Recipes for a tasty Easter break plus yeast tip

Despite shortage of supplies because of the panic-buying caused by coronavirus emergency, I managed to find some products at the supermarket that prompted new recipes. Eggs and flours were out of stock for a while, as well as toilet paper, but I had some limited stock at home so I could have fun and mess about in the kitchen as usual. Yeast was a problem at a certain point but my mother in law told me to use a tbsp. of lemon juice and a tea spoon of bicarbonate of soda instead of dried yeast to make pizza. The result is not exactly the same but good enough.

I experimented with Morello cherries and coconut flour making cakes, biscuits and panna cotta. Here are the recipes:

Morello cherries biscuits

You need: 250 g of self-raising flour, four tbsp. of canola oil or sunflower oil, 100 g of golden caster sugar or Demerara, 50 g of morello cherries, one egg.

Soak the cherries in some liquor mixed with water. Beat the egg with sugar then add the flour and canola oil. Finally add the cherries plus part of the liquor. Let the dough rest for half an hour then roll it out. Cut the biscuits with a biscuit cutter (I used biscuit cutters inspired by Easter shapes) and place them on a greased tray. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 180° C. if you wish you can decorate the biscuits with melted chocolate, icing sugar and coloured sprinkles to make them look spring-like.

Panna cotta with morello cherries

You need: 500 ml of double cream, 250 ml of milk, 150 g of sugar, 50 g of morello cherries, one sachet of vanillina or some drops of vanilla essence, 13 g of gelatine leaves.

Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water and the morello cherries in liquor mixed with water. Cook the cream plus milk, sugar and vanillina on the hob until it boils. Remove it from the hob, squeeze the gelatine leaves and add them to the cream mixture and blend it in a blender. Finally add the morello cherries and pour the mixture in a slightly greased Tupperware container. Chill it for three hours at least before serving.

Donut cake with morello cherries

You need: 100 g of rice flour, 150 g of sponge self-raising flour, two eggs, 80 g of melted butter, two tsp. of baking powder, one tsp of bicarbonate of soda, 80 g of morello cherries, 130 g of golden caster sugar; to decorate: strawberry white chocolate and sugar flowers.

Beat the yolks with the sugar, add the flour, the melted butter, the baking powder plus bicarbonate of soda and the cherries with the liquor. Whip the whites stiff and add them to the mixture as well. Pour the mixture in a greased donut tin cake and bake for half an hour-45 minutes, or until it is ready, at 180° C. When it cools, microwave the white chocolate and spread it on the top then decorate with sugar flowers.

Coconut cake

You need: you need: 150 g of coconut flour, 200 g of sponge self-raising flour, two tsp of baking powder, one tsp of bicarbonate of soda, four tbsp. of canola oil or sunflower oil, three eggs, 150 g of icing sugar, 80 g of glacé ginger, 200 ml of coconut milk; to decorate: apricot glaze, coconut flakes, sprinkles.

Mix the yolks with the sugar, add the flours and the oil, plus the baking powder and the bicarbonate of soda. Then add the glacé ginger and the coconut milk. Pour the mixture in a greased tin cake and bake for half an hour-45 minutes, or until it is ready, at 180° C. When it cools, spread some apricot glaze on top and sprinkle with coconut flakes and coloured sprinkles. A perfect Easter treat!