Easter Party Food

The lead-up to Easter is called Lent (which last for 40 days starting on Ash Wednesday), a time for Christians to repent and fast in preparation for the celebration of Easter.

Easter is a time to celebrate the resurrection and is an opportunity to celebrate with family and friends enjoying good food and each other’s company after the fasting of Lent.
Easter celebrates new life, it is a happy time when churches hold special celebration services on Easter Sunday. An Easter Party can be held on any day over the holiday weekend and at UK-Entertainers we have compiled a selection of ideas for Easter Party Food to make your preparation easier. You may find our other articles “Easter Party Games” and “Easter Decorations” of help, along with our FREE Easter Party Invitations.

Hot Cross Buns
To Christians, the cross on the bun symbolises the crucifixion, and are traditionally eaten on Good Friday (the Friday before Easter Sunday), but are an ideal warm addition to a party when sliced in half, toasted and spread with butter.

Simnel Cake
Simnel Cake was originally given to mothers on the fourth Sunday of Lent. It is a rich fruit cake with a marzipan centre, and decorated with eleven marzipan balls (depicting the 12 apostles minus Judas – who betrayed Christ). Today the Simnel Cake is accepted as an Easter food and can make an ideal centrepiece for a table.

Easter Sandwiches
You can make any variety of sandwiches for an Easter Party, (as long as the contents can be cut easily) although egg seems appropriate. By adding some mayonnaise and cress for extra taste. Egg sandwiches can be made more inviting by using a variety of different breads, wholemeal, white, rye, pitta etc. Sandwiches with other fillings can be adapted to the Easter theme by using chick, rabbit or oval (egg) cutters.

Chocolate Nests
Ingredients
          Milk / dark cooking chocolate bar
          Wheat based shredded breakfast cereal
          Paper fairy cakes cases
          Small chocolate eggs or chicks for decoration

• Break 8-10 chunks of chocolate (milk or dark) into a heatproof bowl that will rest in a saucepan without touching the bottom of the pan.
• Crumble 3-4 cereal portions into a bowl until they resemble straw.
• Put water in the base of the saucepan until the bowl just touches the water when in the pan. Gently heat the water until simmering with the bowl resting in the pan. When the chocolate begins to melt gently stir. DO NOT allow the chocolate to overheat as it will lose its consistency.
• When all the chocolate has all melted add some of the shredded cereal and stir until it is all covered in chocolate. Add a little more cereal at a time until the chocolate cannot cover any more.
• Spoon the chocolate covered straw into the paper cake cases. Use the back of the spoon to make a small dip in the centre and add 2 / 3 small eggs or a chick before the chocolate sets.

Easter Fairy Cakes
(Using your favourite sponge recipe (or the recipe below) mix as normal).

Victoria Sponge Recipe
175g (6oz) softened butter / margarine
175g (6oz) (caster) sugar
3 beaten eggs
175g (6oz) self raising flour (sieved).
1 tablespoon hot water
Icing sugar, icing pens or readymade decorations

• Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Gradually beat in the eggs.  Fold in the flour, and add the hot water and mix until a smooth.
• Divide mixture into paper fairy cake cases in a bun tin.
• Bake in preheated oven at 180’C / 350’F / Gas 4 for 15-20 minutes until golden brown on top.  Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack.

When the fairy cakes have cooled ice with a plain colour icing (green for grass) then use icing pens draw a chick or other Easter symbol.  Alternatively placing a pre bought Easter chick on top which is just as effective. Many discount pound stores sell boxes of Easter chicks ideal for this.

Easter Cookies
(Using your favourite biscuit / cookie recipe (or the biscuit recipe below) mix as normal, but use Easter shaped cutters.)

Biscuit Recipe
18oz Self Raising flour
4oz butter
8oz sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon Vanilla essence
1 tablespoon milk (water for non dairy version)
Food colouring if required (eg yellow, blue etc)

• Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl; add the eggs, vanilla, milk (or water) and food colouring.  Mix into a wet paste.  Fold in the flour to make a dough.  (Add a little more flour if too sticky).
• Roll out on a floured surface to ½” thickness.  Cut out Easter shapes and place on a baking tray.
• Cook in preheated oven at 150’C for 10-15 minutes. (10 minutes gives a softer biscuit, 15 a crunchier one).
• After cooling you can serve on a plate or decorate with appropriate coloured icing, (yellow – chicks, white – rabbits, blue - eggs). Allow the plain base colour to dry completely then use individual coloured icing tubes (from supermarkets) to add details.  ie. Eyes, nose, patterns on the eggs.

Supermarkets now produce chick, rabbit and other shaped biscuits in the lead up to Easter. These are an excellent time saving alternative.

Quiche (Easter Pie)
Quiche is an ideal egg based dish which is easy to prepare before a party and makes a tasty savoury alternative for your Easter Party.

Ingredients for quiche flan base (Ready made savoury flan cases are available as a time saving alternative – reduce filling ingredients accordingly).

8oz Flour
4oz butter
2 tablespoons of water to bind

• Rub the flour and butter together until crumbly. Add the water a little at a time until the mixture forms a pastry. (Add more flour if too sticky).
• Roll into a circle of pastry large enough to line a (9 ½” wide by 1 ½” deep) flan dish.  Line the flan dish with the rolled pastry and trim around edges.
• Place a circle of baking paper on the pastry in the base of the dish, then weight down with ceramic cooking beans or rice.
• Bake at 180’C for 10-20 minutes or until turning golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool in dish.
• Whilst flan base cools prepare the filling.

Basic ingredients for quiche filling

4 eggs (beaten with a fork)
2-3 shallots chopped and lightly fried
3oz grated cheese
Additional ingredients to add to basic filling
1 Small courgette sliced and lightly fried
1-2 chopped tomatoes
2 slices of ham (chopped) or ½ small tin of salmon (flaked)

• When the flan case is cool, remove cooking beans, rice and paper, pour in egg, sprinkle shallots and cheese evenly across mixture. Add any of the additional ingredients to you and your guest’s tastes.
• Bake in 160’C oven slowly for 30-40 minutes until the top of the quiche is golden and when the flan dish is gently moved from side to side the egg mixture is not runny but a soft solid.
• Serve hot immediately or allow to cool. An ideal accompaniment for the quiche is a mixed salad and jacket potato.
  

Easter Eggs
Traditionally eggs have long been associated with Easter celebrations. In early times, the egg was a symbol of fertility, new life and new beginnings. In addition there is a very practical reason for making the egg a special sign of Easter as it used to be one of the foods that was forbidden during Lent. Today most children enjoy the chocolate varieties.