Category: Fun

For the times when you just want to get in the kitchen and get hands on.
Cinnamon Spiral Cookies

Cinnamon Spiral Cookies

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I’m back! Recently I’ve been so busy that I’ve been working solely from other people’s recipes rather than creating my own, but today I found some time to start being creative again, so here we are!

My family are obsessed with cinnamon buns so part 2 of why I haven’t been creating new recipes recently is because I’ve been making so many cinnamon buns for everyone that we’ve forgotten other bakes exist. But today I thought it was time to branch out from one swirly cinnamon thing to another – biscuits! These are a bit quicker to make than buns as you don’t have to wait for anything to rise, but you still get a sweet cinnamon morsel and they’re more aesthetic than your average digestive, so what’s not to love?

I used dairy free margarine to make these as my Mum’s dairy free, but I’d recommend using block butter if at all possible as it’ll make the dough a lot easier to work with when rolling. If you are working with marg two tips are….

  1. Try cutting down to 1/2 an egg by whisking up a whole egg in a small bowl and then trickling in a little bit of it to the butter-sugar mixture. Marg has a higher water content than block butter, so by cutting down the amount of egg you use you’ll be able to cut down the liquid content in the dough.
  2. Give yourself more time to chill the dough before rolling and slicing – the firmer it is the easier it’ll be to work with (though make sure it’s not actually frozen because that’s even trickier to work with!)

At the end of the day though, they’ll taste good whatever. Mine ended up coming out in all shapes, sizes, and colours – but they all taste great so job done! (I always think it’s good to have a range of sizes when baking individually-portioned things as it means you can choose a treat based on how hungry you are etc!)

Recipes

Makes around 30

Time: 1 hour (plus chilling time)

Ingredients

  • 225g butter
  • 200g caster sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 375g plain flour
  • 1tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1tsp ground ginger
  • 1tsp ground mixed spice
  • ½ tsp salt

For the filling

  • 75g butter
  • 75g caster sugar
  • 3tbsp ground cinnamon

Method

  1. Beat together the butter and sugar with a wooden spoon in a bowl until pale and fluffy.
  2. Add the egg and beat again until combined. Then add the flour, spices and salt and stir to bring it into a dough. Leave in the fridge until needed.
  3. Next mix the ingredients for the filling in a small bowl until smooth. The mixture should be soft enough to spread easily.
  4. Divide the biscuit dough in two. Roll one part into a thin rectangle around 50x20cm. (I find doing this between two pieces of clingfilm helpful!)
  5. Spread a thin layer of the cinnamon filling over the dough, leaving a 1cm boarder along one of the short ends.
  6. Roll the dough up from the short end with the filling going to the edge to make a tight roll.
  7. Repeat this process with the other block of dough. Then place both rolls on a baking tray (or plate) lined with baking paper, cover with clingfilm and place in the freezer for about 30 minutes. (You want them firm enough to slice easily, but not frozen solid).
  8. Pre-heat the oven to 180C. Line 2 baking trays with baking paper.
  9. Take the rolls out the freezer and use a sharp knife to cut slices about 0.5cm thick.
  10. Place the slices on the lined baking trays and bake for 8-10 minutes until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Enjoy!
Spooky Brownies

Spooky Brownies

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It’s almost Halloween which means it’s time to start bringing out the spooky bakes! These mummy brownies are super easy to throw together, delicious to eat, and perfect for sharing!

Recipe

Makes 15

Time 1 hour

Ingredients

For the Chocolate brownie

  • 165g butter
  • 1210g dark chocolate
  • 3 medium eggs
  • 210g caster sugar
  • 45g plain flour
  • 150g white chocolate, roughly chopped

To decorate

  • 100g white chocolate
  • Some edible eyes for cake decorating (if you can’t find any you can make your own out of white and black icing!)

Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180˚C. Grease and line a 15×15 cm baking tin with butter and baking paper.
  2. Put the butter and dark chocolate into a bowl over a pan of simmering water and leave to melt.
  3. Take another bowl and whisk the eggs until pale and fluffy with an electric whisk. Add the sugar and continue to whisk until it leaves a trail when the whisk is taken out.
  4. Fold the chocolate into the eggs, sieve in the flour and add the chopped white chocolate. Fold everything again until combined.
  5. Pour the mixture into the lined tin and bake for around 20 minutes until a crust has formed on top and it feel slightly firm. Set aside to cool.
  6. Put the white chocolate for the decoration into a glass or metal bowl and place over a pan of simmering water. Leave to melt.
  7. Pour the melted white chocolate into a pipping bag and leave to cool a little (until the chocolate isn’t too runny).
  8. Place two eyes on each brownie and then pipe random lines all over them to make them look like mummys. Leave the chocolate to set and then enjoy!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x
Jumbo Jazzies!

Jumbo Jazzies!

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My feed has been getting a little brown/yellow recently so I thought I’d make something more colourful! I’m currently on holiday with my family and a family friend, Anne, who suggested these look a lot like those little chocolate pic-n-mix sweeties which are called jazzies, so these are officially ‘Jumbo Jazzies’!

Recipe

Makes 12

Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 125g butter
  • 175g light brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 50g cocoa powder
  • 150g plain flour
  • 100g rainbow sprinkles ( I used 100s and 1000s)
  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. 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). Then 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).
  6. Pour the 100s and 1000s into a bowl. Take one of the cookie balls and roll it in the sprinkles until covered all over. Place the cookie back on the baking sheet and repeat with the rest of the cookies.
  7. 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
Peach Melba Iced Fingers

Peach Melba Iced Fingers

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Peaches are in their prime right now so it’s the perfect time to be using them in your baking! I love playing off classic flavour combinations, so peach melba (peach, raspberry and vanilla) was my instant go-to when thinking of making something seasonal. These use a homemade peach jam so you could (if making this outside of peach season) use a shop-bought jam if needed! Likewise if you’re short on time you could whip up 300ml of double cream with 1tsp of vanilla extract, then fold through a handful of fresh raspberries to replace the creme patisseries!

Recipe

Makes 12

Time: 3 hours

Ingredients

For the dough

  • 500g strong white flour
  • 50g caster sugar
  • 40g unsalted butter
  • 2 eggs
  • 14g fast action dried yeast
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 150ml warm milk
  • 140ml water

For the crème patisserie

  • 250ml whole milk
  • 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste
  • 50g caster sugar
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 10g plain flour
  • 10g cornflour

For the raspberry crème patisserie

  • 250ml raspberry puree
  • 50g caster sugar
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 10g plain flour
  • 10g cornflour

For the peach jam

  • 4 medium sized peaches (about 300g, peeled and de-stoned)
  • 220g caster sugar
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice

For the icing

  • 200g icing sugar
  • 4 tsp cold water
  • 2 drops orange food colouring
  • 2 drops pink food colouring

Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 220C.
  2. Place all the ingredients for the dough into a bowl and mix until it comes together to make a soft dough. (If it’s looking a little dry add a little more water, up to 40ml).
  3. Turn the dough out onto a worktop and knead until smooth and stretchy (about 10 minutes).
  4. Tip the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with cling film and leave to rise for about 1 hour, until doubled in size.
  5. Take the dough out of the bowl and knead for 5 seconds to knock the excess air out.
  6. Divide the dough into 12 equally-sized pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and then shape them into fingers about 13cm long.
  7. Place the fingers on baking tray lined with baking paper, (making them spaced out enough to rise, but close enough that they’ll join together when risen – about 2cm between each should do). Cover loosely with clingfilm and leave to rise for another 40 minutes.
  8. Bake the buns in the oven for about 10 minutes until risen and just starting to turn golden brown. Set aside to cool.
  9. Now make the fillings. To make the crème patisserie begin by putting the milk and vanilla into a small saucepan and bring to just below the boil.
  10. Whilst waiting for the milk to warm up, put the sugar, egg yolks, flour and cornflour into a bowl and whisk to make a smooth paste.
  11. Pour the warm milk over the egg mixture in a steady stream, whisking constantly, until combined.
  12. Pour the mixture back into the pan and heat whilst whisking over a medium heat until the mixture thickens. Pour the crème patisserie into a bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave in the fridge to cool.
  13. Now make the raspberry crème patisserie. Put the raspberry puree into a pan and bring to just below the boil.
  14. Like with the traditional crème patisserie, put the sugar, egg yolks and flours into a bowl and whisk until they make a smooth paste.
  15. Pour the warm raspberry puree over the egg mixture, whisking constantly until combined. Place the mixture back over a medium heat and whisk until the mixture thickens.
  16. Pour the raspberry crème patisserie into a bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave in the fridge to cool.
  17. To make the jam take the peach flesh and chop it into small chunks.
  18. Put the peach, sugar and lemon juice into a pan and bring to the boil. Leave to boil for about 20 minutes until the mixture coats the back of a spoon. (You can also check the consistency by putting a plate in the freezer. When you think the jam is ready take the cooled plate, put ½ tsp of the jam onto the plate and put it in the fridge. It should set/wrinkle when prodded. If it doesn’t it needs a bit longer).
  19. Pour the jam into a sterilised jam jar and leave to cool until needed.
  20. Now make the icing. Put 150g of the icing sugar into one bowl with 3tsp of the water, and the other 50g icing sugar and 1tsp into another bowl. Mix each set of icing individually. Then add a few drops of orange food colouring to the large batch and a few drops of pink food colouring to the small batch. Mix until the colours are even through the icing.
  21. Pour the orange icing into a pipping bag with a 1cm round nozzle, and pour the pink icing into a pippin bag with a 1mm round nozzle.
  22. When the buns are cooled cut them in half, placing the tops next to the bases.
  23. Pipe a line of orange icing across the tops of the buns. (If needed you can take a palette knife, heat it by running it under some warm water for a few seconds, then run it along the icing to smooth it out). Then take the pink icing and pipe spots or lines across the top of the orange icing. (If you want you can then take a tooth pick and run it up and down the icing to feather it, but it’s up to you!). Leave for about an hour to set.
  24. Take the peach jam and spread about 1tsp over the base of each bun.
  25. Take the crème patisseries and put them into separate pipping bags with 1cm stared nozzles (or use disposable pipping bags and cut your own nozzles).
  26. Pipe alternating blobs of vanilla and raspberry crème patisserie over the peach jam (I get about 2 of each on each bun).
  27. Place one of the iced tops on top of the bun and enjoy!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x

 
Pride Cupcakes

Pride Cupcakes

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These are coming a little after Pride but better late than never! (I made these back in June but I’m a bit behind on writing up the recipes which is why I’m only posting them now!). I don’t identify as LGBTQ+ myself, but I think it’s so important to show support whoever you are, whenever you can – especially at the moment with everything going on! These are a little time-consuming because you have to layer up the colours, but apart from that they’re super easy to make so I’d 100% recommend giving them a go!

It’s amazing how you can get cake looking so bright and colourful but still tasting delicious! I think the gel food colourings really help with this as they help you get super bright colours with only a drop or two. I used to use the bottle food colouring you get from supermarkets and you can end up having to use a whole bottle to get the right colour – which then kicks the balance of ingredients out of whack. I got this pack of 24 food colourings from Wilton for about £24 – which sounds like a lot for food colouring, but it’ll save you a good £3-4 on bottle food colouring every time you want to make something with colour in them and they will last for years! (You also get so many different colours so you can get super creative with your meringues, icings, macaroons, cakes etc!)

Recipe

Makes 12

Time: 2 hours

Ingredients

  • 100g caster sugar
  • 113g butter
  • 2 eggs
  • 50ml milk
  • 50g natural yoghurt
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or extract)
  • 65g plain flour
  • 135g self raising flour
  • 1 ½ tsp baking powder
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • Red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple food colouring
  • A few tsp of rainbow sprinkles or 100s and 1000s

For the butter cream

  • 120g butter
  • 200g icing sugar
  • 1tbsp milk
  • ½ tsp vanilla bean paste (or extract)

Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C and put 12 cupcake cases into a 12 hole cupcake tin.
  2. Take a large bowl and make a note of it’s weight when empty.
  3. Put the butter and sugar into the bowl and beat together with a wooden spoon until pale and creamy.
  4. Add the eggs, milk, yoghurt and vanilla and whisk until combined.
  5. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt and whisk again to make smooth.
  6. Weigh the bowl with the mixture in (making sure no spoons or utensils are also being weighed!). Take the weight of the bowl away (that you noted down earlier) from the weight of the bowl + mixture so you know how much your total mixture weighs. Divide this by 7 and then put this amount of mixture into 7 bowls (so that you’ve equally divided your cake mix into 7).
  7. Colour each bowl of cake mix differently so you have one each of red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple.
  8. Carefully spoon a layer of purple cake mix into the bottom of each cupcake case (about 1tsp should do it, but go until all the mixture is used up!). Then repeat with the other colours in the order of a rainbow, finishing with the red.
  9. Bake the cupcakes for 15-20 minutes until golden brown and risen. (You can double check by inserting a skewer into the middle and seeing if it comes out clean).
  10. Take the cupcakes out of the tin and leave to cool on a wire rack.
  11. Meanwhile make the buttercream. Put the butter and icing sugar into a bowl and beat until smooth. Add the milk and vanilla and beat again until combined.
  12. Fit a pipping bag with a star shaped nozzle and spoon the icing into the pipping bag. Pipe swirls of the icing on the cooled cupcakes (the cupcakes need to be completely cool before you do this or the icing will slide off!).
  13. Finish with a few rainbow sprinkles and enjoy!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x