When it comes to cooking, I’m not the greatest. However, I *am* a total sucker for recipes that look so lovely they make you smile. And these from British Lion Eggs (www.eggrecipes.co.uk), ahead of Easter, certainly do that.

Hands up who is feeling inspired to hold an Easter Sunday gathering, after looking at these? Yep, me too…

Little egg chicks

Serves: 8
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:
• 8 British Lion eggs
• 3tbsp Greek yogurt
• 2tsp Dijon mustard
• ½ carrot, sliced thinly into rounds
• Chives or green peppercorns to decorateMethod:
1. Place eggs into a pan of warm water, bring to the boil and cook for 7 minutes. Drain and cool in a large bowl of cold water. Once cooled, peel and shell.
2. Using a sharp knife take a very thin slice of the bottom of each egg so they sit flat on a plate, then slice off the top third of each egg and carefully scoop out the yolks into a small bowl. Mix with a fork with the yogurt and mustard until smooth. Use a teaspoon to spoon the mixture back into the egg whites.
3. Add the egg ‘lids’ then add a beak made from a small triangle of carrot and eyes made from snipped chives. For the feet, cut the sliced carrot into triangles, then cut out smaller triangles from the rounded edge to make claws, and arrange these under the base of the egg.

Egg bunnies

Serves: 4
Preparation time: 20, plus chilling time
Cooking time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:
• 6 British Lion eggs
• 2 cooked beetroot (from a vacuum pack)
• Salad leaves
• Carrot, cherry tomatoes, to serve
• Chives, cut into 2.5cm lengths

Method:
1. Place eggs into a pan of warm water, bring to the boil and cook for 7 minutes. Drain and cool in a large bowl of cold water. Once cooled, peel and shell.
2. Grate beetroot into a lidded container. Add eggs and turn to cover. Leave for at least 1 hour or chill overnight, shaking occasionally.
3. To assemble, quickly rinse the eggs and pat dry on kitchen paper. Cut 2 eggs in half lengthways to make bunny bodies, then cut 2 eggs into quarters lengthways, to make bunny ears. Take the final 2 eggs and cut in half horizontally from the bunny faces, trim off the rounded tip of the eggs to make them easier to serve.
4. Place a body on the plate, using a little soft cheese spread on the plate to hold things in place, add a face and ears. Cut small triangles of carrot or tomato for noses and add chive whiskers.
5. Decorate the plates with salad leaves and vegetables cut into flower shapes.

Mini Easter Pavlovas

Serves: 10
Preparation time: 20 minutes, plus cooling
Cooking time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:
• 3 British Lion eggs whites
• 140g caster sugar
• 1tsp corn flour
• ½ tsp white wine or cider vinegar
• 350g half fat crème fraiche or Greek yogurt
• 1tsp vanilla extract or paste
• 2 ripe bananas, sliced
• 300g mixed berries, sliced if large
For a chocolate filling…
• 2tbsp cocoa powder
• 200ml skimmed milk
• 1tbsp corn flour
• 2 egg yolks
• 2tbsp caster sugar

Method:
1. Heat oven to Mark 2/150C/130C fan. Line 2 baking trays with baking parchment.
2. In a large clean bowl, whisk egg whites with a hand whisk until soft peaks form. Gradually whisk the sugar, 1 headed tbsp. at a time, whisking until stiff after each addition. Fold the corn flour and vinegar with a spoon.
3. Spread 10 dollops of the mixture onto the prepared trays and spread each to form circles around 8cm in diameter. Use the spoon to build up the sides of the meringue.
4. Bake for 45-50 minutes until firm to the touch. Turn off the oven and leave the meringues to cool with the ajar.
5. For the filling, mix vanilla into the yogurt and spoon into the middle. Top with bananas and berries.

For a chocolate filling…
1. Mix cocoa and corn flour with a splash of the milk in a saucepan until smooth. Add remaining milk and heat until steam rises, stirring until slightly thickened.
2. Whisk egg yolks and remaining sugar until pale and doubled in volume. Remove milk from the heat and whisk in the yolks.
3. Return to the heat and cook very gently for a further minute until thickened, whisking constantly. Leave to cool, covered with cling film to prevent a skin forming.