Easter baking with Michelle Darmody
Easter is a time of year when the seasons are in flux and there is a sweet feeling of change in the air, daffodils are fluttering on roadsides and the evenings are brightening.
I love the fresh feeling of spring and try to replicate it with light, bright baking. Bunnies and eggs are the ubiquitous Easter theme and both are fun to play around with.
The bunny cookies, included here, are a made of a butter shortbread with the addition of some citrus zest to perk them up. The ribbons can be omitted if you wish, but they are fun. Of course you can use any shape cookie cutter, if you prefer not to make bunnies.
The one tip is to keep the cookies relatively even in size so that it takes them all the same time to bake. If some are very small and others large, there will be inconsistencies and burnt edges.
Kulich bread is served as an Easter tradition in many Eastern European countries — a friend introduced me to last year. It is similar to some sweet German breads or to the more prevalent hot cross buns.
The process does not take up much of your time directly, but you will need an afternoon to make it, as you have to revisit the dough a few times to knock it back then allow it to rise again. Knocking back yeast dough allows for the large bubbles that have formed to be burst, and in the end gives a more evenly baked loaf.
To knock back the dough, remove it from the oiled bowl and then gently knead it two or three times, to release the air bubbles.
Pat the dough back into a ball and return it to the oiled bowl, and allow it to rise again.
In the end it gives a more evenly baked loaf.
Easter bunny cookies
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees and line a baking tray with parchment.
Beat the butter and sugar in the machine until fluffy.
Mix the egg, lemon juice, zest, and vanilla extract together and gently add it to the creamed butter and sugar and combine.
Mix the flour with the baking powder and combine them with the rest of the ingredients.
When the dough begins to come together, take it out of the machine and knead it lightly into a ball. Wrap it in cling film and leave in the fridge for an hour.
On a lightly floured surface roll the pastry to about three millimeters in thickness. Cut with a bunny cookie cutter and lay flat on a lined baking tray.
Bake the biscuits for 7-8 minutes, or until they are nicely golden.
Whisk the egg white and icing sugar together until smooth. Add the lemon juice to loosen the icing.
Decorate each cookie with a blob of the white icing for the bunny’s tail. Dry the biscuits in the warm place to set the icing, a still warm oven or near your oven. Tie a ribbon around the bunny’s neck if you wish.
Easter cupcake nests
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees and line a bun tin with 12 bun cases.
Beat the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy.
Mix eggs, vanilla and orange zest together. Add this to the butter and sugar, making sure to regularly scrape the sides of your bowl to combine all of the ingredients. Add a tablespoon of flour if the mixture starts to separate.
Add in the flour and mix slowly until everything is completely combined.
Bake for 15 minutes until golden on top and a skewer comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
To make the icing beat all of the ingredients with a whisk attachment until light and fluffy.
Once the cupcakes have cooled completely pipe a circle of icing around the edge of each bun. Fill the centre with chocolate eggs.
Kulich — a sweet Easter bread
120ml of milk
85g of butter, cut into cubes
50g of sugar
a generous pinch of saffron stems
30ml of warm water
1 heaped tsp of dried yeast
450 of plain flour
1 tsp of ground cinnamon
Half tsp of fine sea salt
2 eggs lightly beaten
a handful of golden raisins
Gently heat the milk, butter, sugar and saffron in a heavy base saucepan until the butter has melted. Set aside to cool.
Add the yeast to the warm water and add a generous pinch of sugar and allow to bubble up.
In the meantime, sieve the flour with the cinnamon and salt into a large bowl and make a hollow in the centre.
Add the yeast mixture and the butter mixture to the flour and combine completely.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes until it is smooth. You can do this with a dough hook and mixer if you prefer. Knead in the raisins.
Place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl and cover. Set it in a warm place to rise for about an hour. Knock back any large bubbles by re-kneading the dough. Allow it to rise again for another hour.
Butter a round oven proof dish. I use a soufflé dish. Knock back the dough again and form it into a ball, place the ball into the buttered dish and cover again. Allow it to rise for another hour in the dish.
Heat your oven to 180C. Bake the dough in the dish for 35 minutes until it is golden on top. Allow to cool in the dish for 10 minutes then place it onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the icing by stirring the sugar and juice together, use a little more or a little less of the juice as needed.
Drizzle over the cooled cake. Decorate with coloured sprinkles and chocolate eggs.
