In Australia, Easter isn’t complete without a chocolate egg and a classic hot cross bun – if you come from an Anglo background. Those in the Eastern European and Mediterranean communities enjoy various other traditional sweets at Easter time. Here are five of the most common, and where to try them across Melbourne.

Tsoureki – sweet bread


Photo: Courtesy of Vanilla Cakes & Lounge

This semi-sweet Greek bread, pronounced “sou-re-ki”, has a light texture and a soft, light-brown crust topped with slivered almonds. Two ingredients differentiate tsoureki from other sweetened breads: mastic (mastiha) and mahlab (mahlepi). Mastic is a gum sourced from the mastic tree, a shrub native to the island of Chios, in Greece. Mahlab is an aromatic spice made from crushed cherry seeds. It’s sold as a fine powder and is added to many breads or biscuits to give a distinct fruity flavour.

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Where to buy: Vanilla Cakes & Lounge, 17–21 Eaton Mall Oakleigh. Choose from vanilla, Kinder Bueno, Biscoff, kataifi and pistachio, and “Dubai-style” chocolate. $17–$75, depending on size and weight.

Flaouna – fruit and cheese pastry


Photo: Courtesy of Cyprus Time

This hearty pastry is made on the island of Cyprus and some areas of Greece. Using a shortcrust-like pastry; dried fruits like raisins or sultanas; and cheeses including paphitiko, halloumi (Cyprus having given the world the original version of this cheese), graviera and others. The dough is often flavoured with mint, mastic and mahlab. Each family has its own recipe, but my grandmother combines halloumi and pecorino for a sharper cheese flavour. Flaounes are only made at Easter time, surrounding religious and cultural rituals. Orthodox Cypriots typically fast for 40 days leading up to Easter, going without meat, dairy, eggs, and olive oil to make a sacrifice. These soft, fluffy parcels are a heavenly way to break the fast.

Where to buy: Cyprus Time, 74 Glengala Road, Sunshine West. $30 per four-pack, with or without raisins. Get in quick, as they sell out fast.

Orthodox red eggs


Cracking red eggs. Photo: Courtesy of Vanilla Cakes & Lounge

Orthodox Christian countries like Serbia, Greece, Russia and Romania like to dye eggs red at Easter time. The red symbolises the blood of Christ and the egg itself, rebirth. The eggs are boiled in hot water with red onion skins or cabbage leaves to produce a natural food colouring. Some cultures fix leaves or flowers onto the egg so that a beautiful pattern emerges after boiling. In modern times, some people use food dye and make blue, green or yellow eggs. The eggs decorate many Orthodox households for Easter and are eaten on Easter Sunday.

Greeks play a game with their red eggs called tsougrisma (“clinking together” or “clashing”). Each player picks up a red egg and clinks their egg with an opponent. The person whose egg cracks first is out of the game. The winner of that round continues to compete against the other players left. The person who keeps their egg intact until the end wins. They are said to bring good luck until the following year.

Where to buy: Vanilla Cakes & Lounge, 17–21 Eaton Mall, Oakleigh.

Koulourakia – butter biscuit


Photo: Courtesy of Sweet Filosophy

This swirl- or spiral-shaped Greek biscuit is made with butter and is lightly flavoured with vanilla and/or orange peel. Greeks love to enjoy them alongside a Greek coffee.

Where to buy: Sweet Filosophy, 5/24-28 Chester Street, Oakleigh. The bakery makes its koulourakia using orange juice. $40 per kilogram.

Colomba – fruit cake


Photo: Courtesy of Brunetti Classico

Colomba, or “dove” in Italian, is a traditional Easter cake. The dove symbolises peace, hope and renewal. It has a light and airy crumb (similar to panettone), studded with candied fruits and almonds, plus a dusting of icing sugar. Other variations include chocolate, pistachio, liquor cream, limoncello and more. Many Italians share a colomba for breakfast on Easter Sunday.

Where to buy: Brunetti Classico, 380 Lygon Street, Carlton. Its traditional colomba and chocolate variation are both $41. Head in-store or order online.