Category: Easy

For the times when you want something super simple to make.

Bakewell Traybake

Bakewell Traybake

I’m a bit behind with my recipe writing so apologies for the tardiness on this one! I’m getting into the habit of brainstorming, baking, photographing and then posting on social media, but not so much with the follow up blog posts. When I’m baking I tend to jot down on post-it notes what I’m doing and what quantities I’m using etc, but recently these have ended up piling up in a corner waiting for me to re-visit them! But anyhow – we’re here, and this one is a particular fave of mine. I’ve been making bakewell tarts for as long as I’ve been baking, but I decided this time to make it as a tray bake so it can be easily chopped up and shared around! I’ve used raspberry jam here as I think it’s a nice tartness to pair with the sweet pastry and cake, but you could use any kind of jam you like!

Recipe

Makes 16 squares

Time: around 2 hours

Ingredients

For the pastry (or use ready-made)

  • 175g plain flour
  • A pinch of salt
  • 2 tbsp caster sugar
  • 115g unsalted butter
  • 1 medium egg yolks
  • 2 tbsp cold water

For the filling

  • 5tbsp raspberry jam
  • 200g soft butter
  • 200g caster sugar
  • 100g ground almonds
  • 100g self-raising flour
  • 1tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp almond extract
  • 4 eggs, beaten

To decorate

  • 100g icing sugar
  • 25g flaked almonds

Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C. Line a 20x30cm tin with butter and baking paper.
  2. To make the pastry put the flour, salt and sugar into a bowl and mix together. Add the cold butter in chunks and cut it into small lumps with a table knife. Then go in with your hands and rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. (Shaking the bowl side to side every now and then can help bring the lumps to the top).
  3. Press the pastry into the lined tin to form an even layer. Prick the base all over with a fork and then bake for 8-10 minutes until cooked through.
  4. Spread the raspberry jam over the base to make an even layer.
  5. Put the butter, sugar, ground almonds, flour, baking powder, almond extract and eggs into a bowl and beat together until smooth. Pour this over the jam layer, even out to a smooth layer and then bake for 30 minutes until risen and golden brown.
  6. Leave the traybake to cool and then take it out of the tin and place on a chopping board. Mix the icing sugar with 1 tbsp water and drizzle the icing over the traybake. Scatter over the flaked almonds and then cut the traybake into 12 fingers. Enjoy!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x

Aubergine Shakshuka

Aubergine Shakshuka

This is one of my family’s go-to comfort foods at the moment – ras el hanout aubergines, tomatoes, feta and a baked egg on top! You can make it in minutes and there’s always enough to share around!

Recipe

Serves 3-4

Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

  • 2 aubergines
  • A little oil for frying
  • 1 white onion
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1 tbsp ras el hanout
  • ½ tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tbsp tomato puree
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 500ml tomato passata
  • 3 eggs
  • 50g feta

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180C.
  2. Cut both aubergines in half, and then cut each half into four to make 16 long wedges.
  3. Fry the aubergine with a little oil, over a medium heat until browned. Take the aubergine out of the pan and place to one side until needed.
  4. Top and tail, peel and then finely dice the onion. Add it to the pan and fry for about 5 minutes until soft. Meanwhile peel and finely chop the garlic.
  5. Add the garlic to the pan and fry for another minute. Then add the ras el hanout, paprika, tomato puree and sugar and stir to combine. Next add the passata and mix. Finish with a seasoning of salt and pepper.
  6. Pour the sauce into an oven-proof dish. Arrange the aubergines over the top. Crack the eggs over the top of the dish and then sprinkle over the feta.
  7. Cook the dish for about 7 minutes in the oven until the eggs are softly cooked.
  8. Serve warm with some bread to mop up the juices!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x

Raspberry and White Chocolate Blondies

Raspberry and White Chocolate Blondies

Blondies are my go-to comfort bake and I think they’re never better than when you add a handful of raspberries to the mixture to give a gorgeous sharpness to pair with the fudgy white chocolate blondie!

Recipe

Makes 16 squares

Time: 45 minutes (including baking time)

Ingredients

  • 170g butter
  • 220g light brown sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or extract)
  • 1 large egg
  • 210g plain flour
  • 150g white chocolate
  • 50g raspberries (I use frozen as it’s cheaper but you can use fresh if you prefer)

Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C. Grease and line a 9” square tin with butter and baking paper.
  2. Melt the butter in a large bowl by putting it in the microwave for 20 second bursts. Add the sugar and vanilla and whisk until combined.
  3. Add the egg and whisk again to combine. Then add the flour and whisk again to make a smooth batter.
  4. Take the white chocolate and chop it into rough chunks. Then add this chopped chocolate and the raspberries to the blondie mixture and stir it in.
  5. Pour the batter into the lined tin. Bake the blondies for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown and still a little fudgy in the middle. Leave to cool and then cut into 12 slices and enjoy!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x

Brookies

Brookies

Recipe

Makes 12

Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

For the brownie layer

  • 120g dark chocolate
  • 170g butter
  • 300g caster sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • A large pinch of salt
  • 2 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 135g plain flour

For the cookie layer

  • 113g butter
  • 70g caster sugar
  • 70g light brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or extract)
  • A large pinch of salt
  • 200g plain flour
  • ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 50g white chocolate, roughly chopped
  • 50g dark chocolate, roughly chopped

Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C. Grease and line a 9” square tin with butter and baking paper.
  2. Begin by making the brownie layer. Put the chocolate and butter into a glass or metal bowl and place over a pan of gently simmering water.
  3. Once melted take the bowl off the heat and stir to combine the melted butter and chocolate. Add the caster sugar and eggs and whisk to combine.
  4. Add the salt, cocoa and flour to the mixture and whisk again until smooth. Pour the mixture into the lined tin, making sure it’s in an even layer, and set to one side while you make the cookie layer.
  5. Put the butter into a plastic bowl and microwave in 20 bursts until melted. Add the sugars, egg, vanilla and salt and whisk together until smooth.
  6. Add the flour and bicarb to the mixture and stir again to make a soft dough. Then add the roughly chopped chocolates and stir until they’re evenly mixed through the dough.
  7. Take spoonfuls of the cookie dough and dot it over the brownie mixture (it’ll be tricky to get a full even coating as the cookie is firmer than the brownie mix, so just do the best you can at putting enough cookie dough to cover the majority of the brownie mixture).
  8. Bake the brookies in the oven for about 25-30 minutes until the cookie mixture has spread and is golden brown. Leave to cool, cut into 12 slices and enjoy!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x

Easiest Ever Triple Chocolate Cookies

Easiest Ever Triple Chocolate Cookies

 

Recipe

Makes 12

Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 125g butter
  • 175g light brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 50g cocoa powder
  • 100g plain flour
  • 50g milk chocolate
  • 50g white chocolate

Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C and line two baking trays with baking paper.
  2. Put the butter and sugar into a bowl and beat together until smooth.
  3. Add the egg and beat until combined.
  4. Add the flour and cocoa powder and beat again to get a soft dough.
  5. Roughly chop the milk and white chocolate and then stir it into the dough so it’s well distributed.
  6. Weigh the dough and divide the weight by 12 so you know how much each ball of cookie dough need to weigh (mine was 56g each). The portion out each blob of cookie dough to this weight and place, well spaced on the lined baking trays (I put 6 cookies on each tray).
  7. Sprinkle each with a little sea salt and then bake for 10-12 minutes until they’ve spread out and are just starting to crisp round the edges. Leave to cool and then enjoy!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x