Tea Time Treats: Easter Cakes

It's Easter Monday.

Do you still have any space left for some cake?

You do?

Excellent.

If, like me, you've spent the last forty eight hours happily munching through enough Easter Eggs to earn the nickname Augustus, after the young Mr Gloop in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory*, but still fancy a slice or two of some Easter cake, well then you've come to the very right place.

First up for your delectation is the traditional Simnel Cake, made each year by my brilliant little sister Beth. This traditional classic, bursting with juicy fruits, spices and marzipan is perfect with a nice cuppa on a rainy Easter Monday. This Simnel Cake is from Nigella's Feast: Food that Celebrates Life and it also appeared in Good Food magazine April 2007.

Baker's notes

• This is a lovely light fruit cake- as Nigella herslef notes, a complete contrast from the dank, dark offerings of the fruit cake we all enjoy this time four months ago: the Christmas Cake

And secondly, a giant Chocolate Nest Cake. This rich, moist chocolatey celebration of Spring is just right for those of us who can never, ever have enough chocolate to feast over not only at this time of the year but quite frankly every day of the year. The cake itself, baked in a ten inch garland ring mould is based upon a recipe I discovered, and lusted over, on the brilliant blog that is Poires au Chocolat. This post is my entry to this month's Tea Time Treats, hosted by yours truly with the theme of Easter. 

Baker's notes...

• Instead of the soured cream I used 220ml of buttermilk
• And for the icing I melted 25g butter, 100g dark chocolate (85% cocoa solids) and 50ml double cream in a pyrex bowl suspended over a pan of gently simmering water. Once melted I set aside to cool
• Once cooled I spread over the cake, and decorated with M&S chocolate eggs
• The cake was supposed to have crumbled flake chocolate on top too but we forgot to buy any. Oops. Clearly too busy eating Easter Eggs...
• ... Although we did go for a couple of very lovely long walks. Honest. Here's the evidence:

* I just needed my own Oompa Loompa minion