Home & People Novelty fare for Easter Day

Press, 9 April 1979, Page 16

Home & People Novelty fare for Easter Day

Because Easter is later this year, some families could be planning rather special celebrations with friends or relatives. I have selected recipes for Easter novelties in preference to conventional foods and hope that some of them might help towards the fulfilment of a Happy Easter. KL'LICH BREAD Irstead of Hot Cross Buns try the following Kulich Easter Bread this year. It is delicious and quite easily made. The following quantities will make one loaf about Bx 6 or two smaller ones. You will need 25 g yeast, granulated or cake 1 teaspoon sugar 1 cup milk 57a $ flour 225 g butter 3 whole eggs plus 2 egg-yolks 225 g sugar 125 g chopped mixed pee’ 125 e sultanas 5 g blanched almonds

J teaspoon powdered car. anion (important for flavour) Vanilla Salt Hundreds and thousands Icing sugar Method: Mix yeast with the teaspoon of sugar and a little water at blood heat until a smooth paste is formed. Add lukewarm milk and about 225 g of flour and beat until the consistency of batter. Cover and leave in a warm place for about half an houi. When doubled in bulk and there are bubbles on top, add melted butter, beaten eggs, sugar, peel, sultanas, chopped almonds, cardamon, vanilla to taste and remaining sifted flour with salt added. Knead very well until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl without sticking. Cover and leave in warm place to rise a second time. Line tin with greased paper or foil and when dough has doubled in bulk, flatten with the hand and transfer

to the tin. Leave to rise again until dough almost reaches the top of the tin. It will rise further in the oven. Bake on low oven shelf at 350 for 50 minutes to one hour. Turn out of tin and cover immediately with towel. When

cold ice with white or coloured water icing and while icing is still moist, sprinkle with hundreds and thousands. Serve plain or buttered. CANDY EASTER EGGS Candy Easter Eggs are another suggestion especially if there are children at a family celebration. These are rich and sweet and can be made in any size and several days

ahead if necessary. Coat some with melted chocolate and some with coloured icing. You will need: 3 cups sugar 2 egg-whites 1 cup corn syrup (available at most big supermarkets) Vanilla Dessicated coconut Crushed nuts Chocolate or chocolate bits Icing sugar Food colouring. Method: Combine 1 cup sugar with J cup water and cook until the mixture spins a thread. Add the stiffly beaten egg-whites and beat until well mixed. In another pan combine two cups sugar, -J cup water and the corn'syrup and cook until the mixture is brittle when tested in cold water. Combine the egg-white mixture with the second mixture and beat until very thick. Add about a teaspoon of vanilla, coconut and nuts to taste and form into the shape of eggs and leave until cold. Coat with icing or melted chocolate. When set and firm the eggs could be arranged in a basket “nest.” EASTER BONNET CAKE With the old evergreen Easter Bonnet song in mind, why not make a cake in • the shape of a hat? Cover it with frosting and decorate with coloured fruit jubes or other decorations that might occur to you. To make it as easy as possible I suggest you use a prepared cake mix which can be flavoured with added grated orange rind and orange juice. You will need: 1 pkt Madeira cake mix 1 egg Grated orange rind and juice Frosting 2 egg-whites 1I cups sugar Pinch of salt J teaspoon cream of tartar I cup orange juice 1 teaspoon vanilla Yellow food colouring Method: Prepare cake batter according to directions on packet. Cook a little less than half of the batter in prepared 7-Bin sandwich tin and the rest in an ovenproof basin, deep but only about sin across. When cooked leave in pans for 10 minutes before turning out then cool on rack. To prepare frosting. combine egg-whites, sugar, salt, cream of tartar and orange juice in the top of double saucepan, beating until thoroughly mixed. Place over boiling water and beat constantly with electric beater at

high speed for seven minutes, until it will stand in stiff peaks, stirring up from bottom and sides occasionally while beating. Remove from heat and add vanilla and food colouring. Beat for one minute longer and immediately spread over prepared cake. It is the decorating that turns ■ this cake into something really special. Invert the sandwich layer of cake on a serving dish and frost sides and top. Cut a thin layer from wider side of basin cake to make it level and place on top of the frosted layer in centre, leaving an even rim around it. Frost this generously, rounding the frosting with wide knife or spatula to give a typical hat shape. Decorate as the imagination suggests. CHICKEN BREAST ROLLS Continuing with the unusual theme why not serve the following chicken dish as the main dish? You will find it is different as it is my own invention. It consists of chicken breasts formed into rolls enclosing cheese sticks, dipped in egg and breadcrumbs. These are served on a bed of flavoured rice. Serves eight. You will need: 4 large chicken breasts 225 g cheddar cheese 2 eggs j cup dry breadcrumbs 1/3 cup margarine or butter i cup finely chopped onion i cup chopped green pepper 1 teaspoon salt Pepper to taste 1 chicken stock cube dissolved in 1 cup hot water 1 430 g can mushroom soup 3 cups boiled rice (2 cups long grain white and 1 cup wild rice) Method: Cut cheese into 8 equal-sized sticks that can be enclosed in the chicken meat. Remove bone from chicken breasts and cut each in half. Roll flesh flat with rolling pin and roll each piece around a stick of cheese, pressing firmly. Dip in beaten egg then in breadcrumbs and leave to set for about half an hour before browning in small amount of butter. Remove. Saute onion in pan after removing chicken, add green pepper, seasoning, dissolved stock cube and soup and blend well; add the well-drained cooked rice. Pour into shallow casserole, top with chicken rolls and bake at 400 for 20 to 30 minutes. BROCCOLI CASSEROLE Serve the following Broccoli Casserole as the vegetable accompaniment to the chicken rolls as it. is also flavoured with mushroom soup. Because

of the rice, potatoes are not necessary. Serves eight. You will need:— About 700-900 g broccoli heads 1 can cream of mushroom soup A little cream Salt and pepper 1 cup grated cheese 4 tablespoons butter 1 cup commercial poultry stuffing or fresh breadcrumbs j cup slivered almonds (optional but good) Method: Cook broccoli in a small amount of boiling water, or steam until just tender taking care not to overcook. Drain well and reserve about | cup of the liquid if boiled. Arrange in greased casserole. Combine soup with reserved liquid and about a tablespoon of cream (if broccoli is steamed use more cream or evaporated milk) season to taste with salt and pepper and pour this over broccoli. Sprinkle over the cheese. Melt butter and stir in the crumbs, blend well and sprinkle these on top of the cheeese. Finally top with almonds. Bake in slow oven 300 to 325 for 30 to 35 minutes. This dish can be prepared ahead Of time and refrigerated until you are ready to cook it. CHOCOLATE ICE-CREAM CL PS Chocolate Ice-Cream Cups make a rather special dessert. The chocolate cups can be made before hand. You will need:— 225 g semi sweet chocolate or chocolate bits 2 tablespoons butter Ice-cream of preferred flavour Whipped cream Paper baking cups Garnish Method: Melt chocolate with butter Over hot water (not boiling), and using a spatula or something similar, spread a fairly thick coating of the mixture on base and sides of the paper cups. Chill or freeze. Peel off paper and allow to thaw for about 10 minutes then fill with scoops of ice-cream. Top with swirl of whipped cream and any decoration you wish such as glace cherries, nuts, fresh strawberries and so on.

FOOD AND RECIPES

Celia Timms