As the Easter holiday approaches and your failed attempts at creating your own homemade sweet breads are quickly piling up, we know just where to turn. The folks at Country Cake Cupboard, Wuollet Bakery and Breadsmith have perfected the recipes over the years and have some delectable options to save you from your baking misery.
Hot Cross Buns
Named for their trademark cross atop this delicious sweet roll, hot cross buns are a traditional Easter treat. You can find them at many local bakeries and bread stores, including Country Cake Cupboard in Long Lake.
Country Cake Cupboard owner April Wysocki creates two different kinds of hot cross buns from scratch using her Italian grandmother’s original recipe. Along with the original sweet bread recipe ($1 each), Wysocki also bakes a hot cross bun in which she adds dried cherries, cranberries and raisins to her batter, plumping them up first with a mixture of orange juice and amaretto ($1.75 each). Wysocki says this delicious sweet roll is her favorite by far with its vanilla, cinnamon and fruit flavors.
The kitchen at Wuollet Bakery in Wayzata is also filled with the sweet aroma of hot cross buns, starting with a slightly sweet dough swirled with currents and topped with either an icing or almond paste cross ($1.65 each).
Breadsmith in Minnetonka calls their hot cross buns “fragrant breakfast fare,” with traces of orange peel, cinnamons, raisins and powdered sugar/citrus glaze ($6.50/loaf or $1.45 each).
Cinnamon Bread
Wysocki also puts her own spin on a traditional cinnamon bread from the Country Cake Cupboard. “People can take it home and slice it themselves,” she says. Using fresh cinnamon, not the type you get from the bottle or a can, this bread is great for toasting, making French toast or simply eating it by itself ($6.50/loaf).
Challah Braid
The legendary Wuollet Bakery is always cooking up something delicious in their bakery, but this time of year, they’re known for their traditional Challah braid. This tasty centerpiece is created with delicate egg-rich dough and twisted into a beautiful braid. Making holiday favorites for more than 65 years, the folks at Wuollet Bakery bake all their goodies “the good, old-fashioned way, just like grandpa used to do,” says manager Aaron Wuollet. Using the best ingredients available and baking by hand from scratch each day, you can’t go wrong with Wuollet ($6.25/loaf).
Cinnamon Pecan Rolls
These oh-so-good cinnamon rolls may just become a tradition in your family once you try them. Made fresh each morning at the Country Cake Cupboard during the Easter season, this yeasty sweet bread is also made with fresh cinnamon. Wysocki mixes up the batter, lets it rise, punches the dough down, forms the dough into rolls and lets it rise again. And of course, Wysocki and her team roast their own pecans and top it with a homemade sweet white glaze ($2.50 each).
Irish Soda Bread
Breadsmith in Minnetonka has so many different breads, we lost count. But one of our favorites that’s hard to forget is their Irish soda bread. Making all their dairy- and preservative-free breads from scratch, they start with a dough of wheat and white flour, roll in oats and sweet raisins and drizzle honey on top for a delicious addition to your Easter meal. Breadsmith only carries the Irish soda bread March 1–17, so make sure to order ahead of time ($6.50/large loaf, $2.50/mini loaf).
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Contact your local bakeries and get your order in early:
- Country Cake Cupboard, 491 N. Willow Dr., Long Lake; 952.476.0222
- Wuollet Bakery, 771 Lake St. E., Wayzata; 952.473.8621
- Breadmith, 1816 S. Plymouth Rd., Minnetonka; 952.475.0099
