It is customary to bake Easter cakes on Maundy Thursday. Alexander Dovletov, pastry chef of Maroon and Meraki restaurants, and Sergey Kuznetsov, chef of MO friends bar&dining bar&dining, told socialbites.ca which filling to choose for traditional Easter baking.
“Traditionally, dried fruits are added to Easter cakes – raisins and dried cherries, candied fruits, dried cranberries and nuts. But I recommend you move away from the classics and add poppy seeds rubbed with honey, chocolate chips and fresh fruits (pineapple, banana, mango) or even olives with black olives. Instead of the usual spices – cinnamon, cloves and ginger, you can use lavender, ”said Sergey Kuznetsov.
Alexander Dovletov also recommended baking Easter cakes with liquid filling – vanilla cream or creamy caramel with the addition of citrus zest.
“For those who prefer the classic Easter dough, I recommend using a mix of black and white raisins, lemon and candied orange. “Both need to be soaked in a spiced syrup with cinnamon, star anise and vanilla first,” said the pastry chef at Maroon and Meraki restaurants.