When everyone else is eating chocolate, and you can’t, it can appear that you’re missing out. However, we have a free from range of delicious baking mixes and snacks that means you don’t need to miss out at all as they are all gluten and dairy free. They even can be used to make some Easter themed desserts to impress.
Three sweet Gluten and Dairy Free Easter recipes:
Easter Nut free Chocolate Bark:
Dairy Free Easter Chocolate Bark
Serves 8 | prep 15 minutes | cook 40 minutes
Ingredients:
- 240g bars of Diary Free Milk Chocolate
- 120g bars of Dairy Free White Chocolate
- 30g Gnawbles (we choose Salted caramel)
- 80g packet free from Mini Easter Eggs
- Selection of colourful Sprinkles
- 1 sheet of Baking Paper
Method:
- Bring some water to the boil in a saucepan and place the milk chocolate in a glass bowl on top and melt. Make sure the water doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl, as you don’t want the chocolate to burn.
- Once the chocolate is melted, pour onto a baking tray already covered with baking paper. Using a spoon, smooth out the chocolate until it is smooth and even.
- Melt the white chocolate in the same way as the milk chocolate.
- Once the white chocolate is melted, drizzle it over the milk chocolate.
- Put all of your desired toppings on top, and place in the fridge for around 30 – 40 minutes, until the chocolate has solidified.
- To serve, break the bark into your desired size pieces. Enjoy!
Gluten and Dairy Free Hot Cross Buns
Gluten Free Hot Cross Buns
Serves 6; Prep 2 hours 45 minutes; cook 15 minutes.
Ingredients:
- 500g Creative Nature Gluten Free, All Purpose Flour
- 300ml Plant-based Milk
- 50g Dairy Free Spread
- 1 tsp Salt
- 75g Golden Caster Sugar
- 7g fast action Yeast
- 70g Sultanas
- 1 Orange (zested)
- 2 heaped tbsp Mixed Spices
- 75g Creative Nature Gluten Free All Purpose Flour (for the cross)
- Apricot Jam (for the glaze)
Method:
- Pour your chosen milk into a saucepan over a medium heat. Once it comes to a simmer add the dairy free spread and mix well. Once melted, remove from the heat. Allow to cool.
- In a large mixing bowl; add the flour, yeast, salt, sugar and spices making sure that they are all combined.
- Pour the milk mixture into the bowl and make sure to mix well until it begins to take a dough like form.
- Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for around 5-10 minutes. It should start to become stretchy. Place the kneaded dough into a large bowl and allow to rest for 1hr.
- Take the dough onto a lightly floured surface again and add the sultanas and orange zest to the dough. Knead again until everything is combined and evenly distributed. Place back into the mixing bowl and allow to rest for another hour.
- Divide the dough into 8 pieces on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Cover with cling film and allow to rest for another 45 mins.
- While you wait, preheat the oven to 220 degrees. To make the cross on the top of your buns, combine the remaining flour with water until it creates a thick paste (add the water in gradually, you don’t want this to be too runny!). Place the paste in a piping bag.
- Once the hot cross buns are done, pipe the paste on top of the buns to create a cross and add to the oven for around 15 – 20 mins until they turn a golden brown on top.
- Warm up your apricot jam and brush over the top of your buns!
- We like to serve ours cool, set aside for around 15 mins and then serve! Enjoy!!
Easter Cheesecake (gluten and dairy free):
Easter Gluten and Dairy Cheesecake
Serves 16; Prep: 15 minutes: Set: overnight
Ingredients:
- 1 tub of Bunny Droppings
- 1 pack of free from Mini Easter Eggs
- 400g of Gluten Free Biscuits
- 400 Diary Free full-fat Soft Cheese (Violife)
- 150g Icing Sugar
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 400g Dairy Free Double Cream (Elmlea)
- 80g Vegan Unsalted Butter (flora)
- Creative Nature Cacao Nibs for extra decoration
Method:
- Put the gluten free biscuits into a food processor and blend until they turn into crumbs. Mix in the melted butter until combined.
- Put this in a circular baking tin and let it chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Chop up half of the mini Easter eggs and Bunny Dropping Gnawbles. Then beat together the soft cheese and icing sugar with an electric whisk.
- Beat in the double cream until the mixture forms still peaks.
- Fold the icing sugar and soft cheese into the double cream. Add in the mini eggs and Bunny Dropping Gnawbles.
- Spread the mixture over the biscuit base and refrigerate overnight.
- Once chilled, add the rest of the mini Easter eggs, Bunny Dropping Gnawbles and sprinkle cacao nibs on top.
We also have three Easter activities that you can do together as a family. So many of the Easter activities are based around food, which just reminds children with allergies that they can’t always enjoy the same things as everyone else. Having some fun activities where everyone can join in, makes for a more inclusive Easter.
Three Easter Activities
1. Create an indoor Easter garden.
Visit your local garden centre and buy a few small springtime plants and some moss.
Working together as a family, find an indoor planter where you can plant your plants, add some moss and then decorate with an Easter decorations and coloured ribbon. Use as a table centre piece.
2. Pin the Tail on the Rabbit
Instead of pin the tail on the donkey, how about pin the tail on the bunny?
You need:
- Coloured Paper
- White Paper.
- Scissors
- Sticky Tac
- Pencil
- Sleeping Mask or Scarf for blindfold
Make your rabbit:
- Cut a rabbit template out of the coloured paper (if you’re not good at drawing, look online for an image to print and copy).
- Lightly draw onto the template where the tail should go.
- Make a fluffy rabbit tail out of white paper. (It might be a good idea to make several tails, if there are a few people taking part).
- Add sticky tac to the back of your rabbit tail.
- Stick your rabbit to the wall with sticky tac.
How to play:
- In turn, blindfold each player, and spin them around.
- Give them one attempt to stick the tail on the rabbit.
- Put a mark on the paper to show how close each person got to the target (you could use their initials or name).
- Closet to the original tail mark wins.
3. Decorated Eggs’ Competition
Decorating eggs competition
- Because many children have egg allergies, you can do this activity with either wooden, foam or ceramic eggs.
- Either paint the eggs, or decorate them with a range of colourful stickers, beads, and sparkly shapes.
- Have a competition – who can paint the silliest face on an egg?
- Use the finished eggs to decorate your table during Easter.
- Perhaps have a little prize for the person voted as the winner however ensure all feel like winners!