Sweet eats for Easter in Wellington

Home to the much-loved Wellington Sourdough, Catherine Adams (the baker behind the brilliance) has come up with a clever variation on the classic hot cross bun to keep Easter eaters happy. Adding candied orange, cranberries, currants soaked in Cointreau, mixed spice and cinnamon into their special brioche dough, the resulting little bun is everything your standard store bought hot cross bun isn’t.

Classy and fun the candied fruit brioche goes down perfectly with a freshly brewed long black from the Starta machine, and ideal for a little breakfast or afternoon snack, the team have promised to keep making them even after the Easter weekend is over.

From the crafters who really know their chocolate, you’ll be pleased to hear Wellington Chocolate Factory is also jumping on the Easter bandwagon. A bean to bar factory that’s adamant about doing things differently and ensuring their products are ethically traded, Easter simply comes as a happy excuse to turn their always delicious single origin bars into a pleasing spherical shape. Choose from one of two 40g chocolate eggs and crack them open to find a salted brittle caramel party going on inside. The perfect little treat for an Easter friend.

Very aptly named, Sweet Cakery & Bakery is well practiced at bringing Wellingtonians treats worth stopping in for. Now with the country’s favourite chocolate holiday upon us, this specialist store has notched things up a level. Offering a range of fun Easter-themed treats every year, this season sees chocolate and caramel shakes take the stage – drizzled with chocolate sauce and topped with a mini crème egg, these babies aren’t for the fainthearted. Fancy a piece of cake instead? The impressive Double Chocolate Easter Egg Cake is a rainbow spectacle of sweet goodness, that’s four layers deep and speckled with mini eggs on top.

Open just the Friday and Saturday of Easter weekend, you best be in quick to get a slice of the good stuff before it goes!

Just because bagels don’t feature on the usual Easter menu doesn’t mean the team at Best Ugly have taken any notice. Instead they’ve taken their best work (a bagel) and simply made it more Eastery (with chocolate). And although these little doughy bits of chocolate are available year round, we reckon there's no time like Easter to go all out and get one slathered in caramelised banana cream cheese and topped with toasted almonds and more chocolate drizzle. Aptly named the King Kong (coz this one is gonna send any meek chocolate eaters running) grab one for a luxe takeaway afternoon tea, or get a take home pack of four to design your own at home over Easter weekend.

Cocktail specialists at The Library are well accustomed to thinking outside the square when it comes to fun and fancy cocktails, and this Easter they are bringing ‘confection for your affection’ to the bar – a selection of Easter inspired alcoholic drinks to please the sweetest of sweet tooths.

On the menu you’ll see things like Lewis Road chocolate milk, Pandoro-made chocolate buns, Auckland’s Thomson Whisky, and ever resourceful, the cocktail creators have even found a use for Wellington Chocolate Factory’s cacao husks – using them to infuse Cointreau.

And if you thought it was a drinks only list, you’d best think again – the Willy Wonka Choc Burger is making a comeback since its debut at WOAP 2017 and with chocolate and berry ice cream, white choc buttons and peanut butter brownie all squeezed between chocolate brioche buns, we suggest you take a friend and invest in some eating assistance.