Easter is just around the corner! And whilst many think of chocolate and sweets, for a lot of people this holiday reminds them of family coming together and enjoying a special meal. To help with your Easter lunch planning, we have put together a delicious Easter Menu featuring 4 great recipes for you to enjoy.

As a bonus, head over to our Facebook post, let us know which of these recipes you'd like to try and you could go in the draw to WIN one of two prize packs including 1 x The Great New Zealand Baking Book and 1 x The Baker's Companion

Michelle's Kransky Rolls by Michelle Pattison from The Great New Zealand Baking Book

Makes 12

Ingredients:

• 1 sheet butter puff pastry (24 cm X 24 cm)
• Egg wash: 1 egg whisked together with 1 tsp water
• 12 Kransky sausages (I use Verkerk's)
• 1/4 cup poppy seeds (or you can use black and white sesame seeds)

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 200C fan-bake (or 220C regular). Grease an oven tray.

Place pastry sheet on a wooden board. Brush top of the pastry with egg wash. Cut into 12 even strips (2 cm X 24 cm per strip).

Prick each Kransky several times with a fork. Starting at one end of the Kransky, wrap the pastry strip in a spiral down to the other end, egg-wash-side down. Trim ends if necessary and press against a loop of pastry underneath the Kransky, pressing firmly to seal. Place roll (sealed side down) on the oven tray.

Brush top side of pastry with egg wash and sprinkle with a small amount of poppy seeds. Repeat with remaining kranskies.

Put Kranksy rolls into the oven and bake for 15 minutes, or until the pastry is cooked and golden. These can be served hot or cold but either way, make sure there is plenty of tomato sauce!

Mince & Cheese Pies by Sarah & Martin Aspinwall from The Great New Zealand Baking Book

Serves 4

Ingredients:
Filling base

• 1/2 small onion
• 1 small carrot
• 1/2 small stick of celery
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 200 g good-quality beef mince
• 200 g skirt or chuck steak, chopped

Seasonings

• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 tsp smoked ground paprika
• 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
• zest of one lemon
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

Sauce

• 2 grated tomatoes (skins discarded)
• 2 tsp tomato puree
• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Pies

• 600 g rough puff flaky pastry, chilled
• 80 g mature Cheddar, grated
• 80 g vintage Gouda, grated
• 80 g Taleggio, cut into four slices

Method:

Finely chop onion, carrot and celery. Heat oil in a medium-sized saucepan and fry vegetables until soft (4–5 minutes). Add meats and cook until brown and any moisture has evaporated. Add seasonings and cook for a further 2–3 minutes.

Next, add sauce ingredients and simmer gently with the lid on for 15 minutes, then take the lid off and cook for a further 15 minutes until the filling is fairly dry. Allow this to cool for 30 minutes.

Divide your pastry into four, then divide each one of these into a large half and a small half. Sprinkle a little flour on your work surface and roll out the larger pieces into rectangles, approximately 15 cm X 12 cm X 4 mm thick. Use these to line oval pies tins (size 13 cm C 10 cm X 3 cm deep). Roll out the tops to approximately 15 cm X 10 cm.

Pre-heat the oven to 190–190C. Place 20 grams (a good pinch) of Cheddar cheese in the bottom of each pastry case, followed by a quarter of the filling. Top each with 20 grams of Gouda and a slice of Taleggio. Mix egg and milk to make egg wash. Bruch pastry rims with egg wash and cover with the tops. Crimp the edges to seal them and use a knife to trim off excess pastry. Pierce through the top to make a steam hole, brush with egg wash and chill for 15 minutes.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Tips
For our mince and cheese pies we use quality meat from our local butcher and proper cheese. The cheese is key; you need a good, flavourful mix and a generous amount. Our pies contain Barry's Bay Cheddar, Meyer Gouda and Taleggio from Italy, glorious!

Scrumptious Feijoa and Coconut Cake by Allyson Gofton from The Baker's Companion

Makes 22 – 24cm cake

Ingredients:

• 150 grams butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups caster sugar
• 4 eggs, at room temperature, separated
• 2 cups self-raising flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 cups desiccated coconut
• 1 cup peeled and well-chopped fresh or bottled feijoas
• 1 cup milk or coconut milk

Icing

• icing sugar to dust or
• 1 quantity lime or lemon glace icing (see below)
• grated rind of 1/2 lime or lemon

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 180C (160C fan bake). Set the rack in the centre of the oven. Grease and line the base and sides of a 22– 24cm round cake tin.

Beat the butter and sugar together until light and creamy. Add in the egg yolks, beating well until thick and creamy. Sift the flour and baking powder together and, using a metal spoon, fold into the creamed mixture with the coconut, feijoas and milk or coconut milk.

In a very clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks and, using the metal spoon, fold into the cake mixture. Turn into the prepared cake tin.

Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Stand in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out onto a cake rack to cool completely.

To serve, dust with icing sugar or cover with lime or lemon glace icing and decorate with grated lime or lemon rind.

Lemon, Lime or Orange Glace Icing from The Baker's Companion

Makes 3/4 cup

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups icing sugar
• 1 teaspoon melted butter, optional
• 2–3 tablespoons warm water or milk
• 1 lemon, lime or orange (for lemon, lime or orange variant only)

Method:

Sift the icing sugar into a bowl, add the melted butter if using and sufficient water or milk to make a smooth, spreadable icing.

Add the grated rind and/or juice of a lime, lemon or orange (if using) and beat into the icing.

Belgium Biscuits by Allyson Gofton from The Baker's Companion

Makes 36 plain biscuits

Ingredients:

• 1 egg, at room temperature
• 275 grams butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups well-packed soft brown sugar
• 3 cups flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons mixed spice
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• glace icing (above) to decorate
• raspberry jam to sandwich together
• 36 large marshmallows, optional

Method:

Using a fork, lightly mix the egg in a cup.

Using an electric beater, beat the butter and sugar together until very light and creamy. Beat in the egg a little at a time. Sift the flour, baking powder and spices together and work into the creamed mixture. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and bring together. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm enough to handle.

Preheat the oven to 180C (fan bake 160C). Set two racks either side of the centre of the oven. Grease two baking trays well or line with baking paper.

On a lightly floured board, roll the dough out to 3mm thick. Cut into shapes and place on the prepared trays.

Bake in the preheated oven for around 12–15 minutes or until browned around the outside and firm to touch; they will crisp up on cooling. Transfer to a cake rack to cool.

Colour the icing with pink food colouring. Sandwich two biscuits together with raspberry jam and decorate the top biscuit with icing. If using marshmallows, arrange them on a plate and heat in the microwave for a few seconds. They will be a bit sticky to work with, but certainly lots of fun. Use two marshmallows with the jam to sandwich together two biscuits.

Keep in an airtight cake tin and enjoy within 10 days.