7 classic Easter bakes using ancient grains

If you’re looking for something the whole family will love, you can’t really go wrong with carrot cake – it’s a universal favourite. If there’s one criticism of the average carrot cake, it's that it can be a bit sickly, but sing a combination of spelt and wholemeal flour as the base of your cake batter gives these cupcakes an amazing depth of flavour. The crumb is rich and nutty with an earthiness that keeps the white chocolate ganache in check. They’re dead simple to make too – perfect for getting the kids involved over the Easter break.

If there are two things every self-respecting Napolitan yearns for over the Easter break, it is pastiera – a cheesecake made with ricotta and wheat – and casatiello – a delicious Easter loaf made with all manner of cheeses, cured meats and vegetables. Casatiello is what Italians call a rustico – a rustic bread that is cooked with comfort and satiety in mind, rather than elegance. Miranda makes her dough using spelt flour for extra depth of flavour, then rolls it out and fills with leftover vegetables, cheese, before shaping in a cake tin. Finish by placing whole eggs on top of the loaf (a common custom across Europe) and securing with a cross of dough, representing the cross on which Jesus died.

Decorated with a procession of multicoloured mini eggs, this chocolate rye brioche loaf is a fantastic way to get the kids involved in some baking this Easter holiday. Brioche can be a little laborious to make at times but Miranda’s recipe breaks things down to total simplicity, albeit with the help of a stand mixer. The key to great brioche is keeping your butter as cold as possible at all times, so it works nicely into the dough rather than leaking out during baking. You’ll want to set aside a day to make your brioche from start to finish (it’ll take two hours to rise and another two hours to prove) but the rewards are well worth it, and you can decorate the final loaf however you see fit.

Rye flour is much lower in gluten than traditional wheat flour, which makes it perfect for making pastry. Whilst regular flour develops gluten naturally as you work it, rye flour does so far less, resulting in much shorter pastry. Miranda’s incredible salted chocolate and Malteser tart uses this to full effect – she bolsters the earthy flavour of rye with a biscuity brown butter, and leaves whole Maltesers dotted through the ganache to add little pops of crunch. A delicious crowd-pleaser.

As the toasty foundation of eggs Benedict, English muffins are an essential part of our breakfast tradition. Miranda uses spelt rather than regular flour – evidence of spelt being grown and eaten in Europe and Asia dates back to 5000 BCE, and it has been commonly used in Europe ever since. These days spelt is valued for its deep, earthy flavour – Miranda lightens that slightly with a dash of honey, then kneads quickly to preserve the gluten structure and bakes for six minutes to make the perfect breakfast treat for Easter Sunday morning.

Khorasan inherits its name from the ancient near-eastern region province where it originates – around modern day Iran and Afghanistan – but you may know it as Kamut if you’re a regular in British supermarkets. Though it looks much like modern wheat, it contains far more protein, amino acids, vitamins and minerals than its contemporary cousin, making it perfect for bread-making. Flavour-wise, khorasan has a rich, nutty flavour and pleasant buttery texture to it – Miranda supercharges that by brushing her rolls with garlic butter before baking in the oven.