Our gift guide to Easter treats in Portsmouth is sure to tantalise the taste buds. We love Easter, not only is it a beautiful time of year, it’s the season of indulgence and this year we’re not holding back! Let’s support local by treating ourselves, or a friend, to some Easter goodies from these small businesses, tried and tested by us.
Keel’s Cakes
We loved these traditional home-baked favourites with a twist. Keel’s Cakes are certainly very inventive and the bakes we received match what’s popular right now; blondies, cookie cups etc. However, it was the fillings and toppings which really stood out, like old favourites like Twix and Maltesers.
Sometimes when bakers add chocolate bars or sweets to a cake, it can make it rather rich, too much to eat in one go, but these weren’t like that at all. Our favourite bake from Keel’s Cakes is the Trifle Blondie; a white chocolate blondie topped with great quality raspberry jam and topped with a traditional shortbread biscuit which added a welcomed crunch. Each cake was very well-baked and included a generous amount of filling/topping.
Keel’s Cakes offer a different treat box every week and there’s always something new to try. The Easter one sounds particular nice, although there’s never a week that goes by where I don’t drool over the menu.
Keel’s Cakes will be baking an Easter treat box that includes:
- Easter egg brownie
- Cornflake and mini egg cookie
- Malteser bunny blondie
- Easter rocky road
- Easter chick lemon cupcake
- Hot cross cookie
You can pick up this treat box of six freshly baked cakes for £15. Order via Instagram direct message, Facebook or email dee_keel@msn.com. Collection from Cosham, local delivery may be available.
Les Macarons de Pauline
We enjoyed Pauline’s Mother’s Day macarons so much that we have to give her Easter flavours a special mention here. We tried these flavours too! These macarons are incredibly indulgent with an outstanding combination of different textures. We enjoyed guessing what each flavour was and got most of them right because they tasted exactly how they should. The rainbow colours of the new Easter flavours are impressive and include:
- Lemon and pineapple- our favourite!
- Violet
- Bubblegum
- Mint chocolate
- Carrot cake
- Strawberry cheesecake
Pre-order your Easter macarons for collection in Portsmouth before the 28th of March. They come in a nicely presented gift box and cost just £8 for a box of 6 (3 flavours) and £15 for 12 (4 flavours). Order via direct message on Instagram or Facebook. Or, email pauline.macarons2020@gmail.com.
Abigail’s Pantry
Abigail’s Pantry specialises in vegan and gluten-free baking. We received a selection of sweet and savoury vegan treats, all extremely fresh and flavoursome. Expert vegan cake tester Mum, crowned the apple crumble as her favourite “it just melted in your mouth and I’m not even an apple-y person” she said. My favourite was the ginger fudge slice because it was so unique with a thick layer of sweet and spicy ginger fudge and sweet crumbly biscuit.
During the Easter period Abigail’s Pantry will be offering:
- A special Easter-themed treat box – £6 for four different cakes – exceptionally good value!
- Vegan sourdough hot cross buns, £6 for four
- Easter nest cupcakes, £12 for six
Abigail’s Pantry bakes a different vegan treat box every week plus afternoon teas, platters and celebration cakes, which are all available for pre-order. Free collection from Havant or delivery from Chichester, Portsmouth and surrounds for a small fee. DM Abigail’s Pantry on Instagram or Facebook to arrange your vegan Easter treats.
For the Love of Bakes
One thing we love about For the Love of Bakes is their zero-waste boxes filled with offcuts of brownies, blondies and other bakes. I hate the thought of food wastage and this is a genius idea. Being offcuts they may not look as good as the real deal but I bet they taste just as good. It’s £4 for a box of offcuts containing 4-5 slices worth – bargain!
Calling all chocolate lovers! This Easter, For the love of bakes are offering a HUGE chunky Belgian chocolate Easter egg. It arrived nicely presented and you have the option to personalise it, choosing from an array of toppings and fillings – just ask. Easter eggs are £7.50 and can be posted anywhere in the UK via their Etsy shop, especially handy if you want to send a gift. For those more local, you can also order via Instagram or Facebook and get local delivery for postcodes PO1-PO5.
For the Love of Bakes can now be found at the Coffee Cabin on Southsea Common. We recommend the lemon curd blondie. Discover more of their cakes in our guide to Mother’s Day treats.
LC Bakery
Like many local cake makers, LC Bakery started life in lockdown and offer an array of baked goods like brownies, rocky road, cupcakes and celebration cakes. We received a selection of cakes, nicely presented in a box with marshmallows, good quality chocolates and strawberries dotted around – a nice touch we thought. Our favourite bake was the blondie which contained delicious chunks of white chocolate. The cupcakes were topped with a generous amount of buttercream which was piped well.
LC Bakery will be offering six Easter cupcakes for £12 and an Easter ‘pizza’ cake with a twist. To find out more message LC Bakery on Instagram or Facebook. Collection from Waterlooville. Local delivery is available.
Morello’s Cakery
Morello’s Cakery featured in our Mother’s Day gift guide and we enjoyed their bakes so much we thought we’d tell you about their Easter offering. Good news too, Morello’s cakes can now be found at Southsea Beach Cafe!
There will be a special Easter treat box for £16 that includes:
- White chocolate milky bar cookie
- Mini egg cake bar
- Creme egg brownie
- Cherry cheesecake filled Easter egg
All beautifully presented.
You can also pick up a personalised Terry’s chocolate orange bunny for £14. Fear not vegans, we have something for you – half an Easter egg filled with brownie truffles for £16, I expect these will be delicious judging by the previous vegan treats we’ve tried from Morello’s. Collection from Southsea. Pre-order via Instagram or head over to their website to find out more.
Chunkee
Chunkee Cookie has only recently launched in Portsmouth and this Easter you can tuck into one of their hot cookie dough pies filled with mini eggs. Cookie pies are a relatively new trend within the food scene and need to be placed in the oven for a few minutes in order to get the best from them. Must be eaten with a spoon…..and maybe a bib – melted chocolate is marvellously messy! Other cookie pie flavours include Lotus Biscoff, Oreo, Malteser and Daim.
Get in there early as mini egg cookie pies are only £6 until the 24th March (£8 after) and you’ll receive a free topped cookie for every order over £14. Delivery or collection from Portsmouth or Surrey. DM via Chunkee Cookies Instagram or Facebook to purchase your treats.
Easter Treats
So there you have it, a selection of yummy Easter treats from Portsmouth (or just outside!) which make perfect gifts for loved ones, the kids or yourself! We’ve really enjoyed meeting such enthusiastic bakers around our local area and discovering some fantastic quality bakes, which we will certainly be recommending in the future. A big thank you to everyone who got involved in our Easter gift guide. If you’re in need of a sugar fix this Easter, remember to support local if you can.
H x
Thank you to the Southsea Snapper for the photographs.