5 cheap and easy Easter baking recipes that the kids will adore!

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Baking is the perfect way to fill a rainy afternoon, and your tummy! 😂 My two love it, and Easter is a great excuse to get your bake on! Here are 5 cheap and easy baking recipes that the kids will adore – simple, tasty and with a fun Easter twist.

We’ve got cookies, cupcakes, chocolate fridge cake, hot cross buns and my favourite carrot cake! (Gluten-free adaptations included if you need them too!) Enjoy!

Easter Vanilla Cookie Recipe

With the help of some Easter themed cookie cutters and some coloured icing, these cookies are pretty simple to create. You could shape your yummy cookies into bunnies, carrots, chicks, or keep it simple with an oval shape for Easter eggs.

This vanilla biscuit recipe is so quick, cheap and easy – but ridiculously tasty! (Warning: they may look nothing like this when the kids have finished decorating them! 😂)

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Ingredients:

250g butter, softened

140g caster sugar

300g plain flour

1 egg yolk

1-2 tsp vanilla extract

Icing

(For gluten-free: switch to GF flour and add ¼ tsp Xanthan Gum)

Method:

Simply mix the sugar with the butter until smooth and fluffy, then add the egg yolk and vanilla essence and mix well again. Finally, sift in the flour and add any chocolate chips etc at this point if you wish.

Next, pop the dough into the fridge for half an hour – this will make it much easier to shape. Afterwards, roll out the dough and cut with cookie cutters. Then transfer the cookies to a baking tray lined with baking parchment. Make sure you leave ample space around each one as they will spread as they cook.

Pop into the oven for 10-15 mins at 180°C / Fan 160°C / Gas 4 until pale golden. Once cooked, cool on the tray for a good 15 minutes before you transfer them onto a cooling rack. Then, once completely cooled, let the kids loose with icing and sweets for an afternoon of fun!

The Easter Bunny’s Carrot Cake Recipe

I adore this recipe! A firm favourite of our furry Easter pal – this carrot cake with cream cheese frosting is super easy, moist and delicious! This one makes the perfect treat for visiting family, served with cup of tea. You can even make the sponge in advance (and freeze it if you like) then add the frosting on the day.

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Ingredients:

zest and juice of 1 orange

50g sultanas

150ml sunflower / vegetable oil

2 large eggs

140g light soft brown sugar

170g self-raising flour

1 tbsp ground mixed spice

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

140g grated carrots

(For gluten-free: switch to GF flour)

For the icing:

200g soft cheese

50g butter, softened

85g icing sugar, sifted

Method:

Put the orange juice and zest into a bowl with the sultanas, mix and pop into the microwave for 1-2 minutes to make the sultanas nice and moist – you can also soak these the night before instead if you would prefer.

Heat the oven to 180°C / Fan 160°C / Gas 4 and grease and line a 900g loaf tin. Mix the sugar, flour, mixed spice and bicarb in a large mixing bowl.

Whisk together the oil and the eggs, then add to the dry ingredients. Next, add the sultana/orange mixture and the carrots, and mix thoroughly. Tip into the loaf tin and bake for one hour, or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Cool the cake in the tin before removing it and icing.

For the icing: use an electric whisk to beat together the soft cheese, butter and icing sugar until smooth. Spread over the cooled cake (top with mini-eggs for an extra treat!) and keep in the fridge.

Hot Cross Bun Recipe

Easter would not be complete without hot cross buns!! This is a fairly simple recipe, so smother them in butter and enjoy! 😋

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Ingredients:

500g strong white bread flour

½ tsp salt

2 heaped tsp mixed spice

50g caster sugar

50g butter

200g mixed dried fruit

7g sachet easy-blend dried yeast

200ml milk

2 eggs

For the crosses/glaze:

3 tbsp plain flour

honey or golden syrup to glaze

Method:

Pour the flour into a bowl and stir in the salt, mixed spice and sugar, then rub in the butter by hand. Stir in the dried fruit, then add the yeast and stir in. Warm the milk, beat with the eggs, then pour into the dried ingredients.

Using a blunt knife, mix the ingredients to form a moist dough, and leave to soak for 5 mins. Then, take the dough out of the bowl and cut it into 8 equal pieces. Shape the dough into buns on a floured surface.

Space the buns apart on a baking sheet – they will need room to expand. Cover the tray loosely with cling film, and leave it in a warm place until they have grown in size by about 50%. This will take 45 mins-1 hr 15 mins, depending on how warm the room is.

When the buns have risen, heat the oven to 220°C / Fan 200°C / Gas 7. For the top of the buns: Mix the flour with 2 tbsp of water to make a paste. Use a piping bag (or pour the mixture into a sandwich bag with one corner cut) to pipe crosses on top of each bun.

Bake for 12-15 mins until risen and golden. Then brush all over with honey or golden syrup. The buns will keep fresh for a day, but will last a few days if toasted. Yum, yum!

Easy Easter Cupcake Recipe

Quick and simple, this recipe is my go to when we’re baking cakes, and a few mini-eggs and themed decorations on top makes them Easter ready in no time!

Ingredients:

4oz caster sugar

4oz soft butter

4oz self-raising flour

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ tsp baking powder

Optional – flavourings / icing / additional fillings / mini eggs

(For gluten-free: switch to GF flour / baking powder and add ¼ tsp Xanthan Gum)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 190°C / Fan 170°C / Gas 5 and line a cupcake tray with cases before you start – you’ll probably need about 12. I like speedy baking; feel free to mix the ingredients in the traditional ways and orders if you so choose, but I literally throw all of the ingredients into my mixer in one go!

Whizz it up, share into cupcake cases and bake in the oven for about 12-15 minutes. Keep an eye on them and remove when golden brown.

To check that they’re ready, poke a fork into the middle of one of the cakes and if it comes out clean they’re cooked – it’s as easy as that! If there’s still wet batter in the middle, bake for a little longer before testing it again.

Cool on a rack, and then be creative with icing and decorations to suit your Easter theme.

Easter Egg Leftovers: Chocolate Fridge Cake Recipe

This recipe can prepped in just a few minutes and involves no actual cooking, so the kids can do it all. My delicious chocolate fridge cake always goes down a treat, and it’s a great way to use up Easter eggs if you end up with too much chocolate!

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Ingredients:

200g digestive biscuits (GF if needed)

100g rice crispies (GF if needed)

300g of leftover Easter egg chocolate

100g unsalted butter

150g golden syrup

100g raisins

100g mini marshmallows

Method:

Line a 20cm shallow square-shaped tin using clingfilm or baking parchment, with extra hanging over the sides. (No prep needed if using a foil tray.) Put the biscuit into a large mixing bowl and bash with the end of a rolling pin until it resembles breadcrumbs.

In another bowl, melt the chocolate, butter and golden syrup in the microwave – stop and stir as needed.

Pour the melted mixture into the biscuit bowl and add the rice crispies, raisins and marshmallows. Mix well, then spoon into the prepared tin and push it down tightly and firmly.

Leave it to cool in the fridge for 1-2 hours to set, then turn it out of the tin, peel off the clingfilm and slice into 12 squares.