Tag: traybake

Bakewell Blondies

Bakewell Blondies

Bakewell (almond + cherry) is one of my favourite flavour combos to work into new bakes, especially as you can get so many different types of almonds and cherries! In these I use almond extract, ground almonds and blobs of marzipan, paired with frozen cherries in the mixture and glace cherries on top! All incased in a fudgy blondie cake, studded with chunks of white chocolate!

Recipe

Makes 12 blondies

Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

  • 170g butter
  • 220g light brown sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or extract)
  • 1 large egg
  • 210g plain flour
  • 75g white chocolate
  • 75g marzipan, torn into small chunks
  • A few drops of almond essence
  • 50g cherries (I use frozen as it’s cheaper but you can use fresh if you prefer)

To decorate

  • 50g cherries
  • 200g icing sugar

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 to the blondie mixture. Add the marzipan bits, almond essence and cherries and mix it all together.
  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

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

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