You will also need a 6cm ish cookie cutter

What you do

• In a food processor whizz the flour, icing sugar, spice and diced butter until the texture of fine breadcrumbs, a mixer or even by hand would work too
• Add the egg/water mixture to the processor and mix until it clumps.
• On a floured surface turn out the mixture, pull the mixture together and knead in the currants
• Wrap the dough in clingfilm and leave to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes or so
• Pre heat the oven to 160c 
• Flour the worksurface again and roll out the chilled dough to approximately 4mm thick, cut out round and place on to the prepared trays, keep rolling out until all the dough is used up.
• Brush with the beaten egg white and sprinkle with a little caster sugar before baking for 10 - 15 minutes until lightly golden and sparkling.
• Remove carefully from the trays to a wire rack to cool fully.

Lekue - meringue roulade with blackcurrant and mint couli

Over the Easter weekend we had friends visiting and for a while now I had been wanting to use my Lekue Swiss roll mold , so I thought I would give a meringue roulade a go. I also had ulterior motives to use a excess of homelaid eggs and meringue recipes uses loads of eggs don't they (well whites anyway).

I decided to plump for making a plain cream roulade which could  then be served with anything from fresh fruit, fruit couli (using frozen homegrown fruit) or chocolate or caramel sauce. Choices choices......

I am mighty pleased with the resultant soft billowy marshmallowy meringue and the performance of the Lekue mold, the only downside being that the mold is rather flexible so it tooks some nifty handling of the oven shelf to turn the meringue out of the mold onto the cooling rack.

To ensure a smooth glossy well airated meringue ensure your mixing bowl is clean and free from grease, as a precaution I always wipe round with some lemon juice on some kitchen paper.

What you need

• 6 egg whites
• 275g caster sugar
• 50g flaked almonds

To fill the roulade I used whipped double cream sweetened with a good slug of vanilla paste, you could use whipping cream, marscapone or yogurt or even a sweetened cream cheese mixture. For a roulade this size I used a 300ml pot.

What you do

• Preheat your oven to 180c fan
• Place the egg whites in the bowl of your mixer (I used my trusty Kitchenaid) and mix until very stiff and well airated
• Add the caster sugar a little at a time, whislt continuing to mix until all added and the meringue is very stiff and glossy
• Scoop into your lekue mold (or if you haven't got one then a lined swiss roll tin) and smooth level
• Sprinkle with the flaked almonds
• Place in the pre heated oven and bake for 10 minutes until golden
• Turn the oven down to 140c and bake for a further 15 minutes or so until crispy to touch
• Take the meringue out of the over an tip out onto a baking paper covered wire rack to cool for 10 minutes or so
• Then fill with your chosen filling and roll using the baking paper to assist your roll.
• Remove the ends (chefs treats) and serve decorated with fruit or fruit couli or sauce.
• The roulade freezes well when filled with cream and rolled.

For the couli I used some of the last frozen homegrown blackcurrant I had in the freezer , sweetened with caster sugar (1/2 the weight of the blackcurrants) scented with a generous spring of fresh peppermint from the garden.

I am entering this post in Cooking with herbs challenge as I used this months featured herb - mint is in my recipe, the challenge was created by Karen over at Lavender and Lovage and she is hosting this month too.

                                                              

I was kindly provided the roulade mold by Lekue for testing and review purposes. 

Easter Eggs - crispy rice mallow eggs and cornflake nests

Great fun was had in the Lancashire Food kitchen yesterday, baking up some Easter treats for you all. Amongst the usual Easter nests we also had a go at making crispy rice mallow eggs which where great fun to make and very effective too. Luckily a couple of weeks ago I had bought some hollow egg shaped moulds I had spotted in my local pound store which are the only special equipment you need to create these treats.
 

Crispy rice eggs

• 2 tbps butter
• 2 cups marshallows
• 3 1/2 cups crisped rice cereal
• Oil spray for greasing egg molds
• Decorations



 

Melt the butter and marshmallows in a large pan over a low heat until runny, stir in the crispy rice and then fill both halves of your eggs moulds and sandwich together, leave for about 10 minutes until cool before opening your moulds. Your eggs should now be set and can be decorated how your wish,I  choose chocolate and popping candy.

 

Easter nest cakes

 

These are simply delightful for easter egg hunts or just for taking into work to give  easter cheer. 

• Cornflakes, crispy rice or shredded wheat cereals
• Chocolate
• Syrup
• Butter
• Chocolate eggs
• cake cases

Melt the syrup, butter and chocolate in a pan, once melted remove from heat and stir in your cereal of choice, spoon into cake cases and place a few chocolate eggs on top , then allow to cool.

Easter Treats from Hotel Chocolat

The easter bunny has been both literally and metaphorically to our household, we have recently seen the arrival of a baby bunny thats appeared in the garden and the post man has delivered my treat from Hotel Chocolat. Wow ,I have never seen an egg like it and we have chickens !

Isn't it cute , the little smiley faces, the fried eggs and the little chocolate bunnies and chicks, but wait there is more the egg itself is wrapped like the golden egg from the golden goose and its an extra thick 40% cocoa solid chocolate egg.

Ordering from Hotel Chocolat is easy and they have a range of gifts for all, and everything is always packaged beautifully. 

The "You crack me up" extra thick egg is a fun upbeat egg which makes you smile whatever your age, your egg is delivered in a useful pretty mini hat box which contains the heavy weight extra thick egg, wrapped in gold foil, inside contains praline fried eggs, white chocolate eggy soldiers, solid chocolate bunnies, chirpy chicks which have a hint of sea salt and smiley faces which contain crunchy praline and chocolate brownie filling.

This egg would make a great gift for a young family to be shared by all or alternatively I am sure any friend would appreciate this fun easter gift. 

I have been fortunate to be provided  my egg by Hotel Chocolat for review purposes.