Delicious Easter recipes from Waitrose

Waitrose Easter recipe inspirationEaster is nearly here, so why not impress your friends and family by making some scrumptious Easter bakes!

Here are some delicious recipes courtesy of Waitrose who’ve teamed up with some of 2015’s most talented young bakers…

Martha Collison’s Easter egg biscuits

Martha's Easter recipe

Quick and simple, these delicate biscuits marry bittersweet chocolate with a zingy burst of lime.

  • Vegetarian

Preparation time: 25 minutes, plus chilling and cooling
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Total time: 40 minutes, plus chilling and cooling

Makes: 18

Ingredients

170g unsalted butter, softened
65g icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla bean paste (optional)
2 limes, zest and 2 tbsp juice
240g plain flour
2 tbsp cornflour
75g dark chocolate (70% cocoa)

Method

1. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy using electric beaters or a freestanding mixer with a paddle attachment. Beat in the vanilla paste (if using) and the lime zest and juice.

2. Mix together the flour, cornflour and a pinch of salt in a separate bowl. Gradually work into the butter to form a stiff dough; if it’s too crumbly, add more lime juice.

3. Roll the dough into a log shape about 6cm in diameter and wrap tightly in cling film. Gently press one long edge of the log on the work surface, to a rounded point, smoothing it to create an egg-shaped cross-section. Chill for at least 1 hour.

4. Preheat the oven to 180˚C, gas mark 4. Using a sharp knife, trim the ends from the dough, then slice into 0.5cm-thick biscuits. Spread over a few parchment-lined trays and bake, switching the trays halfway if needed, until just starting to colour – about 12–15 minutes. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

5. Melt the chocolate in a bain-marie or microwave, then pour into a disposable piping bag. Leave to cool and thicken for 10 minutes, then cut a small opening and pipe decorations – try stripes, zigzags and spots – onto your Easter cookies.

This recipe first appeared in Waitrose Kitchen magazine. Nutritional info can be found on the Waitrose website.

Emma Gardner’s Osterfladen (Swiss Easter tart)

Emma's Easter recipe

This traditional Swiss recipe is only made for a few weeks around Easter. My mum lives in Switzerland, so it’s lovely to celebrate across both cultures. The filling is quite unusual, with creamy rice, lemon and a lick of jam on the bottom.

  • Vegetarian

Preparation time: 30 minutes, plus cooling, chilling and resting
Cooking time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 45 minutes, plus cooling, chilling and resting

Serves: 8

Ingredients

370ml whole milk
70g short grain rice
60g caster sugar
50g ground almonds
50g double cream
1 lemon, zest
2 eggs, separated
2 tbsp raspberry jam

Pastry

160g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
½ tsp caster sugar
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
100g unsalted butter, cubed and chilled
2 tbsp whole milk

Method

1. In a saucepan, bring the milk to the boil with a pinch of salt. Add the rice and simmer gently, stirring often, until the mixture has thickened – about 25 minutes. Scrape into a bowl and cool, before chilling completely.

2. For the pastry, sieve the flour, sugar and salt into a bowl. Rub in the butter until it resembles wet sand, then mix in the milk with a cutlery knife. On a work surface, flatten the dough with the palm of your hand and fold in half. Repeat, flattening again into a disc, and wrap in cling film; chill for at least 30 minutes.

3. Preheat the oven to 180˚C, gas mark 4. Roll out the pastry on a well-floured surface to about 0.3cm thick, large enough to line a 23cm fluted tart case. Place the tin on a baking sheet and then line with the pastry, pressing into the corners and sides. Trim any excess from the edges and chill for 20 minutes more.

4. Prick the pastry base with a fork, then line with parchment and baking beans. Bake for 15 minutes, remove the parchment and beans, then return to the oven for 5 minutes more; set aside to cool.

5. Beat the sugar, ground almonds, cream, lemon zest and egg yolks into the rice. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks, mixing 1/3 into the rice mixture to loosen it, before folding in the rest.

6. Spread the jam over the tart base and spoon the rice filling on top. Bake for 30–35 minutes, until golden brown, puffy and set. Remove from the tin and cool on a wire rack. Serve, at room temperature or chilled, dusted with icing sugar, if liked.

This recipe first appeared in Waitrose Kitchen magazine. Nutritional info can be found on the Waitrose website.

Sarah Lemanski’s fire & spice ice box cake

Sarah's recipe

Inspired by classic American recipes, this modern Easter centrepiece balances sweet and savoury flavours: the subtle chilli and ginger heat contrasts with the cooling caramel and cream.

  • Vegetarian

Preparation time: 45 minutes, plus resting, infusing, cooling and chilling overnight
Cooking time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Total time: 2 hours 5 minutes, plus resting, infusing, cooling and chilling

Serves: About 25

Ingredients

Chocolate ginger cookies

200g plain flour
80g cocoa powder
220g caster sugar
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp mixed spice
145g unsalted butter, chilled and diced, plus extra for greasing
3 stem ginger balls in syrup, chopped
3–4 tbsp whole milk

Chilli ganache

300ml double cream
1 dried ancho chilli, roughly torn
200g dark chocolate (70% cocoa), broken into chunks

Salted caramel

50g caster sugar
50g light brown soft sugar
50g golden syrup
75g unsalted butter
125g double cream, plus extra if needed
1½ tsp flaky sea salt

Ginger cream

750ml double cream
2 tbsp stem ginger syrup, from the jar

Method

1. For the cookies, pulse the dry ingredients in a food processor until combined. Add the butter and pulse again until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Mix in the stem ginger, and with the motor running, gradually add enough milk to form a smooth dough; don’t over-process. Tip the dough onto a clean work surface and form into a smooth roll about 32cm long and 5cm in diameter. Wrap in cling film; chill for at least 1 hour.

2. For the ganache, heat 250ml cream in a small pan with the ancho chilli until just boiling; set aside to infuse for 1 hour.

3. Melt the chocolate in a bain-marie or microwave. Meanwhile, strain the cream into a clean pan with the remaining 50ml cream and gently reheat until just boiling. In three additions, stir the cream into the melted chocolate until smooth and glossy. Set aside until ready to assemble.

4. For the salted caramel, gently heat all the ingredients in a saucepan until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat, simmering briskly for 5–7 minutes, until you have a thick, yet pourable caramel; take care, making sure it doesn’t boil over or thicken too much and if necessary, stir in a little more cream to loosen. Set aside until ready to assemble, gently reheating until pourable again, if needed.

5. Preheat the oven to 170˚C, gas mark 3. Using a sharp knife, slice the chilled roll of dough into 0.5cm rounds – about 50–60 in total – and space 2cm apart, on parchment-lined trays. Bake in batches for 15–20 minutes, until crisp and firm to touch; transfer to cool on a wire rack immediately.

6. For the ginger cream, whip the double cream to just before soft peaks, then fold in the ginger syrup.

7.Grease and line the base and sides of a deep 20cm square cake tin with baking parchment, leaving a 5cm overhang on each side. Set aside some caramel and a few cookies for decoration, then layer up the four components in the tin, starting with 2–3 tbsp ginger cream. Follow with a layer of cookies, roughly breaking some up to fit between any gaps. Next, spoon over a thin layer of caramel, followed by more cookies and then a layer of ganache and another layer of cookies. Continue layering until you reach the top of the tin and finish with a layer of ginger cream. Chill for at least 8 hours, preferably overnight (it will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days).

8. Lift the cake from the tin using the overhanging parchment and transfer to a serving plate. Crumble over the reserved cookies and finish with a drizzle of caramel.

This recipe first appeared in Waitrose Kitchen magazine. Nutritional info can be found on the Waitrose website.

About the bakers…

Martha CollisonMartha Collison

Entirely self-taught, Martha reached the quarter-finals of the 2014 Great British Bake Off, as the show’s youngest- ever contestant. Despite being in the midst of A-level madness, she still finds time for baking and blogging at bakingmartha.co.uk and writing her column for Waitrose Weekend.

 

Emma GardnerEmma Gardner

Emma started her award-winning recipe blog poiresauchocolat.net in 2009 while studying English literature at Oxford University. She later trained in pâtisserie at Le Cordon Bleu and is now on the Cambridge graduate course in medicine.

 

 

Sarah LemanskiSarah Lemanski

Sarah founded and runs the Noisette Bakehouse (noisettebakehouse.com) in Yorkshire and also sells her creations from her gallivanting Citroën H food van, The Madeleine Express. She takes baking inspiration from all over the world.

 

 

For more delicious Easter baking and cooking ideas visit the Waitrose Easter Area on the Waitrose website.

 

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