With Easter coming early this year, Clare Latimer explains how to make the most of the weekend

I CAN'T believe Easter has come around so quickly and many of you will be packing up to go on the first holiday of the year.
When I went to Egypt for Easter, all the hotel foyers had cages with day-old chicks and baby bunnies for the children to play with. If you have spare time during the holidays then the recipes this week are fun to make and also delicious.
The egg at Easter represents new life and is the symbol of spring, and the bunny is the symbol of fertilisation. The custom is to give eggs as a present and they are often painted in strong red colour to represent Christ’s blood.
There is an old: “One egg for a true gentlemen, two for a gentleman, three for the have-nots and four for the tramp,” so be careful how many eggs you give to friends. It is great fun to fill egg shells with chocolate by emptying out the egg yolk and white by piecing a hole in the larger end of the egg and then pour in melted chocolate. When the chocolate has set you can then paint the eggs with pictures and patterns.

BUNNY BISCUITS
These are lovely biscuits and I suggest that you buy a rabbit-shaped cutter and then they will have perfect shapes. If you cannot get one then you could cut out shapes by hand and eggs or just square or round ones.
Makes about 15 biscuits
125g butter;
125g caster sugar;
One egg yolk;
225g plain flour;
50g currants;
25g mixed chopped peel;
Milk to mix
For the Glaze – one egg white;
Caster sugar.
Method
Preheat oven 170C 325F or Gas 3. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolk and then fold in the flour, currants and peel, mixing well. Pour in a little milk at a time, mixing well until it forms a fairly stiff dough. Roll out on a floured board and then cut out the shapes. Arrange on a greased baking tray and cook for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven and brush with the egg white and sprinkle with caster sugar. Cook for a further five to 10 minutes. When cooked, place each biscuit on a wire rack to cool and then store in an airtight container.

SIMNEL CAKE
This is a favourite cake for Easter and it is essential to have 11 balls of almond paste on the top as they represent Christ’s disciples including Judas. You can then decorate the middle of the cake with an Easter chick and some baby chocolate eggs if you wish and then tie a yellow ribbon around the edge. To brown the paste at the end I often wait until I am using the oven for something else and then just cook the final stage then to save fuel.
For the almond paste –
125g caster sugar;
125g ground almonds;
One egg beaten;
Half teasp almond essence;
For cake –
125g butter;
125g soft brown sugar;
Three eggs, beaten;
150g plain flour;
Quarter teasp salt;
Half teasp ground mixed spice;
350g mixed dried fruit;
50g chopped mixed peel;
Grated rind of half lemon;
Little apricot jam.
METHOD
Preheat the oven 140C 275F Gas 1. To make almond paste, mix the sugar and ground almonds together and then add sufficient egg to give fairly soft consistency. Keep the rest of the egg for glaze for top of cake at end of recipe. Add the essence and knead well until paste is smooth and pliable. Roll out one third to make a circle seven inches in diameter. Reserve the rest for the top of cake.
To make the cake, cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Beat in the eggs a little at a time. Sift and add the flour, salt and spice together and then add all other ingredients except the apricot jam and mix well. Put half the mixture into a greased and lined seven-inch cake tin. Smooth the top and then cover the circle of almond paste. Add the rest of the cake mixture and smooth hollowing the centre slightly. Bake for 90-120 minutes. Test it is cooked by piecing cake in the middle with a skewer and if it comes out clean it is ready. Cool in the tin. Brush the top with the apricot jam. Make 11 balls of almond paste and roll out the rest to cover the top of the cake. Put the balls around the edge of the cake and then brush with the beaten egg. Preheat the oven 180C 350F Gas 4. Cook cake for about 10 minutes to brown the almond paste. Cool and store in airtight container. When ready to serve, decorate top if you wish and tie the ribbon around cake. The cake will keep well for at least one week.

Clare’s Kitchen
41 Chalcot Road
Primrose Hill
NW1
Tel: 020 7586 8433
www.clareskitchen.co.uk