Recipes with Julie: Easter egg cream-filled Nanaimo bars and other spring flings

Easter weekend is traditionally a time for brunching, and while late morning offerings can range from waffles to burgers — the best thing about brunch is anything goes — there's often a wide range of tastes at the table.

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Here are a few recipes to please them all — hot cross buns for Easter morning traditionalists, make-ahead shakshuka for those who'd choose savoury over sweet, and Easter creme egg Nanaimo bars for anyone on the hunt for more chocolate.

Hot cross buns

Hot cross buns are fairly simple to mix together, as yeast doughs go. This is a nice buttery recipe, flavoured with orange zest and studded with currants or raisins.

If you like candied peel, and can find some good stuff, go for it. I tend to leave it out and rely on lots of cinnamon and orange zest or even a big spoonful of chunky orange marmalade in the dough (replace some of the sugar).

Ingredients:

2 tsp active dry yeast
¼ cup warm water
⅓ cup sugar
1 cup milk, warmed
3 ½ cups (about 1 lb) all-purpose flour
¼ cup butter, softened
1 large egg
Grated zest of an orange
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
¾ cup currants or raisins

Gloss + Paste:
1 egg, lightly beaten
¼ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup water

Preparation:

In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in ¼ cup warm water, along with a pinch of the sugar. (If it doesn't get foamy, you need new yeast!)

Add the milk and about 3 cups of flour along with the butter, egg, orange zest, cinnamon and salt.

Stir or knead with the hook attachment of your stand mixer until you have a soft, sticky dough.

Add the remaining flour, if you need it. (The dough should be soft and tacky, but not overly sticky.)

Cover the bowl and leave it for an hour or so, until it has doubled in size.

Turn the dough out onto the countertop, spread it out a bit and sprinkle with the currants.

Fold the dough over itself and knead a few times to incorporate the currants into the dough.

Divide the dough into 12 pieces and shape each into a rough ball.

Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet or into a 9x13-inch baking pan, cover and set aside for another hour.

When you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 190 C/375 F.

Brush the buns with some beaten egg, and in a small dish, stir together the flour and water to make a smooth paste.

Spoon into a small zip-lock bag, seal and snip off one corner; squeeze over the buns to make crosses. Bake for about 20 minutes, until deep golden.

Serving: Serve warm. Makes a dozen hot cross buns.

Shakshuka

Really, any combination of onions, garlic, peppers, chilies, zucchini, eggplant and tomatoes is perfect to cook down into a thick, saucy stew to simmer eggs in — and will get better after a day or two in the fridge.

The bread is an instrumental element of this meal; it's designed for scooping and swiping. Go for soft naan you can tear and dip, or a good crusty loaf with chewy nooks and crannies to grab the spicy sauce.

Ingredients:

Canola or olive oil, for cooking
1 onion, chopped
1-2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed
Chopped cilantro stems, optional
2-3 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 small zucchini and/or eggplant, chopped
1 28 oz (796 mL) can whole tomatoes, preferably San Marzano-style (in puree)
4-6 eggs
Crumbled feta

Preparation:

In a large, heavy skillet or shallow pot, heat a generous drizzle of oil and saute the onion and jalapenos for a few minutes, until soft.

Add the bell pepper, garlic, cilantro stems, chili powder, cumin and some salt and pepper and cook, stirring, for another minute or two.

Add the zucchini and/or eggplant and cook for another 5-10 minutes.

Add tomatoes (I add some water to the can, swish it around and add it too to get all that tomato goodness). Cook, breaking the tomatoes up with a spoon, until the mixture simmers and thickens to the texture you like.

If you like, cool it down and refrigerate for up to 3 days, and reheat whenever you're ready for it.

When it's at an even simmer, make 4-6 little dents with a spoon in the surface of the sauce and crack an egg into each.

Cover the pot and simmer until the egg whites are opaque but the yolks are still soft — or until they're cooked to your liking.

Serving: Serve hot, sprinkled with crumbled feta and extra chopped cilantro, with crusty bread or pitas. Serves 4-6.

Easter Creme Egg Nanaimo Bars

Yes, this is the real deal — only a few Easter eggs have been hidden in between the layers.

I used halved Cadbury's Easter Creme Eggs, but you could use Mini Eggs instead. One listener suggested smashing them lightly to make them easier to cut through, and to add colourful flecks throughout the frosting layer. Brilliant!

Bottom layer ingredients:

½ cup butter
¼ cup sugar
⅓ cup cocoa
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 ½ cups graham wafer crumbs
½ cup finely chopped almonds, optional
1 cup shredded or flaked coconut
3 Cadbury Creme Eggs

Preparation:

Melt first 3 ingredients in top of double boiler (or a regular saucepan on medium-low heat).

Add egg and stir to cook and thicken.

Remove from heat. Stir in crumbs, coconut, and nuts.

Press firmly into an an ungreased or parchment-lined 8x8-inch pan.

Cut the Easter creme eggs in half lengthwise and place cut side down on the base.

Refrigerate while you make the frosting (second layer).

Second layer ingredients:

½ cup butter, softened
2 tbsp and 2 tsp cream or milk
2 tbsp Bird's custard powder
2 cups icing sugar

Preparation:

Cream butter, cream, custard powder and icing sugar together well. Beat until light. Spread over bottom layer.

Third layer ingredients:

8 squares (8 oz) semi-sweet chocolate or chocolate chips
3-4 tbsp butter

Preparation:

Melt chocolate and butter over low heat or in a bowl in the microwave. Cool slightly, pour over second layer and refrigerate until set.

Serving: Cut into 16 squares.

• Bookmark cbc.ca/juliesrecipes to keep up with all of Julie Van Rosendaal's dishes