{ RECIPES }

Sweet Easter Treats

Warm your winter kitchen with these delicious bakes and more, available from the Spar recipes website: https://www.spar.co.za/Recipes

EASTER BROWNIE TART

 

What you need

1 box SPAR Quick & Easy Brownie Mix

10 ml ground cinnamon

75 g mixed nuts, finely chopped (125 ml)

5 white or milk chocolate marshmallow Easter eggs

Hints & tips

The easiest way to chop the Easter eggs is to snip them using kitchen scissors, directly into the batter. If you prefer bars, bake in a 24 x 24cm x 5cm baking tin lined with greaseproof paper. If you prefer a cakier, less gooey centred type of brownie, bake for an additional 8 minutes.

How to do it

  1. Pre-heat oven to 180 °C. Grease a 23 cm diameter tart plate.
  2. Make up the brownie mix, including the cinnamon in the dry ingredients, using the on-pack instructions.
  3. Before pouring the batter into the prepared pan, mix in the nuts, and chop in the Easter eggs.
  4. Pour and spread the mixture evenly into the prepared tart plate.
  5. Bake in pre-heated oven for 15 minutes.
  6. Set aside to cool slightly before slicing.

EASTER BISCUITS

This is an absolute favourite! Kids love decorating them with all the weird and wonderful creative ideas that can only come from a child’s unburneded imagination. Kids remember fun activities like these much clearer than the end results thereof, so try not to focus on perfetion and let them make a mess… Life’s too short not to!  

What you need

250g butter

200g castor sugar

5ml vanilla essence

2 eggs, beaten

480g cake flour, sifted

10ml baking powder

5ml salt

25ml water

ROYAL ICING

375ml icing sugar

1 egg white

4 drops lemon juice

Food colouring of your choice

Icing decorations of your choice

How to do it

  1. Heat the oven to 180ºC.
  2. Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy and light in colour. Add the vanilla essence and eggs, mixing well.
  3. Sift all the dry ingredients together and add to the creamed mixture and mix thoroughly. Add the water if necessary.
  4. Roll out to a thickness of 3mm and cut out into desired shapes. Place on a greased baking tray and bake for 8 – 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack before icing.
  5. Sift icing sugar. Beat egg white and add to icing sugar. Mix until a smooth piping consistency forms. Add lemon juice.
  6. Spoon some white icing into a piping bag fitted with a small round nozzle. Ice outlines on the cookies.
  7. Divide the remaining icing and mix the colours you are using. Thin the icing down to a consistency that can “flood” the biscuit and fill in sections of colour.
  8. Use a teaspoon to drop the icing into the areas and a toothpick to push it into corners and pop bubbles.
  9. Decorate the biscuits. Paint faces on the bunnies using brown food colouring with a thin, delicate brush.

EASTER TRUFFLES

Too easy and too good not to try it yourself…

 

What you need

2 packets SPAR Oh So Good biscuits,

finely crushed (144 g)

50 ml Mascarpone Cheese

2 ml vanilla essence

 

How to do it

  1. Combine all the ingredients and roll into 14 large marble-size balls.
  2. Chill the balls until they are firm. Either sieve icing sugar over to serve, or drizzle melted white chocolate over, in which case you will need to chill them again.

BUTTERFLY SNACKS

Fill them with savoury, fill them with sweet, either way, they’re in for a treat.

What you need

12 plastic clothes pegs, glue, small

zipper bags, googly eyes, pipe cleaners

SUGGESTED FILLINGS

Popcorn

Squillos hoops

Mini marshmallows

Cheese flavoured naks

Grapes and strawberries

Carrot sticks

How to do it
  1. For each bag: glue two small googly eyes near the gripping end of the clothes peg.

  2. Half-fill the first zipper bag. Pinch the middle of the bag with your fingers and twist. Seal it with the clothes peg. Add the second snack and zip the locking edge shut.

  3. Next, curl the tips of a colourful pipe cleaner and then bend the entire piece in half. Clip the pipe cleaner onto the bag with the clothes peg.

EASTER EGG BARS

What you need

12 marshmallow Easter eggs

60 g margarine – brick type

5 ml vanilla essence

1 litre Rice Krispie cereal (4 Cups)

250 ml coconut

Optional topping: melted white Chocolate

How to do it

  1. Melt the marshmallow Easter eggs and margarine together in a pot over low heat and keep stirring until an even molten mixture results.
  2. Remove from heat and quickly stir in the essence, cereal and coconut. Spoon the mixture into 2 greased non-stick loaf pans, pressing down firmly to compact.
  3. Chill until firm enough to tap out onto a chopping board and slice into bars.
  4. Optional: Drizzle melted chocolate over the tops and set aside to harden.

PUFFY CRUMBLE SQUARES

What you need

1 roll frozen puff pastry, thawed

1 can caramel

120 g cake flour (250 ml)

125 g full fat margarine

125 ml castor sugar

5 ml ground cinnamon

Hints & tips

Cooked puff pastry does not store very well for a length of time, so these biscuits are best enjoyed within a day or so of making. Caramel may be substituted with smooth apricot or strawberry jam.

How to do it

  1. Preheat oven to 220 °C. Lightly grease a large baking tin.
  2. Unroll the pastry length into the tin, and generously spread the caramel over.
  3. Process or rub the flour, margarine, castor sugar and cinnamon together to a ball of dough. Using a cheese grater, grate the dough directly over the caramel layer to evenly cover.
  4. Bake for 12-15 minutes until pastry has risen well and the topping is golden brown. Cut into squares and transfer to a cooling rack. Store when completely cool and crisp.

CAPPUCCINO CEREAL DROPS

What you need

3 sachets Café Express, Café Latte

225ml white sugar

30g margarine

60ml hazelnut spread (eg Nutella)

125 ml boiling water

500 ml toasted muesli (honey & almond)

2 ml vanilla essence

Parents are advised to supervise young children attempting this recipe, as it involves the use of the stove and a hot mixture.

How to do it

  1. In a medium-sized saucepan, measure out the Café Latte powder, sugar, margarine and hazelnut spread. Pour on the boiling water, and stir continuousl over low heat to form a smooth sauce.
  2. Bring to a steady boil over medium heat, and stirring often, time for 5 minutes until it thickens up slightly to a slightly syrupy consistency.
  3. Remove the pot from the stove and stir in the essence and the muesli thoroughly until completely coated with the sauce.
  4. Take a dessertspoonful of mixture at a time, and place onto a greased surface (granite worktops are perfect). Leave for 10 minutes before lifting off and storing in a suitable container in the fridge to firm up completely.

FAIRY BREAD

What you need

6 slices of white bread

60g butter, softened

60g cream cheese, softened

40g icing sugar, sieved

Sprinkles of your choice or hundreds

and thousands, for decoration

How to do it

  1. In a small bowl, mix together the softened butter, cream cheese, and icing sugar until well combined.
  2. Toast the slices of white bread until lightly golden brown. 3. Spread a generous layer of the butter and cream cheese mixture onto each slice of toast, carefully spreading the mixture to the edges of the bread.
  3. Sprinkle a generous amount of sprinkles or hundreds and thousands over the top of the butter and cream cheese mixture.
  4. Using a sharp bread knife, cut each slice of toast into four small triangles.
  5. Serve the colourful treats on a platter or individual plates.

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