Today is Good Friday, which means we are just days away from Easter. Did the holiday creep up on you? Or have you been ready? Life is busy these days for all of us, and if you’re feeling a little panicked that you have a lot to do for the holiday and not enough time, don’t worry – we can help you out.
Our cases are full of happy, tasty treats: bunnies, chicks and ducks ready and available if you swing by the bakery. We also have coffee cakes for breakfast Easter morning, and our famous Basketweave cakes make the perfect complement to your Easter meal.
We are open until 5pm today, and tomorrow from 7am to 4pm. We hope you’ll hop by to see us!
Hot Cross Buns
We’ve had them all season long, today, on Good Friday, is a day when we serve many Hot Cross Buns. This spiced sweet roll is made with raisins and marked with a dough or icing cross on the top. They are eaten throughout the season of Lent (the 40 days leading up to Easter) but many are consumed this week, especially on Good Friday. These hot cross buns have been made for centuries, so given their long history it only seems natural that superstitions have grown around them. According to the website Smithsonian.com, hot cross buns can help cement friendships – those who share one will have a strong bond for a year. Or, if you hang a hot cross bun in your kitchen, it’ll stay fresh for a whole year.
Easter Activities
If your family is like mine, they are probably looking forward to the tradition of dying Easter eggs. The excitement for the activity never seems to full, even as the grandkids grow older, and each year they try to come up with fun color combinations or designs on their eggs. If you’d try something different this year, or add another activity to the weekend (Saturday afternoon, perhaps?), get creative decorating cupcakes! Not only will this generate fun family time, but you’ll have a pretty, tasty treat at the end. Here’s a simple one to make: Easter basket cupcakes.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Your choice of cupcakes (chocolate, vanilla, lemon – any flavor works!)
- Frosting (you can do just white or pick a color)
- Shredded coconut (we like to dye it green to it looks like grass!)
- Easter toppings: jelly beans, M&Ms, Peeps
- Sour punch straws or licorice
After you’ve made your cupcakes and let them cool, the fun really starts. Frost your cupcakes and then top with the shredded coconut. We like to dye it green to look like grass. Then add jelly beans or pastel M&Ms to look like eggs hiding in the grass. You could also top the cupcakes with Chick or Bunny Peeps for another festive design. If you have sour candy straws or licorice, you can curve those over the top of the design to make the basket handle. The best part about this is it’s really easy for your whole family. Just put out the supplies and let everyone decorate his or her cupcake however they’d like for a fun variety.
We hope you can all spend some quality time with family and friends on Sunday and reflect on the true meaning of this holiday: the celebration of light over darkness, the resurrection of Jesus, the promise of eternal life for those who believe. From all of us here at Ashley’s Pastries, we wish you a very Happy Easter.