Easter Delicacies

Kwarezimal - Lenten Almond Cakes
© by Anne & Helen Caruana Galizia

This is made during Lent and contains no fat or eggs, although the Lenten fast is no longer adhered to. The word kwarezimal refers to quaresima, literally the quadragesima, the forty days of Lent.

Lightly toast or roast the almonds. Grind coarsely. Mix with the flour, sugar, cinnamon, rinds and a little orange-flower water. Add just enough water to make a stiff dough. Knead lightly until well amalgamated and shape into ovals, approximately 17.5 cm long, 5 cm wide and 2 cm thick. Place on greased and floured baking trays and bake at 190'C/375'F/gas 5 for about 20 minutes.

While still hot, spread with Malta honey and press on chopped, unsalted pistachio nuts or chopped roasted almonds or hazel nuts. The only honey which resembles the exquisite Malta honey is Greek Hymettus, from the mountain of that name. It is now extremely difficult to obtain the real Malta honey (which is flavoured with wild thyme) despite what the label (and the vendors) say.

Figolli - Easter Characters
© Anne & Helen Caruana Galizia

Figolli are almond pastries cut out to represent symbolic figures. They come into their own at Easter time. It is wisest to buy then from a reputable confectioner. Some charities make and sell them too, but beware of the quality, no matter how deserving the charity. You will need the metal cutters. If you cannot obtain these, you can make your own templates, like gingerbread men, out of cardboard. The traditional shapes are men, Women, fish and baskets, the last perhaps being fertility symbols. More recently, new shapes have begun to emerge, such as butterflies, lambs and cars. A shop window filled with these figolli is a colourful sight. The human shapes are easily identifiable by the old-fashioned oleograph faces stuck on to the icing. An Easter egg wrapped in coloured paper is an essential part of the decoration.

Make the pastry by mixing the sugar with the flour, then rubbing in the butter until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add the grated lemon rind and the yolks, mixed with a little water to make a pliable dough. Leave to chill. Add the sugar, orange flower water and lemon rind to the ground almonds, and bind with the egg whites. Roll out the pastry and cut out your shapes. Make two of each figure as they will be sandwiched with almond paste. Lay the first shape on a greased and floured baking tray, spread with almond paste, leaving a small margin. Lay the second shape over the top and press the edges together. It helps if you wet the edges with a pastry brush to ensure adhesion- Bake at 200'C/400'F/gas 6 for 5 minutes, then at 180'C/350'F/gas 4, for about 20 minutes, until pale golden. Cool on the tray.

When cold, coat with glacé icing, then decorate with royal icing in a different colour, but nothing too gaudy. While the icing is soft, press a small, foil-wrapped Easter egg in the middle of each shape. As children we used to be intrigued by the egg right in the middle of the man or woman's tummy. Ground almonds are very expensive and full-size figolli are enormous. You might like to consider making the quantity of this recipe and making the figolli half the size, using tiny sugar-coated eggs. Less traditional but still good.

Hot Cross Buns
© Doreen Bartolo Imbroll

Although hot cross buns are popular as an Easter delicacy the world over, there is a variation that is distinctly Maltese in the ingredients used.

Mix the dough and add the mixed fruit peels. Once ready, divide the dough into eight pieces and shape the separate pieces into buns. Then, place them on a greased baking sheet and leave them in a warm place for 10-15 minutes until they double in bulk. Next, make crosses, either by cutting the tops with a knife, or make a smooth paste with flour and water and pipe across each bun. Bake in a hot oven (425 F, gas mark 7) for 15-20 minutes. Once ready, brush the buns with a hot sugar glaze whilst still warm.