Baking at Easter is a wonderful way to celebrate the season and create lasting memories with loved ones. This time of year is full of traditions, from decorating eggs to enjoying a festive meal, and baking adds a delicious and creative touch to the festivities.
We share five delicious Easter baking recipes from Doves Farm, the UK’s no.1 organic flour brand. Featuring seasonal showstoppers, as well as simpler bakes, there’s certain to be something for every Easter occasion.
- Rye Hot Cross Biscuits – These lightly spiced sweet treats are a delicious new take on hot cross buns
- Chocolate Easter Cake – Smothered in chocolate fudge and decorated with small chocolate almond treats, this bake is perfect for chocolate lovers
- White Spelt, Pistachio and Lime Bundt Cake – This stunning showstopper features a host of tempting flavours and would make the perfect centrepiece at any special occasion
- White Spelt Vanilla Loaf Cake – Made using many ingredients you likely already have in your cupboard, this recipe features natural yoghurt for a deliciously light texture
- Wholemeal Spelt Hot Cross Buns – A classic favourite with an ancient grain twist – these hot cross buns are delicious enjoyed cold or warmed over the Easter period
Each bake is made using organic flour – a simple way to make a positive difference to the planet, whilst elevating everyday bakes.As well as being better for the environment, containing no artificial pesticides and fertilisers and no genetically modified ingredients, organic farms are also havens for wildlife and provide homes for up to on average 50% more wildlife and 75% more wild bees!*
Wholemeal Rye Hot Cross Biscuits
Temperature: 180°C, Fan 160°C, 350°F, Gas 4 | Cooking time: 25-30 minutes
Ingredients For Spice Biscuits – Makes 15 biscuits
- 100g Doves Farm Organic Wholemeal Rye Flour
- ¼ tsp Doves Farm Bicarbonate of Soda
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- 75g butter
- 1 tsp grated lemon rind
- 75g dark brown sugar
- 25g currants
- 2 tbsp milk
Cross Topping
- 10g butter
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- 15g Doves Farm Organic White Rye Flour
- 1 tsp milk
- 1 tbsp apricot jam (optional)
- flour for dusting
- milk for brushing
Method For Spice Biscuits
- Pre-heat the oven.
- Measure the flour, bicarbonate of soda and cinnamon into a bowl and stir to combine.
- Chop the butter into small cubes and put them in another bowl.
- Finely grate the lemon rind and add this to the bowl.
- Add the dark brown sugar and flour blend.
- Using a fork or pastry cutter work everything together until they resemble breadcrumbs
- Add the currants and stir to combine.
- Add the milk and stir to make a rough dough.
- Using your hands gather together a ball of dough.
- Divide the dough into 15 pieces and roll each into a ball.
- Using the palm of your hand, press each ball into a 5cm circle.
Cross Topping
1. Chop the butter into very small cubes and put them in a mixing bowl.
2. Add the caster sugar and white rye flour.
3. Using a fork, gather everything together until they resemble breadcrumbs.
4. Add the milk and stir to make a dough.
5. Using your hands gather together a ball of dough.
6. Scatter some flour on the work surface and the dough if it is sticky.
7. Put the dough on the work surface and roll the dough into a rectangle about 15x5cm/6×2”.
8. Cut the dough into three pieces of 5x5cm/2×2”.
9. Cut each piece of dough into 10 thin strips.
Hot Cross Biscuits
1. Brush the top of each dough circle liberally with milk.
2. Lay two strips of the white dough across each cookie to form a cross.
3. Transfer the hot cross biscuit circles onto a baking tray.
4. Bake for 25-30 minutes.
5. If you plan to add the apricot glaze, gently warm the jam.
6. Remove the biscuits from the oven and lightly brush warm jam over the top of each one.
7. Leave the cookies on the baking tray for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool.
8. When cold store the biscuits in a tin.
Chocolate Easter Cake
Temperature: 150°C, Fan 130°C, 300°F, Gas 2 | Cooking time: 1½-1¾ hours
Ingredients For Chocolate Cake – Makes 1 celebration cake
- 100g icing sugar
- 3 tbsp cocoa
- 100g ground almonds
- 2 tsp coffee powder
- 3 tbsp water
- 150g butter
- 150g light brown sugar
- 3 eggs
- 200g Doves Farm Organic Self Raising White Flour
- 50g currants
- 100g dark chocolate chips
- icing sugar, for dusting
- butter, for tin
Chocolate Topping
- 50g milk chocolate
- 100ml cream
- 100g caster sugar
- 1 tsp golden syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Method For Chocolate Cake
- Pre-heat the oven.
- Rub some butter around the inside of a 18cm/7” round deep, loose bottom cake tin or insert a baking liner.
- Cut a 300mm/12” square of parchment, greaseproof or brown paper, fold the corners to meet in the middle, press to make folded flaps and save for later.
- Sieve the icing sugar and 2 tablespoons of cocoa into a bowl, add the almonds, coffee powder and water and mix into a ball of paste.
- Break off a quarter of the paste, cover and set aside for later.
- Dust a chopping board with icing sugar, put the paste in the middle and dust it with icing sugar.
- Roll the paste into a circle a little smaller than the diameter of the tin 18cm/7”. Put the tin on top to check.
- Chop the butter into small cubes.
- Put the butter cubes and sugar into a mixing bowl and beat together until light and fluffy.
- Break the eggs into the bowl one at a time, beating well between each addition.
- Sieve the remaining spoon of cocoa into a bowl and beat again.
- Beat in the flour.
- Stir in the currants and chocolate chips.
- Tip half the mixture into the prepared cake tin and spread it out.
- Lift the paste circle into the tin, on top of the cake mixture.
- Put the remaining cake mixture onto the paste and smooth the surface.
- Place the prepared paper square over the cake tin with the folded flaps pointing down to loosely cover the tin when it goes into the oven
- Bake for 1½-1¾ hours.
- Allow to cool in the tin for 15 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.
Chocolate Topping
- Using the reserved paste, divide it into 11 pieces and roll each into a small ball.
- Break the chocolate into small pieces.
- Put the cream and sugar into a saucepan, over a medium heat, swirling the pan occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved.
- Stir the cream and sugar and bring to the boil.
- Remove the pan from the heat, add the chocolate and leave to stand for 5 minutes.
- Add the syrup and vanilla extract and stir until smooth and glossy.
- Pour evenly over the top and sides of the cake.
- Press the paste balls into the chocolate icing.
- Leave the cake for a couple of hours for the icing to set.
- When the icing is set, store the cake in an airtight tin.
White Spelt Pistachio and Lime Bundt Cake
Temperature: 180°C, Fan 160°C, 350°F, Gas 4 | Cooking time: 40-45 minutes
Ingredients For Pistachio Bundt Cake – Makes 1 cake
- 150g Doves Farm Organic White Spelt Flour
- ½ tsp Doves Farm Bicarbonate of Soda
- 150g pistachios
- 150g butter
- 150g caster sugar
- 3 tbsp lime, grated rind
- 2 eggs
- 2 tbsp milk
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- oil for tin
Pistachio and Lime Icing
- 2 tbsp pistachios
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 125g icing sugar
Method For Pistachio Bundt Cake
1. Pre-heat the oven.
2. Rub some oil around the inside of a metal Bundt tin or silicone mould.
3. Measure the flour and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl, stir to combine and sieve into another bowl.
4. Put the pistachios into a kitchen blender and pulse until they are the size of ground almonds.
5. Chop the butter into cubes and put them into a mixing bowl.
6. Add the sugar and beat together until smooth.
7. Finely grate the lime into the bowl
8. Break the eggs into the bowl, one at a time, ensuring each is well incorporated before adding the next.
9. Tip the flour into the bowl and stir to combine.
10. Add the milk and stir again.
11. Transfer the ground pistachios to the mixing bowl, add lime juice and mix well.
12. Tip the mixture into the Bundt tin or mould and smooth the top.
13. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the sponge springs back when touched.
14. Leave to cool in the tin for 20 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
Pistachio and Lime Icing
1. Chop the pistachios.
2. Squeeze the lime juice.
3. Measure the icing sugar into a bowl, add some of the lime juice and stir to combine.
4. Continue adding lime juice and stirring until the icing is just runny enough to pour.
5. Pour the icing over the top of the cold cake allowing it to run down the sides.
6. Scatter the chopped pistachios over the top of the cake.
7. Allow the icing to set before serving.
White Spelt Vanilla Loaf Cake
Temperature: 180°C, Fan 160°C, 350°F, Gas 4 | Cooking time: 35-40 minutes
Ingredients For Vanilla Cake – Makes 1 l oaf cake
- 150g Doves Farm Organic White Spelt Flour
- ½ tsp Doves Farm Bicarbonate of Soda
- 1 egg
- 100g soft brown sugar
- 100g natural yoghurt
- 75ml oil
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- oil, for tin
Vanilla Icing
- 50g icing sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Method For Vanilla Cake
1. Pre-heat the oven.
2. Rub some oil around the inside of 1kg/2lb loaf tin.
3. Measure the flour and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl, stir to combine and sieve into another bowl.
4. Break the egg into a mixing bowl.
5. Add the sugar, yoghurt, oil and vanilla extract and beat well.
6. Tip the flour blend into the bowl and stir until combined.
7. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth the top.
8. Bake for 35-40 minutes.
9. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin.
10. When cold turn the cake out onto a wire rack.
Vanilla Icing
1. Weigh the icing sugar into a mixing bowl.
2. Add the vanilla extract and stir to make the icing.
3. Using a teaspoon, drizzle the icing in zig zags up and down the cold cake.
4. Leave until the icing to set then store cake in a tin.
5. Weigh the icing sugar into a mixing bowl.
Wholemeal Spelt Hot Cross Buns
Temperature: 200°C, Fan 180°C, 400°F, Gas 6 | Cooking time: 18-20 minutes
Ingredients For Fruit Buns – Makes 10 buns
- 75g currants
- 1 tbsp soft brown sugar
- 50ml boiling water
- 300g Doves Farm Organic Wholemeal Spelt Flour
- 1 tsp Doves Farm Quick Yeast
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tsp mixed spice
- 150ml milk OR vegan milk
- 3 tbsp oil
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 75g mixed peel, chopped
- oil for sprinkling
- oil for tray
Hot Cross Topping
- 50g Doves Farm Organic White Spelt Flour
- Pinch salt
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 tsp oil
- milk or vegan milk for brushing
- flour for dusting
Bun Glaze
- 1 tbsp white sugar
- 1 tbsp boiling water
Method For Fruit Buns
1. Tip the currants into a mixing a bowl, add the brown sugar and boiling water, stir and leave to cool.
2. Put the wholemeal flour, yeast, salt and mixed spice into a bowl and blend them together.
3. Measure the milk, oil and lemon juice into another bowl.
4. Put a sieve over the bowl, tip in the soaking currants and drain the liquid into the bowl.
5. Stir and pour all the liquid into the flour bowl and stir to make a craggy dough.
6. Add the currants and mixed peel and stir to make a doughy mass.
7. Knead the dough in the bowl for 100 presses. Avoid dusting with flour if possible.
8. Invert a large bowl over the dough bowl and leave in a warm place for two hours.
9. Rub some oil around the inside of a large baking tray or insert a baking liner.
10. Sprinkle a little oil over the dough, about a teaspoon, and gently bring it together into a ball.
11. Cut the dough into 10 pieces, roll each into a ball and place them on the baking tray.
12. Cover with the inverted bowl or a clean tea towel and leave to rise for two hours.
Hot Cross Topping
1. Pre-heat the oven.
2. Put the white flour, salt, water and oil into a bowl and stir to make a dough.
3. Dust the work surface with flour and put the dough in the middle.
4. Roll the dough into a 7x15cm/2¾x6” rectangle.
5. Slice the dough into 4 pieces.
6. Cut each piece of dough into five strips.
7. Brush the top of each bun liberally with milk.
8. Lay dough strips over the top of the buns to form a cross.
9. Bake for 18-20 minutes.
Bun Glaze
1. Put the sugar into a small bowl and add the boiling water.
2. Stir until the sugar has dissolved.
3. When the hot cross buns come out of the oven, transfer them to a cooling rack.
4. Using a pastry brush, paint the glaze over the top of the hot buns.
5. Leave to cool on the rack.
