Adding a tang to Easter

So, how was your Easter? Did you eat way too much chocolate? Did you drink too much beer/wine/whatever floats your boat? Last night did you vow only to eat carrot sticks for the next month? Well, if you said yes to all of the above, sounds like you had a pretty good Easter break!

Easter for me was a little different than past years. It was the first time since my son was born that I didn't share the joys of discovering what treats the Easter Bunny had left for him on Easter morning. I have loved seeing the excitement and shock across his face when he's come out of his bedroom to find evidence that the Easter Bunny has been to our house and even better, left him some delicious chocolate. The first Easter he was only about 9 months old, so instead of lots of chocolate, he got a few toys and chocolate custard. The next Easter he was old enough to eat chocolate and of course the family took full advantage of that - he had chocolate coming out of his ears! His third Easter he got pretty spoilt again, mainly because it was around the time his Dad and I were getting separated and I think we both just wanted him to have a great day and be spoilt by everyone and anyone. This Easter we were all pretty good. He spent Easter day with his Dad, which meant the Monday was our day. Even though it was only a few people around for lunch, I wanted to make it special by baking some fresh and Eastry desserts. It was lovely and even better, the Easter Bunny made a surprise stop at our house even though Reuben wasn't there. How exciting!

Happy Easter...

... and happy 4 days off work. Four days isn't much of a break, you couldn't really call it a holiday, but it's enough time to spend with your family - the one you're born into and the one you choose. I'm very lucky that both my "families" are great, so was wonderful to spend quality time with them this seasonal break. On Friday my bestie was in town for a day (they live in Tassie now), so myself and the other bestie got to catch up with her, have lunch and drink a bit too much alcohol. As I was always taught by my "original" family, when invited to someone's house, bring something to share. So that's what I did, and of course, with Easter flare.

Hot cross cookies

Have you made your way through a few bags of hot cross buns already and still wanting to pop down to the shop to buy more. Then just hold on a moment and check out these hot cross bun cookies. The buttery cookie goes so well with the crisp mixed spice royal icing, and a welcome change for your tastebuds who might want a slight change in textures after bun overload!

An Easter dessert

The one thing I can always rely on at Easter is Hot Cross Buns. They are everywhere and my family eats them as if they are going out of fashion. So, I thought I'd try using the humble Hot Cross Bun in a basic dessert, Bread and Butter Pudding. And as it is Easter, I added chocolate - Mmmmm.

Easter Egg Hunt cupcakes

HAPPY EASTER!

My friend emailed me the other day and said her boss had organsied an easter egg hunt around her office. There was a flurry of excitment as everyone was rummaging around looking for chocolate. I loved this thought and wanted to try and do something similar for my office. I came across this great picture on Pintrist and decided to try it myself with my favourite chocolate cupcake recipe. 

So, happy easter everyone. And more so, enjoy a much needed long weekend!