Easter Goodies

[Daisy]

A bit of a rant ......

A lot of chocolate eggs and other Easter goodies don't have the word Easter anywhere on them this year! I know the religious aspects aren't important to a lot of people, but surely if we 'lose' the word Easter we are also giving up on an important festive week-end, when we can finally feel winter is behind us. What do other people think?


And another thing ..... Hot Cross buns used to be available for a couple of months before Good Friday, and then disappear until next year, but these days they're available all year round. I'm guilty as charged of buying them - one of my favourites - but you can only take so many liberties with something before you lose sight of the original product. Shopping in Tescos on Friday I rather absent- mindedly picked up two packets of them. "Tescos finest' it said on the packet. Fair enough. I don't usually shop in Tesco so not familiar with what they usually look like. When I unpacked them I noticed they were 'Blueberry and Maple Syrup Hot Cross Buns" What!!! They had to be kidding! Apart from the bit of pastry cross on top they were blueberry muffins on a bad day! Yeuk.

[Plantaholic]

Yes Daisy, I love buns but why can't they just be buns until a couple of weeks before Easter. Lots of flavours available now but I like a traditional bun

[ZIZI]

I only buy hot cross buns around Easter from the baker in the high street. I said a few years ago that they don’t taste the same as they used to and the shop owner told me that there are regulations and the salt and sugar content is strictly monitored. They really do not taste the same.

I was bought up in the Salvation Army (clearly lapsed because of my fondness for gin!) and although I am no longer overtly religious I do go to church for Christmas and Easter and if there is something else such as Grenfell or a disaster. I think it is totally wrong that in a Christian country, apologies to those who do not believe but we ARE a Christian country, our festivals are losing importance in favour of others. Be aware I have many friends of other religions, one of my best friends is a Sikh, so thus is not a racist rant or anything.

[Oma]

I know what you mean Daisy and agree with you Zizi ,
I am guilty of buying Hot cross buns at anytime as I love anything wit fruit in , but as Zizi said they just don't taste the same as when we were young ,
B makes them once a year at Easter and they taste so much better just a faff on to make ,
Don't know why only Easter as we are not religious in any shape or form ,

I will not buy Easter eggs either , you pay for a hollow thin covering of chocolate the rest is packaging , where at half the price you can buy a solid bar of chocolate , I tend to give money ,a few pounds only as we don't make a big thing of Easter and anyway they get enough from other people ,
GS1 isn't a great sweet eater he still has loads from Christmas that he was given , GS2 would just eat it all till he was sick ,GD is the same so don't get a lot ,

M&S do a mix of Hot cross buns but unless they are the original spiced buns as you say Daisy they not really them are they just a bun with a cross on

[Nanto2girls]

Daisy, it was the same last year, none of the Easter eggs said Easter on the packaging.
As for hot cross buns, i sometimes buy them throughout the year.
We are losing a lot of our tradirions now.

I can remember a few years ago, those that worked in a Red Cross charity shop, weren't allowed to say Merry Christmas.
They could say Happy Holidays or Greetings but not Merry Christmas.
I never gave any items to them after that.

[Gemini]

Blueberry and maple syrup hot cross buns!!

I love the traditonal kind. We bought some on Saturday, and I remarked how much smaller they are nowadays, half the size they used to be.

[ZIZI]

I don’t buy Easter eggs except small ones to do an Easter egg hunt and I usually buy them on line as a better variety to choose from. We did say we wouldn’t do it this year but they all insisted we do.

I am getting the feeling I might have to do pancakes this week. husband is in week two ofrunning a six week training course so I might make some at the weekend. I am not a fruity pancake person, the childhood sugar and lemon juice is my preferred I think although we don’t eat sugar much in this house, we only have half sugar but that will be enough for me. I don’t think I would want to have flavoured hot cross buns Gem. I am nit unadventurous in my food but some things are a step too far........

[Avo]

I too buy hot cross buns all year round, but they are not spicy like they used to be. More like regular currant buns but with the cross on.

[Mimi]

I brought some hot cross buns and we didn’t eat them all so there were two stale buns still left in the bread bin.
With ‘thrift ‘ being my middled name , I cut them in half , buttered ( or in my case olive spread) them , cut into smaller pieces, put them in a dish , poured over some milk with beaten egg in . Added some sugar and sprinkled some nutmeg on the top and baked for about 20 mins in the oven. Hay presto Hot cross bun bread and butter pudding.

[Gemini]

Good idea Mimi ☺ My mum does that with left over fruit bread.

[Daisy]

Avo - I agree. Modern shop-bought hot cross buns are a shadow of the 'real' ones.

Mimi - what a good idea. Yum, yum, the nutmeg would give them a bit more flavour as well.

[Nana]

Oma if you have the time or inclination could you put the recipe up that B uses please? I fancy trying my hand at making some now. I seem to remember a Gran on here making them too...was it Some1?