Hop into the kitchen and cook up some simple and delicious sweet treats to enjoy this Easter.
This time of year is renowned for homemade cakes, cookies and desserts, and there’s nothing more impressive than creating something from scratch.
These recipes can be adapted to make individual servings which make them egg-cellent for sharing!
The following recipes are quick to prepare and will bring a wow factor to any Easter feast.
Carrot cake
Ingredients
Cake
1 ¼ cups brown sugar
¾ cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 ½ cups plain flour
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 generous teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 ½ cups grated carrot (approx. 3 large carrots)
1 ½ cups chopped pecan nuts
Icing
1 cup icing sugar
125g cream cheese, softened
50g unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Zest of 1 lemon, finely grated
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
Mix the sugar and oil in a bowl with an electric mixer for 2-3 minutes. Gradually add the eggs and beat well. Add the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon and ginger, and mix thoroughly. Finally, add the carrots and pecans and gently mix until just combined.
Grease and line your cake tin with baking paper.
Pour the mixture into the cake tin (if you are making two layers simply half the mix and bake time).
Bake for 1 hour or until a skewer comes out clean and dry.
To make the icing, place all ingredients into a food processor and mix until completely combined and the consistency is smooth and creamy.
Once cool, spread the cake with the cream cheese icing.
Decadent chocolate mousse
Ingredients
400g milk chocolate melts, melted
1 cup sour cream
2 egg yolks
4 egg whites
¼ cup caster sugar
Fresh raspberries, whipped cream and cocoa powder to garnish
Method
Melt the chocolate using a double boiler*. Once melted, set aside to cool slightly.
Combine sour cream and egg yolks in a large bowl, then add melted chocolate and stir until smooth.
In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add the caster sugar in two batches until all sugar is dissolved.
Gently fold the chocolate mixture and egg whites together until combined.
Pour the chocolate mousse into individual serving glasses or a serving bowl of your choice.
Refrigerate for 4 hours or until set.
Before serving, top the mousse with fresh raspberries and dust lightly with cocoa powder or any other chocolate garnish of your choice.
*A double boiler is a saucepan or bowl set over another saucepan containing a small amount of water that is brought to the boil. Note that the bowl or saucepan on top should never touch the water in the bottom pan.
Mocha melting moments
Ingredients
Biscuits
250g butter, at room temperature
⅔ cup icing mixture
1 ⅓ cups plain flour
⅓ cup cornflour
⅓ cup cocoa powder
Extra icing mixture, to dust fork
Filling
80g butter, at room temperature
60g (⅔ cup) icing mixture, sifted
2 teaspoons instant coffee powder
2 teaspoons cocoa powder
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line baking trays with non-stick baking paper.
Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and icing mixture in a large bowl until pale and creamy.
Sift the plain flour, cornflour and cocoa together into a separate bowl. Add half of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat on a low speed until just combined. Repeat with the remaining flour mixture until combined and a dough has formed.
Roll the dough into small balls, using approximately one teaspoon of mixture at a time.
Place the small balls of dough on a baking tray, allowing space around the biscuits as they will spread during cooking. Dip the prongs of a fork in the extra icing mixture to make a non-stick coating and press the fork lightly on top of each ball to flatten.
Put the biscuits in the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until cooked through. Allow to cool on the tray before transferring to a wire rack.
To make the filling, use an electric mixer to beat the butter, icing mixture and coffee in a medium bowl until pale and creamy.
Spread a teaspoon of the filling over the base of one biscuit and gently sandwich together with another biscuit. Repeat for the entire batch.
Makes about 16 melting moments.
Disclaimer: This article was originally published on April 14, 2019 and has been updated.
