Good Friday lands on 3 April this year, which makes Easter the first proper long weekend since January and the last one before the weather turns. If you are looking for Easter desserts in Christchurch that go beyond a foil-wrapped bunny from the supermarket, here is what we have on.
The cake-filled Easter egg
A chocolate egg is hollow. A cake-filled egg is not, and that difference is the entire point. Our Easter range centres on handcrafted eggs made with tempered chocolate and filled properly, so cracking one open gets you somewhere.
Seasonal flavours change year to year and go on sale in the weeks before the weekend, so it is worth checking the Easter page rather than assuming last year's line-up.
Make one yourself
If you would rather learn how it is done, our Cake-Filled Easter Egg Class is a three-hour workshop capped at four people. You will temper chocolate properly, mould an egg, and assemble and decorate a cake-filled egg to take home. All the chocolate, the pre-baked cake and the recipes are included, and no baking experience is assumed.
Tempering is the skill worth having. It is the difference between chocolate that snaps and shines and chocolate that goes dull and streaky the moment it sets, and once you understand it you will never look at a supermarket egg the same way.
Go deeper into chocolate
For anyone who catches the bug, our chocolate workshop runs over two evenings and goes considerably further — polycarbonate moulds, ganache and truffle fillings, shelling and capping bonbons, and the decorative finishes that make them look like they came from a shop. You take home everything you make. The rest of our upcoming classes are listed on the site, and there is more detail on the classes page.
If chocolate is the whole point
Easter is really just permission to eat chocolate for four days. The Thunder Cake, layered with Brazilian brigadeiro, is our most requested chocolate centrepiece. The Nutella Cake is the showier option, and the Black & White Chocolate Mousse is built on a flourless brownie base for anyone at the table avoiding gluten, though our kitchen is small and without exclusive production areas for all of our different recipes, so traces may occur, and nothing is guaranteed safe for severe coeliac disease. Our handmade bon-bons travel well as a gift.
Something warm for a cooler weekend
Easter falls late enough in autumn that the evenings have turned. Our made-to-order dessert menu includes a chocolate lava cake and a chocolate fondue for sharing, and a dark Belgian hot chocolate is the right way to end a cold walk.
How to order before the weekend
Easter is one of our busiest weeks and whole cakes are made to order, so allow at least two days — earlier if you want a specific flavour. Order online and pick your collection date; the date picker only offers dates we can still make it. We are inside The Welder on Welles Street, open 10am to 6pm Tuesday to Friday and 10am to 3pm on Saturday. Browse the full menu before you order.
