Rhubarb and rose pavlova

**2026 edit: I now share new recipes and essays on juggling baking, life and motherhood over on Substack. If you loved this recipe, I think you’ll love Sweet Disposition - sign up HERE.** 

My Mum always says that a hot April makes for a wet summer. If she's right, then we are in for an absolute downpour. Over the past few days, London's parks have been chocca with dizzy, vitamin D-deprived city dwellers getting their fix after so many months of cold, grey weather. Spring is in full swing, and I could not be happier.

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CREME EGG BREAD

Recently, i've had a little glut of lovely emails from readers asking for 'leftovers' recipes. While i'm all for using up tibbits and making do, I struggle to relate to anyone who has leftover Easter eggs on their hands. Rest assured, this has never been a problem to face our household. 

And so it was that this 'leftover' bread wasn't made from leftovers at all. Yes, our Easter eggs had vanished by lunch and I bought these Easter treats especially for this recipe... a true testament to how much I love you all. 

Should you be made of better restraint than this writer, this bread is a seriously indulgent way to use up leftover chocolate. We had it for Easter tea with all the family, who worked their way through this little number is shamefully good time. Well, it was a bank holiday. 

The dough is a necessity but the chocolate ingredients are just suggestions. One to freestyle on kiddies. 

THE INGREDIENTS

1x quantity of enriched dough, available here

1 egg

50ml double cream

70g white chocolate 

zest of 1 orange

4-5 Creme Eggs or Lindt/Malteaster Bunnies

THE RECIPE

Make the bread according to this recipe. Once it's risen and ready, tip onto a clean work-surface dusted with flour. Roll out thinly into a rectangle. Break the white chocolate into a bowl, then separately heat the cream until it has just boiled. Pour this over the chocolate, and stir quickly until you have a thick, glossy ganache. Add the orange zest, the spread over the thinly rolled bread dough using a palette knife.

Coarsely chop up the chocolate treats, then scatter over the ganache. With the long-side facing you, roll the dough as tightly as you can. Now slice this in half longways, so you have two long sections of layered dough and filling. Wrap these around one another, sealing the two ends into a wreath shape. Transfer to a lined baking tray and leave to prove for a second hour, until the bread has doubled in size. 

Preheat the oven to 200C, and beat the second egg to form an egg wash. Brush this liberally over the bread, then bake the couronne for 25-30 minutes, until golden and baked through. Keep an eye on it, as you may need to cover it with foil to stop the sugar browning too much. 

Decorate the cooled bread with more chocs if you're feeling brave, and let the masses loose. They'll be very happy (Easter) bunnies.

 

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CHOCOLATE AND ORANGE HOT CROSS BUNS

Bank holidays were made for baking. Lazy mornings, sunny kitchens and happy people ready to fill their tums with hot cross buns.

At the risk of committing blasphemy to the baking gods, this writer is not a lover of dried fruit or mixed peel. Is it just me who would rather more bun and less currant? Well if you're in agreement...then you're also in luck.

Introducing...my very own chocolate and orange hot cross buns. Out with the sultanas and peel, in with generous handfuls of dark and white chips and bundles of sunny orange zest. I've done my best to keep the purists happy too - there's cinnamon and crosses keeping these babies 100% Easter friendly. Just like the easter bunny, these do take their sweet time. But boy are they worth the wait.

THE INGREDIENTS

500g strong white bread flour

10g fast-action yeast

10g salt

80g caster sugar

300ml milk

50g butter

2 eggs

1 tsp cinnamon

zest of 2 large oranges

100g dark chocolate chips

75g white chocolate chips 

2 tbsp marmalade

100g icing sugar

juice 1/2 orange

THE RECIPE 

Weigh the flour into a large mixing bowl, then add the yeast to one side of the bowl, and the salt and the sugar to the other. Seperately heat the milk until it is warm through, then add the butter to the milk, stirring to melt. Tip the milk into the flour mix, and crack in the eggs. Using your hand, turn the contents to mix, and continue mixing until the mixture is smooth and all the flour has been picked up. 

Tip onto an oiled surface, and knead for 10 minutes, until the dough is soft, stretchy and has stopped being sticky. Lightly oil a clean bowl, add the dough and leave to rise (covered with a clean tea towel) for 1-2 hours. 

Once the dough has doubled in size, sprinkle the cinnamon and a little flour onto a work surface, and tip the dough on top. Press inwardly to knock out all of the air, then add the zest and chocolate. Knead until all the filling is evenly incorporated, then return to the bowl, and leave to rise for a further 1-2 hours. 

Line a baking tray with parchment once the dough has doubled in size. Divide into 12 even sized balls (i weigh the dough in full to ensure they are evenly sized), shape and place on the tray. Leave enough room between the buns for them to rise again. Place in a clean bag and allow to rise for 1 hour. In the meantime, preheat your oven to 220C. Once the buns are ready, bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Keep an eye on them and if they are colouring too quickly, cover with foil for the remainder of the bake. 

Just before you remove the buns for the oven, mix the marmalade with a few teaspoons of boiling water. Take the buns out, and brush with the marmalade glaze. Move to a wire rack, and once they have cooled a little, mix the icing sugar and orange juice to form an icing. Use a piping bag to draw crosses on top of your buns. 

What will you be baking this Easter weekend?

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