[sarahleslie1]

Hi everyone

I love to bake, and am constantly on the look-out for new recipes that look as well as taste nice. Does anyone have any really good baking recipes? (I'll bypass the looks as long as they're scrummy!) [EDIT: Just seen that there is a TSR Recipe book, but in terms of baking it seems a bit basic... surely I am not the only TSR-ian who loves to whip up some cookies of a Sunday afternoon?]
I'll start the ball rolling with a few of my favourite recipes... [and have since updated with recipes which have been added to the thread, plus any comments if they come - there has to be a better way to do this!]


Really Chocolate-y Chocolate Brownies
sarahleslie1

340g dark chocolate
255g unsalted butter
3 medium eggs
255g dark muscovado sugar
110g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
For variation:
55g/2oz raspberries, unsalted pistachios, hazelnuts or white chocolate pieces

1. Preheat the oven to Gas 3 and butter a 23cm/9in cake tin.
2. Sift together the flour and baking powder.
3. In a bowl, over a pan of hot water, melt the chocolate and butter together.
4. Whisk the eggs and slowly add the sugar. Beat in the chocolate mixture and gently fold in the flour. (For variations: Then add other ingredient)
5. Pour into the cake tin and bake for 35 minutes until the surface is set but a skewer comes out with a little of the mixture clinging to it.
6. Remove and cool slightly before placing on a wire rack to cool.
7. Cut into pieces and keep in a tin or in the fridge.

happydinosaur - These are great eaten warm with custard!



American-Style Chocolate Chip Cookies (Disney - so-named because they are served at DisneyWorld (you can buy recipe books there which contain recipes for the food sold at the parks). )

sarahleslie1 (makes 20)

310g flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
180g butter
150g sugar
150g brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
310g chocolate chips

1. Stir flour with bicarbonate of soda; set aside.
2. In large mixer bowl, cream butter with sugar, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla.
3. Gradually blend dry mixture into creamed mixture.
4. Stir in chocolate chips.
5. Drop tblspns of dough per cookie onto ungreased baking trays.
6. Bake at Gas Mark 5 for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown.
7. Leave on trays for 4 minutes then transfer to wire racks to cool.

happydinosaur - These are great eaten warm with custard!



Sponge Cake

sarahleslie1
(serves 8 – can be doubled)

88g butter or margarine
88g caster sugar
88g self raising flour
2 medium eggs, beaten

1. Pre-heat oven to Gas Mark 5
2. Beat butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy.
3. Add eggs a little at a time and beat well after each addition.
4. Gently fold in half the flour using a metal spoon and then fold in the rest.
5. Pour mixture into a 7”, removable-bottom sandwich tin (lightly greased)
6. Bake for about 20 minutes until well risen, firm to touch and beginning to shrink away from the sides.
7. Turn out and cool on a wire rack.

Icing - Cream 125g butter, then add 175g icing sugar, 1½ tblspns hot choc powder, few drops vanilla essence, and ½ tblspn milk. Beat until a stiff frosting is formed, then spread on generously. Top with sprinkles!


TheMarkedCard/Delia Smith

Cake
225g Self-Raising Flour
225g White Caster Sugar
170g Butter (softened)
2 eggs
A small amount of milk

Filling
Jam of choice
Softened butter (quantity depending on size of cake)
Icing Sugar (quantity depending on size of cake)
A few drops of vanilla essence (optional)

Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4 / 190c

1. Cream together the butter and sugar into a large mixing bowl.
2. Crack the eggs into a separate bowl or jug and whisk together.
3. Sift the flour into the mixing bowl and mix together, adding the egg as you go to combine the mixture.
4. Butter the cake tins well and equally pour the mixture into each.
5. Place at the top of the pre-heated over for 17 to 20 minutes, or until lightly brown and resistant to your touch.
6. Turn off the oven.
7. Turn out of the tins and leave to cool completely.
8. Make the butter cream filling by mixing together the softened butter and icing sugar. Use more icing sugar than butter.
9. Stir the jam quite vigorously so it is more liquefied than normal.
10. Put the butter cream onto one half of the cake
11. On top of this, add the jam.
12. Put on the second half of cake, dust with icing sugar and serve.
13. Wash up and ignore anyone who calls the cake “boring”.


Icing Ideas (for sandwiching together triple layer cake)

happydinosaur

Make up a big bowl of butter icing and seperate into 3 bowls.
Then use real fruit to flavour and colour the icing, adding the juice to the icing.
For one layer I scoop out a couple of passion fruit and pass the pulp through a sieve.
Another layer I use raspberries, mush them through a sieve and the juice gives a beautiful bright pink icing.
For the final layer I use blueberries, simply cover with a little water in a pan and heat until the blueberries release the colour. Then use the water to colour and flavour the icing.



Cookies

Ice_Queen – Easy Cookies (makes 12ish)

4oz butter (a little more makes it taste better in my opinion)
4oz sugar
1tbsp golden syrup
4oz flour
1oz cocoa (please use good cocoa like Bourneville, not drinking chocolate)
Notes
Oven at 200 degrees, baking tray with baking paper on it. Wire cooling rack advised.

1. Mix the sugar and the butter (I usually use a manual rotary whisk)
2. Add the golden syrup. Less is more. Stir.
3. Add the flour and the cocoa. If you do it bit-by-bit it is less likely to go everywhere.
4. Mix it all in.
5. Shape three cm balls with your hands, and put them on a baking tray (squish them flatter).
6. Cook for about ten/twelve minutes, less if you have a fan oven. Turn them half way through.
7. Leave to cool for a few minutes before transferring to wire rack if you have one.
8. Eat!


sarahleslie1 – Snowy Chocolate Cookies
Bizarrely, after the batter has been in the fridge for these, it has a mousse-like taste and consistency, though when I kept part of it in the fridge to see what would happen, the consensus among my sisters was that it tasted a tad floury to be true mousse - but still very nice! The cookies themselves have a very light consistency, and certainly look acceptable depending on how well you remove them from the baking trays.
(makes 20 – 148 calories each)

175g chopped dark chocolate
100g butter
175g plain flour
½ tsp baking powder
3 medium eggs (room temp)
150g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
60g icing sugar

1. Melt the chocolate and butter in a bowl until smooth; allow to cool slightly
2. Mix the flour and baking powder in a separate bowl
3. Beat the eggs and sugar with an electric whisk until pale (about 2 minutes)
4. Reduce the speed then add the chocolate mixture and vanilla extract
5. Add the flour mixture until blended together
6. Refrigerate for 1½ hours
7. Preheat oven to gas mark 3
8. Put icing sugar into a bowl, and roll the dough into it by heaped tsp
9. Place on baking sheets (can be lined with greaseproof paper; else very well greased) and flatten slightly
10. Bake for 13 minutes (aim for soft middles and set edges)
11. Let cool on tray for 5 minutes then put on a rack to cool




Flapjack

Ruthie!

250g oats
80g margarine or butter
100g brown sugar
a big squeeze of maple syrup/any other sticky syrupy substance =p

Melt the marg, mix in sugar and maple syrup
Mix in the oats making sure they are all covered (no white oats visible)
Bake at about 200c for 10-15 minutes, longer if you want hard flapjack.

Its sooo yummy and gooey, you can also experiment, mash in a banana, pieces of chocolate or fruit, hazelnuts etc


sarahleslie1
Following on from above, Jamie Oliver's flapjack recipe is quite good for moving beyond the basic (and I'd highly recommend using golden syrup over maple syrup or honey for whatever flapjack recipe you choose to use)

(makes 16)

4 tablespoons golden syrup
200g brown sugar
250g butter
350g oats
150g mixed dried fruit, e.g. cranberries (chopped if necessary)
3 pieces of stem ginger, finely chopped

1. Lightly butter a 20 x 30cm (or similar sized), 4cm deep baking tray.
2. Melt the syrup, sugar and butter until the butter has melted and everything is bubbling and caramel-coloured.
3. Stir in the oats, dried fruit and stem ginger.
4. Pour the mixture into the baking tray and press it down VERY FIRMLY with the back of a wooden spoon to make it smooth and flat.
5. Bake at Gas Mark 4 for 25 to 30 minutes.
6. Leave to cool in the tin for 15 minutes before cutting into portions with a sharp knife.
7. Don’t take the individual flapjacks out of the tray yet, though; leave them until completely cool then use a fish slice or spatula to get right down to the bottom of the tray and lift them out.



Mars Bar Cakes

moonshine_1991

4 Mars bars.
Golden syrup, 2 tablespoons.
50grams, butter.
Rice crispies

1. Cut bars into 3 or 4 and place into pan with syrup and butter place on low heat.
2. Melt this until it becomes a thick paste stirring all the time, being careful not to burn.
3. Line the tray with the Greaseproof paper.
4. Add Rice crispies the more you add the dryer the cake it will be.
5. Press the mix into tray with the back of the spoon, push this mix down and refrigerate.
Cut into portion size and eat



No bake chocolate cheesecake recipe

Toddlers Crossword

* 150g (5 oz) digestive biscuits
* 45g (1 1/2 oz) butter
* 110g (4 oz) caster sugar, divided
* 120ml whipping cream
* 150g (5 oz) dark chocolate, melted and cooled
* 2 tablespoons cocoa powder mixed with a little hot water
* 1 (200g) tub cream cheese

1. Crush the digestive biscuits and mix with the melted butter and 1 tablespoon of the caster sugar. Press into a 18cm (7 in) cake tin and refrigerate.
2. Whip cream until soft peak stage. Add cooled melted chocolate, then the cocoa powder mix. Blend well and set aside.
3. Beat the cream cheese and remaining sugar together. Fold in cream/chocolate mixture and mix thoroughly.
4. Spread into tin on top of crushed biscuits. Freeze for one hour.
5. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes, then serve.



Truffles

__Katy

175 grams of plain chocolate (one Tesco's sized bar)
2 rows of milk chocolate (roughly 40 grams?)
55 grams of butter
160ml of double cream

1. Whip up the double cream, so you have whipped cream
2. Melt the butter and chocolate over a bowl of boiling water
3. Fold the melted mixture into the whipped cream
4. Mix, and leave to set in the fridge until set (about an hour and a half)
5. Roll into balls.
6. Must keep in the fridge!

The rolling is the hardest part. If you roll them in your hands, they melt, and when you try to roll the next one with melted mixture in your hands already it just doesn't work. So you can either wipe your hands after each ball, or use a melon baller or teaspoon to shape them, with the aide of your fingers.
One idea is to keep a bowl of cold water beside you as you work, so you can clean your hands after each truffle



Chocolate and vanilla marble cake

toddlers crossword

225g Butter, at room temperature
225g caster sugar
4 Eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
225g plain flour
2 tsp Baking powder
50ml Milk
50g Cocoa powder, sifted

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4. Butter and flour the sides of a 20cm cake tin and line the base with greaseproof paper.
2. Cream the butter in a large bowl or in an electric food mixer until soft. Add the sugar and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy.
3. Whisk the eggs and vanilla extract together in a small bowl. Gradually add the eggs to the butter mixture, beating all the time. Sift in the flour and baking powder and fold in gently to mix, then add the milk and mix gently to combine.
4. Tip half of the cake mixture into another large bowl and, into this bowl, fold in the sifted cocoa powder.
5. Place the cake mixtures into the prepared tin by alternating spoonfuls of the vanilla batter with the chocolate batter, then with a skewer or similar implement, gently draw swirls through the cake mixture to ‘marblise’ it. Don’t overmix or you won’t have that wonderful marble effect. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
6. Turn the cake out onto a wire rack and allow to cool before serving.

Icing I made up two bowls of normal glace icing (just icing sugar and water), adding some cocoa powder to one and some vanilla essence to another, and then spread alternate spoons on top of the cake, and marbled them together with a skewer. You end up with pretty marble effect icing to go with the cake.



Carrot Cake

Jennie1987

175g light muscovado sugar
175ml sunflower oil
3 large eggs , lightly beaten
140g grated carrots (about 3 medium)
100g raisins (DIDNT USE THESE)---Opportunity to customize- 100g pecans/walnuts/sultanas/pineapple- usually all chopped
grated zest of 1 large orange
175g self-raising flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
11/2 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp grated nutmeg (freshly grated will give you the best flavour)
1tsp vanilla extract
1/2tsp All spice

Glaze
1 tbsp butter
2+ tbsp orange juice (more like 3/4/5 but add as needed)
230g Icing Sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4/fan 160C. Grease the pan with butter and then flour it by dropping in a very light handful and turning the tin until its coated. Or oil and cut two long strips of baking parchment the width of the tin and put each strip crossways, covering the base and sides of the tin, with a double layer in the base.
2. In another mixing bowl tip the sugar, pour in the oil and add the eggs. Lightly mix with a wooden spoon. Stir in the grated carrots, RAISINS and orange rind.
3. Mix the flour, bicarbonate of soda and spices, then sift into the bowl. Lightly mix all the ingredients - when everything is evenly amalgamated stop mixing. The mixture will be fairly soft and almost runny, add the vanilla extract.
4. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 40- 45 minutes, until it feels firm and springy when you press it in the centre. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn it out, peel off the paper and cool on a wire rack. (You can freeze the cake at this point.)
5. Whisk all frosting ingredients together until smooth and holding a little like buttercream but a bit more runny. Add in a few drops more orange juice in the event that the glaze is too thick to pour easily.
6. Scrape glaze into a plastic bag and snip off the corner. Drizzle over finished cake (it is best to have the cake on a serving platter or on a wire cooling rack, where the excess can drip off if it runs down the sides of the cake) as desired.

Easter Biscuits

sarahleslie1

(makes 12)

100g butter
75g sugar + extra for sprinkling
1 egg, separated
200g plain flour
½ tsp ground mixed spice
½ tsp ground cinnamon
50g currants/candied peel
2 tbsp milk

1. Cream together butter and sugar until pale and fluffy then beat in egg yolk.
2. Sift flour, salt and spices and fold into the mixture.
3. Add currants and enough milk to make a fairly soft dough.
4. Roll into small balls, flatten, then place on greased baking sheets and cook for about 10 min at gas mark 6.
5. Remove from oven, brush with beaten egg white, sprinkle with caster sugar and return to oven until lightly golden.
6. Cool on a wire rack

sarahleslie1 - Lemon Drizzle Cake – serves 8

Sponge

Zest + juice of 2 lemons
200g butter, cubed
200g caster sugar
3 medium eggs, beaten
200g self-raising flour

1. Beat the sugar, butter and lemon until pale, light and fluffy texture.
2. Add beaten eggs in stages, beating well after each addition.
3. Fold in the flour (you should be left with quite a thick mixture).
4. Bake for 50-55 minutes at gas mark 4 in a well-greased 2lb loaf tin until it is shrinking away from the side. (Cover with silver foil if it’s browning too quickly.) Skewer in centre should be clean or with crumbs.
5. Prick all over with a cocktail stick about 20 times.

Syrup

100ml lemon juice
75g granulated sugar

1. Stir the lemon juice into the sugar so it dissolves a bit, but not fully.
2. Drizzle over the cake, slowly, waiting a few moments before adding more, so that it all sinks in. It should leave a crust on the cake as the juices sink in.
3. Remove from the tin and transfer to a wire rack to cool

[__Katy]

I must jusrt say that I made a pavlova for my Mum for tomorrow, and oh my god it worked! I broke off a bit, and it is actually marshmellow!! How chuffed am I!!

So I can post that recipe, if anyone wants it

[sarahleslie1]

(Original post by __Katy)
I must jusrt say that I made a pavlova for my Mum for tomorrow, and oh my god it worked! I broke off a bit, and it is actually marshmellow!! How chuffed am I!!

So I can post that recipe, if anyone wants it

Pavlovas that work are akin to gold... I've never yet been able to make a meringue properly!

[farhaz_j]

lol i wonder how many people clicked on this misreading baking for banking

[abc101]

(Original post by __Katy)
I must jusrt say that I made a pavlova for my Mum for tomorrow, and oh my god it worked! I broke off a bit, and it is actually marshmellow!! How chuffed am I!!

So I can post that recipe, if anyone wants it

Aww yay Meringues are proper difficult to get right! Well done

OP I love the sound of your chocolatey brownies!!!

[toddlers crossword]

Whats Disney about the cookies?

On topic, this cheesecake recipe is yummy (more like goo-cake than cheese cake really, but still good)

No bake chocolate cheesecake recipe

ingredients

* 150g (5 oz) digestive biscuits
* 45g (1 1/2 oz) butter
* 110g (4 oz) caster sugar, divided
* 120ml whipping cream
* 150g (5 oz) dark chocolate, melted and cooled
* 2 tablespoons cocoa powder mixed with a little hot water
* 1 (200g) tub cream cheese

preparation method

1. Crush the digestive biscuits and mix with the melted butter and 1 tablespoon of the caster sugar. Press into a 18cm (7 in) cake tin and refrigerate.
2. Whip cream until soft peak stage. Add cooled melted chocolate, then the cocoa powder mix. Blend well and set aside.
3. Beat the cream cheese and remaining sugar together. Fold in cream/chocolate mixture and mix thoroughly.
4. Spread into tin on top of crushed biscuits. Freeze for one hour.
5. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes, then serve.

[sarahleslie1]

(Original post by abc101)
Aww yay Meringues are proper difficult to get right! Well done

OP I love the sound of your chocolatey brownies!!!

They are gorgeous, I have to say... after trying and adapting about 5 online recipes, this was the result, and everyone adores them! (Big bonus points at charity bakesales for them, if you can resist eating them beforehand!)

[sarahleslie1]

(Original post by farhaz_j)
lol i wonder how many people clicked on this misreading baking for banking

What a bizarre thread that would be... may be worth opening a new thread for?

[laura_beth]

I have a really nice chocolate oat cookie recipe i love, i shall post it later when i can find it!

Why are the cookies disney...?

[__Katy]

(Original post by sarahleslie1)
Pavlovas that work are akin to gold... I've never yet been able to make a meringue properly!

(Original post by abc101)
Aww yay Meringues are proper difficult to get right! Well done

OP I love the sound of your chocolatey brownies!!!

Thanks, I was really chuffed

And yeah, OP, what is Disney about them? And do they come out all gooey and soft like Millies cookies? Infact, does anyone have a recipe that keeps cookies soft, no matter what recipe I try they always harden

[sarahleslie1]

(Original post by toddlers crossword)
Whats Disney about the cookies?

They are served at DisneyWorld (you can buy recipe books there which contain recipes for the food sold at the parks). The only bad thing about them is, like so many American recipes, a lot of the cookie ones contain shortening, which is nigh impossible to get or substitute (as far as I'm aware, anyway) here in the UK.

[__Katy]

Not really baking, but this is an amazing recipe for truffles

175 grams of plain chocolate (one Tesco's sized bar)
2 rows of milk chocolate (roughly 40 grams?)
55 grams of butter
160ml of double cream

1. Whip up the double cream, so you have whipped cream

2. Melt the butter and chocolate over a bowl of boiling water

3. Fold the melted mixture into the whipped cream

4. Mix, and leave to set in the fridge until set (about an hour and a half)

5. Roll into balls.

6. Must keep in the fridge!

The rolling is the hardest part. If you roll them in your hands, they melt, and when you try to roll the next one with melted mixture in your hands already it just doesn't work. So you can either wipe your hands after each ball, or use a melon baller or teaspoon to shape them, with the aide of your fingers. If that made sense lol.

[Alatariel]

(Original post by sarahleslie1)
They are served at DisneyWorld (you can buy recipe books there which contain recipes for the food sold at the parks). The only bad thing about them is, like so many American recipes, a lot of the cookie ones contain shortening, which is nigh impossible to get or substitute (as far as I'm aware, anyway) here in the UK.

Butter can be substituted for shortening in a 1:1 ratio, just for future reference.

[Alatariel]

(Original post by __Katy)
The rolling is the hardest part. If you roll them in your hands, they melt, and when you try to roll the next one with melted mixture in your hands already it just doesn't work. So you can either wipe your hands after each ball, or use a melon baller or teaspoon to shape them, with the aide of your fingers. If that made sense lol.

You can keep a bowl of ice water and dip your hands in it before you roll. Truffles are amazing, but so messy to make.

[toddlers crossword]

I also made a marble cake the other day which was pretty good, its a Rachel Allen recipe (she has a baking show on BBC Saturday mornings). This is a tad dry on its own, but perfect with icing. I made up two bowls of normal glace icing (just icing sugar and water), adding some cocoa powder to one and some vanilla essence to another, and then spread alternate spoons on top of the cake, and marbled them together with a skewer. You end up with pretty marble effect icing to go with the cake.

Chocolate and vanilla marble cake

Ingredients
225g Butter, at room temperature
225g caster sugar
4 Eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
225g plain flour
2 tsp Baking powder
50ml Milk
50g Cocoa powder, sifted

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4. Butter and flour the sides of a 20cm cake tin and line the base with greaseproof paper.

2. Cream the butter in a large bowl or in an electric food mixer until soft. Add the sugar and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy.

3. Whisk the eggs and vanilla extract together in a small bowl. Gradually add the eggs to the butter mixture, beating all the time. Sift in the flour and baking powder and fold in gently to mix, then add the milk and mix gently to combine.

4. Tip half of the cake mixture into another large bowl and, into this bowl, fold in the sifted cocoa powder.

5. Place the cake mixtures into the prepared tin by alternating spoonfuls of the vanilla batter with the chocolate batter, then with a skewer or similar implement, gently draw swirls through the cake mixture to ‘marblise’ it. Don’t overmix or you won’t have that wonderful marble effect. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

6. Turn the cake out onto a wire rack and allow to cool before serving.

[__Katy]

(Original post by Alatariel)
You can keep a bowl of ice water and dip your hands in it before you roll. Truffles are amazing, but so messy to make.

Does that actualy work? Becuase they problem with having melted mixture on your hands already was that it may them slide about, surely water would have the same affect?

I have a melon baller to help me now, so I'm all good

[sarahleslie1]

(Original post by Alatariel)
Butter can be substituted for shortening in a 1:1 ratio, just for future reference.

Thanks!
These darned Americans, making things so complicated for normal butter-baking people!

[toddlers crossword]

What IS shortening, out of curiosity?

[abc101]

(Original post by __Katy)
Thanks, I was really chuffed

And yeah, OP, what is Disney about them? And do they come out all gooey and soft like Millies cookies? Infact, does anyone have a recipe that keeps cookies soft, no matter what recipe I try they always harden

Try using oats and lots of golden syrup = seriously gooey cookies!

[sarahleslie1]

(Original post by toddlers crossword)
What IS shortening, out of curiosity?

An American ingredient for which butter can, apparently, be substituted?