Here’s a small nod to the festive season without me getting too Christmassy on you…for now. *wink* No Christmas is complete without a gingerbread flavoured bake, and (me being me) I decided to try and make a chocolate version of my favourite gingerbread cake. It worked so well that I had to share the recipe here.
My kids get very excited when I take the stand mixer out to make homemade bread, they can’t get enough of it! These kaleidoscopic brioche buns are bright and bold but there’s nothing spooky about the flavour – I mean, is there anything better than enjoying a soft, fresh bread roll that’s still warm from the oven?
This easy loaf cake is simple enough to whip up as a last minute tea time treat, and you can have a bit of fun creating a swirled effect with the vanilla and chocolate batters. It’s made with ingredients that I always have on hand, love that! Let’s not forget the simple mocha glaze that goes on top (scroll down for a close up of that drip!), I’m here for all of it.
These clouds of sweet deliciousness have a crisp shell but will melt in your mouth. For a change I tried making these meringues with muscovado sugar instead of castor sugar as I usually do. I love using muscovado sugar in my baking because of the wonderful caramel flavour it adds and so I was keen to see how it would work in a batch of meringues – they turned out great!
What happens when you take a family childhood cookie recipe and give it a Nutella update? Chocolatey magic, that’s what! Thumb cookies are such a nostalgic bake for me, usually flavoured with almond essence and filled with sticky apricot or strawberry jam. We made and enjoyed them often as kids, and when I taught my own children how to make them they loved them too. Such fun to make!
These pretty apple crumble cupcakes are my latest baking creation. I’ve been busy with lots of savoury recipe testing lately and felt like doing something on the sweet side – and these cupcakes will definitely keep that sweet tooth happy! They’re inspired by one of my family’s favourite desserts, the classic apple crumble, and have a spiced apple flavour, a creamy white chocolate buttercream icing and a crunchy crumble topping.
I’ve been making lots of galettes these last few weeks, they are my favourite thing to bake at the moment! The buttery, flaky pastry is easy to work with and there are lots of different toppings and flavours to play with. I also love the perfectly imperfect nature of galettes, and their rustic appearance.
Last year I was asked to make two hundred individually wrapped star cookies for a school fundraiser and I only realised recently that I haven’t yet shared the recipe! It’s a very easy sugar cookie recipe, but the really fun part is decorating the baked cookies with marbled icing and sprinkles to make cute and unique tea time treats that are sure to delight!
Cupcakes and Couscous 