Our Easter celebrations include everything from eggs and sweet treats to ideas for a celebration meal

• Recipe by Elizabeth Emery of Vancouver with Love vancouverwithlove.com Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook: @vancouverwithlove Twitter: @vancouverwlove

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For this recipe, chill a can of coconut milk in the fridge overnight. Open it, drain off the excess coconut water and use only the hardened coconut cream.

Vegan Chocolate Eggs with Raspberry Cream

Makes: 8

These raspberry cream-filled vegan chocolate eggs are gluten-free and delish. Made with just four ingredients, they’re the perfect vegan Easter egg recipe.

• Flavourless oil, for greasing

• 85g (3oz) bar dark chocolate

• 160ml (5.6 fl oz) hardened coconut milk

• 1 tbsp maple syrup

• 40g (1.4 oz) fresh or frozen raspberries (if frozen, thaw and drain before use)

You will also need:

• An egg mould

1 Using kitchen towel, grease the egg moulds lightly with oil to make the eggs easier to remove.

2 Break the chocolate into small pieces and melt in a bowl over a pan of simmering water, stirring frequently.

3 Using a pastry brush, coat the inside of each mould evenly with the melted chocolate.

4 With a flat knife, scrape across the edge of each mould to give it a flush finish (this will make it easier to join the halves together later on).

5 Place the mould in the fridge for 10 minutes to set.

6 Repeat this process, building up 3-4 layers of chocolate and leaving the eggs to set in the fridge for 10 minutes between each layer. Pay special attention to building up a slightly thicker layer of chocolate around the top edge of each mould so it doesn’t get too thin, as the chocolate can drip down and gather in the bottom.

7 To make the filling, using an electric whisk, beat the hardened coconut milk for 2 minutes until light, fluffy and lump-free. Add the maple syrup and beat for 1 minute.

8 Add the raspberries and beat for 30 seconds until the pieces are broken up in the cream.

9 To assemble, remove the chocolate egg halves from the fridge and fill each with the raspberry cream mixture.

10 Carefully, run a hot knife along the edge of two egg halves to melt the chocolate, then quickly sandwich them together. Do the same with the remaining eggs.

11 Store in the fridge for 5 minutes to set, then enjoy!

Raspberry Jam Babka

• Recipe by Amy Lanza, Nourishing Amy, nourishingamy.com

Makes: 1 loaf

A light and fluffy yeasted dough braided into a babka pattern and baked until golden – filled with lots of sweet raspberry jam. This vegan babka is easy to make in a few steps and tastes amazing warm from the oven.

For the babka dough:

• 110g (3.8 oz) vegan butter or margarine

• 120ml (4 fl oz) plant-based milk

• 30g (1oz) coconut or caster sugar

• 10g (0.3 oz) instant dried yeast

• Pinch of salt

• 350g (12.3 oz) plain flour, plus extra for dusting (20g/0.7 oz)

• 1 tsp cinnamon

For the filling:

• 100g (3.5 oz) jam

For the glaze:

• 2 tbsp maple syrup

1 Add the vegan butter/margarine, plantbased milk and sugar to a small saucepan and gently warm until just starting to melt the butter. Continue to stir until it’s all fully melted. Make sure the mixture is lukewarm (test with your finger) as you may need to let it cool down.

2 Add the yeast and salt to the mixture and quickly stir. Leave to rest for 10 minutes.

3 Stir the flour and cinnamon in a large bowl and pour over the yeast mixture. Bring together with a spoon and then tip out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10-12 minutes, until soft and spongey.

4 Place in a lightly greased bowl and cover with a tea towel or wrap and leave somewhere warm for 1 hour, until doubled in size (you maybe need 1.5-2 hours if your house is colder). Meanwhile, grease and line a 20x10cm loaf tin.

5 Lightly flour the surface again and tip out the dough. Roll out to an oblong about 40x30cm.

6 Spread the jam evenly over the dough, leaving a 1cm gap around the edge. Carefully roll up using the longest edge to form a tube.