Traditional (and not-so-traditional) Easter bakes (2024)

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by Jessica Lockyer-Palmer

published on 19 March 2024

Traditional (and not-so-traditional) Easter bakes (1)

Easter is up there with the greatest when it comes to occasions to get baking for. There’s something for every baker: hot cross buns and simnel cakes for the traditionalists, miniature egg nests and Easter rabbit-themed creations for little bakers, the perfect excuse to add chocolate to every bake for the chocoholics, and creative twists on the classics for the rule-breakers. Whatever you’re looking to bake this Easter, we’ve got a recipe for you in this collection of traditional (and not-so-traditional) bakes.

Easter Simnel Cake

by Mary Berry

from Mary Berry’s Baking Bible

Heady with spice and rich with dried fruit, this Simnel cake recipe from Mary Berry’s Baking Bible is one for the true traditionalists. Topped with a sweet and nutty almond paste, it is the perfect accompaniment to a cup of tea over the long Easter weekend.

From the book

Mary Berry’s Baking Bible

Mary Berry

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Classic Hot Cross Buns

by Genevieve Taylor

from A Good Egg

Hot cross buns are the undisputed star of the Easter baking season and one of the most satisfying things to make from scratch. Making up a batch will fill your house with the scent of freshly-baked and warmingly-spiced dough, and instead of the ever-flatter versions available in supermarkets, you’ll enjoy fluffy, round buns. This recipe is a classic take, but for less traditional twists, try James Morton’s iced variety, or Nadiya Hussain’s berry versions.

And if you find yourself in the remarkable position of having any leftovers, turn them into this Hot Cross Bun Bread and Butter Pudding.

From the book

A Good Egg

Buy Book

Bunny Hug Biscuits

by Jessie Marsden-Urquhart

from Chocolate Overload!

Perfect for making with family, these five-ingredient lemon biscuits make an adorable addition to your Easter celebrations.

From the book

Chocolate Overload!

Fitwaffle’s Chocolate Egg Cheesecake

by Eloise Head

from Fitwaffle’s No-Bake Baking

Complete with a buttery digestive biscuit base, and eye-catching topping of whipped cream and mini chocolate eggs, this indulgent vanilla cheesecake is the perfect no-bake Easter dessert.

From the book

Fitwaffle’s No-Bake Baking

Hot Cross Mug Cake

by Jessie Marsden-Urquhart

from Chocolate Overload!

Fancy a hot cross bun without the fuss? This easy microwave mug cake featuring raisins, spice, and gooey chocolate orange eggs comes together in mere minutes.

From the book

Chocolate Overload!

Easter Biscuits

by Linda Collister

from The Great British Bake Off: Learn to Bake

These sugar-coated, lemon-flavoured biscuits are the perfect thing to make with children. Cut them into whatever shapes you fancy and customise them with icing or sprinkles.For more Easter biscuit inspiration, try these Hot Cross Biscuits.

From the book

The Great British Bake Off: Learn to Bake

Buy Book

Easter Nests

by Miranda Gore Browne

from Biscuit

There’s something about these delightful chocolate and cereal nests that little and big cooks alike can’t resist.

From the book

Biscuit

Buy Book

Creme Egg Cupcakes

by Martha Swift

from Primrose Bakery Everyday

Creme. Egg. Cupcakes. This recipe from Primrose Bakery Everyday is the ultimate bake for fans of this classic Easter confection. The cupcake base is a dense and rich brownie mix, whilst the marshmallow icing is sweet, sticky and finished with a Creme Egg.

From the book

Primrose Bakery Everyday

Buy Book

Fitwaffle’s Gooey Easter Egg Brownies

by Eloise Head

from Baked In One

Another bake for the Creme Egg lovers, in this recipe you’ll make an easy, fudgy brownie base and top with it with gooey easter eggs.

From the book

Baked In One

Buy Book

Jane’s Patisserie’s Mini Egg NYC Cookies

by Jane Dunn

from Jane’s Patisserie: Celebrate!

These chunky NYC-style cookies from Jane’s Patisserie offer that illusive, perfect balance between crisp edges and a gooey centre. Better still, they’re studded with everyone’s favourite mini Easter treat.

From the book

Jane’s Patisserie: Celebrate!

Cookie Cheesecake

by Jemma Wilson

from

This over-achiever of a traybake includes no less than a buttery biscuit base, creamy cheesecake filling and a cookie topping. The drizzle of milk chocolate and scattering of mini coloured chocolate buttons makes them perfect for Easter.

Jane’s Patisserie’s Easter Flapjacks

by Jane Dunn

from Jane’s Patisserie: Celebrate!

Classic flapjacks are dressed up for Easter with a healthy drizzle of chocolate on top and plenty of hidden chocolate chips and easter treats inside.

From the book

Jane’s Patisserie: Celebrate!

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Traditional (and not-so-traditional) Easter bakes (32)

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Traditional (and not-so-traditional) Easter bakes (2024)

FAQs

What is the traditional food for Easter? ›

Among the food commonly eaten were lamb, veal, and chicken, with a meal of corned beef, cabbage, and floury potatoes was a popular meal. It was traditional for farmers to share the meat from a slaughtered bullock or lamb with neighbours and or the less fortunate.

What are the traditions of Easter? ›

Easter traditions include sunrise services or late-night vigils, exclamations and exchanges of Paschal greetings, flowering the cross, the wearing of Easter bonnets by women, clipping the church, and the decoration and the communal breaking of Easter eggs (a symbol of the empty tomb).

What is a traditional Catholic Easter dinner? ›

Traditionally, the baskets are filled with: decorated hardboiled eggs (representing Christ's Resurrection); lamb-shaped butter or sugar (representing Christ as the “Lamb of God”); bread (reminding us that Jesus is the “Bread of Life”); meats, such as ham (symbolic of great joy and abundance), sausage (symbolic of God's ...

Why are there 13 balls on a simnel cake? ›

Conventionally, 11 marzipan balls are used to decorate the cake, symbolising the 12 apostles minus Judas Iscariot. Occasionally, 12 are used, representing Jesus and the 11 apostles.

What is a traditional Easter Sunday lunch? ›

Roast lamb or roast ham is the traditional meat for the main meal on Easter Sunday. Read on for more on what to serve with your traditional Easter roast. Hot cross buns, which are spiced tea cakes, are traditionally served on Good Friday.

What can't you eat on Easter? ›

CAN YOU EAT CHICKEN AT EASTER? This is a practice that Catholics still maintain, a fact that leads them to give up the consumption of red meat throughout Lent in order to remember the sacrifice of the son of God. Although fish can be eaten, many faithful choose to make a fast.

What did Jesus eat for Easter dinner? ›

Local experts believe that Jesus ate simple meals of bread and locally caught fish. Aside from simple meals of bread and locally caught fish, local experts believe that Jesus also ate olives. Local experts believe that Jesus drank wine with his meals.

What not to do on Easter Sunday? ›

Traditionally, after blessing the food on Holy Saturday, we begin the celebration. However, there are some things you must not do on Easter. Sunday is a holy day that we should dedicate to God and use for rest. You should not then clean, wash, work or do other things.

What do Christians call Easter? ›

Easter, also called Pascha (Aramaic, Greek, Latin) or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in the New Testament as having occurred on the third day of his burial following his crucifixion by the Romans at Calvary c.

What are pagan traditions for Easter? ›

Believe it or not, hot cross buns are another pagan tradition. These were taken from the Saxons, who would bake fresh bread in honour of the goddess Eostre. The fresh buns would be marked with a cross. At the time, the cross represented the four quarters of the moon, four seasons, and wheel of life.

What are you supposed to cook on Easter? ›

Cook a classic Easter dinner with recipes for ham, lamb, scalloped potatoes, spring vegetables—and our best treats and cakes.

What is the most popular meal for Easter? ›

Here in the United States, one of the most traditional Easter foods is a big glazed ham.

What food do Christians eat on Easter? ›

Lamb, eggs, rabbits, bells: What food portrays. The Easter meal, which follows the religious ceremony, is often eaten at midday, bringing the long fast of Lent to an end with a series of rich and sweet dishes. Lamb, which commemorates Jesus' sacrifice, is often served as the main course, as a leg, roast or stew.

Why is it called miserable cake? ›

The next cake is called “Les Miserables”, which has nothing to do with the article written by French writer Hugo, but is a traditional cake from Belgium. It is said that at that time, more water was used to make custard sauce instead of milk, which meant “tragic”.

What is a Charlie cake? ›

Chocolate Madeira cake layered with vanilla buttercream, covered with chocolate buttercream, Cadbury's chocolate fingers, maltesers and Green & Black's white chocolate.

What is the cake with pennies in it? ›

We sanitize 2 quarters, 4 dimes, 6 nickels, and 8 pennies and wrap each one in wax paper. Then we drop the coins randomly into the cake batter before the cake goes in the oven. The coins bake inside the cake, and pretty much each person's piece of cake ends up having a coin inside.

What is the traditional meat served on Easter? ›

Ham is the most traditional Easter meat. Although it's also popular at Christmas and many Thanksgiving tables include ham as an additional meat entree, Easter is when ham fully occupies the spotlight. Most conventional hams are cured with sugar or honey, which significantly raises the sugar levels of the final product.

Can you eat pork on Easter? ›

Ham is often served at the Easter table, which may seem odd since Jesus was Jewish and wouldn't have eaten pork. It seems that this holiday food comes more from the timing of Easter rather than a religious meaning.

What dance traditionally takes place at Easter? ›

An egg dance is a traditional Easter game in which eggs are laid on the ground or floor, and the goal is to dance among them, damaging as few as possible. The egg was a symbol of the rebirth of the earth in Pagan celebrations of spring, and was adopted by early Christians as a symbol of the rebirth of man at Easter.

What food is traditionally eaten on Good Friday? ›

On Good Friday, it's tradition to eat fish rather than meat. According to Christians, Jesus sacrificed his flesh on what is now known as Good Friday. This is why traditionally, people abstain from meaty flesh on Good Friday.

What to eat on Good Friday besides fish? ›

Here are a few options if that's the way you like to go!
  • Shrimp Scampi. ...
  • Tuscan Bean Soup with Shrimp. ...
  • Seafood Pasta in a Foil Package. ...
  • Coconut Curry Shrimp. ...
  • Zucchini Noodles. ...
  • Heavenly Hummus Wrap. ...
  • Kale Citrus Salad. ...
  • Spicy Cauliflower Stir Fry.
Apr 3, 2015

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