Easter Nests

The last of our Easter Treats this year, these “fairy cakes” are so good they taste otherworldly.

Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate and chocolate makes a perfect combination.

I can’t quite figure out what it is about these fairy cakes that makde them so morish.  Perhaps Anna went overboard with the cocoa.  Perhaps the combination of sweet chocolate on top complements the slightly bitter cocoa in the cake.  Perhaps these were cooked to exact perfection.  Whatever the reason, there was something special about these guys that made it difficult not to stuff all 6 in my mouth in one go.

These are just ordinary chocolate fairy cakes, covered in chocolate buttercream, sprinked with chocolate flake and of course decorated with chocolate eggs.  OK, that is four types of yummy chocolate right there – perhaps that is the reason.  Anyway, I’m tempted to insist that these are a very summery type of cake this year…

Who made it: All Anna’s handiwork.

Recipe: Fairy Cakes, by Joanna Farrow, page 34.

Spiced Easter Biscuits

Spiced and non-spiced, our recipe book claims that these originated in the West Country as an Easter tradition.  We’ve always been keen on tradition when it involves tasty food.

Spiced Easter Biscuits

There are two types of biscuits here – some flavoured with cinnamon with caster sugar, and others with golden caster sugar.  There is a definite difference, with the golden caster sugar giving a more subtle, buttery taste and of course the cinnamon ones tasting of cinnamon.  The cinnamon batch were just slightly overcooked so the comparison isn’t really fair, but we think the golden ones were the best.  Both are quite heavy in consistency, quite shortbread-like, and are very more-ish.

This is a tricky recipe for biscuits, involving separating egg yolk from white. Only the yolk goes into the main mixture, with the whites being painted on the top halfway through cooking to give a lovely crisp shiny appearance.  Additionally, there is mixed spice and candied peel in both types of biscuit, giving a slightly spicy flavour.  Other than that its the usual mix of butter, flour and currents, with just a dash of milk to soften the consistency.

I’d recommend trying these biscuits – they are not like anything you can buy from the supermarket, and apparently keep for a while in an airtight container (we’ll see – probably not unless it has a lock!).

Who made it: Anna did everything.

Recipe: Golden: “Cakes, bakes, puddings and prayers” by Susan Over, page 56.  Cinnamon: “Mary Berry’s Ultimate Cake Book”, page 149.

Ducks, Chicks and Bunnies

These fairy cakes are (inexpertly) decorated with Easter themes – because its Spring now!

(whispered) And here, through the undergrowth, we catch a glimpse of that rarest of creature, the lesser spotted icing duck. To avoid predators, they are often found with other grazers, such as the red eyed sugar rabbit. However, here approaches that most dangerous of predator, the Dan. The grazers continue, unaware of their fate.

So these guys are simple fairy cakes with butter icing, decorated to make them fun and Eastery with coloured butter icing and small bits of cherry.  There isn’t much more to say than that really, except that butter icing is actually quite easy to pipe (despite appearances!)

Who made it: Anna made me do everything whilst standing over me and giving detailed instructions.  We both piped the animals, 3 each.. bonus points to anyone who can tell which is which!

Recipe: “Fairy cakes” by Joanna Farrow, page 36.