Sweets are essential for Easter cooking. In Georgia, Easter cakes baking starts a few days before the holiday and baked cakes are carefully kept until Easter. Easter cake baking is a labor-intensive and long process. Easter cakes prepared with a traditional recipe, with a heavy, damp texture, are still baked in many families.
In the US, Easter is a favorite holiday for almost all children. Painting of hard-boiled eggs begins a few days before Easter, the eggs are painted in pastel colors to celebrate the diversity of spring. On Saturday, the painted eggs are left outside the house, and on Easter Sunday the egg hunt begins, which the Easter Bunny carefully hid throughout the yard, along with a basket full of sweets.
The tradition of Easter bunnies and eggs emerged in North America in the 19th century after German immigrants brought it to the continent. The relation of bunnies with the Easter is unclear, although some scholars think that it is a pagan tradition. A rabbit was considered a sacred animal of the fertility goddess as a symbol of abundance. Easter sweets and cakes made in the US are decorated with chocolate colored eggs and bunnies.
Royal mazurkas (mazurek królewski) - this is the name of the Polish Easter cake, which is distinguished by a variety of toppings - almond paste, dried fruit, jam of different colors, meringue, nuts… Any combination is acceptable, however, the cake shall be thin, up to 3 cm in height.
Hot cross buns are traditionally baked for Easter in Britain, Ireland, Canada, Australia and South Africa. This is an aromatic bun full of spices and raisins, which is painted with crosses before baking, and after baking, apricot jam is spread over for gloss. Hot buns are served with butter. You will find the recipe for buns on our website.
The Austrian Easter cake Reindling is of ring type, often cooked as salty cake, served with sausage and smoked ham, although there is also a sweet version with cocoa or cinnamon, raisins and rum.
Torrijas is Spanish style French toasts that you will meet in every Spanish family for Easter. The bread is cut the day before and soaked in sugary and spicy milk overnight, and the next day it is dipped in the scrambled eggs and fried in a lot of olive oil. Toasted crusty breads are sprinkled with powdered sugar and cinnamon before eating.
Mona de Pasqua is a Spanish, in particular Catalan dessert, which are decorated with boiled, unshelled eggs often painted in various colors on the top. On Easter Sunday, the godparents give this cake to the godchildren, and on Easter Monday, Catalans go out of town with family or friends to picnic to eat these cakes. The number of eggs on the top of the cake indicates the age of the godchild. Traditionally such a gift is given to children under 12 years.
In Greece, Easter is a special holiday, and the real star of the Easter cooking is the spicey tsoureki, plaited cake with by red colored boiled eggs inside. Greek spices give this cake an amazing flavor, while the technology of dough preparation gives a different texture.
The Easter dove - colomba di pasqua, is baked in almost all Italian bakeries for the holiday. This spicey cake has the shape of a dove and is related to the biblical story about Noah. The dove is a symbol of hope that returned to the ark with an olive branch.
This spicy cake tastes of panettone, the dough is rich in candies citruses, and the top is sprinkled with almond flakes and powdered sugar.
Coconut sweets - cocadas, may be found in many Latin American countries - Mexico, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Chile. This biscuit is made from eggs, sugar and coconut flakes, almonds are often added. The shape and texture varies from country to country.
