Hibernation: Easy Easter baking treats for the whole family
We’re all hanging out at home this Easter, so these delicious chocolatey treats – and Hot Cross Buns with bacon! – will make spending all of that time with relatives that much sweeter.
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Lockdown and Easter? If there was ever a perfect time — and an excuse — to get chocolatey, it’s now.
Seriously, there is increasing evidence to show cooking, especially baking, can be very good for emotional wellbeing under the right circumstances.
And there’s a strong argument for the old wisdom that a little bit of what you fancy does you good.
So here are some treats from the team at delicious. to help make this weekend extra special.
SALTED CHOCOLATE DOUGHNUTS
Who doesn’t love a doughnut? These more-ish doughnuts have the added kick of a salted chocolate glaze. The hardest part will be trying to stop after your second one.
INGREDIENTS
7g sachet dried instant yeast
200ml lukewarm milk
1/4 cup (55g) caster sugar
2 egg yolks
50g unsalted butter, melted, cooled
2 cups (300g) plain flour, sifted
1/2 cup (50g) cocoa powder, sifted
Sunflower oil, to deep-fry
Black or pink salt flakes, to serve
DOUGHNUT GLAZE
110g pure icing sugar
40g cocoa powder
1/4 cup (60ml) warm milk
METHOD
1. Place yeast, milk and 1 tsp sugar in a bowl. Set aside for 10 minutes or until frothy. Whisk egg yolks and butter in a bowl.
2. Combine flour, cocoa and remaining caster sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add egg mixture, then add yeast mixture. Knead on medium speed for 6 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Place in a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Set aside in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
3. Knock back dough and place between two sheets of baking paper. Roll out to an even thickness of 5mm. Using a 9cm cutter, cut out 6 rounds, then using a 3.5cm cutter, make a hole in the centre of each round. Place on a baking paper-lined baking tray. Cover with a clean tea towel. Set aside for 20 minutes or until slightly risen.
4. Half-fill a saucepan or deep-fryer with oil and heat to 170ºC (a cube of bread will turn golden in 50 seconds when oil is hot enough). In batches, deep-fry doughnuts, turning halfway, for 5 minutes or until fluffy and cooked through. Remove using a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel.
5. For the glaze, whisk all ingredients in a bowl until smooth. Dip one face of doughnuts in glaze, then place, glazed-side up, on a wire rack. Scatter with salt, if desired. Serve warm.
NUTELLA CHEESECAKE WITH CHOCOLATE MIRROR GLAZE
Canny HiberNation readers will already know we recommend keeping Nutella as a pantry staple. Here’s another reason why.
INGREDIENTS
250g chocolate biscuits, crushed (we used Arnott’s Choc Ripple biscuits)
120g unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup (110g) caster sugar
2 tablespoons plain flour
500g cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 eggs
300ml thickened cream
200g Nutella, or other choc-hazelnut spread
2/3 cup (100g) hazelnuts, roasted, skins removed, crushed
CHOCOLATE MIRROR GLAZE
1 titanium-strength gelatine leaf
120g caster sugar
1 tablespoon golden syrup
3/4 cup (75g) cocoa powder
1/4 cup (60ml) pure (thin) cream
METHOD
1. Preheat the oven to 140C. Grease and line the base and side of a 23cm springform cake pan.
2. Combine crushed biscuits and butter, then press into the base of the prepared pan. Chill for 30 minutes or until firm.
3. Using an electric mixer, beat sugar, flour, and cream cheese for 3-4 minutes until smooth. Add vanilla, eggs and cream, and beat for 1-2 minutes until combined. Add Nutella and beat for 2-3 minutes until smooth. Spread mixture into pan. Bake for 1 hour or until almost set in the centre. Turn off oven. Leave cheesecake in oven, with the door ajar, for 2 hours or until cooled completely. Chill for 1 hour or until set.
4. For glaze, soak gelatine in cold water for 5 minutes to soften. Place sugar, golden syrup and 1/4 cup (60ml) water in a pan over low heat, stirring until sugar dissolves.
5. Bring to the boil, and cook for 1 minute, then whisk in cocoa and cream. Return to medium heat. Cook, stirring, for a further 1 minute or until smooth. Squeeze excess water from gelatine, then add to mixture, stirring until dissolved. Strain and set aside.
6. To serve, pour warm glaze over cheesecake and scatter with hazelnuts.
JAMIE OLIVER’S FERRERO ROCHER CAKE
As someone said when they discovered our fave Pom had made a cake out of our favourite chocolates: Dreams do come true. This one’s so good, it ought to be illegal.
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup (50g) cocoa, sifted
11/3 cups (200g) plain flour, sifted
1 tsp baking powder, sifted
90ml sunflower oil
6 eggs, separated
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
Ferrero Rocher chocolates and edible gold leaf (optional), to decorate
PRALINE
1/3 cup (75g) caster sugar
1 cup (150g) roasted hazelnuts
2 tbs. sunflower oil
CORNFLAKES LAYER
150g dark chocolate (70 per cent), chopped
45g cornflakes
CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM
4 eggwhites
240g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
225g softened unsalted butter, chopped
100g dark chocolate (70 per cent), chopped
CHOCOLATE ICING
175g dark chocolate (70 per cent), chopped
100g unsalted butter, chopped
1 tbs. glucose syrup
METHOD
1. Preheat oven to 160°C. Grease and line a 23cm round cake pan with baking paper.
2. Combine cocoa with 200ml boiling water and set aside to cool. Combine flour, sugar baking powder and a pinch of salt in a bowl.
3. Whisk oil and egg yolks in a bowl. Stir in the cooled cocoa mixture, then whisk into the dry ingredients until smooth.
4. Whisk eggwhites and cream of tartar to stiff peaks, then fold into cocoa batter. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Bake for 55 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool in pan for 20 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack and cool completely.
5. For praline, cook sugar, without stirring, in a pan over medium heat for 3 minutes or until a dark caramel forms. Quickly stir in hazelnuts, then spread over a baking paper-lined baking tray and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Cool. Break into shards. Transfer to a food processor and pulse to coarse crumbs. Transfer half to a bowl and set aside. Add oil to remaining crumbs in food processor and whiz to a paste.
6. For the cornflakes layer, place chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water (don’t let bowl touch water) stirring until melted. Stir in praline paste. Fold in cornflakes and set aside.
7. For the chocolate buttercream, place eggwhites and sugar in a large heatproof bowl. Set over a pan of simmering water and whisk for 3 minutes or until sugar dissolves and mixture looks opaque.
8. Remove bowl from heat, add vanilla and whisk in an electric mixer on high speed until cooled. Gradually beat in butter until thick and pale. If it looks curdled, continue whisking until it comes back together before adding remaining butter. Place chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water (don’t let bowl touch water) and stir until melted. Cool for 6 minutes, then fold into buttercream.
9. Slice sponge horizontally into three. Spread base with 1/2 cup buttercream and spread over half the cornflakes mixture. Repeat with second sponge, 1/2 cup buttercream and remaining cornflakes mixture. Top with final sponge. Spread remaining buttercream over whole cake, then chill for 30 minutes.
10. For the icing, place all the ingredients in a pan with 50g reserved praline and gently melt over low heat. Cool to room temperature but don’t let it set. Ice the top of the cake, allowing icing to drip down. Top with Ferrero Rocher, some wrapped in gold leaf, if using. Scatter remaining praline around base of cake. Set cake aside for 20 minutes before slicing and serving.
HOT CROSS BUNS WITH BACON
This must be the perfect invention for an Easter weekend brunch, created by the delicious. guys (who else?!).
You can rest assured, these taste even better than they look.
INGREDIENTS
ULTIMATE BUN BASE
1 2/3 cups (250g) strong (baker’s) flour
1/2 cup (50g) milk powder
1/4 tsp dried yeast
1/3 cup (80ml) maple syrup
HOT CROSS BUNS
1 2/3 cups (250g) strong (baker’s) flour, plus extra to dust
1 egg
100g unsalted butter
1/3 cup (70g) store-bought caramelised onion
1 tbs. wholegrain mustard
2 tbs. each finely chopped sage & chives, plus extra sage leaves to serve
200g streaky bacon rashers, 50g finely chopped, 150g left as strips
200g fontina cheese, coarsely grated
1/2 cup (125ml) maple syrup
METHOD
1. For the base, combine all ingredients with 200ml water in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and stand in a cool, dark place for 12 hours to double in size.
2. For the buns, lightly dust a baking tray with flour. Place ultimate bun base in a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Add flour, egg, butter, onion, mustard, chopped sage, chives, finely chopped bacon, half the fontina and 1 tsp each salt flakes and cracked black pepper, and knead for 8 minutes or until mixture forms a ball.
3. Transfer to a lightly floured work surface. Divide into 12 even pieces and, using the palm of your hand, roll into tight balls. Transfer to prepared tray, spaced 5mm apart, and cover with a clean damp tea towel. Set aside for 1 hour to rise slightly.
4. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
5. Splash a little water into oven to create steam (this helps buns expand before forming a crust), then bake for 20 minutes or until golden. Scatter buns with remaining 100g cheese and use bacon rashers to make crosses on top, overlapping slightly. Bake for 5 minutes or until bacon is crispy.
6. Meanwhile, bring maple syrup to the boil over high heat. Keep warm. Remove buns from oven, brush with maple syrup and set aside to cool for 30 minutes before serving.
Originally published as Hibernation: Easy Easter baking treats for the whole family