I spent the most magical Easter ever in the UK...not only for the fairytale pre-wedding euphoria but for the AMAZING hot weather. 22°C minimum each day..my mothers' garden was in bloom..red tulips offset by bluebells, yellow irises, pink ornamental cherry blossom....Bath at it's best! I was inspired to paint this new canvas 30 x 100cm in acrilics.
We couldn't have celebrated Easter in a more traditional way. My mother blew the fresh eggs empty which we then dyed. Isabella my Hungarian friend had dyes sent by her grandmother but food dyes would do just as well. We of course had traditional tea with a simnel cake.
I made a ricotta cake, taught to me by Maria, a Southern Italian recipe from Basilicata:

Pastry:
200g Flour
80g Sugar
90g Margarine
2 egg yolks
Pinch of salt

Filling:
Make custard
Mix 4 tablespoons of cornflour with
4 tablespoons of sugar
2 egg yolks

Boil milk with
peel of whole lemon

Add a liitle hot milk to the custard mix and then pour into the rest of the milk. Stir until thick.
When cool mix with
500g ricotta
grated rind of 1 lemon

Cover the pastyry with the mixture and make a lattice with pastry strips. Bake in a hot oven (preheated to 180°C) for an hour or until golden. Sieve icing sugar on top and decorate with RASPBERRIES.