This combination came to me a few months back. Someone asked me for a butterscotch slice, so I made a butterscotch shortbread similar to a millionaire shortbread but with butterscotch instead of caramel and without the chocolate on top. It was great. A few people tested it and said it reminded them of butterscotch tart that was served for school dinners.

If you want to make that it’s easy enough by making the butterscotch from the recipe below and topping some shortbread with it. It’s amazing with custard!

I was going to just publish that recipe, but then I though it maybe could do with a bit of chocolate, but not just on the top, underneath as well. I’ve been experimenting with different methods for making Brownies for the best texture, so my latest experiments are combined with the butterscotch topping below for a truly delicious and rich brownie experience.

There are full ingredient notes and printable PDF after the recipe below.

Previously on The Baker’s Bulletin…..

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Butterscotch Millionaire Brownies

Makes 1 x 8” square Brownie or equivalent

Brownie

200gms Dark Chocolate
130gms Butter Melted
200gms Sugar
2 Eggs
130gms Plain Flour
0.5tspn Baking Powder

Butterscotch

1 Can (397gms) Condensed Milk
130gms Butter
100gms Dark Brown Sugar

Chocolate Topping

200gms Chocolate. Dark, milk or mixed

Instructions

1. Pre-heat your oven to 150°c fan, 170°c, 325°f, GM4

2. Grease and line your baking tin

3. Place the dark chocolate in a microwaveable bowl and melt in the microwave. To melt I find blasting for 20 to 30 second bursts on high, stirring regularly works best
   If you don’t have a microwave, place the chocolate in a heat proof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Don’t let the bottom of the bowl touch the water

4. Place the chocolate to one side to cool

5. In a large mixing bowl place the melted butter and sugar. Using a whisk, whisk for a few minutes to ensure the sugar starts to dissolve

6. Add the eggs and continue to whisk until well distributed, and light and fluffy

7. Add the melted chocolate, and using a spatula or spoon mix until well combined

8. Add the flour and baking powder and mix through until combined and no dry clumps of flour remain

9. Pour into the baking tin and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. To tell if a brownie is done I like to place a probe in the centre. 90°c to 95°c gives a perfect fudgy brownie, 100°c slightly less fudgy. If you don’t have a probe place a cocktail stick in. If it comes out with a few gooey crumbs on it it’s done. If it comes out with wet mixture on it pop it in for a few minutes more

10. Once baked remove the brownie from the oven and place to one side to cool

11. Whilst the brownie is cooling make the butterscotch by place all the ingredients in a heavy bottom, medium sized saucepan

12. Melt everything together over a medium heat stirring all the time.

13. Once everything is melted increase the heat a little, continue to stir and bring to a boil.

14. Allow the mixture to bubble for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring all the time to stop the mixture sticking to the saucepan

15. Before pouring the butterscotch over the brownie I got a fork and made plenty of small holes all over the surface of the brownie. I pricked the brownie surface down to about 1cm all over. This was to help the butterscotch to adhere to the brownie

16. Pour the hot butterscotch over the Brownie and gently shake the tin to make sure it’s level

17. Place to one side to cool fully

18. At this point you could just slice and eat it. But I melted 200gms of mixed dark and milk chocolate and poured over the top of the butterscotch. I melted it in the same was as I did before in the microwave. Don’t add the chocolate before the butterscotch has cooled or it’ll sink to the bottom

19. Wait for the chocolate to set.

20. To cut the Butterscotch Millionaire Brownie without cracking the chocolate on top, wait for everything to be fully set and cooled. Maybe place in the fridge for an hour. Remove the brownie from the tin and turn it upside down. Cut it upside down so the chocolate is being supported by your kitchen counter, that way it is less likely to crack

Download A Printable PDF Here

Printable Recipe PDF

Ingredient Notes

Chocolate
For the best chocolate flavour in a brownie I would recommend a chocolate with 50%+ cocoa solids.
For the chocolate on top dark or milk, or a combination of the both will work. Whichever you prefer.

Butter
I used real block butter for both the brownie and the butterscotch, but you can also use a baking spread or margarine if that’s what you have.

Sugar
For the brownie I used a white granulated sugar. You can also use caster sugar.

In order to get the butterscotch flavour a brown sugar neds to be used in the caramel. I used a dark brown sugar. you can use light brown but the butterscotch will be more caramel flavoured and less deep in flavour.

Eggs
I used UK Medium Eggs, but UK Large will work just as well.

Flour
I used a plain flour with added baking powder. I would not advise using a self-raising in this recipe as you don’t want the brownie to be fluffy.

You can also use a gluten free flour in this recipe very successfully.

Condensed Milk
I used a whole can of sweetened condensed milk. You can use more or less, but a can is the perfect size.

I know you’ve probably seen loads of recipes for Hot Cross Buns in the past week. And here is another. I promise this is different!

This is an extra Baker’s Bulletin for Easter because I wanted to share my Hot Cross Cinnamon Buns Recipe.

I made this tray of Buns this week, because I’m testing a new way of freezing buns or bun dough, to make life easier and generally less stressful. And when I made them I realised I hadn’t ever shared this recipe. Even though I’ve been making a version of these for 3 years.

Each year I refine the recipe a little, and I genuinely think this is the best version that I’ve made. I need to test the freezing process a couple more times, but I promise to share when I’m sure it’s ready to go.

Hot Cross Cinnamon Bun Recipes

Bun Dough

200gms Lukewarm Milk
7gms (1 packet) Fast Action Dried Yeast
500gms Flour. I prefer to use 250gms Plain Flour/250gms Strong White Bread Flour, but you can use all strong flour if that’s what you have
100gms White Sugar
2 Eggs
10gms (2tspn) Salt
75gms Softened Butter

Filling Ingredients

Zest and Juice of 1 Orange
200gms Mixed Dried Fruit
100gms (1/2 cup) Softened Butter
100gms Sugar
2tbspn Ground Cinnamon
1tbspn Ground Mixed Spice

Crosses

50gms Flour
50gms Water

Hot Cross Buns Instructions

1. In a jug add the yeast to the warm milk and whisk. Set aside and leave whilst you weight the other ingredients.

2. In a mixer with the dough hook (the one that looks like a cork screw) weigh all the ingredients except the butter. (If you don’t have a stand mixer place all ingredients except your butter in a large bowl. You’re going to need to use some muscle power to knead your dough.)

3. Start the mixer and allow the dough hook to start combining the ingredients. Scrape down the bowl occasionally to make sure all the dry ingredients get mixed through.

4. Slowly pour the milk and yeast into the mix.

5. Once the mixture has come together allow it to stand for 5 minutes for the gluten in the dough to strengthen.

6. Add the softened butter and continue to mix with the dough hook. Scrape the sides of the bowl a couple of times to make sure all the butter gets mixed in.

7. Allow the mixer to knead the dough on low for 15-30 minutes, or until the dough is soft and smooth, and starts to pull away from the sides. Your dough is ready when you have reached ‘window pane’ stage. To check for this, moisten your hands and stretch some dough between your fingers and thumb. If you can stretch it thin so light can be seen through it you have reached window pane and the gluten is developed. This whole process may take different times depending on your mixer. (If kneading by hand, incorporate all the ingredients and then turn out onto an oiled surface. Knead until the dough is soft and smooth.)

8. Transfer your dough to a large oiled bowl and cover with cling film.

9. Your dough now needs to prove and increase in size. How long this takes will depend on how warm your room is. The warmer it is, the quicker it proves. I have had this take between 1 hour and 5 hours, depending on the season. If you want to speed things up, and you are able too, place the bowl into your oven with just the light on, or with a mug of boiled water with it.

10. Whilst the dough is proving place the orange juice and zest, and mixed dried fruit into a bowl. Give it a mix and cover it with cling film and place to one side

11. Once the dough is proved prepare your baking tin by generously greasing it with melted butter. Or lining with greaseproof paper.

12. Turn your dough out onto a floured surface and give it a couple of gentle kneads.

13. Shape it into a rough rectangle.

14. With a floured rolling pin, roll the dough to a rectangle approximately 50cm wide x 40cm high (you don’t have to be accurate).

15. The dough is quite elastic, so if you are having trouble with the dough bouncing back press it and stick the top and bottom edges to the work surface.

16. In another bowl mix the sugar with the cinnamon and mixed spice

17. Melt the butter and add it to the sugar and spices and mix into loose paste

18. Spread the paste all over the rolled out dough. Make sure you spread the dough to the outer side edges. You can leave an inch at the top and bottom

19. Spread the mixed dried fruit and orange juice and zest evenly over the sugar mixture

20. Starting at the bottom of the dough carefully roll the dough up into a large sausage. Seal the top edge by pressing onto the sausage.

21. Using a sharp knife or a bench scraper, cut the sausage into 12,16 or 20 even slices

22. Place each slice, swirl side up into your baking tin.

23. Cover the rolls with clingfilm or place the baking tray into a large plastic bag and allow to prove again for an hour or so, or until they are about 1/3 bigger.

24. At this point you can either bake them (skip number 26), or place in the fridge overnight.

25. In the morning take the rolls out of the fridge and allow to come to room temperature for about 30 minutes.

26. Whilst they are coming to room temperature pre-heat your oven to 180c fan, 200c, 400f, GM6

27. Mix the paste for the crosses by combining the flour and water together.

28. Pour the paste into either a piping bag with an approx 5mm hole cut, or with a medium open nozzle. You can also use a plastic zip lock bag with the corner cut off

29. Pipe a thin cross onto each bun

30. When the oven is at full temperature place your rolls in to bake. Depending on how many you are baking and how big the rolls are will very much depend on how long they take. I usually set my timer at first for 12 minutes and then check every 3 to 4 minutes. I often bake tins of 2 cinnamon buns per tray for the Cake Shed. These usually take 15 minutes to bake. However, I baked these Hot Cross Cinnamon Buns in a tray of 20 and it took 22 minutes.

31. Your rolls are ready when they are brown on top, crispy, and the filling is bubbling away.

32. Remove from the oven and allow them to cool for 5 minutes before removing from the tin

33. If, for some mad reason, you don’t get to eat them all they can be rewarmed with a 10 second blast in the microwave.

Q1 in my Cake Business – Some Stats

Today marks the end on Quarter 1 of 2026. Now I usually find terms like Q1 is a bit icky. It’s a bit too ‘business’. But saying that I do like a structured time scale to check my data against. Sometimes I just analyse the data, other times I act on the data and move things around a bit.

Today I’m going to talk about Sales in my Cake Business. I am doing this to be transparent to my followers and community, and so other cake makers or business owners are not scared to look at their own statistics in their businesses. Checking your data periodically is so important when running a business to know where you are, what is working and what is not.

Revenue Streams

I have several revenue streams, which include The Baker’s Club – a subscription only area of my website, The Baker’s Bulletin – my Substack newsletter which is both free and has a paywall, digital products, courses and advertising on my website. In order to keep everything running smoothly and give me content for the non-sales area of my business I need to bake.

I develop and bake recipes. I test and re-test. I produce a large number of cakes and bakes. And what do I do with all those cakes and bakes? I sell them

My business is a simple eco-system. Without any one part I wouldn’t have the other. Today I’m going to talk about the part where I sell actual physical baked goods.

My sales revenue has 3 parts. 2 considerably larger than the other.

Custom Cakes

The smallest sales revenue I have is custom cakes. I decided a couple of years ago I would no longer be making custom cakes to order, unless it was for friends, family or good causes I support. With the good causes there are many charities who will ask for charitable donations. I have learnt over many years that I could donate all my profits to charity but, unfortunately, I need to earn a living. So, I set a boundary when donating to good causes that I need to charge for the cost of components and ingredients, but I will donate my time.

Q1 Custom Cakes Made – 1

The Cake Shed

The Cake Shed is a shed attached to the side of my house that I fill with cakes and bakes every Saturday and Sunday. It works as an honesty box where people take cake and leave the payment.
My Cake Shed is not hugely busy in comparison to some, but it ticks over nicely and adds a reasonable percentage to my business revenue.

Week 1 of January I held a sale to clear out my freezer. Those sales are not included in these statistics.

Total Cake Slices Sold: 381

Average weekly sales were double in March than in January. February weekly sales were somewhere in between.
January diets definitely began to dwindle towards the ends of the month, with sales steadily growing towards the Easter holidays.

38 different Bakes made for The Cake Shed.
Including 13 new recipes developed, written and published on The Baker’s Bulletin Newsletter and The Baker’s Club.
6 Easter or Festive (Valentines) bakes were also sold in the Shed.

Best sellers: Cinnamon Buns and Birthday Cake. I didn’t stock Birthday Cake for the last 3 weeks, but the vanilla cake alternatives also did well.
Worst seller: Angel Cake
Surprise good sellers: Peanut Butter and White Chocolate Cookies
Extra Surprise: I mastered Blondies and they are selling well.

Total Marketing Posts: 239
Facebook on Business Page and Local Groups - 138
Instagram Stories - 93
Nextdoor - 5
Google Profile Updates - 3 (need improve this one in Q2)

Wholesale

I bake small batch for wholesale customers. I bake a couple of times per week to order and will deliver locally.

I currently have 2 regular wholesale customers, with samples currently with another potential customer.

I am very specific with how and who I supply with wholesale bakes. I consider wholesale to be a partnership and work with my wholesale customers closely to make sure the bakes are best for both my schedule and their requirements.

Total Wholesale Cakes and Bakes Supplied: 101

These included Traybake Cakes, other Traybakes and Cake Loaves.

One customer has regular bakes from a choice of 7 different flavours. The other will have anything I fancy making but would rather not have the standard flavours of Vanilla, Chocolate and Lemon. They literally ‘want something a bit more interesting’, which suits me perfectly.

I supplied both Valentines and Easter variations to wholesale customers.

What this tells me in my business

In terms of The Cake Shed, I expect sales in April to be lower as it’s firstly school holidays, for me a time when historically sales are lower. And I have decided to give myself 2 weeks off. The Cake Shed sales have been steadily growing this year, and I will need to continue to market and post about The Cake Shed in order to retain and grow sales.

It also tells me that, as always, vanilla sells! It’s a classic that people love.

Looking at Wholesale, I would like a 3^rd regular wholesale customer to offer more security to that side of my business. I have one set of samples with a potential customer but need to continue to advertise and network to secure a 3^rd (or even 4^th) customer.

Okay, so enough of the numbers. Numbers and maths do make my brain hurt a little, but as a business owner I understand how important it is to do exercises like this every so often to understand exactly where you are, and where you need to put effort in.

But let’s get back to baking!! This week’s recipe is a delicious Lemon Crumble Slice. It’s a great easy Easter Bake which only uses 6 ingredients. It’s light and bright in flavour, with a comforting crumble texture, because winter hasn’t quite let go of its grip just yet. This bake is amazing on its own, as a slice, but can be considered pudding if you warm it in the microwave and smother it in custard.

When I owned my shop I made a version of this regularly for the Tea Room. It’s a great option for cafes and coffee shops, and will equally package easily for Cake Sheds, fairs and markets.

I have adapted today’s recipe from one I originally posted on my recipe blog over 12 years ago. I now have a better understanding of what I’m doing, so this version is more stable at room temperature but is just as delicious.

Full ingredient and FAQs after the recipe below.

What you might have missed on The Baker’s Bulletin

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Lemon Crumble Bars Recipe

Makes 1 x 7” Square Traybake

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I am having a bit of a time of it at the moment. I’m going to be brutally honest, I have sat to write this post several times, and whilst I had the recipes ready to go, finding inspiration for writing has been tricky.

There is a lot going on here. A family member was in a bad traffic accident and recovery is going to be long. The mental load of caring and supporting each other whilst the amazing hospital actually saves their life is much greater than I ever expected. But there is a road to recovery, and we will all be there to nurture and care when needed.

But today, for me, seems like a big day. A day I finally sat and typed. A day I finally could put other thoughts to one side for a short while while I do what I love - chat about cakes and baking. Because until now it felt a little trivial. But if it helps my mental health, I can only hope these recipes and baking chat help someone else’s mental health as well.

Needing something to take your mind of life

Year’s ago, when I worked for a magazine, I used to love my job. It was a magazine called Dancing Times. I worked in the dance industry for over 20 years - it was wonderful!! But I do remember thinking how frivolous it sometimes felt. My husband worked in the power industry - as in big power - Pylons and things (he would cringe if he knew I’d summarised his 35 year career to ‘pylons and things’, but it’s the easiest way to explain it for this anecdote). I would often say to him how insignificant if felt talking about dance, and creating pretty designs on a magazine page, whilst he’s off bringing power to millions with the work he did.

He would say to me ‘but you give relief from the troubles of the world’. And as the world is slowly burning, and as my family are going through this crisis. I do get it. We all need a way to escape. Our brains all need timeout, even for just a few moments. Without the little glimmers of respite, whether they be practical or whimsy, we would all slowly go a bit bonkers.

So let’s talk about baking. Baking is widely recognised as a therapeutic activities to take your mind off tough things. It focuses you thoughts. Whilst you concentrate on baking it is difficult to think about other things. It makes you use your hands and be creative. And at the end of your efforts you have something warm and comforting to enjoy. And right now that is exactly what is needed.

Perfect recipes to make during the UK’s Second Winter

These 2 recipes are perfect for this time of year. In the UK we have around 13 seasons. We have recently been through Fools Spring, and are onto 2nd Winter. And whilst we all wait form Spring Proper to arrive we are back to baking comforting bakes with warming notes that make us feel better.

I love a Swiss Roll, and I love Carrot Cake. So putting the 2 together seemed like the obvious choice for an Easter bake. Carrot for the Easter bunnies. Spices to warm you through on the cold evenings. Swiss Roll because it looks pretty impressive for a get together over the Easter Break.

Then I have made S’Mores Brownie. Because we still have the fire lit every evening at home to help out the central heating. And marshmallows, chocolate and dunking biscuits are the perfect accompaniment for a cosy fire at home.

Don’t forget to download the PDF Recipe Sheets under each recipe.

Carrot Cake Swiss Roll Recipe

Makes 1 x Swiss roll. Use a 13” x 9” Swiss Roll Tin or equivalent

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Easter seems early this year. So Easter baking has started early. I tested this a couple of weeks ago, and it sold out straight away in my Cake Shed.

I’m not usually a fan of creating Easter bakes by simply shoving a pre-made Easter egg on an otherwise simple bake. That to me is not Easter Baking. That is plonking an Easter Egg on top of an already perfectly good brownie/blondie/cookie* (*delete as appropriate).

My rule when creating festive or holiday bakes is to go with seasonal flavours over things you can buy and put in the mix. So, this bake, could be argued is going against my own set rules. However, I disagree. This bake could not be made as well using anything other than Mini Eggs, and that’s a hill I am willing to die on!

This is actually a combination of 3 of my favourite things. My already delicious best ever Rice Crispy Treats. The scrummy caramel filling from my classic Millionaire Shortbread. And Mini Eggs.

The result is so pretty, and delicious! It doesn’t really involve any baking, but there is melting and bubbling involved, which creates a kind of alchemy that makes you feel like you’ve pulled off something fancy.

Recipe Hints and Tips

When making rice crispy treats there is no need to use expensive branded cereal. You’re just about to mix it with marshmallows, butter and condensed milk - you are never going to notice the quality of the puffed rice under all that.

Make sure you start the process in a saucepan that is big enough. You are going to add all your puffed rice cereal to this saucepan - make sure it’s big enough to take it.

When you place the treats in the tin push down hard on them. I place a piece of parchment over the top and press with the flat of my hands. This gives the treats a bit more stability and allows the ‘glue’ around the air inside the rice crispies to stick better together. They are also much easier to cut neatly.

When you make the caramel, boil it. I have been making this caramel for many years. I have found the point where it’s most likely to burn on the bottom of the pan is when it’s lightly bubbling - like a bubble comes to the surface every second or so. If you get it to a boil, it’s bubbling away from the surface of the pan and, in my experience, less likely to burn. I’m sure there is some scientific reason for this, and if anyone knows it please share as that kind of things fascinates me!

Making the caramel will take about 10 to 15 minutes. Keep stirring it. Don’t get distracted. Only make it when you have the time to give it your full attention.

It will change colour as you’re making it. It’s not a ‘leave it and it will change’ kind of thing. The magic happens before your very eyes. You want a nice, oak like caramel colour.

Crushing the Mini Eggs is not the challenge you think it may be. The easiest way I found to do it was to pop them in a sturdy plastic bag, and wack them with the flat of a rolling pin, or the back of a heavy spoon. You don’t want them crushed to powder. It’s good to have a few chunks that are still recognisable as bits of mini egg.

There ingredient tips and FAQs after the recipe.

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Mini Egg Rice Crispy Millionaire Recipe

Makes 1 x 8” Square Tin or equivalent

Rice Crispy Treat Ingredients

50gms Butter
150gms Marshmallows
150gms Condensed Milk
200gms Puffed Rice Cereal
50-60gms Crushed Mini Eggs

Caramel Topping

200gms Condensed Milk
50gms Golden Syrup
75gms Butter

150gms Crushed Mini Eggs for decoration

Instructions

1. Line your baking tin with non-stick baking parchment - this mix is sticky. Make sure you line that tin!!

2. To make the rice crispy treats place the butter, marshmallows and condensed milk in a large saucepan

3. Heat on medium until everything is just melted. Stirring often making sure the ingredients combine together

4. Add the puffed rice cereal and crushed mini eggs

5. Mix until everything is combined and the cereal is well coated in the marshmallow mixture

6. Pour into your baking tin. Cover with a piece of parchment and press down hard to compress the rice crispies

7. In another (or use the same) saucepan make the caramel, by placing the condensed milk, butter and golden syrup

8. Melt together over a medium heat

9. When it’s melted turn the heat up and bubble for 10-15 minutes, stirring continually with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Stirring will ensure the mixture doesn’t burn on the bottom.

10. Heat until the mixture has become a deep caramel colour

    WARNING: This mixture is very hot. Please be careful. DO NOT lick the spoon.

11. Pour the caramel mixture over the top of the rice crispy treat and gently coax it to the edges to spread it evenly over the top

12. Whilst the caramel is still warm, scatter the crushed mini eggs, allowing them to melt and adhere to the caramel

13. Allow to cool before cutting and serving

Ingredient Hints and Tips

Butter
I used block (not from a tub) dairy butter for this recipe - both in the rice crispy treats and the caramel. I have made both before using a baking spread from a tub. Whilst it worked ok, it didn’t set as well as the block butter.

Marshmallows
I used mini marshmallows, but any will do as you are melting them down. I probably wouldn’t use the sugar dusted ones, however, as this is already quite a sweet recipe.

Condensed Milk
This recipe uses one tin of sweetened condensed milk.

Puffed Rice Cereal
I used a supermarket own brand, but use whichever is your preference. As stated in the intro, you’re covering them with so much sweet stuff, expensive cereal is kind of wasted in this recipe.

Mini Eggs
I used a supermarket own brand - one which didn’t contain palm oil. Use whichever you prefer.

Golden Syrup
Golden Syrup is an invert sugar syrup. If you don’t have it where you are use an equivalent such as corn syrup.

FAQs

How long will this last?
It should last up to 7 to 10 days in an airtight container. Store at room temperature for best results.

Can I make this Dairy Free?
You can buy vegan Condensed Milk, and use a plant based butter to make this recipe dairy free. You would also need to change to a dairy free version of Mini eggs or cover the top with a dairy free chocolate.

Why have my rice crispy treats gone crumbly?
You may have over cooked the marshmallows. Make sure you only heat everything until it is just melted.

Can I make these in the microwave?
You can definitely melt the rice crispy treat ingredients in a microwave before adding the cereal and mini eggs.

However, the caramel needs to be made in a saucepan over heat for the best results.

How do get clean cuts?
Pressing the cereal treats down before adding the caramel will help get clean cuts.

Make sure you use a very sharp knife for the best results.

Coming Next week on The Baker’s Bulletin:

In the UK we are finally getting the odd hour or 2 of sunshine. Sure there are very few days when rain doesn’t fall in some way - just to keep to keep the mud at ankle breaking slippiness. But the hint of a blue sky, every so often, is getting us all a little excited for the days soon to come.

In anticipation of the sunnier days, but not wanting to skip Spring, because that’s my favourite season, I am getting ready with a bright, zesty cookie recipe that includes a totally tropical coconut flavour.

It’s March tomorrow, and I will be getting full on into Easter Baking. Next weeks recipe is a humdinger that you will absolutely not want to miss. But for this week we are going toasted coconut, zesty lime and luxurious dark chocolate all wrapped up into a cookie.

Toast your coconut for maximum flavour!

This recipe uses desiccated coconut. I understand in some countries desiccated coconut isn’t really a thing. Unsweetened shredded coconut will be the best alternative.

For this recipe the best results are got from initially toasting the coconut. It intensifies the coconut flavour whilst adding a toastiness to it. It also stops it being chewy, which in turn stops it getting caught between your teeth. It gives it a nice crunchy texture which is perfect in a cookie.

To toast the coconut pre-heat your oven to 150c fan (170c, 325f, GM4). Line a baking sheet with parchment and spread the coconut out onto the sheet. Bake for around 10 minutes until the coconut starts to change to a golden colour. Remove from the oven and allow to cool before using it in the recipe.

Your choice of chocolate counts

I used chocolate chopped from bar for this recipe. This was intentional, it’s not because I hadn’t bought chocolate chips.

You choice of chocolate will alter the final result of the cookie. Chocolate Chips, usually bought in the baking aisle of the supermarket, are ‘bake stable’. Bake Stable mean when they bake they do not alter in shape. They generally remain a chip shape within the bake.

Chocolate in a bar isn’t bake stable. Which means when you bake it it will melt and create a puddle of chocolate in the cookie. I personally prefer this texture and result in a cookie.

There are some companies who sell chocolate buttons. I recently bought a 10kg box from Cocoa King of their 53% cocoa solid buttons. (Not an ad, but very good value and quality). These act in the same way as the bar of chocolate and have the bonus of not having to be chopped up.

If, like me, you like to pop a cookie in the microwave for 10 seconds before eating it, then the melty puddle option is always the best!

There are ingredient tips and FAQs after the recipe.

Coming next week on the Baker’s Bulletin:

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Coconut, Lime and Dark Chocolate Cookies Recipe

Makes 8-9 Cookies

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Angel Cake is a classic British Bake. Cute pink and yellow sponge with feathered glacé icing on top. Sometimes 2 layers, sometimes 3 - it matters not. As long as it’s light, fluffy and deliciously pretty.

Before we go on, I just want to make sure you know I’m not talking about American Angel Food Cake (the cake you have to cool upside down for fear of it collapsing). No, this is an old school classic. So old school Mr Kipling does it exceptionally well.

I made this cake recipe as part of a book review. When I review books I like to make sure I make a few of the recipes to give me a true idea about how the book reads and how good the instructions and directions are. This recipe is based on one that originally featured in the book Love is a Pink Cake by Clare Ptak (of Harry and Meghan’s wedding cake fame). I will be fully reviewing the book in my next post.

Clare Ptak now runs a bakery in East London, but originally comes from California. Maybe I should have seen this as a red flag, that someone who didn’t necessarily grew up with nostalgic bake as a childhood favourite would try to recreate it. But then again, I am not generally of the opinion that people can’t learn, love and fully respect the place they choose to live as an adult, even if that’s not where they started out as a child. I never started where I live, but I most definitely call it home.

The cake I originally made from this book did have hints of nostalgia, but wasn’t exactly how I expected. Therefore, the recipe below is adapted and changed a little to slim down the process and the ingredient list, and keep a nostalgic edge.

So what is different in the recipe in the book?

The ingredients lists are generally quite long in the book. Many ingredients I honestly feel are superfluous and added faff. For example adding a quarter of a teaspoon to the buttercream does not, in my opinion, add any huge benefit. It did, however, make my buttercream smell of vinegar. I have removed the vinegar and reduced the icing sugar quantity instead. However, please feel free to add the vinegar back in if you feel buttercream needs a drop of vinegar to cut through the sweetness.

Also, the method of division for getting the 2 colours made a lot of washing up. The instructions said to make the batter to a certain point and then split it in half. Then measure the dry ingredients, and then measure the wet ingredients before splitting them all in half. It just seemed a lot. I have hopefully slimmed down the process a little and cut down on the dishes. Splitting a batter in half and managing to add colour and not overmix, is admittedly a tricky ask.

Lastly, I have reduced the cake by half the size. There is nothing wrong with a big cake, but the recipe in the book was a little too big for my requirements. The original recipe was for 2 x 12” by 9” tins. Instead I used 2 extra long loaf tins. 2 x 7” or 8” square tins will also work well. If you do want to make the larger size just double my ingredients below.

I also added the feathered glacé icing as I thought it was needed for tradition.

Hot tip!

So my big tip here, to keep the cake light and fluffy is to NOT overmix your batter once the flour is added. Add the colour before the flour and milk. So once the flour is added you keep mixing and gluten development to a minimum. Resulting in a lighter, fluffier cake.

There are full ingredient notes and FAQs after the recipe.

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Angel Cake

Makes 1 x Square Cake. Needs 2 x 7” or 8” Square tins.

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I am not a chocolate cake lover. This is from childhood memories of dry, crumbly chocolate cakes that never quite lived up to their visual expectations.

After baking professionally for over a decade and a half, I now know why the chocolate cakes of my childhood never promised on flavour what they did on looks. And the secret is cocoa!

So, back in the day, when I was knee high to a grasshopper, chocolate cake was made by removing some of the flour from a mixture and replacing it with cocoa. Usually weight for weight. I’m talking back when a Victoria Sandwich was made using 2oz of butter, sugar and flour for every egg you used - so that’s a long time ago right?

Now I know a bit more about it I understand why this is actually a terrible idea. Cocoa can absorb up to 100% of its weight in liquid, whereas flour only absorbs about 40%. This means, replacing flour for cocoa will result in a bake that is drier, because the cocoa has soaked up all the liquid.

I did an experiment last year where I tried ‘blooming’ cocoa. This means adding it to a warm liquid before putting it in your mix. To be honest I, and the several testers I asked to try the cake, couldn’t tell any difference. Maybe I did it wrong. I don’t know?

But what it did prove was replacing flour for cocoa was a terrible way to make a chocolate cake, and having a specific chocolate cake recipe will always work better!

This recipe, whilst it has cocoa in it, also has a lot of liquid in the form of orange juice and milk. It also has melted dark chocolate, so some of the chocolate flavour comes from cocoa solids as well as the drier cocoa.

The orange flavour is subtle, but you can ramp it up with some orange oil or essence if that is your thing. I find the preference to chocolate orange flavour to be quite a personal - similar to levels of mint someone will tolerate in a bake. So with this recipe you can make it your own.

There are ingredient notes and FAQ’s after the recipe.

If you like chocolate bakes, you might also like these. All available on the upgraded Baker’s Bulletin.

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Chocolate Orange Loaf

Makes 12 x Mini Loafs, or 1 x 2lb Loaf

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Firstly, did you know that a Belgian Bun had lemon curd in it? No? Me either?!

I thought they were filled with a creme patisserie. I thought they had a more complicated filling. I knew they had a zing, but it never occurred to me it was lemon curd. And when I found out I was genuinely, very excited. Because I have a lemon curd recipe that it is so ridiculously easy and quick that it got me thinking - I can make Belgian Buns very easily! And make them, I did!!

So what is a Belgian Bun?

As with many traditional bakes that come out of British Bakeries, the name has nothing to do with their history. Belgian Buns probably have absolutely nothing to do with Belgium. Oh well…..

Asking Google for a history, there is strangely very little to read. In fact, what I have read I could actually deduce from being a 53 year old woman who has eaten many (too many) buns in my lifetime. My bun experience tells me they are similar to Chelsea Buns. They have a glaze like Iced Buns, and there is half a cherry on top - just because?

In summary: A Belgian bun is a spiral bun (like a cinnamon or Chelsea bun). It is filled with lemon curd and sultanas. It is topped with a white glaze icing, and half a glace cherry. It has been a staple in many traditional British Bakeries for many decades. And this is a very easy recipe that you can make to enjoy yummy, home-baked Belgian Buns in your own home.

Coming later this week on the upgraded The Baker’s Bulletin:

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Belgian Buns

Makes 8 Buns

Belgian Bun Dough

220gms Lukewarm Milk
7gms (1 packet) Fast Action Dried Yeast
500gms Flour. I prefer to use 250gms Plain Flour/250gms Strong White Bread Flour
100gms White Sugar
2 Eggs
10gms (2tspn) Salt
75gms Softened Butter
2tbspn Butter for greasing

Filling

2 Eggs
75gms Sugar
50gms Butter (cubed)
Zest and Juice of 2 lemons
Pinch of salt
100gms Sultanas

Decoration

150gms Icing Sugar
20-40ml Water
4 Glace Cherries

Belgian Bun Instructions

1. In a jug add the yeast to the warm milk and whisk. Set aside and leave whilst you weight the other ingredients.

2. In a mixer with the dough hook (the one that looks like a cork screw) weigh all the ingredients except the butter. (If you don’t have a stand mixer place all the remaining ingredients in a large bowl. You’re going to need to use some muscle power to knead your dough.)

3. Start the mixer and allow the dough hook to start combining the ingredients. Scrape down the bowl occasionally to make sure all the dry ingredients get mixed through.

4. Slowly pour the milk and yeast into the mix.

5. Once the mixture has come together allow it to stand for 5 minutes for the gluten in the dough to strengthen.

6. Add the butter and continue to mix with the dough hook. Scrape the sides of the bowl a couple of times to make sure all the butter gets mixed in.

7. Allow the mixer to knead the dough on low for 15-30 minutes, or until the dough is soft and smooth, and starts to pull away from the sides. Your dough is ready when you have reached ‘window pane’ stage. To check for this, moisten your hands and stretch some dough between your fingers and thumb. If you can stretch it thin so light can be seen through it you have reached window pane and the gluten is developed. This whole process may take different times depending on your mixer. My mixer usually takes about 25 minutes (If kneading by hand, incorporate all the ingredients and then turn out onto an oiled surface. Knead until the dough is soft and smooth.)

8. Transfer your dough to a large oiled bowl and cover with cling film.

9. Your dough now needs to prove and increase in size. Ideally you want it to double in size. How long this takes will depend on how warm your room is. The warmer it is, the quicker it proves. I have had this take 1 hour or 5 hours (or even 10 hours on a cold day), depending on the season. If you want to speed things up, and you are able too, place the bowl into your oven with just the light on, or with a mug of boiled water with it.

10. Whilst the dough is proving make the Lemon Curd

11. Lemon Curd Instruction:

    1. Place all the ingredients in a microwavable bowl

    2. Cook on high in the microwave for 20 seconds

    3. Remove from the microwave and whisk

    4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until you have a thick lemon curd

    5. Allow to cool

    6. Pass the lemon curd through a sieve to filter out the zest

12. Once the dough is proved prepare your baking tin by generously greasing it with melted butter. Or lining with greaseproof paper.

13. Turn your dough out onto a floured surface and give it a couple of gentle kneads.

14. Shape it into a rough rectangle.

15. With a floured rolling pin, roll the dough to a rectangle approximately 50cm wide x 40cm high (you don’t have to be accurate).

16. The dough is quite elastic, so if you are having trouble with the dough bouncing back press it and stick the top and bottom edges to the work surface.

17. Spread the lemon curd across the dough and sprinkle with the sultanas

18. Starting at the bottom of the dough carefully roll the dough up into a large sausage. Seal the top edge by pressing onto the sausage.

19. Using a sharp knife or a bench scraper, cut the sausage into 8 even slices

20. Place each slice, swirl side up into your baking tin leaving a centimetre or 2 between them

21. Cover the rolls with clingfilm or place the baking tray into a large plastic bag and allow to prove again for an hour or so, or until they are about 1/3 bigger.

22. At this point you can either bake them straight away (skip to number 24), or place in the fridge overnight.

23. In the morning take the rolls out of the fridge and allow to come to room temperature for about 30 minutes.

24. Whilst they are coming to room temperature pre-heat your oven to 180c fan, 200c, 400f, GM6

25. When the oven is at full temperature place your rolls in to bake. Depending on how many you are baking and how big the rolls are will very much depend on how long they take. I usually set my timer at first for 12 minutes and then check every 3 to 4 minutes.

26. Your rolls are ready when they are brown on top and well risen

27. Once baked remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 to 10 minutes.

28. Make the glaze by placing the icing sugar in a bowl and gradually adding the water, mixing as you go until you have a thick glaze

29. Decorate the top of each bun by spreading the glaze over the top and decorating with half a cherry

This recipe is a combination of My Cinnamon Bun recipe and my 5 Minute Microwave Lemon Curd Recipe. There are more hints and tips, and ingredient notes in both of those posts - links below.

At the end of January we had 3 wonderful nights in Venice. We got there early and left late, which meant we had a full 4 days to enjoy all of Venice’s delights, which included eating plenty.

I, of course, hunted out the bakeries or pasticcerias. What I found in every one were very similar, basic cakes and bakes. But were they boring? Absolutely not!

The Venetian’s had really sussed out how to create the most amazing bakes, and whilst they were probably no more than 4 or 5 different bakes, with 3 or 4 different fillings, they were all perfectly made and utterly delicious.

It was like someone had said ‘these are only what we bake, but we must bake them to be the best’. And the best they were.

My favourite were the fritelle. Small deep fried donut type bakes made from batter. I had fritelle filled with pistachio, with ricotta cream, chocolate and plain but with sultanas. I ate them in different cafes and pasticceria, and ever single one was delicious light and tasty. I actually think my favourite was the unfilled one with sultanas, but I’m splitting hairs because they were all wonderful.

My biggest takeaway from it all, was that keeping it basic, but doing basic perfectly will always be a winner.

Birthday Cake for the Win!

So with that said, this week I am posting my Birthday Cake recipe. It’s the best seller in The Cake Shed. It’s a classic, and amazing vanilla cake recipe (adapted to use oil from my Victoria Sandwich recipe). It’s filled with buttercream and jam, and covered in sugar paste. It’s the cake flavour that when I was making custom cakes for a living I would often be asked for.

Yep, customers would literally ask for ‘Birthday Cake Flavour’! And that was ok because I knew exactly what it was.

Bake it with Oil or Butter - You Choose

I have recently changed to using oil as the main fat within my cakes. There are many reason for this, all of which I share in The Baker’s Club. However, I baked this cake for many, many years with butter or baking spread (margarine).

I had someone tell me recently, over on a social media platform, that she would never follow me because I bake with oil instead of butter. That is, of course, their choice. However, I am a firm believer in baking with what you most feel comfortable with. All my recipes will have a butter/margarine alternative, or plant based, or even gluten free advise if that’s how you are baking. Please see the ingredients notes after the recipe.

Does baking with Oil instead of Butter make a difference to the cake?

If you are asking me about the different in taste and texture from Oil to Butter, I did some side by side tests, all of which I documented and put on my Instagram. But in summary I found very little change in the texture, between oil and butter, when the cake is at room temperature. However, place the cake in a cold environment (such as a fridge, or a cake shed on a cold day) and the cake made with butter will go harder. This is because butter is a saturated fat that turn solid when cold, and oil is a unsaturated fat that remains liquid at cold temperatures.

The other difference is in the taste. The cake made with butter, unsurprisingly, had a buttery taste. The cake made with oil tasted more of vanilla. This is because I use flavourless oil which allowed the vanilla notes to come through. The butter masked those vanilla notes. I am not saying one was better than the other - I would eat both in a flash!! The difference was so marginal I think you would only notice it in a direct side by side comparison. However, the difference was there and I thought it only right to share it.

Back to Birthday Cake

So with all that said, I’m sharing my Birthday Cake recipe. This version of it is made for The Cake Shed. I make it in a 7” x 11” traybake tin. I slice it through the centre and fill it with fluffy buttercream and strawberry jam (other jam flavours are available). I then give it a thin coat of buttercream on the outside and cover the top and sides with a sheet of sugarpaste. The traybake is sliced into 20 slices and packaged for sale.

This cake is also THE cake I would use for vanilla layer cakes, celebration cakes and custom decorated cakes if I were still making them for my business. It’s a classic vanilla cake recipe, and this quantity would make a 2 layer 8” cake if needed.

Ingredient notes and FAQ’s after the recipe.

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Birthday Cake

Makes 1 x 7” x 11” traybake (or 2 x 8” layers)

Cake Ingredients

250gms Sugar
200gms Oil
4 Eggs
4tbspn Milk/plant based milk
1tspn Vanilla Paste/Puree
250gms Plain Flour
2.5tspn Baking Powder
Pinch Salt

Filling and Icing

150gms Softened/ Room Temperature Butter/plant based butter
300gms Icing Sugar
1tspn Vanilla Paste/Puree
Dribble of Boiling Water
4-5tbspn Strawberry Jam
200gms Ready to Roll Sugar Paste

Birthday Cake Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 150c fan, 170c, 325f, GM4

2. Grease and line you cake tins. If you are baking a traybake I recommend using a heat rod in the centre of the cake for a more even bake.

3. In a mixing bowl with a large or electric whisk, or in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment mix together the sugar and oil

4. Add the eggs, milk and vanilla paste, and mix until light and there are bubbles on the top of the mixture

5. Remove from the mixer (if using one) and add the flour, baking powder and salt. Mix by hand until just combined and there are no clumps of dry flour

6. Pour into your baking tin and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until well risen and when pressed lightly it bounces back

7. When baking do not open the oven for at least 20-25 minutes

8. When baked remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing from the tin and allowing to cool fully on a wire rack

9. Whilst the cake is cooling make the buttercream

10. Place the softened butter, icing sugar and vanilla in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer.

11. Mix on low until the icing sugar is incorporated into the butter. Then increase your mixer speed to medium and mix for 5 to 10 minutes.

12. If your buttercream seems slightly stiff add a dribble of boiling water and continue to mix

13. When the cake is cool, and the buttercream mixed it’s time to assemble

14. Using a serrated knife, carefully split the cake in half lengthways

15. On the bottom half spread 2 thirds of the buttercream. On the top section spread the jam. Sandwich them together

16. On a non-stick mat, or on a work surface dusted with icing sugar or cornflour, roll out you sugar paste to approx 15” x 10” (it needs to cover the cake with a little extra to spare

17. Spread the remaining buttercream over the top and sides of the cake, creating a thin layer all over

18. Carefully lift the sugar paste and lay over the cake, covering all the sides. I usually roll it over my rolling pin, and gently lay it onto the cake

19. Using the flat of your hands, carefully smooth out the sugar paste, easing it gently over the corners to lie flat

20. Use a sharp knife, or pizza wheel to trim the excess from around the bottom of the cake

21. The cake can now be cut and packaged, or decorated with candles and extra decorations if using it as a birthday cake

Ingredient Notes

Sugar
I used white granulated sugar. You can use white or golden caster sugar if that’s what you have.

Fat
I use a flavourless oil such as rapeseed or sunflower. However if you prefer to use butter or baking spread/margarine swap out for 250gms of your chosen fat.

Eggs
I use room temperature UK medium eggs, but you can use UK large eggs if that’s what you have.

Milk
I used semi-skimmed dairy milk. You can use semi-skimmed or whole.

If you need this bake to be dairy free you can use a plant based alternative with no ill effects to the results.

Vanilla
Use the best you can afford for the best results. I use Vanilla Guys Vanilla Puree.

Flour
I always use plain flour with added baking powder for consistently good results. If you have self-raising flour you can use that and omit the baking powder. However, I find that self-raising flour doesn’t always give consistent results.

This can be made with gluten free flour and baking powder very successfully. I would recommend using Xanthan Gum for better structure.

Salt
Always season your bakes for better flavour.

Butter for buttercream
I use block butter (not from a tub) for the best results. Block butter has a higher fat content and lower moisture content and will give better structure.

You can use a plant based block butter if you need this cake to be dairy free.

Jam
I used a good quality Strawberry Jam, but use whichever you prefer.

Sugarpaste
I used a The Sugar Paste from The Cake decorating Company. I would recommend using a professional sugar paste from a cake supplier.

You can use a sugar paste (or read to roll fondant) from a supermarket. However, it will be harder to handle as it is softer, sometimes stickier and often splits or breaks when handling.

Birthday Cake FAQ’s

How long will this cake last?

This cake will last up to 5 days. Once cut, it’s best kept in an airtight container.

This cake can also be frozen for up to 3 months. To freeze wrap in cling film and foil.

To defrost place on a wire rack and allow to fully come to room temperature before unwrapping.

Note: Sugar paste has a tendency to go sticky if frozen or refrigerated. If left at room temperature it will eventually dry. However, if freezing before sliced and packaged I would recommend adding the sugar paste once it has defrosted and thawed fully.

Can I make this Gluten or Dairy Free?

Yes, this can be made both gluten and dairy free. See above Ingredient Notes for more details.

How can I use this cake in my business?

I use this cake sliced and packaged for The Cake Shed. However, I would also use this as a classic layer cake and custom cakes. It has a great structure and stands up well to being used for stacked or tiered cakes, and those with fondant decoration on it.

How do I know when the cake is done?

There are a couple of ways. You can place a skewer in the centre and if it comes out clean it should be done. However, I find the best way is to touch it lightly with the tip of my finger. If it bounces back it’s done.

Can I scale this cake to different sizes?

Yes, this cake recipe scales well. Use my guide to see what size is best for you.

Until, one day, I had a bunch of bananas on the counter that were turning black. They were green when I bought them the day before, but had completely skipped the ‘just right’ phase and where heading to over done at an alarming rate!

As I’m not one for wanton food waste, I gave in and made a Banana Cake. The bananas were only a couple of days old - I wasn’t about to bin them! I left the room while the cake was in the oven, so I didn’t have to smell it. But, when it came out of the oven I admit I was converted. It was comforting and delicious.

But it needed more. Whilst it was delicious and scrumptious, it needed a little something extra. Chocolate, chocolate and cinnamon is what it needed! So that’s what I gave it.

Banana and Dark Chocolate Cake Recipe Notes

If your bananas haven’t quite become the dark knights you need

The best banana bread is made with over-ripe bananas. As they ‘fester’ on the counter they become sweeter because their starches break down and turn to sugar. They also become softer and easier to mash.

If your bananas aren’t at this stage you can help them along. I pop my bananas on a piece of baking parchment in the oven as I’m preheating it. The heat of the oven will induce an artificial ripening process, which will turn the skins black and start to break down the starches inside. Remove the from the oven when they are black, or nearly black, and allow them to cool before using them.

Banana Loaf doesn’t have to be a dense bread

I think another reason I was never urgently wanting to make banana bread, was because it was just that - bready. I often found it dense and thick. I wanted light and fluffy, but thought that wasn’t going to be possible with the banana inside. Turns out it wasn’t the banana that’s the problem.

Like all cakes, you don’t want to over mix the batter once the flour is added. I add the flour and mix by hand until it is just combined and there are no floury lumps.

I then stir well mashed banana through until it’s just distributed. Lastly, a quick stir to distribute the chocolate chips. All this needs to be kept to a minimum so the flour is not overworked, and the gluten doesn’t even think about developing and becoming ‘bready’.

Mashing your bananas well

I personally like to distribute the flavour of the banana throughout the mix, rather than coming across soft, gooey lumps within the cake. This is done by mashing and softening your bananas as much as possible before adding to the batter.

I do this with a fork. Mashing each banana individually and then mixing through and making sure there are no lumps left.

Don’t let it burn

I always find loaf cakes tricky as they need to be baked for a long time to bake fully. But baking for a longer period will endanger getting a burnt top. This is how I combat that!

You need to protect the top of the cake from heat from above. There are a couple of ways to do that. Firstly, cover the top with foil. You can’t do this straight away as the top needs to rise and expand and you don’t want the foil sticking. I wait until the cake is around 3 quarters baked and then very carefully shape my foil into a loose hat shape and pop it on top of the cake. The only danger of doing this is you may open the oven door too soon and end up with a sunk cake.

The other way, and the one I prefer as it’s more sunk cake proof, is to bake the cake on a middle shelf of the oven, and on the shelf above place a baking sheet or large baking tin. This will help deflect any heat from hitting the top of the cake directly, whilst being able to be there for the entire bake.

Great on it’s own, even better with buttercream

This banana cake is amazing on it’s own. Fresh from the oven with a huge dollop of custard will make it a perfect after dinner comforting pudding.

However, you can up level it with chocolate buttercream. I added crushed, dried banana chips for decoration and texture.

There are ingredient notes and FAQs after the recipe

Recipes you may have missed on the Baker’s Bulletin

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Banana and Dark Chocolate Loaf Cake Recipe

Makes 1 x 2lb Loaf (approx 13cm x 24cm)

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This is one of the recipes I tried from The Hebridean Baker at Home cookbook (read my review here). The first version of this I tried was a bit of a mess, so I adapted it more for my needs. A few changes I made from the original recipe include baking it as a traybake, rather than a round cake. I used less of the topping which I melted together in the mi…

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To be honest I haven’t actually heard a lot of New Year, New Me stuff this year.

What I have heard a lot of is New Year and let’s just build on what I’ve been doing and do it better/more. That includes me!

I think building on you own successes is very powerful. I find it a way to be grateful for the things I’ve got, and the things I’ve already achieved.

I rarely set resolutions. They just seem too scary. What I do instead is set a vision for myself, and then goals of how to get that vision. My vision includes writing recipes - delicious, easy to make, sweet treats. My vision is to be known as someone who makes fun bakes, and helps other people learn how to bake and enjoy them. My vision is to help both home bakers and home bakery business owners with their baking and cake making.

I’m leaning heavily into running a faff-free kitchen. No fancy schmancy ingredients. Cakes and bakes that everyone will enjoy with easy to follow instructions. Instructions that have purpose and reason.

My goal is to send my paid subscribers a new recipe every single week. These will be either exclusive to paid subscribers, or early access to recipes. Another goal is send a new cake recipe to all my subscribers, free and paid, at least once a month.

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I will test techniques and fads seen online, so you don’t have to, to see if the extra effort is really worth the hassle. I will check if hacks are really that, or if they’re just a waste of energy. I will put tried and tested traditions to the test for easy faff-free baking.

I am also aiming to add to these newsletters with cookbook reviews, and reviews of TV shows and Podcasts. I want to expand my own knowledge whilst being able to help my subscribers. I’m looking forward to adding new features to my content, that I hope you will also enjoy.

Coming up soon on the Upgraded Baker’s Bulletin:

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Chocolate Soured Cream Cake with Raspberries

Makes a 2 x 7” Layer Cake

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We’re starting 2026 with a great recipe. This post was written back in November 2025, but it’s been sat in my drafts, itching to get out, but was overtaken with Christmas Content. So here it is, the first post of 2026, and it’s banging!!

I posted a reel on Instagram, where I stated, quite categorically, how much I dislike Cookie Pie - and it turns out I’m not alone. Many people agreed with me. However, that doesn’t mean I don’t like to muck about with the traditional Cookie idea. Because whilst I don’t think cookie should never be a pie, I have absolutely no objections to a cookie being a cake.

Previously in my cake maker career I often sold large cookies. Cookies the size of large cakes. Cookies don’t have to be individual portions. They can easily be made into sharing size. And what better way to mix the flavours of a traditional cake with the joy of the crunchy/chewy cookie textures.

This is a case in point. Black Forest Gateaux is a classic, delicious cake. A light chocolate cake made with cocoa, filled with delicious cherries and topped with whipped cream.

And because it’s such a classic I decided to flip it into a cookie. I baked a double chocolate chip cookie, made with cocoa and filled with dark chocolate chips. I spread Morello cherry preserve on top, and finished with light, fluffy vanilla buttercream. It was sliced into 8 sharing portions, but you could easily slice it into fewer portions (maybe 2) and eat a whole lot more!

There are recipe and instruction notes after the Recipe.

Black Forest Cookie Slice

Makes 1 x 9” round tin or 1 x 8” square tin

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Woah, what a year 2025 has been. Here is the Substack Stats for The Baker’s Bulletin in 2025 - think of it as my Substack Wrapped

Names - 2. I changed the name from Recipes from the Cake Shed to The Baker’s Bulletin in November.

Posts - 53 Email posts sent to all Subscribers.

Recipes Shared - In those posts there was a total of 49 Recipes.12 Recipes went out to all Subscribers, the rest were exclusively for Upgraded Subscribers.

Top Post - Viennese Christmas Wreaths. With 5.65k views, this was by far the most viewed post.

Least Viewed Post - Dairy Free Chocolate Cake. Just 119 views - gotta take the rough with the smooth. Not quite sure why it wasn’t viewed, because it’s a great recipe!

So, what were the top of the posts each month?

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

This week’s Christmas Baking Diaries was meant to be some fabulous Bauble Cupcakes. However, not everything goes to plan.

It all started well. I made the cupcakes using my fail safe 'Vanilla Cupcake without Butter’ recipe (see below). I then attempted 2 different decorating techniques - which I thought were going to be winners. One used a half dome silicone mold with melted chocolate, and the other Lindt chocolates with lustre dust.

I made the buttercream, I had the ideas and now it was all in the execution. And that’s when it all started to go a little bit wrong.

To be honest I was in a bit of a rush. I was trying the beat the sun going down. I was recording my attempts and natural light is always better. But the light was fading fast (as happens in the winter) and I didn’t take the right care or attention to what I was doing.

I still honestly think the ideas were good. I really do……but never mind eh?! There is always next year. If you want a giggle here are a couple of stills from some videos I recorded. I thought the one with the Lindt balls looked particularly like a skin complaint. And the larger one was more like an apple than a bauble. But you get the idea!

I shared the videos on Instagram and had a couple of great suggestions from my followers. The marshmallows could be painted gold, as should the Reeses Mini’s. Also, the white chocolate didn’t do them any favours and I got a more consistent colour when I tried the milk chocolate Lindt balls.

But I live and learn. And if you do want to give them a go, the Vanilla Cupcake recipe is below. Ingredient notes are after the recipe.

For more Christmas recipes check out my Christmas Baking Diaries:

All available on the upgraded Baker’s Bulletin

Easy Fluffy Vanilla Cupcake Recipe without Butter

Makes 8 to 9 Cupcakes

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This week my bun dough took 10 hours to prove. I was beginning to give up on it. I was thinking that maybe I had killed my yeast – but I knew I hadn’t. I was worried I’d measured my salt wrong – but I knew it was right. I was beginning to wonder if it was ever going to prove. But I gave it the time it needed and prove it did!

I blame the weather. And I know living in the UK we talk about the weather a lot, but we have a lot of weather to talk about so it’s not surprising. When I was making my dough on Friday it was grey, damp and miserable. And whilst the weather reports keep telling us its unseasonably warm, the dampness just gets into your bones, and dough it would seem.

I could have hurried my dough by using one of many techniques to gently warm it, which encourages the yeast to do it’s magic – see number 9 of the recipe for more details. But I had other things to do, and I wasn’t in any hurry, so I left it to prove on the counter top.

What the 10 hour prove taught me was that it’s often more about your intuition than blindly following a recipe. And the reason I have this intuition isn’t a gift I was born with, but one that I have developed over the years after making many, many mistakes!

So, what were the signs I took notice of to make sure my dough was eventually proved.

1. It had increased in size. Unlike many recipes state, your dough may not necessarily double in size, but if the yeast is working it will create carbon dioxide gas inside the dough so will be bigger than when you started.

2. It will feel spongy and fluffy. The yeast ferments the sugars which creates a gas that gets trapped within the structure of the dough. It will make the dough feel pillowy and soft.

3. The Poke Test. Flour the tip of your finger and press the dough lightly. If the dough bounces straight back its not quite proved yet. If it bounces back slowly but leaves a slight indentation, it’s proved. If it stays fully indented, it’s probably overproved and needs baking asap!

On Friday I didn’t want to be shaping and rolling my cinnamon and mince pie buns too late, so I took the dough partly proved (after about 5 hours), rolled my buns. I then left them to second prove for longer when the 3 signs above were in evidence.

Once my buns were proved I placed them into the fridge to stop them proving any further and baked them fresh in the morning. I could, however, have baked them straight away if I’d wanted.

With all that in mind, I hope you enjoy this festive twist on my overnight cinnamon buns.If you want to make cinnamon buns you can find the recipe here.

There are hints and tips on ingredients and method after the recipe.

For more festive bakes check out my Christmas Baking Diaries from the past few weeks.

Mince Pie Buns

Can be made overnight.

Makes 12 to 16, depending on how big you cut them.

Mince Pie Buns Ingredients

220gms Lukewarm Milk
7gms (1 packet) Fast Action Dried Yeast
500gms Flour. I prefer to use 250gms Plain Flour/250gms Strong White Bread Flour
100gms White Sugar
2 Eggs
10gms (2tspn) Salt
75gms Softened Butter
2tbspn Butter for greasing

Filling Ingredients

100gms (1/2 cup) Softened Butter
1 jar (approx. 400gms) of your favourite Mincemeat

Glaze Icing

100gms Icing Sugar
Up to 50ml water

Mince Pie Buns Instructions

1. In a jug add the yeast to the warm milk and whisk. Set aside and leave whilst you weight the other ingredients.

2. In a mixer with the dough hook (the one that looks like a cork screw) weigh all the ingredients except the butter. (If you don’t have a stand mixer place all the remaining ingredients in a large bowl. You’re going to need to use some muscle power to knead your dough.)

3. Start the mixer and allow the dough hook to start combining the ingredients. Scrape down the bowl occasionally to make sure all the dry ingredients get mixed through.

4. Slowly pour the milk and yeast into the mix.

5. Once the mixture has come together allow it to stand for 5 minutes for the gluten in the dough to strengthen.

6. Add the butter and continue to mix with the dough hook. Scrape the sides of the bowl a couple of times to make sure all the butter gets mixed in.

7. Allow the mixer to knead the dough on low for 15-30 minutes, or until the dough is soft and smooth, and starts to pull away from the sides. Your dough is ready when you have reached ‘window pane’ stage. To check for this, moisten your hands and stretch some dough between your fingers and thumb. If you can stretch it thin so light can be seen through it you have reached window pane and the gluten is developed. This whole process may take different times depending on your mixer. (If kneading by hand, incorporate all the ingredients and then turn out onto an oiled surface. Knead until the dough is soft and smooth.)

8. Transfer your dough to a large oiled bowl (or a cake tin – see the notes below), and cover with cling film.

9. Your dough now needs to prove and increase in size. How long this takes will depend on how warm your room is. The warmer it is, the quicker it proves. I have had this take 1 hour or 3 hours (or 10 hours), depending on the season. If you want to speed things up, and you are able too, place the bowl into your oven with just the light on, or with a mug of boiled water with it.

10. Once the dough is proved prepare your baking tin by generously greasing it with melted butter. Or lining with greaseproof paper.

11. Turn your dough out onto a floured surface and give it a couple of gentle kneads.

12. Shape it into a rough rectangle.

13. With a floured rolling pin, roll the dough to a rectangle approximately 50cm wide x 40cm high (you don’t have to be accurate).

14. The dough is quite elastic, so if you are having trouble with the dough bouncing back press it and stick the top and bottom edges to the work surface.

15. Spread the butter all over the dough. Make sure you get the spread to either end but leave a 2cm gap top and bottom.

16. Spread the mincemeat evenly over the top of the butter

17. Starting at the bottom of the dough carefully roll the dough up into a large sausage. Seal the top edge by pressing onto the sausage.

18. Using a sharp knife or a bench scraper, cut the sausage into 12 or 16 even slices

19. Place each slice, swirl side up into your baking tin.

20. Cover the rolls with clingfilm or place the baking tray into a large plastic bag and allow to prove again for an hour or so, or until they are about 1/3 bigger.

21. At this point you can either bake them (skip number 22), or place in the fridge overnight.

22. In the morning take the rolls out of the fridge and allow to come to room temperature for about 30 minutes.

23. Whilst they are coming to room temperature pre-heat your oven to 180c fan, 200c, 400f, GM6

24. When the oven is at full temperature place your rolls in to bake. Depending on how many you are baking and how big the rolls are will very much depend on how long they take. I usually set my timer at first for 12 minutes and then check every 3 to 4 minutes. I often bake tins of 2 cinnamon buns in a tray for the Cake Shed. These usually take 15 minutes to bake. A tray of 12 will usually take 3 to 5 minutes longer.

25. Your rolls are ready when they are brown on top, crispy, and the filling is bubbling away.

26. Once baked remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 to 10 minutes.

27. Mix your glaze icing if using it by gradually adding water a tablespoon at a time to the icing sugar and mixing to a thick glaze.

28. Drizzle over the top of the buns.

29. If, for some mad reason, you don’t get to eat them all they can be rewarmed with a 10 second blast in the microwave.

Notes for Mince Pie Buns Ingredients

Flour

I like to use a combination of plain flour and bread flour. I find this gives a lighter, softer roll. However, you can use all strong bread flour if you wish.

I have not tried this recipe with gluten free flour, so do not know how it will respond.

Butter

I used dairy butter. Use butter from a block not a tub as the fat content is higher and it has less moisture.

I haven’t tried it with plant-based butter, but I can’t see why it wouldn’t work. I would advise you to use a high fat content (from a block, not a tub) plant-based butter if you are using it.

Milk

I use semi-skimmed dairy milk. I wouldn’t use skimmed, but whole milk would be great for a rich taste.

I haven’t tried a plant-based alternative so can’t say if it would work, ut I can’t see why it wouldn’t.

Sugar

I generally use granulated white sugar. You can use caster sugar if that’s what you have.

Salt

DO NOT MISS THIS OUT. Salt does much more in a dough than season it. It reacts with the yeast.

Yeast

I added my yeast to the warm milk to start to activate it. Don’t overheat the milk or you may kill the yeast.

Eggs

I used free range, Medium UK eggs for best results. You can also use large if that’s what you have.

Mincemeat

Use whichever mincemeat you prefer. Use your favourite for the best flavour. If you are feeling fancy you could even make your own.

Hints and Tips on Technique

I mix and knead my dough in a stand mixer. It is quite a sticky dough so will stay stuck to the bottom and sides a little. It won’t form a thick dough ball that bounces around in the mixer.

It will depend on your mixer as to how long you need to mix your dough. I find a stand mixer takes longer than a top loading mixer.

Because it’s sticky I like to oil the bowl I prove the dough in. It helps to get it out of the bowl without any waste afterwards.

A great tip I recently picked up was proving your dough in a square cake tin. That way your dough is already in a square shape so rolling it is easier.

Don’t be afraid of overproving. It’s better the buns are slightly over than underproved, because most people stop the proving process a bit too soon anyway. It’s best to be 30 minutes over than under.

Pro-Tip

If you have some, add a tablespoon of double cream to the top of each bun just before you put them into the oven. This will give them a moist fluffy texture when baked.

FAQ’s

How long will these buns last?

They will last a couple of days if kept in an airtight container. However, they are best revived the next day by popping in the microwave for a few seconds or putting in a hot oven for 5 minutes.

Can these be made gluten and/or dairy free?

I haven’t tried either gluten or dairy free ingredients.

Gluten free will be harder as it’s the gluten in the flour that needs to develop to create the structure. If you want Gluten Free buns I would suggest finding a specific recipe.

I can’t see why dairy free wouldn’t work, however, as the alternative ingredients are perfectly suitable for this recipe.

Can I add extra mincemeat?

Yes, you could but be careful that the roll doesn’t get too sloppy. You’re adding extra moisture so it could become messy.

I make Cinnamon Buns every week. But I sometimes think they are a little bit of a wintery flavour - warming cinnamon, is perfect on a cold morning. So I wanted an alternative for summer. And what’s more summery than a zingy Lemon Bun?

These Lemon Buns are made using the same dough as my Overnight Cinnamon Bun Dough, and the same technique.

You can either place them in the fridge overnight and bake in the morning, or bake straight after their second prove.

I glaze mine whilst they are hot, which encourages the sugar in the glaze to melt and coat the outside of the bun, whilst soaking into all the nooks and crannies that may ahve formed whilst they’re baking.

There are notes on ingredients and techniques after the recipe.

If you like this recipe you’ll love some of these. All available on the upgraded version of Recipes from The Cake Shed.

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Lemon Bun Recipe

Makes 8 to 16, depending on how big you cut them.

Equipment

A stand mixer with a dough hook if you have one
A large mixing bowl
A rolling pin (wooden preferred)
A pizza cutter
Your preferred tin for baking - a large traybake tin, a cupcake/muffin tray or takeaway containers.

Lemon Bun Dough Ingredients

220gms (1 cup) Warm Milk
7gms (1 packet) Fast Action Dried Yeast
500gms (4 cups) Flour. I prefer to use 250gms Plain Flour/250gms Strong White Bread Flour
100gms (1/2 cup) White Sugar
75gms (1/3 cup) Softened Butter
2 UK Medium (US Lge) Eggs
10gms (2tspn) Salt
2tbspn Butter for greasing

Lemon Filling Ingredients

100gms (1/2 cup) Softened Butter
200gms (1 cup) Sugar
Zest of 3-4 Lemons

Lemon Glaze

100gms (1 cup) Icing Sugar
Juice of 2 Lemons

1. To make the dough - in a jug add the yeast to the warm milk and whisk. Set aside and leave whilst you weight the other ingredients.

2. In a stand mixer with the dough hook (the one that looks like a cork screw) weigh all the ingredients except the butter. (If you don’t have a stand mixer place all the remaining ingredients in a large bowl. You’re going to need to use some muscle power to knead your dough.)

3. Start the mixer and allow the dough hook to start combining the ingredients. Scrape down the bowl occasionally to make sure all the dry ingredients get mixed through.

4. Slowly pour the milk and yeast into the mix.

5. Once the mixture has come together add the butter and allow to be mixed in with the dough hook. Scrape the sides of the bowl a couple of times to make sure all the butter gets mixed in.

6. Allow the mixer to knead the dough on low for 10-15 minutes, or until the dough is soft and smooth, and starts to pull away from the sides. (If kneading by hand, incorporate all the ingredients and then turn out onto an oiled surface. Knead until the dough is soft and smooth.)

7. Transfer your dough to a large oiled bowl, and cover with cling film.

8. Your dough now needs to prove and double in size. How long this takes will depend on how warm your room is. The warmer it is, the quicker it proves. I have had this take 1 hour or 3 hours, depending on the season. If you want to speed things up, and you are able too, place the bowl into your oven with just the light on.

9. Once the dough has proved prepare your baking tin by generously greasing it with melted butter. I do this with a pastry brush. Or line it with baking parchment.

10. Turn your dough out onto a floured surface and give it a couple of gentle kneads.

11. Shape it into a rough rectangle.

12. With a floured rolling pin, roll the dough to a rectangle approximately 50cm wide x 40cm high (you don’t have to be accurate).

13. The dough is quite elastic, so if you are having trouble with the dough bouncing back press it and stick the top and bottom edges to the work surface.

14. To fill spread the evenly dough with the softened butter.

15. In a bowl zest the lemons and add the the sugar. Massage and press the sugar into the zest to release the strong lemon oils.

16. Sprinkle the lemon zest and sugar mixture evenly over the butter.

17. Now there are 2 ways to roll and cut. This is my preferred way: Measure your dough across and divide the width by the amount of rolls you wish to make. If your dough is 50cm wide, and you want to make 10 rolls, each roll will be just over 5cm wide each.

18. Using the pizza cutter, cut your dough bottom to top at the measured intervals.

19. Carefully roll each strip and place it in your preferred baking tin. At this point each roll will be much smaller than when they are baked, so allow room for them to rise and spread.

    Read the notes below for some hints and tips.

20. The other method is to roll the entire thing bottom to top and then cut each roll with a sharp knife. Either method is fine, but I find I get neater, more round, rolls doing them individually.

21. Cover the rolls and allow to prove again for an hour or so, or until they are about 1/3 bigger.

22. Place in the fridge overnight.

23. In the morning take the rolls out of the fridge and allow to come to room temperature for about 30 minutes.

24. Whilst they are coming to room temperature pre-heat your oven to 180c fan, 200c, 400f, GM6

25. When the oven is at full temperature place your rolls in to bake. Depending on how many you are baking and how big the rolls are will very much depend on how long they take. I usually set my timer at first for 12 minutes and then check every 3 to 4 minutes.

26. Your rolls are ready when they are brown on top, crispy, and the filling is bubbling away.

27. Whilst the buns are baking prepare your glaze by mixing the icing sugar with half of the lemon zest.

28. Mix thoroughly. You are looking for a thick pouring consistency, so add more juice a little at a time until you have a consistency you like.

29. Once baked remove from the oven and pour the glaze over the buns. You are wanting the glaze to sink down into any nooks and crannies and cover the buns.

30. Place to one side to cool for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Notes Lemon Buns Ingredients

Flour

I like to use a combination of plain flour and bread flour. I find this gives a lighter, softer roll. However, you can use all strong bread flour if you wish.

I have not tried this recipe with gluten free flour so do not know how it will respond.

Butter

I used dairy butter. Use butter from a block not a tub as the fat content is higher and it has less moisture.

I haven’t tried it with plant based butter, but I can’t see why it wouldn’t work. I would advise you to use a high fat content (from a block, not a tub) plant based butter if you are using it.

Milk

I use semi-skimmed dairy milk. I wouldn’t use skimmed, but whole milk would be great for a rich taste.

I haven’t tried a plant based alternative so can’t say if it would work.

Sugar

I generally use granulated white sugar. This is to reduce the cost of the sugar. You can use caster sugar if that’s what you have.

Salt

DO NOT MISS THIS OUT. Salt does much more in a dough than season it. It reacts with the yeast.

Yeast

I added my yeast to the warm milk to start to activate it. If you prefer you can add it to the dry ingredients. However keep it away from the salt until it all starts to mix in.

Eggs

I used free range, Medium UK eggs for best results. You can also use large.

Lemons

Make sure they are unwaxed. When zesting the last thing you want to be doing is adding wax to you buns, rather than zesty lemon. If your lemons are on the smaller side, add another. It’s hard to have a lemon bun that’s too lemony.

A few Hints and Tips on Technique

For best results weigh all your ingredients, including the liquids.

I mix and knead my dough in a stand mixer. It is quite a sticky dough so will stay stuck to the bottom and sides a little. It won’t form a thick dough ball that bounces around in the mixer.

Because it’s sticky I like to oil the bowl I prove the dough in. It helps to get it out of the bowl without any waste afterwards.

Don’t be afraid of overproving. It’s better the buns are slightly over than underproved, because most people stop the proving process a bit too soon anyway. It’s best to be 30 minutes over than under.

If you are having trouble with elastic dough when you roll it out, press the top and bottom to the work surface and stick it down. When you come to get it back off the surface, gently use an offset palette knife, or a bench scraper to scrape/cut the dough from the work surface.

Saying that, I do lightly flour my work surface as I hate sticky dough. However, don’t over do the flouring as you don’t want the dough to dry out.

When you bake the Buns be careful when you first open the oven. There is a lot of moisture in this recipe and its very steamy when you first open that door.

I usually glaze my Buns within a few minutes of them coming out of the oven. That’s mainly as I want to get them into The Cake Shed whilst they are still warm. However, you don’t have to glaze them straight away, you can wait until they are slightly cooler. The glaze is less likely to melt all over the bun, but stay on top like icing.

Storage Tips for Lemon Buns

Lemon Buns are best eaten on the day you make them. However, they can be stored in an airtight container for a couple of days.

They can also be frozen if wrapped well and placed in an airtight container.

They store best if they have been glazed as the moisture from the frosting will help to keep them fresh.

To revive them and have them warm I would recommend placing them in a microwave for 10-15 seconds. They won’t be as crunchy but they should be soft and warm.

For more recipes and information follow me on Instagram (@daisycakeco) or buy my book ‘With Love and Buttercream’ available in Hardback, Paperback or on Kindle

3 Things make this the BEST Easter treat to make - easy Rice Crispy Treats, Cadbury's Creme Eggs and Chocolate. Creme Egg Filled Rice Crispy Treats are like a Rice Crispy terrine, but I didn't think that sounded quite as yummy but the principle is there.

You will need a loaf tin to make these treats, as you need something deep enough to take the depth of the Creme Egg with extra room to share.

You start by making you favourite Rice Crispy Treats (recipe below). You could even make Chocolate Cornflake Cake Mix, or Biscoff Cornflake Cake mix. After packing half down in the base of your loaf tin you add 3 or 4 (depending on how many will fit) Creme Eggs. You then fill the rest of the tin with mix and leave to set. It really couldn't be easier!!

I lined my loaf tin with Cling Film. Rice Crispy Treats are very sticky, and the thought of getting my Creme Egg Filled Rice Crispy Treat stuck in the tin did not fill me with joy.

I set my Creme Egg Filled Rice Krispie Treat in the fridge because I couldn't wait! I also wanted the outside cold so when the chocolate hit it set quickly. The treat will set on the counter top after a little while, but the fridge is your friend if you don't want to wait.

There are ingredient notes below the recipe.

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Creme Egg Filled Rice Krispie Treat Recipe

Equipment

1 Loaf Tin
1 mixing bowl

Ingredients

160gms (2½ cups) Marshmallow
60gms (¼ cup) Butter or Baking Spread
60gms (¼ cup) Nutella/White Chocolate Spread/White Hazelnut Spread/Cookies and Cream Spread - whatever spread is your favourite
160gms (6 cups) Rice Krispies
3 - 4 Cadbury's Creme Eggs - however many fits in your tin
100gms (½ cup) white chocolate with food colour if you fancy

Instructions

1. Place the marshmallow, butter and spread in a bowl and melt in the microwave until melted

2. Mix to combine

3. Add the Rice Krispies and stir until they are coated with the marshmallow mix

4. Line a loaf tin with cling film

5. Spread half the Rice Krispie mixture into the bottom of the loaf tin

6. Unwrap the Creme Eggs and lay3 to 4 end to end on top

7. Spread the remaining Rice Krispie mix on top and press down smooth

8. Wrap with cling film and press down to flatten

9. Allow to cool/set, either in the fridge for 20 minutes, or on the countertop for a couple of hours

10. Remove from the tin and peel away the clingfilm

11. Break the chocolate up into a heat proof bowl and microwave in 20 second bursts until melted. Colour with oil based colour if desired

12. Pour over the loaf and allow to set

Ingredient Notes

Marshmallows

Use your favourite. They’re going to be melted down so it’s not important which ones you use.

Butter/Baking Spread

This is to give the treats a little extra richness. I prefer to use an unsalted butter, but it’s your preference.

Spread

I had a jar of Asda Cookies and Cream Spread that needed using up. However, this will work with whichever spread you like the most. Be aware, however, if you use chocolate spread it will turn the mixture brown.

Rice Krispies

I used a supermarket own brand of Rice Crispy. Use whichever suits you best. They are going to be covered in marshmallows and spread so they don’t need to be top of the range. You can also use cornflakes if you prefer.

Creme Eggs

I used white chocolate Cadbury’s Creme Eggs. However this would also work with any egg shaped chocolate that you have – Regular Creme Eggs, Caramel Eggs, Oreo Eggs, or whichever you like the idea of.

Chocolate Topping

You could skip this bit, but why would you? I used an inexpensive supermarket chocolate and colours half of it yellow. But you could use milk chocolate, or a mix of white and milk.

Rice Krispie Treat Pro-Tip

These are a great idea for Easter Treat Boxes. However be sure to mark out where the eggs start and end. The last thing you want to offer a customer is a Creme Egg Filled Treat, only for them to have a slice with no egg in it, or the little chocolate ends.

Classic British Biscuits that are a personal favourite of mine. They have even been featured as a technical bake on The Great British Bake Off.

Viennese Whirls are one of those treats that I can literally inhale. A box of Mr Kipling won't last more than an hour in my house. Home baked are even better as they fill your house will sweet smelling yumminess as they bake.

I made my Viennese into Easter Biscuits, but that's just because I'm making these in February, wishing spring would come soon. But you can make these as whirls or fingers. Viennese Fingers are lovely dipped in chocolate - just saying!

There are ingredient and technique notes after the recipe.

Coming up on the upgraded Recipes from The Cake Shed:

Viennese Whirls Recipe

Makes 10 Biscuits

Biscuits Ingredients

100gms (1/2 Cup) Unsalted Block Butter soft (spreadable consistency) or Dairy Free Equivalent
40gms (1/3 cup) Icing Sugar
2 Egg Yolks
1.5tspn Vanilla Extract
125gms (1 cup) Plain Flour

Lemon Buttercream and Decoration Ingredients

50gms (1/4 cup) Unsalted Block Butter, Spreadable Consistency
150gms (1 1/4 cup) Icing Sugar
25gms (1 1/4 tbspn) Lemon Curd
1 Packet Mini Eggs

Biscuits Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 180c fan, 200c, 400f, GM6

2. Line a baking sheets with greaseproof or parchment paper

3. Using an electric mixer if you have one (or a lot of elbow grease if you don't) cream together the butter, vanilla extract and icing sugar until it is smooth, light and fluffy

4. Add the egg yolks and vanilla beat well

5. Sift in the flour, and using a wooden spoon mix until you have a thick, spreadable dough. Don't overwork the dough

6. Place into a piping bag fitted with a large star tip nozzle and pipe into whichever shape you want - whirls, fingers, kisses etc

8. Bake for 12 minutes, or until the biscuits are a nice golden brown colour

9. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the tray for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack and to allow to cool fully.

Lemon Buttercream and Decoration

1. Beat together the butter, icing sugar and lemon curd until light and fluffy. I use an electric mixer and beat for a minimum of 5 minutes on medium.

2. I decorated mine with the Lemon Buttercream, piped with a grass tipped nozzle. If you don't have a grass tipped nozzle you can use your star nozzle.

3. Finish with Mini Eggs.

Ingredient Notes

Fat

Always use a block butter (never from a tub). You need the higher fat content will coat the gluten molecules in the dough and stop it from spreading too much in the oven. This will help it keep it's shape when baked.

I used a plant based butter in these to make sure that both plant based and dairy work equally as well.

Sugar

Use Icing Sugar in this mix to create a melt in the mouth texture.

Eggs

Use just the yolks. The yolks are where most of the fat content is. Using just the yolks will give a rich, sturdy dough with a melty texture when baked.

Flour

Use plain flour as you don;t want any raising agent in these biscuits.

I haven't tried Gluten Free flour. However, I'm not sure it would work with this recipe as the structure is already very light and 'short'. I don't think Gluten Free flour would have enough structure to work - but I'm happy to be proved wrong.

Butter for Buttercream

Always us block butter (not from a tub). The fat content will help keep the correct texture for piping.

Lemon Curd

The lemon curd is optional. If you prefer a vanilla flavour omit the curd and add a teaspoon of vanilla instead.

How to make a good Viennese Whirl

The key to a good Viennese Whirl is the consistency. Not too runny and not too stiff. They have to be runny enough to pipe, but stiff enough to hold their shape when they bake. I'd say the main trick for this is having your butter a good consistency. You need soft butter. Soft enough to cream with the sugar, but not too runny. I would say a good spreading consistency. Imagine you're going to spread it on a slice of toast - about that!

You also need to cream the butter and powdered or icing sugar really well with an electric whisk or in a stand mixer. You want them to be smooth, light and fluffy before adding the egg yolk. I also prefer to add the vanilla extract when creaming the butter and sugar in order to get the vanilla evenly distributed in the final cookie dough.

For best results, after you add the flour continue by hand mixing. In order for the Viennese Biscuits to be as short and crumbly as possibly, you don't want any suggestion that the gluten in the flour has been overworked. I prefer to do this with a wooden spoon to give the most leverage. If you mix with an electric mixer it's very easy to over mix it. Hand mixing is much more forgiving and less likely to start developing the gluten.

Piping and baking Viennese Whirls

I piped this Viennese dough using a large piping bag and a large star nozzle. Piping directly onto the baking sheets lined with parchment paper will mean you don’t have to move them and ruin them.

I piped mine into Easter biscuits. I did a rose to make a basket/nest type shape by starting in the centre and swirling the mix to the outside - see the video in the recipe card. Classic Viennese Whirls are made by piping from the outside in, and Viennese Fingers are made by piping in straight or squiggly lines with the large star tip.

I decorated mine by piping lemon buttercream through a grass tip nozzle to emphasise the Easter nest effect and finished with Cadbury's Mini eggs. If you don’t have a grass tip nozzle you can use a small or medium star nozzle.

If you aren’t confident with piping freehand, you could draw on the reverse of the parchment paper with a pencil. For round whirls draw around a round cutter as a circle template and follow the pencil marks when piping. Pipe around the inside of the circle for smaller cookies, and the outside of the circle for larger cookies.

Piping straight lines, around 3" to 4" long will give you Viennese Fingers.

Finishing and decorating your Viennese Whirls

Classic Viennese Whirls are usually sandwiched together with a little jam and vanilla buttercream in the centre. Raspberry Jam is the traditional filling in the centre of these sandwich cookies.

Viennese Fingers can also be sandwiched together with buttercream, and I think are best with one (or both) ends dipped in chocolate.

Bake in the centre of the oven for 12-15 minutes or until just turning golden brown. Once baked remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheets before transferring to a wire rack to cool fully.

Storage

They will keep for several days and are best stored in an airtight container.

They can be frozen for up to 3 months. However, they may go soft once defrosted. I recommend you make these fresh.

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