Winter-Spring Update (2025) + Easter Baking

We've just passed the first quarter of the year, so it's time for my first update of 2025! Also, since Easter is coming up next weekend, I've added a section with some Easter recipes (scroll down for that). :)

Winter-Spring Update (2025)

For the past few years I've written quarterly updates (from "season to season"). I started out writing monthly updates in 2019 and then "two monthly" (two months at a time) ones in 2020, but found that quarterly was better for me. So I'm going to carry that on in 2025. :)

You can see my autumn-winter 2024 update here if you like: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2025/01/new-year-gingerbread-cookies-autumn.html

I didn't do much during January really. I had a bit of a stressful start to the year, due to personal circumstances. 

At the beginning of February I celebrated Imbolg. You can see my post about it here: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2025/02/imbolg-2025.html

Also during February, I went to Popeyes and got some food. Similarly to Slim Chickens, I'd had milkshakes from there before but not a meal. I tried Slim Chickens' food for the first time in December. I like them both, but like Popeyes' chicken a bit more and  prefer Slim Chickens' milkshakes! 

At the beginning of March I celebrated my birthday. I got a few presents and had a red velvet cake from Marks & Spencer (a small one because they didn't have the bigger one I usually get) and some food at home. I also got takeaway from Nando's. 

In mid-late March it was Ostara/Ostara aka the Spring Equinox. You can read my post about my celebration here: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2025/03/oestara-2025.html

Later in March I met up with my dance friends at a pub in Hangleton (Hove). It was nice to see them.

While I'm not currently going on regular park walks , I went to the park a few times during February and March. I had planned to go to Hove Park for Oestara but ended up going to a nearer one instead, because it was quite a busy day. However, I went to Hove a couple of weeks later, around sunset. I also went to Burger King and got a double bacon cheeseburger, a mocha latte and a Coke, then went and sat in the park for a bit.

Here are a couple of photos:

View from by Hove Park.

Easing into Spring

Spring is starting (or has already started depending on whether you go by the meterological or astronomical start). I've previously written a few posts about getting ready for spring, which you can see below:

Getting Ready for Spring: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2018/03/getting-ready-for-spring.html

Preparing for Spring + Spring Inspiration: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2019/03/preparing-for-spring-spring-inspiration.html

Oestara + Spring Inspiration: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2020/03/oestara-spring-inspiration.html

Winter Photos + Preparing for Spring (2021): https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2021/03/winter-photos-preparing-for-spring.html

Saying Goodbye to Winter, Moving into Spring: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2022/02/saying-goodbye-to-winter-moving-into.html

 

Note: If you're in the Southern Hemisphere, autumn is starting! You might like these posts:

Getting Ready for Autumn: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2018/09/getting-ready-for-autumn.html

Autumn Photos + Inspiration: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2018/10/autumn-photos-inspiration.html

Autumn 2020 + More Inspiration: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2020/10/autumn-2020-photos-more-inspiration.html

Saying Goodbye to Summer, Moving into Autumn: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2022/09/saying-goodbye-to-summer-moving-into.html

 

This year I thought I would share a few links with inspiration for spring. And also for  the spring festivals Oestara aka Ostara/the Spring Equinox and Easter. Oestara is on Wednesday 20th March this year, or tomorrow (Tuesday 19th March), depending on your time zone. Easter is 31st March.

I called the post Easing into Spring because the start of seasons are transitional times. Sometimes you might feel like going full steam ahead into the next season, and other times you might want to go slower. Often at this time of year the weather is still colder and winter lingers. 

As I mentioned in my Imbolg 2024 post, we had snow in the UK in January. Some parts of the country have had some more recently but we haven't had any more in Sussex, just a lot of rain. At the moment it's been warmer, about 14C (56F) during the day and 9C (48F) at night. There's meant to be colder weather again and more snow in some places next week though.

Spring-Summer Update

It's already July, so it's time for my Spring-Summer update! I decided that this year I would do quarterly "season to season" update posts. You can see my Winter-Spring Update here (also a Beltane post): https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2021/04/winter-spring-update-beltane-round-up.html

 

Easter was on 4th April this year. I didn't write a separate Easter post, but as I said in the Winter-Spring Update, I will cover it in this post. :)

This Easter I made an ice cream cake for a change. The recipe is from Apply To Face Blog and you can see it here: https://applytofaceblog.com/easy-ice-cream-birthday-cake/

This was a birthday cake for the blogger Jenny's son but it's good for any occasion. It's simple to make, although it does it have to be frozen overnight before decorating. It was quite nice. I wasn't sure about the cream on top because I'm not keen on it, but it does blend well with the ice cream! I put Cadbury Mini Eggs on top like I usually do with my Easter cakes. Here's a pic:

 

 

Easter 2020

Last weekend it was Easter and I baked the frosted white chocolate cake that is one of my favourites to make. The recipe is by British chef James Martin and is a Madeira style cake with white chocolate in the sponge and cream cheese frosting. For more on the cake and the recipe link, visit this post: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2017/04/frosted-white-chocolate-easter-cake.html

 I made it on Saturday and then iced it on Easter Sunday (12th April). Some years I do it all on the Saturday, just depends.  Here's a picture:

Easter 2019

This Easter I baked the frosted white chocolate Easter cake that I made for the last couple of years. (I've made it 3 times altogether now, first time was Easter 2013). It's a Madeira style cake with white chocolate in the sponge and cream cheese frosting. The recipe is by British chef James Martin. For more on the cake and the recipe link, visit this post: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2017/04/frosted-white-chocolate-easter-cake.html

I made it on Saturday and had a piece, although the frosting hadn't properly set, lol. I think it tasted better the next day (Easter Sunday), the flavour had come out more as well.  Here's a pic:

Preparing for Spring + Spring Inspiration

 

I'm looking forward to spring! While this winter hasn't seemed as long as last year's (at least not in Sussex, since it hasn't been as cold and we didn't get much snow), I'm not a big fan of this season. I'm more of a summer person! The past few weeks the weather has been a bit weird- it was the warmest February on record on one day (up to about 16C (about 60F) in my area), then it returned to more typical temperatures and now we have Storm Freya. Today it's 8C (47F). The atmosphere feels "lighter" to me now. Since I get more depressed during the winter, I tend to feel better when the weather shifts and spring gets nearer.

As I've mentioned in last year's spring post, there are two starts to spring- meteorological and astronomical. The first one is 1st March and the 2nd is 20th March, the same day as the Spring Equinox (also called Oestara/Ostara). Read more about it here: https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/when-does-spring-start


Note: If you're in the Southern Hemisphere, it's almost time for autumn. You may enjoy these posts:

Getting Ready for Autumn: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2018/09/getting-ready-for-autumn.html

Autumn Photos + Inspiration: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2018/10/autumn-photos-inspiration.html


Last year I wrote a post about getting ready for spring which you can read here: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2018/03/getting-ready-for-spring.html

This year I'm writing more about preparing for spring and also sharing some new season inspiration! :)

Easter 2018

This year for Easter I baked the frosted white chocolate Easter cake that I made last year, and a few years before that as well. It has white chocolate in the sponge and cream cheese icing. For more on the cake and the recipe visit this post: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2017/04/frosted-white-chocolate-easter-cake.html

Here is a picture of this year's cake:

Celebrating Oestara + Spring

At the beginning of the month I wrote a post on getting ready for spring. You can read that here:
https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2018/03/getting-ready-for-spring.html

Now it's almost officially here, Tuesday 20th March is the Spring Equinox, the first day of spring. It's also Oestara (or Ostara), so I thought I'd do a post on celebrating both Oestara and spring in general. :)

Note: If you're in the Southern Hempishere, Madron (or Mabon) and autumn are coming up for you. In that case you may like this post: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2017/09/madronautumn-equinox-celebration-ideas.html


Ironically we're having wintry weather again, like when I wrote my post about getting ready for spring! We're having what they're calling the "Mini beast from the East" in the UK. It's around 0 degrees Celsius (32F) here in Sussex and is snowing as I write this. But hopefully spring isn't too far away!


Oestara Ideas

Last year I wrote a post on Oestara and Spring Equinox celebration ideas. Check it out here: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2017/03/oestaraspring-equinox-celebration-ideas.html

Frosted White Chocolate Easter Cake

For Easter this year I made a white chocolate Easter cake. I decided to make it on Good Friday because other relatives were also baking things and I knew I wouldn't be able to eat everything on Easter Sunday! lol. The recipe is a James Martin one. Here's the link: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/10209/frosted-white-chocolate-easter-cake

I first made this for Easter a few years ago (I think in 2013) and although at first I wasn't that sure about it, I ended up liking it. So I thought I would be good to do the same cake again this year. It has white chocolate in the sponge and cream cheese frosting/icing with Mini Eggs on top. Here's a picture:

Easter Chocolate Fridge Cake/Squares

As I mentioned in my Oestara post I was planning to make something for Easter but since my oven is broken at the moment, it had to be something "No-bake". I ended up making chocolate fridge cake (or squares, since you cut it into squares) for Easter Sunday yesterday. It's actually similar to the Birdies Perch Malteser slice I made for Oestara (click the link above to see it). They tend to be known as "fridge cakes", at least in the UK.

Here's the recipe for the chocolate fridge squares: http://www.ultimatefoodies.com/recipe/default.aspx?artefactID=51

Update 14/4/25: The recipe is now gone but here are a couple of similat ones:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/chocolatefridgecake_74814

https://cooksimply.co.uk/chocolate-fridge-cake/ 

It's quite an easy recipe, made with chocolate, butter and condensed milk then you add the crushed digestive biscuits (the Birdies Perch Malteser slice has golden syrup and no condensed milk). I put Cadbury's Mini Eggs on the top, since I couldn't get any in time for Oestara. Here's a pic:

Easter Cake

I was planning to post this yesterday but hadn't uploaded my pictures yet, so I'll do it today instead. :)

For Easter this year I made a Tres Leches cake. I actually made it on Saturday because it had to refrigerate overnight and then did the topping on Easter Sunday (5th April). The recipe was from this site: https://www.sixsistersstuff.com/recipe/delicious-tres-leches-cake/

 
The name of the cake translates as something like "3 milks" and the milks you use are condensed milk, evaporated milk and half and half. Apparently in the UK we call half and half "half cream" but it doesn't seem to be widely available, I couldn't find it at Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda or Waitrose! I couldn't find it a couple of weeks ago either when I wanted some for the sugar cookie bars I made for Oestara. So both times I mixed milk and cream together and that seemed to work ok, since that's basically what half and half is anyway. You can also find another substitute suggestion here: http://frugalliving.about.com/od/makeyourowningredients/r/Half_and_Half.htm

The cake came out well. I wasn't sure how much I would like the topping, since it's just cream (the recipe says heavy cream but I think it's the equivalent of our whipping cream), sugar and vanilla essence and I don't like cream, but it tasted quite nice. I put sprinkles on top. I was going to use Mini Eggs as well but I discovered the packet was damaged (must have happened in the shop) and there wasn't time to get any more.

Here's a picture:

 

Pancake Day

Last Tuesday was Pancake Day (also known as Shrove Tuesday) in the UK. It falls on the day before Ash Wednesday which is the first day of Lent and the date varies between February and March because Shrove Tuesday is always 47 days before Easter, and Easter itself varies. The meaning behind Pancake Day is that since Lent is traditionally the period when you abstain from things (e.g. give up certain foods/fast or stop drinking alcohol) you would enjoy something nice before then and also use up the food in your house by making pancakes. (In particular food you're not allowed during Lent). This day is called "Shrove" because it's a variation of "Shrive" which means either to confess sins or to be absolved from them. (Actually it most likely means both).

Although Shrove Tuesday is now related to Christianity it was originally a pagan festival. (Like quite a few Christian events). In Eastern Europe the people believed that pancakes symbolised the sun and that eating them helped overcome winter and move into spring. The Slavic god Jarilo was worshipped at this time. He is the god of spring, vegetation and fertility. He sounds similar to the Green Man and the Celtic Sun God Lugh.

Pancake Day is also celebrated in Ireland, Canada and Australia. In France and the USA this day is Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday).

I made some pancakes with Nutella. I got the idea from  a blog but made my own recipe, a basic recipe that my mum uses. I only ended up having one in the end because the Nutella made it quite rich! The pancakes came out better than the ones I made for Imbolg, lol. They are English pancakes which are bigger and thinner than American ones. They're more like the type called crepes in other countries.

Here's a link to the blog with the Nutella recipe. It's in Dutch but you can translate it with Google Translate:
http://uitpaulineskeuken.nl/2014/12/flensjestaart-met-nutella.html

Alternatively you can follow my recipe below. :)

Plain pancake

Easter Biscuits

Hope everyone had a great Easter! :) I celebrated on Easter Sunday (20th April) by making some biscuits and I got 3 eggs, Quality Street, Cadbury Buttons and Hello Kitty, lol. In my post  on Oestara I mentioned that I wanted to make something for Easter and was thinking of a cake but then I've had quite a lot of cakes lately, so I thought I might make something else for a change, like biscuits.  In the end I went for the biscuits and they were nice. :)

I based them on a recipe from The Co-Op magazine. I can't find the exact recipe online but it was similar to this one: http://www.co-operativefood.co.uk/food-and-drink/recipes/Easter-biscuits-recipe/

Update 15/4/19: That page is now gone but you can find a similar recipe here: https://www.centralengland.coop/food/recipes/desserts/easter-biscuits

The biscuits were bunny shaped but I just used round cutters, lol. Then I decorated some of them with icing that I made up and the others with left over buttercream frosting from Moshi Monster cakes that my mum used to make a trifle. I also put sugar strands on top of some and more of the red, green and white sprinkles I used for the vanilla roll cake at Christmas on the rest, varying the combinations. I used the recipe on the back of the icing sugar packet for the normal icing (white in the pic).

They were a bit thicker than other biscuits I've had but I liked them. :) I've got a few biscuit/cookie recipes saved on my Pinterest board, so I plan to make more in the future. I pin way too many recipes though and there's not enough time to make them all! lol.