Hot Cross Bun Pudding

Christmas isn’t Christmas without a mince pie, and Easter isn’t Easter without a hot cross bun. This year I was determined to do something different with them, as there’s only so many times you can have a hot cross bun toasted and covered in butter before it gets a little boring… Morrison’s March/April magazine had a recipe for a Hot Cross Bun Pudding so I stocked up on buns (packs of 4 were 75p each or 2 for £1: bargain!) and decided to make it today.

Easter Flapjack

Nothing annoys me more than open packets of ingredients in the cupboard, so when I had a good rummage in the kitchen and found open porridge oats I couldn’t resist making something with them. Limited ingredients and an unwillingness to leave the warmth of my parents’ house to buy more meant I was stuck with something simple: flapjack.

Strawberry and Lemon Sponge Cake

I stumbled across this recipe while reading Morrison’s March/April magazine online and instantly knew it was one I absolutely had to try. It’s originally billed as a cake for Mother’s Day, but is a perfect summer dessert. Strawberries and cream are infused with tangy lemon curd and sandwiched between light vanilla sponges. This is an utterly British cake, an embodiment of Wimbledon, Pimms, bunting and the Queen. It looks beautiful and is really easy to make: ideal to impress distant family members with your culinary prowess over Easter or an excellent finish to a dinner party with friends as a pre-exams/post-dissertation treat.

(Chocolate) Bread and Butter Pudding

For me, a mention of Bread and Butter Pudding evokes memories of snuggling up with a blanket and a film in the middle of winter and tucking into a steaming bowl of the pudding with lashings of double cream. It’s an iconic comforting winter treat, and given the unpredictable British weather – snow in March?! – I think it’d be the perfect dessert to make this week. I found this recipe from Gary Rhodes months ago here, and made it for my flatmates at uni. However, as none of them were really fans of fruit in a pudding, I omitted the traditional sultanas/raisins and instead added dark chocolate. From their gushing compliments I’d say it was a success, although personally I’d prefer to leave it unchanged and as my mum used to make it with the fruit! If you do have Easter eggs left over after the weekend (it’s a long shot but worth asking…) then you could always put them to good use and make your own variation of the recipe below. Waste not, want not!