Easter

Ensure a household of happy bunnies this Easter with help from The Pantiles! Our stores are choc-a-block with tempting treats, spring styles, beauty booty and eggs-cellent gadgets.

And with plenty of mouth-watering meal options in our cafes and restaurants over the Easter break, celebrating in style is a cinch!

About Easter

Easter is a festival and holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. It is the culmination of the Passion of Christ, preceded by Lent, a forty-day period of fasting, prayer and penance.

The week prior to Easter is referred to as Holy Week and culminates in Good Friday, commemorating the crucifixion and death of Jesus. In western Christianity, the Easter season begins on Easter Sunday and lasts seven weeks, ending on Pentecost Sunday.

Easter and its related holidays are ‘moveable feasts’, meaning that they do not fall on a fixed date in the Gregorian or Julian calendars, which only follow the cycle of the sun.

It has come to be the first Sunday after the full moon that occurs on or soonest after 21st March, but calculations vary in East and West.

Easter is linked to the Jewish Passover by much of its symbolism, as well as by its position in the calendar. In many languages, the words for ‘Easter’ and ‘Passover’ are identical or very similar.

Easter customs vary across the Christian world and include visiting church, decorating Easter eggs (a symbol of an empty tomb), Easter egg hunts, Easter parades and exchanging gifts.

Easter Trivia

Some interesting Easter facts:

1. Every child in the UK receives an average of 8.8 Easter eggs every year – that’s double their recommended calorie intake for a whole week!
2. When eating a chocolate Easter Bunny, 76% of people bite off the ears first, 5% go for the feet and 4% opt for the tail.
3. Households spend an average of £75 on Easter each year.
4. The UK’s first chocolate egg was produced in 1873 by Fry’s of Bristol.

Easter Cupcakes

Easter is the perfect opportunity to get in the kitchen and create cakes and bakes for family and friends. These simple Easter Cupcakes are easy to make with children and are great for Easter treats or to give as gifts.

Ingredients:

100g Self Raising Flour
100g Caster Sugar
100g Butter (softened)
2 Free Range Eggs
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder

For the Buttercream Icing:

140g Butter (softened)
280g Icing Sugar (sifted)
1-2 Tablespoons of Milk
Grated Milk Chocolate
Packet of Mini Eggs

Makes 12 cupcakes

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4. Line a 12-hole cupcake tin with paper cases.
2. Put the flour, sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla extract and baking powder in a large bowl.
3. Beat the mixture well using an electric whisk. Or by hand. Mix well until it has a thick consistency. Spoon into the individual paper cases.
4. Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.
5. Leave to cool for 5 minutes.
6. While the cupcakes are cooling, you can make the buttercream icing. Beat the butter and icing sugar together in a large bowl until smooth.
7. Gradually add in the milk until you have a thick and smooth consistency. If the mixture is too stiff, add some more milk to loosen it.
8. Pipe the buttercream onto each cupcake.
9. Add some grated chocolate and Mini Eggs for decoration.
10. Serve and enjoy!

Happy Easter from everyone at The Pantiles!