Locked down? Try baking an Easter cake

It's a strange time. As Easter approaches we would normally be getting ready for some time off with the family.

This year however we are locked down, battling Coronavirus and trying to find things we can do with the family that alleviates some of the boredom. It's amazing how after a few weekends at home and without school, even the children are looking to get involved with some new things about the house.

Of course one thing you can still do is bake that Easter cake. Whilst we have some specialist moulds available just for Easter, if you want to something really special we would recommend baking one of the giant biscuit cakes.

If you send us a photo of a finished one we'll even give you a special prize and publish the photo on our Facebook account and website. You'll be famous.

The super six moulds are:

•  Kit Kat
•  Custard Cream
•  Oreo
•  Jammie Dodger
•  Bourbon
•  Party Ring

Now you can find the recipes on all recipes, but our personal favourite for Easter is the Custard Cream.

Although we struggled to find flour initially, it is reappearing in some shops so keep and eye out or use up the stores you have. There's nothing quite like serving up a cake for Easter to accompany any Easter eggs you might have.

Actually baking cakes at Easter is quite a tradition. Simnel fruit cake has been eaten since medieval times and has a middle layer of marzipan and is topped with marzipan. Often the cake is topped with eleven marzipan balls to represent the eleven apostles of Christ, excluding Judas for obvious reasons.  

The name simnel is probably from the word 'simila', which was the Roman word for fine flower. However that was before my time, so I can't verify the fact!

Either way, this weekend is a good time to dust of the cake moulds and get baking. It's an Easter tradition we can keep - and helps take your mind off the lockdown!