With schools off for the Easter break, many parents are looking for ways to keep their children busy and entertained. To share some wholesome, screen-free tips, chef Holly Dalton joined Claire Byrne on RTÉ Radio 1.
Kicking things off with a simple recipe, Holly suggests baking some Easter Nests.
All-Bran cereal (or similar) will act as twigs while pieces of chocolate and melted butter will bond the nests together. You can pop the mixture into cupcake holders and pop some mini-eggs on top to complete the creation.
The chef recommends picking up some Easter eggs instead of chocolate bars, as it will likely be a lot cheaper. Simply melt the chocolate eggs down and get cracking!
Remember, any leftover Easter Egg chocolate can be used for brownies or any number of baked treats.
"People often look at Easter eggs and don't see them as normal chocolate, but they are! They're just normal chocolate, so use it for baking because you'll always have tons."
For tasty Easter cupcakes, Holly says that equal parts sugar and butter, along with eggs, flour, baking powder and a drop of milk, is all that is needed.
"Even if you want to go more basic than that, you can make a simple sponge recipe that's literally just flour, eggs, sugar. You're going to whip your eggs and sugar together first and add your flour. That is it."
While the cupcakes are speedy to make, the all-important decoration section is what will keep kids entertained.
Lay some newspaper around the kitchen table, buy some icing (or make your own with butter, icing sugar and a drop of milk), and let the kids go wild with edible sprinkles and food dye.
"That's the part kids want to do, they want to be creative," she insists.
Another fun Easter snack is to make a colourful hard-boiled egg. Once the egg has boiled and cooled, grasp it firmly until some cracks appear in the shell, but don't break it altogether. Submerge the egg in food colouring - or even a pot of boiled beetroot - and you will have a very colourful breakfast!
For Holly's fun and healthy lunch ideas, listen to the full interview on RTÉ Radio 1 above.
