It’s Easter!
Well, I don’t think anyone would have expected to be spending Easter 2020 in lockdown amidst this horrendous virus, we were all looking to be spending time with family and loved ones but alas, this won’t be the case.
Those with young children will be climbing the walls (or is that just me!!) and will be thinking of how to entertain them over this Easter weekend (or any day of the week for that matter!).
And so, one of the best ways of killing an hour or so we find is to bake, bake, bake! And on a serious note, cooking, baking, food preparation done together is such an incredible way of a enabling your children to develop a love and appreciation for food. Understanding and learning about ingredients is a great lesson to be had, learning where flour comes from for example has been a recent lesson in our house!
As its Easter, a traditional Easter food is the Hot Cross Bun. However, it is quite time consuming and fiddly to make and requires yeast – which is a product which is so hard to come by at the moment! And, as I have been sitting here writing this, I heard on the TV in the background that the queen of baking Mary Berry has just claimed that supermarket hot cross buns are better than home-made!
So, we would like to show you a recipe that is a great alterative to hot-cross buns, it is easy to make, small hands can certainly help in the preparation and it still maintains reference to Easter with the traditional cross on the top.
This is our Easter Hot Cross Muffins. Full of flavour, nutrients and fun to make by the whole family!
INGREDIENTS:
- 150g self-raising wholemeal flour
- ½ tsp mixed spice
- 60g full-fat Greek yoghurt
- 3-4 very ripe bananas
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- Small handful of raisins (omit for very young babies due to the risk of choking)
- For the cross on the top
- 75g plain flour
- 5 tablespoons of water
METHOD:
- Preheat the oven to 190ºc (fan).
- Sift the flour and mixed spice into a bowl.
- Measure out the Greek yogurt in another bowl.
- Mash bananas to a thick purée (or use a food processor), add to the yoghurt and add the beaten eggs. Mix well.
- Fold into the flour/spice mix along with the raisins (if using).
- Spoon into muffin tins (should make around 12 full size).
- To make the cross on the top, mix the water slowly, 1 tablespoon at a time into the plain flour and mix until you get a thick paste. Use a piping bag to pipe the paste over the muffins in the shape of a cross.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden on top and cooked through.
Yummy, see if you can wait till they have cooled to eat them!!
Guest Blog by I Love Greens
