(bright music) - I love Easter.

It's one of my favorite times of year, full of new life and hope.

(bright music) It's a time when food is at the very heart of our celebration.

In my family, Easter isn't Easter without hot cross buns, simnel cake, and of course, roast lamb.

As well as showing you how to cook some of my Easter favorites...

It doesn't get better than this.

In these two programs, I'm off to find out how Britain's many vibrant Christian communities commemorate Easter.

(bright music) (speaking in foreign language) - Why cooking has such an important place.

What does that say?

- Have faith in my cooking.

- Have faith in my cooking.

Well, you certainly did have faith in my cooking.

(he laughs) - Found one!

- [Mary] And why food is particularly symbolic at this time of year.

- Yay!

(bright music) - Oh!

- Whoa!

- I don't mind, you can be the winner.

(he laughs) So I'm going to meet families and cooks from different cultures across Britain.

You should be very proud of that.

I think it looks-- - Oh, that looks beautiful.

(bright music) - Oh, I do like that.

- I'm pleased!

- It's lovely!

And I'll be doing all this, so that this year we can have the most marvelous Easter feast, where I'll be serving the delicious foods I've collected from around Britain.

- [Man] There we go, young man.

- [Mary] It'll be a celebration that brings us all around one Easter table.

(bright music) (gentle music) The lead up to Easter is a time when all of us give thanks.

I go to church regularly, so for me, it's a time of reflection as well as celebration.

This year, I'm preparing my own big Easter banquet, so I want to find out all about the specialities that capture the spirit of the season.

Easter wouldn't be Easter without hot cross buns, but before I show you how to make them, I'm going to see where they originated.

(bright music) I've come to the oldest site of continuous Christian worship in Britain, the rather wonderful St Albans Cathedral, on the trail of this Easter favorite.

The cathedral warden, Steven, has promised to let me into the secret of its distant past.

Now, Steven, I know you're going to tell me that here in St Albans was the original hot cross bun.

And you call it the Alban bun.

- [Steven] We think that is true.

- You've got to prove it, come on.

- Here's the evidence we have.

"In the year of our Lord 1361, Thomas Rockcliffe, "a monk attached to the refectory at St Albans Abbey, "caused a quantity of small, sweet spiced cakes, "marked with a cross, "which he directed were to be given away "at the door of the refectory on Good Friday."

- [Mary] It might have looked like a gift of charity, but the Abbey knew which side of its bun the butter was on.

- The Abbey, in the 14th century, had a pretty rough relationship with the local people.

And I think it's interesting that here's Thomas making these buns to give to the poor of the Abbey on Good Friday.

I think he's also trying to do a bit of, erm... - PR?

- Perhaps PR.

A bit of, you know, we're good people really.

- The Alban buns are made to a secret recipe passed down by the Abbey.

They're more spicy than the familiar ones.

These days, the Abbey commissions a local baker to make around 3,000 buns every Easter.

And they sell like hot cakes in the cathedral cafe.

Well, I think it's about time we had a try, don't you?

- I think so.

Shall we have a go?

- Right.

Well, I can see that you certainly like butter.

- I'm ready!

- Yes.

- Yes, it's an excuse.

The bun's an excuse for the butter, really.

(gentle music) What do you think?

Have we converted you?

Do you think the Alban bun is superior?

- I think it's a very different bun, because it is strongly spiced and it just has currants in.

- I think you're right.

I think it's a unique.

- It's another dimension for me.

(Steven laughs) (gentle music) Personally, I think we've improved on the bun down the centuries.

From its spicy beginnings at St Albans, the recipe has evolved and so has the attitude towards Lent, traditionally the 40 days when we abstain from luxuries.

Over the years, the hot cross bun has changed from a Good Friday offering into a staple of the high street that sells all year round.

In my family, we have hot cross buns throughout Lent.

I love them with lots of butter, and when they've been about for a few days, I toast them with more butter on.

They're a bit of a palaver to make, but I promise you it's worth a try.

(gentle music) I've got all my ingredients weighed out and ready.

First of all, a strong white flour.

(gentle music) To make a batch of 12, I'm using 500 grams of strong flour and 75 grams of caster sugar, before I add the spices.

Traditionally, it would've been allspice.

I use mixed spice because I like to have things on the shelf that I use often.

In go two teaspoons of mixed spice to one of cinnamon.

10 grams each of yeast and salt, making sure to put them on opposite sides of the bowl.

If you put them together on top of each other, you'll find that it won't rise so well.

You mustn't mix the two, one on top.

Then for a lovely flavor, add the zest of a lemon, 40 grams of melted butter, a beaten egg, and 300 mil of warm milk.

(mixer whirring) And work it all together.

(mixer whirring) Right, that's all come together.

Let's have a little look.

That's it.

It looks just about right.

(gentle music) Now for the fruit.

I like a generous helping of mixed orange and lemon peel, and plump sultanas.

You might think it's a lot of fruit in my buns.

I like them heavily fruited and a bit of a luxury bun.

(upbeat music) That goes back in the mixer before being left to rise for an hour and a half.

(upbeat music) A quick knead, then back in the bowl for a second rising.

When I first made hot cross buns in the '60s, I only used to do one rising and the result was rather close textured buns.

So with having a double rising of the dough when it's in one piece, you get a wonderful open texture.

Now I'm ready to shape the buns.

Everybody's got different ways of rolling.

You can just bring it in from the side like that.

And if you're very proficient, you can do it with two hands, if you watch the true bakers doing it.

I shall do it with one, because that's how I get on.

(gentle music) Takes a bit of practice this, I can tell you.

So you press them down and then bring your hand up again.

(gentle music) There we are.

Then cover the baking sheets for an hour for a final proof.

That's just as they should look.

They've joined up, they're a good size, but they're without their crosses, Use a simple flour and water paste to pipe across the top.

(gentle music) And, of course, the cross symbolizes Christ on the crucifix.

And it's a very essential part of the hot cross bun.

(gentle music) Now into the oven at 200 fan, for 15 to 20 minutes.

(gentle music) How about that then?

I think they look splendid.

(gentle music) But what's lacking is a lovely glaze on top.

Warm golden syrup gives them a lovely, delicious, sticky finish.

Hmm, do you know, the moment I've cut those in half, the spices are hitting me.

I can't wait.

I'm really proud of these.

They taste absolutely superb.

They're light, they're full of fruit, and I shall enjoy these all over Easter, not just Good Friday.

Wherever you go in the Christian world, you find the hot cross bun has got there before you.

(upbeat music) The Caribbean community began coming here in large numbers in the 1950s and they brought their own version with them.

The Jamaican bun.

(upbeat music) Bettina was born in Jamaica.

She moved to Nottingham when she was nine years old, but she still loves the foods of her childhood.

- I made these yesterday.

'Cause you know me, I just love the baking.

- [Woman] It looks lovely.

- It looks a bit moist, though, a bit moist.

- Yeah, it's very moist here.

- [Mary] She bakes the strangely loaf-shaped Jamaican bun every year to share with friends at her local Baptist church.

(upbeat music) Surprisingly, this distant cousin of the hot cross bun is made with stout and often no eggs.

- There are different ways of making bun, because the older people were making it with yeast.

I tried it with yeast and well, I tell you, you could've thrown it and you could have killed a bird in the air.

(upbeat music) Would you like some more cheese?

- [Mary] Traditionally, the bun is served with Jamaican cheese.

I can't wait to try it.

So I've invited Bettina to bring her bun and a few more of her traditional Jamaican foods, to give me some inspiration.

Bettina.

- Hello!

- How nice to see you.

- [Bettina] Thank you, Mary.

- What about this bun over there that I think is a loaf.

(Bettina laughs) - I'm going to let you taste a piece of it, Mary.

- [Mary] Looks a lovely texture.

- You have to have the bun with some cheese.

Can't eat it without cheese.

- Well can't I just have it without to begin with?

So I can get a good-- - As you're Mary, I'll let you.

- Mm!

Oh, I do like that!

- I'm pleased!

- It's lovely!

- I'm pleased!

- [Mary] For Caribbean households right across Britain and the West Indies, Good Friday means fish.

And for lots of Jamaicans, Escoveitch fish is sure to be on the menu.

- On Good Friday, we would have fried fish.

And this is a snapper.

It's normally cleaned with a concoction of lime, lemon, vinegar, and salt.

So start off by one, two.

- The fish is given a generous helping of native Jamaican allspice and seasoned with salt and pepper.

Is it beginning to sizzle?

- It is.

(fish sizzling) And I want it to go really, really brown and crispy.

(upbeat music) - Abstaining from meat is a kind of penance for many Christians, which is how the tradition of fish on Friday came about.

(fish sizzling) It's lovely, the way the slashes that you made have opened and it's a crispy brown.

(fish sizzling) - So that should be about ready.

- But it looks good, doesn't it?

The Escoveitch part of the recipe is a medley of vegetables with one unusual ingredient.

- Bet you don't know what this is.

- I have no idea what that is.

- This is called a chocho.

And that, it grows wild and how can I describe the taste?

Between a cucumber and a courgette.

- Oh, it's mild.

- Yes.

- And watery.

- Very watery.

So you can have it raw in salads.

If you can pour some vinegar.

- How much?

- Erm, just pour, Mary, I'll tell you when to stop.

- [Mary] And this is just ordinary malt vinegar.

- Yes.

And that's it.

- [Mary] Then in go the peppers, onions, spring onions, with a sprig or two of thyme.

And to give it its true Jamaican flavor, the mysterious chocho.

A little fiery scotch bonnet chili and some native Jamaican allspice.

- On the top.

- The tradition of fried fish in vinegar stretches back to the Moors, who occupied Spain in the Middle Ages.

When the Spanish came to Jamaica 500 years ago, they brought it with them.

Right, so we're part steaming it, part cooking it in the vinegar at the bottom.

- Yes.

Yes.

- [Mary] It's quick and easy to make, just right for Good Friday, traditionally a quiet time when thoughts turn to higher things.

- I remember my grandmother, once we'd been to church on Good Friday, would come back home, the fish and everything would've already been done and she'd sit for hours reading her Bible.

But I couldn't go outside to play.

I had to sit and learn something from the Bible because that was how it was.

- I think she brought you up really well.

- She did.

- After 10 minutes, fold in some shavings of carrot and it's ready to serve.

- So if you can put this bad boy... - I think he's a good boy.

(upbeat music) It looks so tempting!

Oh, look at that.

It, oh!

Mm!

I think it's absolutely delicious.

That, to me, is something that's totally different and so simple.

- Yes.

- Simply cooking a really fresh fish beautifully.

- Thank you so much.

I've really enjoyed it with you, Mary.

Thank you.

(gentle music) - The plans for my own Easter feast at our local church hall are already taking shape.

My team of expert decorators are hard at it.

I'm hoping to bring the most exciting Easter dishes from around Britain to inspire me, together with firm favorites of my own.

And I already have one new idea to spruce up my trustee regulars.

We're going to have fish on Good Friday.

We always do.

But I have to say, it's nearly always fish pie Bettina has inspired me to do something a little bit different.

So I'm cooking a whole fish as well.

And I'm using coriander and a colorful salsa to spice things up a bit.

I've got a sea bass here, a whole sea bass.

I've got the fishmonger to take the head off, also to descale it.

So to begin with, I'm going to make three slashes on each side.

It's important to have a good, sharp knife and go right down, almost to the bone, because I'm going to be filling this fish with lovely fresh herbs.

So there's a generous bunch of coriander.

Nothing goes to waste.

Even the stalks help to give the fish flavor.

So just take a pinch of that, put it into the slit, and the coriander will permeate the flesh.

A little bit of pepper and salt in each of the slashes and to be really fussy, because this is for Good Friday, I'm gonna cut the tail.

It's called Van Dyking.

Don't ask me why it's called Van Dyking, but it just looks very, extra pretty.

(scissors snip) That's it.

Transfer the fish to a large sheet of lightly buttered foil.

Pull that over like that and we're gonna safely tuck our fish in so that none of the juices come out.

The fish goes into the oven at 180 fan.

A big fish like this will take about half an hour and don't forget to turn it after 15 minutes, so it cooks evenly on both sides.

Now to my salsa!

It's a wonderful, colorful salsa, full of flavor, bit like Bettina's.

I have some tomatoes, grapefruit, green chilies, lime, ginger, mango chutney, and I don't have chocho, but I do have cucumber.

So, I'm going to use half a cucumber.

You need to take the seeds out of the cucumber, otherwise the salsa will be too watery.

I've got the end of a spoon here, so I'm going to try that.

You can use a melon baller.

You can do all sorts of things.

That's it.

(gentle music) Chop the cucumber and add it to the flesh of a large grapefruit, along with six seeded and diced tomatoes, one finely chopped green chili, the juice and zest of a lime, and some freshly grated ginger to add a little zing.

Right, now it comes to the mango chutney.

Three really good tablespoons.

Are you watching me?

A big tablespoon.

One.

Two.

Three.

That's it.

I really like a bit of sweetness with it.

We've got plenty of sharp there.

We've got the grapefruit and we've got the lime.

But the mango chutney just brings it all together.

(gentle music) Lastly, a good glug of olive oil.

Out comes the fish.

Leave it to rest for a few minutes.

And I like to warm the salsa to bring out the flavor.

At the last minute, season and add a little chopped coriander or parsley.

(upbeat music) I like to serve my fish with the skin removed, so you can really see that fresh green herb.

I think that's something really, really special for Good Friday.

(bright music) Nothing is more full of Easter symbolism than eggs.

They're signs of new life and promise.

As I continue to gather fresh ideas for my big Easter feast, I've come to find a traditional Russian recipe that serves eggs in a truly imaginative way.

I think it might provide me with the perfect canape.

I've come to meet Karina, who moved here from Moscow 12 years ago, to see how she gets ready for her Easter celebrations.

Karina, how are you?

(Karina speaking foreign language) - Welcome - Thank you.

- Nice to see you.

- Nice to see you.

- There are 40,000 Russian expatriates living in Britain.

For the Christian community among them, Easter has always been the most important feast of the year.

- For some mysterious reason, Easter was the only holiday which survived.

Christmas was banned.

All other religious holidays were banned, but Easter for some reason, survived.

- So Easter was really a climax of the year for you.

- Yes.

- Because if you were not allowed to have Christmas, Easter would be something to look forward to.

This looks well-loved while worn, and it's lovely to see a cookbook... - [Karina] Absolutely, yeah.

- That is used.

- This is from the Abundance Era, as we call it.

It's 1953.

So imagine it's, you know, it's really special.

This was like a, probably, you know, like a cooking bible.

- [Mary] It looks as though it's a sponsored book, because there are all sorts of branded goods.

- [Karina] It's government sponsored.

- Is it?

Is it government sponsored?

- Yes.

Yeah, because you know, Stalin, it was period of Stalin.

So Stalin was absolutely determined to convince Soviet people that we are heading towards abundance.

- So you were supposed to be looking forward to plenty.

- Yes.

We were looking forward to that.

- Which was just exactly what you were not looking forward to.

Things were going to get, erm... - It was getting worse and worse, actually.

- Much worse, worse and worse.

- Yes.

(gentle music) - Stalin's cookbook was hardly a true reflection of what dinner tables looked like across Russia.

As communism fell, Karina really felt the pinch.

- Sometimes you walk into the shop and there is, the only thing you see is like spaghetti sticking out.

That was it.

There was nothing else.

So we were looking at it thinking, "Hmm, what can we have with spaghetti?"

(laughs) There is no butter, no cheese.

- Despite the shortages, Karina remembers their family gatherings with affection and the dishes that her mother created when she was a child, especially during the Easter celebration.

Karina's going to show me these beautiful stuffed deviled eggs, a gorgeous first course for my own feast.

(gentle music) The eggs are pickled with beetroot to give them a vibrant color, along with shallots, garlic, and allspice, mixed with cloves and peppercorns to give it some heat.

Yes, and you've got some cinnamon bark in there.

- Yes, yeah.

Because it just, you know, I don't know, it just gives a little warmth to it.

- And so, rather than sugar, you use honey.

So that looks a good mixture there.

And all we need is vinegar and water now.

- [Karina] Absolutely.

- [Mary] Not wanting to make the pickling water overpowering, Karina mixes two parts water to one part vinegar, then lets it simmer for a few minutes.

She then strains the liquid and lets it cool before pickling the hard boiled eggs for 12 hours.

(gentle music) - So that's magic.

- We'll cut them in half and see what looks, what they look like.

- And see what's there.

Okay, yeah.

- Doesn't that look pretty?

- With all the three colors going on.

- The yolks are then scooped out and mixed with something rather special to give it that authentic Russian flavor.

So, this is a pickled herring.

- A Russian table without herring is not really a Russian table.

- I love herring.

Added to the egg yolks and herring is Dijon mustard, chives, and dill.

- It smells really nice, doesn't it?

- Yes.

- Mm!

- [Mary] All bits together to make a smooth paste ready for piping.

They look very colorful, don't they?

- [Karina] Mm.

- And really remarkably simple to do.

- Yes.

And it's a little, nice little appetizer, isn't it?

- And in the spirit of real indulgence at Easter, she tops them with red salmon caviar.

It looks the part, doesn't it?

It looks lovely.

Mm!

(Karina laughs) That is a wonderful combination.

I particularly like herring.

The dill is coming through and it does taste, a pickled egg is nice and spicy.

It's delicious.

Thank you very much.

- Thank you.

- Mm!

(gentle music) Those divine deviled eggs have given me an idea for a canape with a Russian twist to break the Lenten fast at my Easter banquet.

(gentle music) I am going to use quails eggs and herrings to set off my feast.

Very simple recipe, but I think really good.

To begin with, I need a couple of slices of light rye bread.

I've got some full fat cream cheese here and I'm going to put some dill with it.

Dill is one of my favorite herbs and it goes exceedingly well with herring.

So if we just chop that up.

Add the chopped dill to the cream cheese, then a splash of lemon juice and some black pepper.

A little salt, 'cause the herrings will be quite salty.

And then just mash it down.

Once mixed, spread each canape with the cream cheese.

Good thing about these is you can do them several hours ahead, because if you're preparing for a feast like I'm doing, I want to do as much as I can ahead.

(gentle music) So for the quails eggs, you cook them just under three minutes and that will have a firm yolk in the middle, 'cause I'm cutting them in half.

Once they are boiled, put them straight in cold water and as soon as you can handle them, peel them, 'cause it's much easier to get the shell off.

Cut each one into four, so a quarter of the egg tops each canape.

Now to compliment Karina's eggs, I'm using herring, too.

You want bite size pieces placed on top of each square, then a touch of cream cheese on the top of the herring to help those little quails eggs stay put.

So it's good for our feast to serve eggs in all different forms and it takes little or no time to do.

I'm rather proud of those.

A little bit of Russian Easter inspiration for my guests at the feast.

(gentle music) Mm!

Every element of that goes well together.

The rich cream cheese, then you get the flavorsome herring and the dainty little egg on top.

I think you're going to enjoy those.

Please make them.

Mm!

(chanting music) I want to take the Russian theme in my banquet a bit further.

I think the Russians have got its spot on when it comes to the idea of Lenten fasting followed by Easter feasting.

There's been a Russian Orthodox community in Britain for 300 years.

Their Easter falls later than ours, as they follow the old Julian calendar used in Roman times.

- Good morning, Mary.

Father Peter.

- Good morning.

I better shut the door.

It's pretty blowy out there!

I've never been inside a Russian Orthodox church and I'm hoping Father Peter will enlighten me.

Father Peter, tell me about the Orthodox Russian faith on the lead-up to Easter.

- Our Lent starts on what we call Forgiveness Sunday.

We start the fast, which is a vegan fast, and this continues right the way up into Holy Week, when the fast is more intense because on Good Friday there's a total abstinence from all food.

- [Mary] For the Orthodox church, the culmination of Holy Week is the evening service on Holy Saturday.

Late at night, the congregation stands outside in the dark and just after midnight, Easter begins.

- The priest will say, "Let God arise, "let his enemies be scattered."

And then we declared Christ is risen, which is the joy of the Paschal joy, and the doors will be flung open and all the candles will be burning and then that will finish at around about three to half past three.

- In the morning?

- In the morning.

- Oh.

So they come as families and children?

- Yes.

- So the children, do they have a little sleep in a corner or?

- Well, they, some do.

Some of them backwards and forwards and looking to see what's going on.

But the wonderful thing is after the Easter service, we have the meal, the common meal, which we share together, with wine and vodka.

- Oh!

- And the toasts and we can eat and drink everything that we've been denied for the last six to eight weeks beforehand.

- What an exciting time that must be.

- It's very good.

(laughs) - The most important dishes for this Easter breakfast are the desserts.

Paska, a kind of cheesecake, and kulich, which is a bit like panettone.

These specialities are blessed by the priest on Holy Saturday, but they're prepared two days before.

Behind the scenes of the church are a group of ladies called the Sisterhood of Saint Xenia, who keep the place running.

Vera and Tanya are making paska ready for the Easter breakfast.

- It's very important for Russian tradition.

It's very old tradition, obviously.

Every family in Russia will have at the table this cheesecake.

- [Mary] Paska is a mixture of rich ricotta cheese, butter, eggs, and cream.

It's deliciously indulgent after weeks of fasting.

- Before the Easter, we have a 40 days Lent and all the ingredients that are included in Easter cake, they actually, the main ingredients, the cheese, the butter, they're not, the eggs, they're not allowed during the Lent.

- They're not eaten, yeah.

- Yeah.

Only vegetables.

- Potatoes.

(laughs) - Yeah.

- [Mary] In goes sugar, candied fruit, nuts, raisins, and blueberries.

It's going to be quite a shock after the blandness of Lent.

- It's quite difficult after Lent to start over rich food.

Usually you just try a little bit and say, "Oh no, I'm full now."

- "I'm full, yeah!"

- The paska mix goes into the mold to be set overnight on what the Orthodox community calls Clean Thursday.

- Clean Thursday is day before Good Friday.

Special then for us to prepare for Easter time and people cleaning around the houses and try and make themself ready for Easter time.

- [Mary] It's a day of quietness and prayer as they prepare the paska.

(praying in foreign language) When the paska comes out of the mold, on one side is the Orthodox cross, on the other, the letters XB, which stands for the Easter greeting "Christ is risen."

(gentle music) - The paska now is ready for blessing.

Everyone should enjoy this meal after the long Lent.

- It really, really does mean something for Orthodox church.

- I think there's a lesson to be learned about this Clean Thursday.

The Russian ladies have got the right idea.

Do everything ahead and then you've got time to be with the family and enjoy all the Easter festivities.

(gentle music) One dish I always prepare in advance is my apple frangipane tart, a simple but tasty recipe that I'm sure will go down a treat, whether you've been fasting or not.

(gentle music) So first of all, I'm going to make the case.

I've got a tin here.

I'm going to do a very simple crust.

I'm not making pastry.

This is far quicker.

So I've got 175 grams of digestive biscuits and I'm going to crush those and add them to melted butter.

So, slip the biscuits into a reusable bag, making sure it's sealed.

And then just press that down and get a rolling pin and give it a bash.

So if you've got any thoughts of getting rid of something out of your system, now is the time.

(rolling pin banging) And then just shake down the bag and on again.

Because you don't want any big pieces of biscuit in it.

(rolling pin banging) That's just perfect.

Melt the butter over a warm heat and stir.

That's it.

Then tip in all the crumbs.

And just stir it till it's well mixed.

(gentle music) All well coated with the butter.

So the next move is to just tip the whole lot in here.

(gentle music) Flatten down into a base, then pop into the fridge to set firm.

I'll now get on with the frangipane filling.

I'm adding 75 grams of softened butter and the same amount of caster sugar into a food processor.

So I'll put that on like that.

(food processor whirring) So that's softened in there.

Then add 75 grams of ground almonds, two eggs, and one teaspoon of armored extract.

Then on with the lid again until everything's mixed together.

(food processor whirring) So that's the filling made.

So it couldn't be much easier.

Now, peel an apple.

I use a Bramley for extra sharpness.

And I'm going to put the apple at the base of the tart.

You don't have to keep it a perfect shape, because it is hidden by the frangipane.

The important thing is to have thin slices.

(gentle music) You notice I'm not as fast as the chefs, but I have got all my fingers.

The base has chilled and set in the fridge.

So now it's ready to fill.

And I'm going to take the apples, you've just got to get an even layer of the apple.

Don't hang about, because it'll go brown.

Best peel it just before you put it in the tart.

Right, now, can you see?

It's sort of like a runny whipped cream consistency.

I want to get every scrap out of here because it's so good.

That's it.

Right, spread it over, and it should come right to the top of the crumb crust.

(gentle music) So, flaked almonds on the top.

The reason why like a lot of almonds on the top of here is that you have a sort of crunchy layer to go through.

(gentle music) It will take about 25 minutes to cook at 180 fan.

(gentle music) Once it's cooled, I like to finish it off with a light dusting of icing sugar.

This is a perfect Easter pud, simple to make and full of sweetness that we can finally enjoy after a long Lent.

(gentle music) One of the joys of Easter is it falls just as the sun returns at last, after a long winter absence.

(gentle music) It's the perfect time for my Easter feast to celebrate spring.

I'm visiting a Polish family in Cambridgeshire whose Catholic traditions are full of new life and new hope.

- Hi, Mary.

- Damian.

- [Damian] Hi, yes.

- Hello.

It's terribly breezy out there.

- It is, indeed, yes.

- They're in full swing, preparing for Easter and I'm sure I'm going to find inspiration for my banquet.

So this certainly is a hive of activity.

Everything's ready for preparing for Easter.

- [Damian] It is, indeed.

- In Poland, families are immensely proud of the basket of Easter specialities, which they take to church to be blessed on Holy Saturday.

And the community here carry on the same custom.

This basket is quite a tradition for Easter Saturday.

And is this, this is olive, is it?

- Yes, it is olive.

It's a symbol of growing and new life.

- Decorated eggs are integral to the Easter basket.

Let me have a look.

Did you scratch all that?

It's a bit like battlements, isn't it?

Can you see that?

- It's like a castle.

- And what a lovely way to involve all the family.

So, what do I have to do?

Hold it really firm?

Goodness gracious me, you need a lot of pressure.

And I'm doing, working really... That's all as far as I've got.

Then I go do the two sides, do I?

The traditional Easter game of tapping eggs is all about whose will crack first.

I'm a bit of a champion.

- [Damian] That's it, that's it.

- Mine has cracked!

- Oh, yours has cracked.

- Oh!

- I am the winner!

Yay!

Now the two winners ought to play each other.

Shall we?

Go and get your egg, come on.

This is the final.

This is the final now.

- [Damian] That's the final.

- This is, come on, I'm holding mine firmly.

- Oh!

- Whoa!

- I don't mind, you can be the winner, okay?

(Damian laughing) - [Mary] Alongside the eggs in the basket are other typical Polish foods to be shared on Easter Sunday.

- We're gonna have traditional white sausage.

We have also horseradish.

We have a little bit of the salt so all the food gets seasoned.

Pepper.

And we also have our cake, which is the Polish babka.

- Babka, it sounds like a baby.

What is it, babka?

- Okay, so babka is a traditional Easter cake.

Let me show you.

- Oh, good.

Have you got one?

- Oh, yeah, of course.

Well, of course.

- Oh, good.

- We're fully ready.

- Already made, already made.

Well, I'm going to, I haven't seen one of these before.

Goodness gracious, it's huge!

- Yes, indeed.

So basically this is similar way of making bread, but you start in with three days before.

I always start this one on Wednesday.

- It looks so exciting.

- [Damian] Thank you.

- Do you think you might come to my kitchen and show me how to do that?

- Of course, but get ready for hard work, because this takes a lot of time to prepare the dough.

- Oh no, not hard work for me.

- Of course!

(laughs) - Hard work for you.

(Damian laughing) I will be in attendance.

(gentle music) I'm dying to see how to make Damian's babka, which I think might just steal the show at my Easter feast.

This looks a very big creative scene.

Something's going to happen.

I've never seen so much equipment.

It's a long process passed down through the generations.

- [Damian] So we start with the butter.

- [Mary] All right.

- So we're using 500 grams and now the heartbeat is coming.

Basically because we don't use the machines.

- Okay.

- So we're using the hand.

And what reminds me, in my house when I was little, my mom was sitting on this little chair and just kept turning this butter like this, so, you know, and I was laughing and I don't laugh anymore because I know how hard the job is, so.

- This is dedication.

Damian churns the butter by hand for half an hour before zesting oranges and lemons.

Babka, what does it really mean?

- Well, it's two different meanings.

So babka is obviously the Easter cake, but also babka, you can call a lady a babka.

You can say to your grandma, you can say babka or when it's a nice lady walking on the street, you can say, "Oh, it's nice babka."

- [Mary] I think it's very charming.

- [Damian] There we go.

- [Mary] Zest, lemon juice, and vanilla go into the butter to give the mixture its flavor.

To begin the next stage of this rich dough, he needs eight egg yolks.

- Would you mind to give me a hand with icing sugar?

- [Mary] Right, certainly.

- This is the 500 grams of icing sugar.

And what do we want?

We want to keep adding gradually.

- For me, this is a totally different kind of mixture.

Putting all this amount of icing sugar in one cake.

It is quite, quite different.

The whole method is different.

I'm learning.

(gentle music) - Here we go.

Okay, so once nice and smooth, there you go, very good, we will mix the egg yolks with the butter.

- So that goes in in one dollop on top?

- Yeah, yeah.

- [Mary] Damian doesn't stir the mixture together, he whisks it until it's beautifully smooth and shiny.

Next, in goes the carefully sieved strong flour and baking powder.

- We will fold gently.

We don't want to have any lumps.

Okay, so as you can see, this is nearly ready and what we are going to do now, we're going to add the starter, which we make three to four days before.

- Right.

- [Mary] A starter is used in the dough as a sort of natural yeast.

- I'm not sure if you know, the funny story about the starters and making the yeast at home is when you're making it, you need to whisper.

You cannot be too loud, because it's alive.

When you put it in the oven, you need to still be quiet, because it could collapse and this would be a disaster.

- [Mary] So we've got to be all very quiet here.

- [Damian] Absolutely.

- So everybody around has to be really quiet.

- Absolutely.

- When it goes in the oven.

Once that's very carefully mixed, we're at last at the final stage of the babka dough, whisking two egg whites by hand.

This really is going back to Victorian times for me.

(Damian laughs) I have never seen so much mixing by hand.

- And we do this once a year, you see, Mary.

So, you know, it's once a year, a little bit of exercise and keeping tradition, keeps Mom happy, why not do it?

- I've got a sort of feeling that you are thinking about your grandmother, your mother, happy times in Poland.

- Absolutely.

You see, we can, we can talk about the happy times, but also I forgot to mention my grandma was in the concentration camp when she was 18, during the second World War and she was telling me stories about, she was living on potatoes.

You know, when they saw the bread, they prayed to the bread.

They didn't see the bread, they were eating only potatoes.

So, I remember by now she was telling me about those trains.

She was in the trains, animal trains, locked down completely for months.

So it's, it's really, really good history.

And she survived.

She passed away, but she passed away just few years ago.

And the, you know, this all reminds me, this.

- Food is very important to you and the history of your food.

- Absolutely.

- I bet your children will follow just like you have.

- They already do.

- [Mary] A sad time.

Once the egg whites are folded in, this lovingly prepared dough is almost ready for the mold.

(gentle music) Damian's full of clever tricks.

The breadcrumbs will give a slight crust and help the babka release from its mold perfectly.

- We need to pour very gently from the side-- - Wait a minute, you're forgetting quietly.

- (whispers) Yeah, sorry.

That's me.

- Now, I'll turn it round so it goes all the way.

- Oh, thank you so much.

This is, this is team spirit here.

This is really good.

So what do we do?

We want to add the swirls.

- Swirl, yes.

- Insides, yes, absolutely, so we have nice marble inside.

So, one.

Two.

Three.

- [Mary] Damian's marble mix is simply a dollop of the dough combined with a little cocoa powder.

And finally we are ready for the baking.

It goes in the oven at 160 fan for around 45 minutes.

When it comes out, it's a full two and a half hours wait before the moment of truth.

- Here we go.

Now is the testing bit.

Upside down.

Up.

It's fine, got it.

(tapping mold) - Was that a wing and a prayer?

- Yeah.

Voila.

- That, to me, is sheer perfection.

All the way around.

Here it is, look.

Every little bit is perfectly colored.

I reckon he's pretty proud of that.

- [Damian] I am.

- I'm proud of you.

Come on, let's get on with icing it.

- Thank you very much.

So, now... (gentle music) - I love the way Damian ices it.

One side is melted dark chocolate with a clever dash of olive oil so it keeps the sheen, topped with crushed nuts.

So that's half the job done.

The other, a mix of icing sugar, lemon juice, and candied fruit, creating the most beautiful finish.

(gentle music) Do you know, I think that looks so original.

Something quite, quite different.

Now, if you are making this for Easter, would you finish it on Saturday?

- Yes, of course.

It will be finished on Saturday morning or Friday evening because we go to church.

- Before you go to the church.

And that fits in the top of the basket.

- Well, the basket is already full with the food, so we cut a little piece of the babka.

- Ah.

- And on Sunday we share, all of us, with this little piece, whole family, four of us, small family, we share with the blessed babka.

(gentle music) - I'm enchanted by everything about this cake.

It's a wonderful tradition and the perfect addition to my Easter feast.

I'm relieved I don't have to wait until then to try it.

Mm!

- That's for you.

Want me to cut a piece?

- No, I'm just looking.

It has a lovely light crust where that crumb is around the outside and a good layer of icing.

It's taken you an age to make, but I think it's going to be worth it.

- Absolutely.

- So I'm going to just have a little bit of it.

- [Damian] There you go.

- [Mary] Going to get a little bit of everything.

- [Damian] Really good.

Enjoy, Mary.

(gentle music) - It's absolutely beautiful.

And of course it has a high proportion of butter in.

- [Damian] Of course.

- So it will keep well.

Is that right?

- Absolutely.

And it's very, very healthy as well.

- I beg your pardon.

(Damian laughs) I think you can leave off the health, but it's only once a year we have Easter Sunday.

So it's just a joy.

Thank you very much.

- My pleasure.

Enjoy, Mary.

Thank you very much for having me here.

(gentle music) - It's very emotional listening to Damian talking about his family.

Here we are.

For me, too, the lead-up to Easter is a time full of happy memories.

From Easter holidays as a child in Bath, to when my own children were young.

And it's lovely to see all the spring flowers.

Can you see any snowdrops?

But for our family, it's also a time of sadness, when we remember the loss of our son, William, 27 years ago, when he was just 19 years old.

Now there's Will, you see.

William's got lots of snowdrops around him.

I think it's about time we change those flowers.

- That's where William's buried.

- Can you take off those?

The pansies have got caught by the frost.

And we'll take those home.

- There we go.

And let's put the primroses on.

- There we are.

We renew our family bonds as we come together with our children and grandchildren.

And at this time of year, one recipe seems to combine all my feelings about Easter, like Damian's babka does for him.

Making it is an act of faith.

There's one recipe that I always make at Easter and it's simnel cake.

I've made it ever since I got married.

I can remember having it at home on Easter Sunday and Easter just wouldn't be Easter without it.

And I want to make sure this cake turns out beautifully because I'm taking it as a gift to someone rather special.

So, three eggs in the bowl.

Add 175 grams of soft butter and the same amounts of self-raising flour and light muscovado sugar.

Two teaspoons of mixed spice.

That'll make it taste of Easter.

And a hundred grams each of sultanas, dried apricots, and cherries that are quartered and washed first.

So it's really colorful, this, and the little jewels of the cherries are lovely.

Lastly, add 50 grams of ground almonds and three tablespoonfuls of milk.

You could do this in a mixer, if you want to, on slow speed, because you don't want to break up the fruit.

But the essential part of this, when you are weighing everything out, is to have the butter really soft.

Otherwise it won't mix evenly.

So I'm going to put that to one side while I roll out my two discs of marzipan.

(upbeat music) Divide a 450 gram block of golden marzipan into thirds and roll out one piece until it's the same size as your cake tin.

(upbeat music) And just trim 'round with a knife.

So there it is.

Now that's ready to fill the tin.

Put half in the bottom.

Like that.

I'm going to just spread that around.

And then slip in your marzipan disc.

Once baked, this will give your cake a wonderfully moist texture as the marzipan melts.

(upbeat music) In goes the top.

And just level it off.

Then bake for about two hours at 140 fan.

Allow to cool for 15 minutes and then remove from the tin.

I'll leave that while I get on with the decoration.

I've already rolled out the actual top.

I'm now going to roll out the balls that are part of the decoration.

There is something symbolic about this cake.

There are 12 disciples.

Judas was the traitor, so he doesn't come on the cake.

So we have 11 balls to decorate all 'round the cake.

(gentle music) Once the balls are ready, brush the top of a cake with warm apricot jam before covering with the top disc of marzipan.

Make sure it's just hanging over a little, which it is, and then I'm going to pinch it to flute it all the way around.

Imagining you're doing it like a steak and kidney pie.

(gentle music) To glaze, brush the top of the cake with beaten egg before placing the balls on top.

And to finish, I like to add a little nest made from leftover marzipan.

And now for the final touches, I'm going to use a blow torch just to get it perfectly sort of speckly brown on top.

Just to warn you, I haven't got a degree in blow torching.

This is only the second time I've used it.

For years, I'd been putting this under the grill to get it nice and brown.

And I have succumbed to using a blow torch.

It's just to give the sort of baked appearance.

I think that's pretty good.

If I go any further, I'm bound to burn it and it's very important that I don't.

Right, mission completed.

A few more finishing touches and it'll be ready to go.

(gentle music) I'm not going to have a taste now because it's going to a very important destination and it shouldn't arrive with a wedge out of it.

So, there it is, all ready.

(bright music) I'm off to Lambeth Palace to meet the head of the Church of England with my freshly baked simnel cake.

(bright music) There's nothing like tea with the Archbishop of Canterbury to put you on your very best behavior.

Ah!

- Hi, Mary.

How lovely to see you.

- Lovely to see you, Archbishop.

Look what I've brought you.

- [Archbishop] It looks absolutely wonderful.

Did you make it?

- I made it and-- - You are amazing.

- It's a classic.

- You are absolutely amazing.

Would you like to come in?

- I think I would love to.

- Right, well, just lean on this.

- Gosh, it's a heavy door, isn't it?

- [Archbishop] It's a very heavy door, yes.

- Justin Welby's official residence may look rather resplendent, but it's also a family home.

- Everyone runs about and plays hide and seek and it's just huge fun.

It's such a privilege.

- Are we going this way?

- Yes.

(bright music) - Now, I have been told that you're not a great fruitcake man.

But-- - But if you've made it Mary, I think I-- - You might have a go?

- I will certainly have a go.

Now, do you want a cup of tea?

- I'd love a cup of tea, thank you.

- So would I.

(gentle music) - There it is.

- Oh, my goodness!

- The middle, you'd think it would be a line of marzipan.

- Yeah.

- But it does actually melt.

So there we are.

- Thank you very, very much, indeed.

- I'm hoping the Archbishop will tell me exactly what makes Easter so special for him.

What is the part of Easter that you like best?

- There's a wonderful moment at the end of evensong on Easter Sunday afternoon.

And I go home and we sit down and we have some cake and some tea with the family.

And it's relishing the human contact.

The love for one another, the security in one another that is the gift of family.

And I think that's one of my rejoicing moments.

- Yes, I think Easter Sunday is the highlight because it is when the whole family, if they're coming to church at all throughout the year, it's so likely that they'll all come at Easter.

- It is a great moment of being together.

And of course, it's the oldest celebration.

It's the first thing that the earliest church did, was to celebrate the conquest of death.

And I find, I mean, I know that this is something we share of the experience of bereavement in a family.

And when we get the family together, we're always conscious that we have five children with us and there's one who's missing, who's not there.

- I know exactly what you mean because you lost Joanna, very, very tiny, wee, and William was a lot older, he was 19.

But at Easter, when we're having our celebration lunch, we all raise a glass to Will and-- - Absolutely, absolutely.

- We don't quite have an empty seat for him, but you know, it's very good to remember whether it's a child, a husband, a wife-- - Whoever it is.

- An aunt, somebody dear to you, it's to suddenly bring it back and think we were lucky to have them.

- Oh, absolutely.

To celebrate life and to celebrate hope.

(upbeat music) - Every year when I come together with my family at Easter, we get the chance to enjoy each other's company and to look forward to the year to come with our favorite Easter foods.

Come on then, who wants some?

Are you hungry for Easter biscuits?

Come on.

In this program, I've been discovering new recipes and ideas that will add fresh flavors to my Easter celebration this year.

- What do you say?

Grandmother, thank you.

- [Mary] And in the second program in this series, I'll be continuing my search for Britain's most vibrant Easter traditions.

Did I say as much wine as that?

- [Man] You said... - This is going to be particularly good gravy.

(man laughs) And I'll finally welcome everyone to my great Easter feast, where I gather together all the cooks and cooking that make this time special.

So, enjoy the feast.

I promise you there's plenty.

(upbeat music)