Easter 2023

Ensure a household of happy bunnies this Easter courtesy of The Pantiles. Our stores and services are choc-a-block with tempting treats, spring styles, beauty booty and eggs-cellent gadgets. Plus, with plenty of mouth-watering meal options in our cafes and restaurants, celebrating in style is a cinch!

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. This year, Easter Sunday take place on Sunday 9th April.

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 Easter trivia:

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. Households spend an average of £75 on Easter each year.
3. The UK’s first chocolate egg was produced in 1873 by Fry’s of Bristol.

Easter Carrot Cake Recipe

Easter is the perfect opportunity to get in the kitchen and create cakes and bakes for family and friends. This simple Easter Carrot Cake is easy to make with children and are great for an Easter treat, dessert or table showstopper!

Ingredients

230ml oil – preferably vegetable oil

100g natural yogurt

4 eggs

1½ tsp vanilla extract

½ orange, zested

265g self-raising flour

335g light muscovado sugar

2½ tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp grated nutmeg

265g carrots, grated

100g sultanas/raisins

100g roughly chopped nuts

For the icing

100g salted butter

300g icing sugar

100g soft cheese

Method 

1. Heat your oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Grease and line a 20cm, deep base cake tin. Combine the oil, yogurt, eggs, vanilla and orange zest in a jug. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and a pinch of salt in a bowl.
2. Combine the wet and dry ingredients together, along with the carrots, raisins and half the nuts. Mix well to combine, then pour the mixture into your cake tin.
3. Bake for 25-30 mins or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin.
4. To make the icing, beat the butter and sugar together until smooth. Add the soft cheese and beat. Remove the cake from the tin and cover it with the icing and remaining nuts.
5. The cake will keep in the fridge for five days but is best eaten at room temperature.

Happy Easter from everyone at The Pantiles!