If you want a recipe to use up any leftover Easter Eggs, this Easter Egg cheesecake is perfect!

From the good people at BBC Good Food, this Easter Egg Cheesecake is a must try at home if you want to do something different with your Easter eggs! Featuring bourbon biscuits, Cadbury creme eggs and passion fruit curd, this recipe has a delicious combination of flavours!

 

Ingredients:

For the Filling

  • 3 x 280g of full-fat cream cheese
  • 4 tbsp of cocoa powder
  • 200g of golden caster sugar
  • 3 tbsp of black coffee
  • 3 large eggs
  • The seeds of one vanilla pod
  • 300ml of sour cream
  • 25g of melted milk chocolate

For the Base

  • 250g of bourbon biscuits
  • 100g of melted butter

For the Decoration

  • 200ml of double cream
  • 100g of passion fruit curd
  • 8 Cadburys Creme Eggs

Instructions:

Step 1-Preheat your oven to 180 degrees celcius/160 degrees celcius for a fan oven/gas mark 4. Take a 24cm Springform Cake Tin and line it with baking paper. Take the 250g of bourbon biscuits and place them in a food processor to reduce them to small crumbs. Take the 100g of melted butter and mix it together with the bourbon biscuit crumbs. Press the mixture in to the bottom of the 24cm springform cake tin with the back of a spoon and bake for 10 minutes. Leave to cool.

Step 2-Before making the filling, turn the temperature of your oven up to 240 degrees celcius/220 degrees celcius in a fan oven/gas mark 6. Start the filling by adding the caster sugar and cream cheese to a large mixing bowl before beating together with an electric whisk. Do this until the mixture turns to a creamy consistency. Add the cocoa powder, vanilla seeds, strong black coffee, 3 eggs, the 300ml of sour cream and the 25g of melted chocolate to the mixture before whisking again. Do this until it is a deliciously smooth consistency.

Step 3-Take your 24cm springform tin with the base already in it and brush the sides with some more melted butter. This is to help stop the mixture sticking to the sides. Pour the cheesecake filling in and ensure the top is smooth. Bake this for 10 minutes before turning your oven down to 110 degrees celcius/90 degrees celcius for a fan oven/gas mark ¼ and continue baking for around 30 minutes. You will be able to tell that the cheesecake is ready as there will still be a slight wobble in the middle. Turn your oven off but leave the door of the oven open to let the cheesecake cool in the oven cavity for about 2 hours. Once cooled, chill the cheesecake until you are ready to serve it.

Step 4-Now you can start decorating the cheesecake. Release the base of your 24cm springform cake tin and remove the baking paper from the base. Take the 200ml of double cream and lightly whip it. Take the cream and place 4 large spoonfuls of it on top, with 4 smaller spoonfuls in between each large one. Put a bit of passion fruit curd on each small spoonful of cream before placing half a Cadbury creme egg on top. Place whole creme eggs in between

Step 5-Now cut a slice of this Easter Egg Cheesecake for you and the rest of your family and enjoy! Happy Easter!

Source: BBC Good Food 

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The Easter weekend is here and what better way to enjoy the time by making some sweet treats for your family and friends!

If you are looking to bake something this Easter weekend that the children can help out with, these Vanilla Chick Biscuit Pops from BBC Good Food are perfect! You can get the whole family involved in decorating these little biscuit pops and even run a mini competition to see who makes the best Easter vanilla chick biscuit pop! All you need to get started with these biscuit pops is some butter, sugar, flour, an egg, vanilla extract, desiccated coconut and icing sugar! These not only look fantastic but they will taste delicious as well thanks to the ingredients you use. These vanilla chick biscuit pops are an excellent Easter weekend activity, so why not try out this brilliant BBC Good Food recipe at home. Happy Easter everyone!

 

Ingredients:

  • 200g of unsalted butter
  • 100g of golden caster sugar
  • 200g of plain flour
  • 200g of icing sugar
  • 1 medium egg
  • 1 tsp of vanilla extract
  • 75g of desiccated coconut, unsweetened
  • 2 tbsp of milk
  • 50 of chocolate chips
  • 25g of orange or white fondant icing
  • Yellow food colouring
  • 15 to 18 lollypop sticks
  • Ribbon to decorate, optional

Instructions:

Step 1- Place half of the 200g of unsalted butter and the 100g of golden caster sugar in to a mixing bowl. Beat together by hand or using an electric mixer until it turns smooth. Then add in the egg and 1 tsp of vanilla extract before beating together again.

Step 2- Add in the 200g of plain flour to the mixture and combine until it forms a dough. Shape the dough in to a ball, cover with cling film and place in the refrigerator to chill for around 20 minutes.

Step 3- Preheat your oven to 180 degrees celcius/gas mark 4/160 degrees celcius for a fan oven before lining two large baking trays with baking paper. Take the dough out of the refrigerator. Dust a kitchen surface with flour before rolling out the dough until it is around 5mm thick. Cut the shapes for the biscuit using a 6cm cutter.

Step 4-Once you have done this, move the biscuits on to the baking trays and add a lollypop stick to each one, about a quarter of the way through. Bake the biscuits for no more than 7 minutes until they start to turn a delicious golden brown colour around the edge. Place on a cooling rack to allow them to cool down.

Step 5-Now the biscuits are cooling, you can make some frosting for decorating. Place the other 100g of unsalted butter in to a bowl and beat with a wooden spoon. Add in the 200g of icing sugar slowly, around 1 tbsp at a time until the mixture is well combined and has turned creamy. Add a small bit of milk and the leftover vanilla extract along with a few drops of the yellow food colouring. Let this frosting chill in the refrigerator for a few minutes.

Step 6-Take the 75g of desiccated coconut and add it to a small bowl. Add a few more drops of the yellow food colouring to the coconut and mix it together.

Step 7-Take the frosting out of the refrigerator and spread it on one side of the biscuit. Then put some of the desiccated coconut on top of the frosting before adding two chocolate chips to represent the chicks eyes. Finish by adding a tiny bit of orange icing to represent the chicks beak and decorating each biscuit pop with a ribbon.

Step 8-Now you can enjoy these fantastic Vanilla Chick Biscuit Pops as part of the Easter weekend celebrations!

Source: BBC Good Food 

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Roast Leg of Lamb

Roast Lamb has been the meat of choice for Easter Sunday for as long as we can all remember, and this roast leg of lamb from the main man Jamie Oliver is sure to be a hit with your family this Easter weekend!

A roast leg of lamb is known for being full of flavour, but when the recipe is made by Jamie Oliver, you know that it is going to taste pretty special! This lamb recipe includes a homemade mint sauce and the cooking method instructs you to place the roast potatoes on the bottom of the oven, with the meat resting on the oven shelf above it. This allows for the mouth-watering meat juices to drip on to the potatoes which will make them taste unbelievably good!

Photo by Lachlan Hardy (view original)

 

Ingredients:

  • 2kg leg of lamb
  • 1.5kg of potatoes
  • Small bunch of rosemary, half roughly chopped and the rest as sprigs
  • 1 bulb of garlic, peel and crush 3 cloves
  • Zest of 1 whole lemon
  • Olive Oil
  • Salt and Black Pepper

For the Mint Sauce

  • 4 tbsp of chopped fresh mint
  • 2 pinches of salt
  • 1 tsp of sugar
  • 3 tbsp of wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp of hot water

Instructions:

Step 1-Preheat your oven to 200 degrees celcius/gas mark 6/400 degrees Fahrenheit and place a roasting tin in the bottom of the oven for the potatoes.

Step 2-In a mixing bowl, mix together the 3 crushed garlic cloves, chopped rosemary, lemon zest and olive oil. Season the leg of lamb to taste with the salt and black pepper and rub the marinade on to the lamb. Place in to the oven on the shelf above the roasting tin so the juices from the meat can drop in to the tin.

Step 3-Boil the potatoes, the allow them to simmer for 10 minutes or so. Add the remaining whole garlic cloves, the sprigs of rosemary and season with more sea salt, black pepper and olive oil. Add the potatoes to the roasting tin and place them under the lamb so the meat juices drop on to the potatoes.

Step 4-Cook the lamb for anything between 1 hour and 15 minutes to 1 hour and a half depending how you like it cooked. Once it is cooked to your satisfaction, remove from the oven and allow it to rest for 15 minutes.

Step 5-Now you can make the mint sauce, and it couldn’t be easier! Mix the chopped mint leaves, the sugar, salt, wine vinegar and hot water together until it is well combined. Pour in to a jug ready to serve with the roast lamb and potatoes.

Step 6-That’s it, you are ready to enjoy your delicious Easter Sunday roast leg of lamb!

Source: Jamie Oliver 

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Hot Cross Buns

As it is the Easter weekend, we thought we would share with you one of the classic Easter Sunday treats, and we aren’t talking about easter eggs! Hot Cross Buns are a fantastic tradition in Britain, and this scrumptious recipe from Nigella Lawson is the great way to get the family baking this weekend! Happy Easter everyone!

This Nigella hot cross buns recipe is, if you haven’t already guessed, courtesy of the brilliant Nigella Lawson! If you are looking to try something slightly different for Easter 2015, this recipe provides a fantastic twist on perhaps a more traditional hot cross buns recipe. Including cardamom pods and a clove, these ingredients are used to infuse the milk for the dough, adding a really intense but delicious flavour to these hot cross buns!

 

Ingredients:

For the Dough

  • 400g of bread flour
  • 150ml of milk
  • 50g of butter
  • Zest of 1 large orange
  • 125g of dried fruit
  • 1 clove
  • 2 cardamom pods
  • 1 seven gram packet of easy blend yeast
  • 1 tsp of ground cinnamon
  • Half a tsp of ground nutmeg
  • Quarter of tsp of ground ginger
  • 1 large egg

For the cross on the buns

  • 3 tbsp of plain flour
  • 2 tbsp of water
  • Half a tbsp. of caster sugar

For the sugar glaze

  • 1 tbsp of caster sugar
  • 1 tbsp of boiling water

For the egg wash

  • 1 large egg, beaten

Instructions:

Step 1-In a saucepan, heat the 150ml of milk, 50g of butter, orange zest, clove and the two cardamom pods until the butter is fully melted. Once this has happened, allow the mixture to infuse which will add fantastic flavour to the hot cross buns.

Step 2-To a mixing bowl, add the bread flour, yeast and 125g of dried fruit along with the spices (cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger). Once the milk has been completely infused by the cardamom and clove, remove both of these items and beat in the large egg. Once this is done, pour the mixture in to the bowl of dry ingredients.

Step 3-Knead the dough by hand or using a machine. You should continue to knead it until the dough turns quite elastic. If you find the dough is a bit dry, add more warm milk to help resolve this. Once you are happy with the dough, shape it in to a ball and place it in a buttered mixing bowl and cover with clingfilm. Allow it to rest overnight in the fridge.

Step 4-Preheat your oven to 220 degrees celcius/425 degrees Fahrenheit/gas mark 7, and take the dough out of the fridge to allow it to reach room temperature.

Step 5-Knead the dough again until it regains its elastic consistency. Split the dough in to roughly 16 balls, just keep halving the dough until you get the magic 16 pieces.

Step 6-Place the pieces of dough on to a baking tray or baking sheet that is lined with baking paper. Score the tops of each piece of dough with the shape of a cross, cover with kitchen towel and leave to prove again for 45 minutes, they should rise during this time.

Step 7-Brush the dough with the egg wash and mix the flour, sugar and water into a paste. Using a teaspoon, drizzle the paste mixture over the cross shape on each piece of dough. Bake for no more than 20 minutes in the oven.

Step 8-Once the hot cross buns are out of the oven, make the sugar glaze using the sugar and boiling water and brush each hot cross bun with it.

Step 9-That’s it all done, now you can sit back with a cup of tea and enjoy one of your delicious homemade hot cross buns!

Source: Nigella Lawson 

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