A Little Bit of Easter

Just a few simple decorations on our coffee table reminding of Easter. 

I haven't cooked or baked a single thing or bought any chocolate eggs. Instead, I'm looking forward to having some mämmi in a couple of weeks!

Happy Easter!

*woolen throw by 1kertaa2 available from Pikku-Kota

Hot Cross Buns

We woke up to a cooler morning this Good Friday, so it was a perfect time to bake a fresh batch of Hot Cross Buns. I followed this recipe almost to a T, with a few adaptations as marked below. They're a little time consuming to make, but well worth the effort. Hot Cross Buns are best eaten fresh and my husband likes to slather them with butter.

Wish you all a nice Easter long weekend!

 

 Hot Cross Buns

(recipe from taste.com.au)

(makes 12)

1 tablespoon dried yeast

1 teaspoon raw caster sugar

185ml warm milk (organic, full cream)

125ml cold milk (organic, full cream)

50g butter, melted (organic, unsalted)

1 egg, lightly whisked (large, free-range, organic)

525g plain flour

200g sultanas

70g raw caster sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground  cardamom

1/4 teaspoon ground clove

tiny pinch of salt

75g plain flour

5-6 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons raw caster sugar

1. Whisk dried yeast, sugar and warm milk in bowl. Leave for 10 minutes or until frothy. Whisk in cold milk, butter and egg.

2. Combine flour, sultanas, sugar, spices and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the middle and add yeast mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon, then knead with hand for about ten minutes until you get a smooth and elastic dough. 

3. Place the dough in a bowl, cover with tea towel and leave to double in size.

4. Shape the dough into buns. Punch down the dough, then knead for a couple of minutes and divide into 12 portions. Roll each portion into a smooth bun. Grease a 16cm x 26cm tin with butter and place the buns, side by side, into the tin. Cover the tin with a tea towel and leave for about half an hour.

5. Preheat oven to 200C. Combine flour and water in a bowl and whisk into a smooth paste. Spoon the paste into a piping bag and decorate the buns with a cross pattern. Bake for 10 minutes in 200C oven, then lower the heat to 160C and continue to bake for about 20 minutes or until golden.

6. Heat water and sugar in a small saucepan and let simmer for a few minutes until the syrup thickens. Brush the hot buns with the syrup and leave to cool on a wire rack for a few minutes before serving.

 

Happy Easter!

 

Easter Preparations

Easter is almost here! Even after all these years in Australia, I still associate Easter with Spring. In Finland I would always grow "rairuoho" (a type of grass) at Easter as a symbol of Spring and new beginnings. Here in Australia, I get a similar result with sprouting wheat. It only takes a few days to grow and I just love the fresh green colour of the grass.

I'm not big on Easter decorations, but I just couldn't resist this simple white bunny I saw in the shops the other day. I don't think I will tuck it away even after Easter is over.

 Wheat grass grows in a few days and the green colour is perfect for Easter!

Raw, Vegan Easter Pascha

I can't believe it's already Easter! Although we never really celebrated Easter in my family, we did spent the long weekend skiing and enjoying the Spring sun. There was no Easter egg hunt, but mum did have a selection of Easter decorations on display, mainly decorated eggs and witches that feature strongly in the Scandinavian Easter traditions. 

There are only a couple of dishes that I associate strongly with Easter - mämmi, which is a sweet dessert made out of rye flour, rye malt and water and pasha, which is traditionally made with quark, egg yolks, cream, sugar and butter. I've been wanting to make my own mämmi for a long time, but I haven't been able to find rye malt in Australia nor have I succeeded to make the malt myself. 

You might guess that I wasn't going to make the traditional version of pasha, either. This raw, vegan pasha is a very modified version of the commonly known one, but definitely brings back memories of the 'real thing'. The texture is very similar to that of a thick and creamy dairy-based pasha and the taste has a similar blend of sharpness and sweetness to it.

I used soaked cashew nuts for the creaminess and added some rejuvelac and lemon juice for sharpness and sourness. Rejuvelac is a nutritious, fermented drink made out of grains like rye or wheat and gives this dish its unique depth of flavour. You can leave it out or add a bit more lemon juice instead, but I do encourage you to give a go at making and drinking rejuvelac! A mere tablespoon of brown rice syrup is all the sweetness this needs and additional sweetness comes from dried apricots and (not so traditional) goji berries. You could use any dried fruit of your choice, try sultanas, cranberries, cherries or even blueberries. 

Enjoy!

Raw, Vegan Easter Pascha
(serves 2-4)*

200g cashew nuts, soaked in water for 4-6 hours
2 tablespoons rye rejuvelac (optional)**

1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tablespoon brown rice syrup
5-7 dried apricots
3-4 tablespoons goji berries or other dried fruit of your choice

* This is pretty rich, so you could easily make this into 4 small servings. Alternatively, use 4 individual cups to refrigerate it in or roll the 'dough' into small balls!

** Find out how to make rejuvelac, here.

1. Drain the soaked cashew nuts and place in a blender with rejuvelac, lemon juice and zest and brown rice syrup. Blend until very smooth and thick.

2. Finely chop the apricots and stir them, along with the goji berries into the mixture.

3. Line a cup or a small bowl with some plastic wrap and scoop the mixture into the cup. Press the mixture down so it sits in the cup quite tightly. Cover the top with plastic wrap and refrigerate over night or at least 5-8 hours.

4. To serve, remove the wrap, decorate pascha with some dried fruit and serve cool or at room temperature.

Hot Cross Buns - The Australian Easter Treat

Now I must admit I've never been a big fan of the spicy buns Australians like to eat at Easter time, and I finally realised why! It's because I've never had home made ones before. I don't mean to brag, but these buns were so so yummy and so much better than any shop bought ones I've ever tasted! Why oh why don't more people make them themselves? The best thing, besides the taste of course, is that these ones are not filled with preservatives and whatnot. I highly recommend you to try these at home!


Hot Cross Buns (makes 12 big buns)

4 cups plain flour
14 g dry yeast
1/4 cup caster sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cup sultanas
40 g unsalted butter
300 ml milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Flour paste

1/2 cup plain flour
4 to 5 tbs water

Sugar Glace

1/3 cup water
2 tbs caster sugar

Combine flour, yeast, sugar, salt, spices and sultanas in a large bowl. Melt butter in a pan and add in milk. Heat until about 42 C. Add the warm milk mixture and eggs to the dry ingredients and stir well. Turn dough onto a floured surface. Knead until smooth. If the dough feels too hard, water your hands with warm water and knead the dough (this incorporates just enough water to make the dough softer). Place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl and cover with cling wrap. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size.

Line a baking tray with baking paper. Knead the risen dough until smooth and divide into 12 equal sized portions. Roll each portion into a ball and place on the tray. Cover the tray with cling wrap or tea towel and let the buns rise for another half an hour. In the mean while, preheat the over to 190 C.

To make the flour paste combine the flour with water and mix into a smooth paste. Pipe the flour paste onto the risen buns to form crosses. Bake the buns for 20-25 minutes (turn the tray half way to ensure even baking) or until nicely browned.

Make the glace: place sugar and water in a pan and let boil for 5 minutes stirring every now and then. Brush the warm buns with the glace. Serve warm with butter.