Spring is well and truly upon us here at Ballyknocken House and Cookery School. The garden is starting to come to life, the vegetable plot is ready to sow, the soft fruit garden is tidy, while inside in the cookery school everything is looking fresh and ready to go.

For your Easter bake-off at home I have something for the kids as well as two delicious recipes to wow your guests with over the Easter break. My pull-apart chocolate brioche-style bread is fun to make and fun to eat and is perfect for brunch – but remember: you do need to allow time to let the dough rise. But don’t worry; it’ll be worth getting out of bed for!

For something more fancy for Easter Sunday, I propose a Cassata cake, a traditional Easter cake from Sicily with which you can really show off.

Finally, I leave you with a personal favourite: chocolate date torte with a delicious white chocolate ganache, which is also a hit here at the cookery school for easy entertaining.

Happy Easter and enjoy,

Catherine

www.ballyknocken.ie

Recipes

Chocolate Date Torte

Serves eight to 10

Dark chocolate and white chocolate in the one cake – yum! This is a marriage made in heaven. I delicately fold in the egg whites, almonds, dates and chocolate for the best results. The white chocolate ganache is also useful for decorating other sweet treats, especially celebration cakes.

For the torte

Butter, for greasing

180g chocolate drops, roughly chopped

180g ground almonds

150g pitted dates, finely chopped

Zest of 1 orange

2 tbsp cocoa powder

6 egg whites

100g golden caster sugar

For the white chocolate ganache

100g white chocolate drops

100ml double cream

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

100g raspberries, to decorate

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas 4.

2. Line the base of a 23cm springform tin with baking parchment and butter the sides.

3. Combine the chocolate drops, ground almonds, dates and orange zest in a bowl and then sift in the cocoa powder.

4. Place the egg whites into the spotlessly clean, dry bowl of an electric mixer and whisk to soft peak stage. Add the sugar one tablespoon at a time, whisking after each addition, until combined.

5. Once all the sugar has been incorporated, whisk for a further two minutes, until the mixture is thick and glossy.

6. Use a metal spoon to lightly fold in the almond mixture until just combined. Pour into the lined springform tin.

7. Bake the torte for 35 minutes, until it begins to pull away slightly from the sides of the tin. Remove from the oven and cool completely before removing from the tin.

8. To make the ganache, heat the white chocolate, cream and vanilla bean paste in a small saucepan

over a low heat until a thick, smooth sauce forms, stirring most of the time.

9. Leave to cool and then pour over the cooled torte. Sprinkle raspberries over the top to decorate.

Chocolate Pull-Apart Bread

Serves eight to 10

We make this in our “head chef-junior chef” class in our cookery school here at Ballyknocken – and it’s a hit with the adults and children alike. The combination of brioche-style dough and chocolate is always moreish.

450g strong flour

70g caster sugar

½ tsp salt

2 tsp yeast

70g butter

180ml milk (you may need a little more than this)

1 egg

70g chocolate drops

Egg wash, for glazing

Olive oil

1. Place the flour, sugar, salt and yeast in the bowl of an electric mixer with the dough hook attached.

2. Gently heat the milk and butter, then allow to cool slightly before whisking in the egg. Check the temperature, as it should not be too hot. Pour over the dry ingredients and, using the dough hook of the mixer, mix until a soft dough has formed.

3. “Knead” in the machine for about three to four minutes, until a smooth dough has formed.

4. Oil a large bowl and place the dough into the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and leave to rise in a warm place to double in size. This will probably take about two hours. Check after one hour.

5. Line a 900g loaf tin with parchment.

6. When the dough has doubled in size, place on a floured surface and “knock back” – knead for two to three minutes.

7. Roll the dough out into a rectangle shape about 12cm x 25cm. Sprinkle over the chocolate drops.

8. Roll up like a Swiss roll, slice into 3cm strips, glaze them with a little egg wash, pack them, side by side into the loaf tin. Glaze the top with egg wash.

9. Preheat the oven to 190°C/fan 170°C/gas 5.

10. Oil a piece of plastic wrap and loosely cover the dough. Leave to rise in a warm place for a further 20 to 25 minutes.

11. Glaze the top again with egg wash and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden.

12. Place on a cool rack. Cool before removing from the loaf tin and serve.

Cassata Celebration Cake

Serves 12

I love the traditional Sicilian Cassata cake, which hails from Palermo. Ornate and topped with candied fruit, this is quite the showpiece. Here is my simplified version of the celebration cake, which is often made only at Easter in Italy – so now’s your chance.

For the cake

6 eggs, separated

375g caster sugar, divided

Zest of 1 lemon

300g plain flour, sifted

1½ tsp baking powder

For the filling

350g ricotta

160g icing sugar

100g candied fruits, such as cherries, apricot, papaya and pineapple

50g toasted pine nuts

80ml Marsala

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

For the syrup

150ml orange juice

60ml Marsala

For the icing

500g icing sugar, sifted

160g ricotta

250g toasted flaked almonds, to decorate

candied fruits, to decorate

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas 4. Line a 25cm springform tin with baking parchment.

2. Place the egg whites into a clean, dry mixing bowl and whisk until stiff peaks form. Fold in 100g of the caster sugar with a metal spoon.

3. In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks with the remaining 275g of caster sugar and the lemon zest. Fold in the egg white and sugar mixture and then the sifted flour and baking powder.

4. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for about 55 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool and then remove from the tin.

5. To prepare the filling, combine all the ingredients and set aside. Mix together the orange juice and Marsala in a separate bowl for the syrup.

6. To assemble, slice the cake into four even layers. Place the first layer back into the cake tin, drizzle with syrup and spread over one-third of the filling. Add another layer of cake on top and continue layering, ending with cake. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight.

7. Meanwhile, to make the icing, whisk together the icing sugar and ricotta in a large bowl. Set aside.

8. To serve, unwrap the cake and place it on a cake stand. Ice the top and sides of the cake. Decorate the sides with toasted almond flakes and arrange the candied fruit on top. CL

Book your cookery course at Ballyknocken Cookery School

Try Catherine’s Easter treats at home, or if you prefer to come to Ballyknocken Cookery School. Some of these recipes and similar can be found on the Mains and Desserts course on 6 May from 10am to 2pm, or the Breads and Baking course on 3 June from 11am to 3pm. €125 per person per course. Visit www.ballyknocken.ie or call 0404 44627.

Recipes from Bake Like An Italian by Catherine Fulvio, published by Gill Books with photography by Harry Weir.