Creative packaging design: Easter eggs

Today, we begin a new series, ‘Creative packaging design’. Each time, we’ll concentrate on a different home, household or food product and showcase the best in the range when it comes to presentation. We’ll pay no heed to taste, quality, price or value for money – we’re judging the book by its cover, so to speak.

As we’re so close to the end of Lent, we’re going to start by shining our spotlight on Easter eggs. In doing or research, we realised what a saturated market it has become – but that a good thing for us consumers, we’re spoilt for choice; dark, milk, dark, vegan, fair trade, big small.

Some we’ve chosen on their dazzling good looks, others on their quirkiness. In some of the cases, it’s a double packaging affair; the outer, ‘non-food’ packaging as well as the design of the inner packaging… the egg itself.

I think the egg in the form of a boiled egg sandwich, complete with triangular take-away box, is so novel. I also think that the F&M drawer of 132 mini eggs is superb – like a Victorian collector’s specimen cabinet. The most attractive, in my opinion, is the exquisite, hand painted, papier-mâché Booja – Booja egg. What do you think? Do you have a favourite?

Left to right:

Chococo Giant milk chocolate honeycombe Easter egg

Caramayo chocolate Easter sandwich

Kakoa vegan Iconic Easter egg

Left to right:

Fortnum & Mason Ultimate praline ganache Easter egg selection box

LoveCocoa Salted caramel milk chocolate Easter egg

Booja – Booja hazelnut crunch chocolates truffles in decorative Easter egg

Left to right:

Selfridges The Great Egg hazelnut and sourdough ganache Easter egg

Melt Chocolate vegan strawberry Easter egg

Ballotoeuf nutpaste Easter egg

Left to right:

Hames Bronze range – luxury milk and white chocolate Easter egg – gin and tonic

Solid Chocolate Colombian single origin dark chocolate egg

Chocoviar Stracciatella egg

Get their look: Easter table dressing

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Most people decorate their homes for Christmas, but why don’t we do the same thing for Easter? We like Easter eggs and hot cross buns – but there doesn’t seem to be anywhere near the same emphasis on Easter time home dressing.

This beautiful Easter table setting is one of many ways you can style your home during the springtime holiday. Bird eggs & chicks, daffodils & tulips, rabbits & hares – all are symbols of the time of year. As well as table décor, you could use decorative Easter items in mantle-piece displays, window displays even in the garden. We’ve found some lovely Easter wreaths that would welcome visitors to your home.

Get their look

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Artificial paperwhite narcissus

Pressed glass highball glasses

Tea light holder

Faux speckled bird eggs

Matte ceramic Easter hens

Pearl tableware

Artificial paperwhite narcissus

Pressed glass highball glasses

Tea light holder

Faux speckled bird eggs

Matte ceramic Easter hens

Pearl tableware

Artificial paperwhite narcissus

Pressed glass highball glasses

Tea light holder

Faux speckled bird eggs

Matte ceramic Easter hens

Pearl tableware

Cakes & Bakes: Almond and coconut macaroon nests

I bought a bag of Cadbury’s mini eggs in the supermarket this week with the being to use them to make some kind of Easter recipe. Rather than a cake or cookies, I decided to make some almond and coconut macaroon nests.

It’s a simple macaroon recipe; and, if you prefer, you can use all dessicated coconut or all ground almonds. Simply use an equal weight to the caster sugar. Whisking the egg whites aren’t absolutely necessary, I just think that it gives the nests a light and airy consistency.

A tablespoonful of macaroon mixture should be enough to make a nest that can easily hold 3 mini eggs. If you’d like to ‘glue’ your eggs into the cooked nests, pour a teaspoon of melted chocolate (white, milk or dark) or fruit jam inside the nest before you put the eggs inside.

They’re a lovely Easter teatime treat to have with either tea or coffee. Two per person should be ample. If there are any left over, they will keep for a few days inside an airtight, lidded container.

Click here or on the image below to save my recipe to Pinterest

Almond coconut macaroon nests

Print recipe Pin recipe

Cook Time 15

Course Snack

Cuisine British

Servings 12

Ingredients

100 g caster sugar
50 g dessicated coconut
50 g ground almonds I used 30g of ground almonds and 20g of flaked almonds for some added texture
pinch of salt
2 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 x 80g bags chocolate mini eggs

Instructions

Preheat oven to 150ºC/300ºF/Gas mark 2
Line a large baking tray with greaseproof paper
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the sugar, coconut, almonds and salt
In a large sized bowl, whisk the egg whites to the soft peak stage. Fold them into the dry ingredients
Add in the vanilla extract
Take tablespoonfuls of the mixture and gently roll them into balls in the palm of your hands. Place them on the lined baking tray
Form each ball into a nest shape by pressing down on the centre using the back of a measuring spoon (the desert spoon sized one works best for me) or a finger
Bake in the centre of the oven for 15 minutes, or until the macaroons begin to turn golden brown
If they have spread a bit, you can reshape them with your fingers while they're still warm
Allow them to cool completely on a wire rack
Once cool, add 2 or 3 eggs to each basket

If you'd like to stabilise the eggs in the baskets, you could always use a dollop of fruit jam or melted chocolate inside each nest

Keyword almond, coconut, Easter, macaroons

Cakes & Bakes: Fruity Easter loaf cake

Last week, we tried some of teapigs hot cross bun tea and thought it would be marvellous as an ingredient in a fruity Easter loaf cake.

We incorporated the spice flavours into the cake by soaking the dried fruit in the brewed tea – overnight is best, but do it for a couple of hours at least.

The batter is a little on the wet side, so the fruit may end up mostly in the bottom two thirds of the loaf. You can reserve a little of the soaked fruit before adding the egg and other ingredients and scatter them on the top at the end – just before you sprinkle over the granulated sugar.

Our hunch was right, the hot cross bun tea flavour really works well in a tea cake loaf. It’s a lovely moist cake and the sprinkle of granulated sugar over the top gives a nice crunch. Serve plain, or with a spread of butter and – of course – a cup of tea.

Click here to save our fruity Easter loaf cake recipe to Pinterest

Fruity Easter loaf cake

2020-03-25 18:22:00

Serves 8

Ingredients

175g/6oz mixed dried fruit (currants, sultanas, raisins etc. Chopped, dried apple rings would be lovely)
175ml/6 fl oz teapigs hot cross bun tea (brewed for 3-4 mins)
1 egg
100g/3½oz brown soft sugar
140g/5oz self raising flour
2 tbsp granulated sugar

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Instructions

Brew a large, strong mug of tea using one of the teapigs hot cross bun tea 'temples'
Put the mixed dried fruit into a medium mixing bowl
Pour the tea into the mixing bowl (it should just cover all the fruit)
Cover the mixing bowl with reusable food cover and leave to soak for a few hours, ideally overnight, to allow the tea to plump up the fruit
Preheat the oven to 170ºC/375ºF/Gas mark 4
Grease & line a 450g/1lb loaf tin
In a small measuring jug, lightly beat the egg before adding it to the mixed fruit and any un-soaked liquid
Add the sugar and flour and combine well
Pour into the loaf tin and sprinkle over the granulated sugar
Bake for 40-50 minutes or until an skewer inserted into the centre comes away clean
Leave the cake in its tin to cool completely before turning out
Slice and serve buttered

Notes

The loaf should keep for a couple of weeks if wrapped in baking parchment and kept in a cool, airtight container

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