CASH QUEENS’ EASTER ON THE CHEEP

Buns 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Jane’s chocolate Easter cake 5 1 2 3 6 1 2 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 1 2

Gradually add the remaining milk to form a soft dough (you might not need to use all the milk however). Tip the dough out onto a floured surface and knead by hand adding the sultanas and mixed peel into the dough. Lightly knead for a further 10 minutes until silky and a smooth ball has been formed. Oil a bowl and place the dough in the bowl and cover with cling film and leave to prove for 1 hour, or until the dough has doubled in size. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and divide into 12 balls. Line 1-2 baking trays with greaseproof paper. Carefully place the balls onto the trays and flatten slightly. Place a damp tea towel over the top of the balls on the tray and leave for a further 45-50 minutes, or until the buns have doubled in size. For the topping, add the flour to a bowl with 100ml of water, mix together to make a paste and spoon into a piping bag. PAGES 34&35 When the buns have risen remove the damp cloth carefully, pipe a cross on each bun and bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown, turning the trays around to achieve even cooking. Gently heat the maple syrup in a pan and while the buns are still warm, brush the buns with the maple to give them a nice shine. Leave to cool and then enjoy! I LOVE to make this cake. The bottom layer is a bit of a cheat but most of the best home recipes are – it’s simply a Rice Krispie chocolate cake with a surprise centre. The top cake is a really indulgent rich chocolate cake.

The joy of this is you get all the impact of a two-tier cake with none of the worries of it collapsing, making it an easy to assemble stunning two-tier delight that could grace any table this holiday. BOTTOM TIER You will need a 22cm spring form or loose bottom cake tin lightly buttered A tall glass tumbler, outside lightly buttered 200g rice krispies or similar 200g milk chocolate 100g dark chocolate 70% cocoa Sweets of your choice, I used different coloured chocolate eggs and but it’s entirely up to you. Place a bowl over a saucepan of boiling water so the base is not touching the water. Break up the chocolate into small pieces and place into the bowl, turn down to a simmer and gently melt the chocolate. Try not to stir too much and don’t overcook. Take off just as the last piece melts when the chocolate is glossy and thick. Remove from heat, gently fold in rice krispies, you can add chocolates, marshmallows, nuts etc if you want to. Place the tumbler in the centre of the tin (you can weight it with baking beads to make this a little easier) and spoon the rice krispies around it, gently pushing down as you go. You are creating a doughnut type shape that we can fill with chocolate eggs or sweets of your choice once the cake is assembled. Place in fridge to chill and set while you cook the chocolate cake SECOND TIER 17cm spring form or loose bottom tin, lightly buttered and dusted with coco powder Oven preheated to 180/350/gas mark 4 200g softened unsalted butter 200g castor sugar 3 large eggs 125g self-raising Flour 25g cocoa powder 75g ground almonds 100g dark chocolate 70% cocoa, melted using method above Cream the butter and sugar together until light and pale coloured. Add the eggs one at a time and whisk in thoroughly, (if mixture starts to split add a dessert spoon of the flour to the mix). Sieve the cocoa powder and flour into the mix in three batches, whisking to combine. Whisk in ground almonds Melt and add the chocolate, stirring in carefully using a figure of eight motion to retain cake lightness. Add the mixture to buttered and cocoa powdered tin and place in oven for 50-55 minutes. 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Test with a skewer, if it comes away clean it’s cooked. Remove from oven and cool completely before icing. FOR THE ICING The secret to good buttercream icing is time, you do have to take five minutes to get your butter wonderfully whipped, it’s worth it and a lot easier if you have a stand mixer or food processor, an electric hand whisk works too.

Alternatively cheat – there are some great ready made chocolate icings in the supermarket. 400g melted dark chocolate 70% cocoa 500g softened butter 1500g icing sugar 150g sieved cocoa powder 3 tbsps double cream Beat the butter until it’s light and fluffy this takes about five minutes you will see the butter change to a very pale cream colour. Scrape sides of bowl during process. Melt your chocolate during this process then leave to cool. Beat in sieved cocoa whisk for 2-3 minutes. Sieve the icing sugar into a bowl and slowly add to the buttercream, alternating with tablespoons of double cream, taking a minute or two to whip in between. Pour in cooled melted chocolate and whisk on slow until incorporated, then turn onto fast and whip for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy. PUTTING IT TOGETHER... To assemble the cake remove the glass from the middle of the rice krispie cake, place a little icing on your cake plate to anchor, then ice as you would like, filling the middle with mini eggs and sweeties. Slice the cooled top cake in half and ice both insides, add fresh raspberries to cut through sweetness and then ice.

I wanted to show a cake everyone could do at home that was fun for the children, so I have iced and then used chocolate fingers interspersed with brightly coloured mini eggs and shop bought decorations but the joy of this is you can decorate it however you want.

Four fresh edible flowers look beautiful and make a more adult cake – just go wild and happy easter all! To make the cake gluten free use gluten free equivalent cereal, check all chocolates used are gluten free and simply swap out the selfraising flour for an equal quantity of gluten free plain flour and add one teaspoon gluten free baking powder. ■ ■ Hassle Free, Gluten Free by Jane Devonshire (Bloomsbury Absolute, £22).