With 23 million Brits set to bake up as many as 66 million sweet treats this Easter weekend, Maltesers will be on hand – to help salvage any culinary creations that may go awry. From shaving off the burnt bits (38%), to attempting to cover any flaws with icing (37%), budding bakers are no strangers to trying to cover up when their efforts have gone wrong. And sometimes there is just no rescuing a baking fail, as one in five (19%) have dropped a finished product on the floor, while 28% have burnt one of their bakes to a crisp. As a result, a study of 2,000 adults, who plan to bake this weekend, found that as many as four in 10 admit some of their goodies will end up in the bin. But this year, before they resort to this drastic measure, they can try calling the new Maltesers “Easter Hop-line” – an emergency delivery service that sends Maltesers Bunnies out to cover up any baking imperfections. Florence Kayll, “head of Easter” for the chocolate company, said: “Easter has become the busiest time of year for bakers – and we all know pulling off the perfect bake isn’t as easy as they make it look on
Social Media.” It also emerged that 45% admit their skills in the kitchen leave a lot to be desired – as one in 10 (9%) have even confused the sugar with salt. A third (32%) say their creations haven’t always been suitable to serve to guests – with three in 10 resorting to serving themselves the ugliest slice. Getting distracted (23%) is the top excuse for these mishaps – along with misreading recipes (20%), and overestimating their own abilities (18%). But although the bakes might not always be perfect, 43% still love baking during the Easter period. Of these, 48% reckon it’s a good activity to get the family together, and 40% say it is one of their favourite memories from growing up. As such, 39% said whipping up a sweet treat in the kitchen at Easter makes them feel nostalgic. Cakes (67%), biscuits (32%), and brownies (30%) are set to be the most popular items baked over Easter, with wannabe pâtissiers creating an average of three items – as the average budding home baker has four recipes in their repertoire. And others will be trying their hand at scones (25%) or muffins (24%) over the weekend. Anyone in need of the Easter Hop-line in
London, Cardiff, and Edinburgh, can call 0775-BUNNIES (07752 866437) this Saturday, March 30, for help with their bakes.