Photo essay: Inside a Dubai kitchen baking sweet Easter treats

Orders for cakes and desserts surge during the festive period

Chef Merlita makes a spot-the-bunny cake at Sugar Moo headquarters in Al Quoz, Dubai. All photos: Chris Whiteoak / The National

The spot-the-bunny cake is made of red velvet

Easter cakesicles being made

Popsicle-shaped cakes, known as cakesicles, being decorated

Sugar Moo's decorate-your-own Easter cookie set includes cookies, piping filled with icing, and sprinkles

Chef Judith makes Easter truffles

Cakesicles being doused in cream

Easter truffles at Sugar Moo

The spot-the-bunny cake is enough for 6-8 people

Orders for cakes and sweet treats usually surge a week before Easter Sunday, according to Sugar Moo

Decorations for the Easter fare

Icing being applied on truffles

A paint-your-own Easter biscuit set

Easter cakesicles

Paint-your-own Easter biscuits

Easter cakesicles are made using red velvet cake

Easter truffles being decorated

Every year in the US, a confectionary battle rages in the run-up to the Easter and Halloween holidays. Both are known as a time for sweet-treat indulgences, the weeks running up to the two festive periods are the most lucrative for sweet makers, according to Nielsen data, with one trumping the other reciprocally.

While its origins are deeply religious, the association of Easter with cakes and other sweet treats dates back centuries. In the UK and Ireland, for example, simnel cakes, a light fruitcake, have been baked since medieval times. The cakes are usually topped with 11 marzipan balls, to represent Jesus's apostles.

Easter symbols such as bunnies, eggs and chicks, each with their own origin stories, appear in the form of desserts and treats at this time of the year.

Dubai dessert company Sugar Moo says orders for their sweet treats surge a few days before Easter, starting with Good Friday. Like every year, the company has created a special collection to take advantage of the Easter (sugar) rush.

This year's colourful menu includes an Easter bunny cake, cakesicles or popsicle-shaped cakes, truffles, and a decorate-your-own-cookie set, complete with cookies, piping bags filled with icing, and sprinkles.

Founded in 2014, Sugar Moo is in Dubai's Al Quoz neighbourhood and operates kiosks in Nakheel Mall, Dubai International Financial Centre and Yas Mall in Abu Dhabi.

Several UAE brands and destinations have Easter activities planned, including Yas Marina in Abu Dhabi, which is bringing back its annual Marina Hop on Easter Sunday; and Address Beach Resort in Dubai is hosting an Easter egg painting activity for children.