Hot cross buns are a traditional Easter food.
Easter is the Christian celebration of Jesus' resurrection, but the holiday actually has roots that date back to Pagan times. Whether you are a Christian or not, Easter can be a time for gathering family and loved ones to spend quality time together. An important part of any celebration is good food. Easter also marks the end of lent, for those who observe it. So, Easter Sunday may be the first day in more than a month that you are able to eat whatever you like.
Hard-boiled Eggs
Hard-boiled eggs are traditionally served on Easter, especially for breakfast. Like chocolate Easter eggs, they symbolize new life and rebirth, but the eggs are not not packed with sugar. An interesting idea for an Easter celebration is to decorate the shells of these eggs with food coloring. The eggs will make bright, eye-catching additions to the table, that are edible too. Any children in the family will enjoy helping to decorate the eggs.
Nest Cakes
Nest cakes are a cute food item to serve at Easter. These cakes are no-bake, so they're quick and straight-forward to make. Follow the recipe for a regular chocolate corn flake or rice crispy cake. Put the mixture in individual cake cases, and make a dent in the middle, so the cake is shaped like a nest. Refrigerate the cakes until they're set, and then place miniature chocolate or candy eggs inside the dent of the nests.
Hot Cross Buns
Hot cross buns are a traditionally eaten at Easter. According to John Ayto in "An A-Z of Food & Drink," this tradition may have come about in Tudor times, when it was illegal to sell such buns other than on Good Friday, Christmas or at burials. They are current buns, baked with cinnamon and nutmeg, and feature a lighter-colored cross on their tops. Today, the cross is seen to represent the cross on which Jesus was crucified. However, people have eaten buns with crosses on them at Pagan Easter celebrations dating back to the ancient Greeks.
Simnel Cake
Simnel cake is baked at Easter, and is usually eaten in the afternoon. A simnel cake is a basic rich fruit cake that is frosted with a layer of marzipan and has 11 marzipan balls on top of it, around the edge. These 11 balls of marzipan represent Jesus' disciples. The number is 11, rather than 12 as Judas isn't included on the cake because he betrayed Jesus in the story of the Crucifixion.
Tags: cross buns, food Easter