I know it’s been said already, by many this week – it’s HOT! And because of that I decided that this week should be Cookie week in The Cake Shed. Making The Cake Shed into The Cookie Shed for the week.

In The Cake Shed I usually have a couple of cake flavours, plus a brownie, a blondie, and a slice of some description such as Millionaire Shortbread or Fruit and Nut Bars. But in this extreme heat, no matter whether the shed is in the shade, or it has a million ice-blocks in it, it’s still a little touch and go as to whether they’ll survive. Besides which, I wasn’t sure I wanted to be in a kitchen with various items going in and out of the oven.

So, this week I decided it was time for a Cookie Shed. I know most cookies still have chocolate in and therefore the potential the melt. But they are much less susceptible than brownies or slices. The Oat and Raisin Cookies below don’t actually have chocolate, but they do have buttercream so where you win with one thing, you may regret with another.

I usually add a cookie variation in The Cake Shed every week, and as such I have learnt a lot over the past year of so about how to make a banging cookie. I have experimented, which has bought both success and failure. I am now getting pretty good at it.

For those not in the UK, what do I mean when I say a ‘cookie’?

Firstly, I want to quickly address what constitutes a cookie here in the UK. Because not all biscuits are cookies. Here, biscuits are what many Americans would call cookies. But cookies in the UK are a particular breed of biscuits.

Cookies are not rolled out and cut into shapes. They are rolled into balls which spread into cookies as they bake. If you are buying at the supermarket, cookies are not Bourbons or Custard Creams. They are Maryland with chocolate chips.

They are usually larger than biscuits. They don’t have a ‘snap’ when you break them. They are crunchy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. They are sometimes filled, stuffed or have extras like chocolate chips.

The key is usually the sugar content. Cookies have more sugar, often a combination of both white and brown, which liquefies and allows the cookie to spread when baking. Biscuits won’t have so much sugar so tend to stay in the shape they have been rolled and cut into. Biscuits will snap when broken. A biscuit will be judged by how well it dunks in tea. Cookies are rarely dunked in tea.

3 tips for making great cookies

1. Use butter from a block, not from a tub!

I use dairy butter made with milk. Usually unsalted. But you can use a plant-based alternative.

Butter from a block has a higher fat content than a spread or margarine. Most butter in the UK is 80% fat. Most margarine or spreads are between 30% and 40% fat.

Because of this butter has a higher melting point than most margarines, allowing the cookie to start baking and cooking before spreading out. Most cookies made with margarine or spread will be flatter and thinner than those made with butter. The fat content in butter will give a much better texture cookie once baked.

Also, I’m sorry (not sorry) to say that fat usually equals flavour. So, the higher fat content in butter will give a much superior flavour profile.

2. Use both white and brown sugar

In a cookie the 2 sugars will create 2 different textures that make the perfectly balanced final product.

The white sugar is initially harder so when being mixed will help to cut through the fat and aerate the dough which gives it lightness. When baked it dissolves quickly and caramelises which helps give the crunchy outer and thin edges.

The Brown sugar contains molasses or treacle which is very hydroscopic. This means it attracts moisture and locks it in giving the cookie a chewy inside. Molasses also add a caramel flavour and contains acid which will react to bicarbonate of soda in a recipe to give a lighter texture.

Depending on what you want from the final cookie will depend on the ratio of white and brown sugar you use. But most cookies will be around half white and half brown sugar.

3. Let them chill

I never understood this fully until this year. I always thought chilling a cookie was merely to set the fat in the butter that had warmed during the mixing process. I actually thought that freezing for an hour would be as good as chilling the dough overnight. I was wrong!

Chilling cookie dough does indeed solidify the fat, but it also does so much more. Chilling cookie dough allows the flours to start to absorb the moisture in the dough, making the dough much less likely to spread in the oven. I have heard it being compared to curing or marinating meat. Allowing the enzymes to break down some of the starches into sugars.

This means when the cookie bakes it is less gritty, has crispy edges, has a developed and rounded flavour and won’t spread as much in the oven.

You can, of course, freeze your unbaked cookie dough. But please make sure you chill it first or the freezing will stop the curing process in its tracks.

Oat and Raisin Cookie Sandwiches

So, onto this week’s recipe; Oat and Raisin Cookie Sandwiches. I formed the dough into 8 cookie dough balls before chilling. Each is around 90gms in weight.

You can bake these as is to give you larger cookies, or you can do like I did, cut each ball in half to bake smaller cookies for sandwiches with a little buttercream between each cookie.

Chilling is extra helpful with the oats as they soften while chilling. Which means they won’t be as dry once baked. I added extra cinnamon, because I add cinnamon wherever I feel it’s appropriate. But the cinnamon is optional and can be omitted. Also, adding golden syrup adds extra chewiness to the cookie as the golden syrup retains more moisture. You can add a little golden syrup to any cookie recipe to make it a little chewier.

There are ingredient notes, printable recipe PDF, and FAQs after the recipe

Oat and Raisin Cookie Sandwich Recipe

Makes 6 to 7 Cookies

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Pineapple Upside Down Cake conjures up thoughts of the 1970s. Pineapple rings bejewelled with glace cherries. I have very fond memories of Pineapple Upside Down Cake because it was one of the bakes we made in Home Economics in secondary school when I was 11 years old - that would have been 1983!

The teacher was very kind and very patient. She was even understanding when one of my friends dropped her cake before it even made it into the oven - making it a very raw upside down on the floor cake. She scooped it up, reassembled it and warned to not eat it once it was baked.

How have I updated this pineapple upside down cake?

This cake is less 1970s. It has no gaudy designs and bright red cherries. But is more tropical with the addition of toasted coconut.

Pineapple and coconut is a classic flavour pairing, think Pina Colada in a cake. They both grow in the tropical and sub-tropical climates and taste great together. I was never really sure where glace cherries actually fit with the flavour of pineapple. Perhaps they were just there to make it look ‘pretty’. This cake ditches the cherries and adds an appropriate flavour instead AND it has a great texture.

Coconut needs a bit of care

When adding coconut you can of course just bung it in and mix it up. It will taste fine. It will give the cake texture. But it can do so much more than that!

Toasting coconut will help to amplify the flavours in coconut. The natural sugar and oil in the coconut will caramelise to intensify the coconutty flavour. It will also make it crunchier and less ‘bitty’. The texture of little bits caught in your teeth is actually why I never thought I liked coconut. I have since learnt that coconut can be so much more than bland and limp.

I personally used flaked coconut which I toasted and then whizzed up in a Nutribullet/blender. This allowed the oils to be released and impart even more coconut flavour into the cake. you can however use desiccated coconut, but don’t whizz it up or you’ll just have coconut dust and no texture what so ever.

Ingredient, recipe notes and a downloadable PDF after the recipe.

Pineapple and Toasted Coconut Upside Down Cake

Makes an 8” x 8” Square Traybake or a 9” Round Cake

Topping Ingredients

50gms Butter
50gms Light Brown Sugar
6-8 tinned Pineapple Rings

Cake Ingredients

280gms Light Brown Sugar
180gms Oil
4 Eggs
4tbspn Milk
240gms Plain Flour
2tspn Baking Powder
0.5tspn Salt
100gms Coconut

Instructions

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

2. Line you cake tin with non-stick baking parchment. Grease the sides of the tin either with butter or oil

3. First make the topping. The top of the cake bakes in the base of the tin. Melt the butter and pour evenly onto the baking parchment

4. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the melted butter

5. Drain the syrup from the pineapple and cut if necessary. I cut mine into quarters

6. Arrange the pineapple in an appropriate pattern. I did lines of quarters as I was going to cut my cake into rectangular slices

   

7. Place the cake tin into the fridge whilst you mix the cake so the butter can resolidify

8. Next toast the coconut by spreading it out onto a baking sheet lined with baking parchment. Bake for 5 minutes until lightly toasted. Remove from the oven and place to one side to cool

9. Whilst the coconut is cooling make the cake. In a large mixing bowl, or in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment mix the oil and sugar

10. Add the eggs and mix until light and fluffy

11. Add the flour, baking powder and salt and mix until just combined

12. Lastly, add the cooled coconut and mix by hand until will distributed

13. Remove the cake tin from the fridge and pour the cake mix over the pineapple topping

14. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the top bounces back when lightly pressed

15. Once baked remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes in the tin

16. To turn out, run a sharp knife around the inside edge of the cake tin. Place the serving dish, or a chopping board over the cake tin and turn upside down

17. Lift off the cake tin, and carefully peel back the baking parchment to reveal the pineapple design on the top

Download a Printable PDF Recipe:

Printable PDF Recipe

Ingredient and Instruction Notes

Pineapple

I used tinned pineapple in syrup. I drained and dried the rings before chopping into quarters. You could use fresh pineapple, but I’m going to be honest I don’t know how it’ll turn out.

Butter and Brown Sugar

These ingredients together form a syrupy caramel over the pineapple and help keep the pineapple moist when baking. Placing it in the fridge will help set the butter and stop it from mixing with the cake batter.

You can use plant based block butter in this recipe.

Coconut

I used flaked coconut which I whizzed up in a food processor before toasting. This helped to release the oils in the coconut.

You can also use desiccated coconut. I would also recommend toasting it to give the best flavour. However, I wouldn’t whizz it up as it’ll be so fine you won’t have any texture.

Oil

I used a flavourless oil such as rapeseed or sunflower oil. You can use whichever oil you feel most comfortable with. However, be aware if you use an oil with flavour such as Olive Oil your cake flavour may be affected.

Sugar

I used light brown sugar to give the cake a more caramel flavour. You can us white sugar if that’s what you have but the end cake may not be as dark in colour or caramel in flavour.

Eggs

I use UK Medium eggs. You can use UK Large if that’s what you have. Read my post about the difference between Medium and Large Eggs here.

Milk

I used dairy semi skimmed milk. You can use skimmed, full or a plant based milk if that’s what you have.

Flour and Raising Agent

I use plain flour with baking powder added for the best texture. You can use self raising flour if that’s what you have and omit the baking powder.

This cake will work well with gluten free flour and baking powder. I would recommend using a xanthan gum for the best texture.

Salt

Always season your bakes for the best flavour

FAQs

How long should I leave it before I turn it out?

I recommend leaving it 10-15 minutes. That way the caramel made from the sugar and butter will have cooled and set a little. If you leave it to cool fully it may stick to the bottom of the tin/parchment

How long will this Toasted Coconut and Pineapple Upside Down Cake keep?

This cake should keep up to 4 days in an airtight container. As it contains fruit it should not be left out of the refrigerator for more than a day.

This cake can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Wrap it in clingfilm and foil before freezing.

To defrost, place on a wire rack. Do not unwrap until it has come fully to room temperature.

How is the best way to flip the cake?

Run a sharp knife around the inside edge of the cake tin. Place your serving dish over the cake tin and turn the whole lot upside down. Lift the cake tin off the cake, and very carefully peel back the parchment.

Can I use butter instead of oil?

Yes, this cake can be made using a traditional butter or baking spread. Replace the oil with 225gms of butter or baking spread.

Can I make this gluten free or dairy free?

Yes. You can easily swap to gluten free or plant based ingredients should you need to

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This Orange and Lemon Yoghurt Cake is ridiculously easy to make. But the end result is a highly sophisticated, tender cake with flavour profiles to wow everyone that eats it.

So how did this marvel come about? Well, funny you should ask. It was all about saving myself from throwing away a tub of half-eaten Greek Yoghurt. Very long story, short. I have taken to buying colossal tubs of Greek Yoghurt. I am a woman of a certain age who is being drowned by information of the amount of protein I should be digesting every day. To go with my poached eggs on sourdough, I have a smoothie every morning with a massive dollop of yoghurt in it because smoothies are fruit, yoghurt is protein, with extra bonus points if it’s Greek Yoghurt because its fermented.

It makes me feel like I have at least started the day off on a good footing. The fact that my diet often descends to cake by elevensies is neither here nor there – I started well and that matters!!

But this week has been a busy one, and I haven’t been able to fulfil my smoothie allowance to the max. Which left me with a bunch of black bananas, which were quickly whipped into 2 banana and dark chocolate chip loaves (the cake problem is showing itself quite strongly don’t you think?), and a half-eaten tub of Greek Yoghurt. So, continuing with the cake theme I set about adapting an old recipe of mine usually made with sour cream, and a lemon and orange I had knocking about in the fridge, into this marvel of a cake.

This cake may well be one of the easiest to create. It’s simply a bowl of dry ingredients, mixed with a bowl of wet ingredients, baked into a delicious creation.

Why add yoghurt to cakes?

Yoghurt is a great ingredient in cakes – here is a quick list why:

1. It has a natural lactic acid, which helps to tenderise the gluten in flour, creating a tender crumb.

2. The fat content in yoghurt will add a dense moisture to the cake.

3. The natural zing will pair and intensify any citrus flavours.

4. Greek yoghurt will add protein. I am in no way pretending this is a healthy cake alternative – but if like me, you’re trying to add a little protein then every little helps!

5. Greek Yoghurt is fermented, and apparently there are even more health benefits and another great reason to eat it.

Some notes to make it the best

Get the citrus flavour in at the very start of the cake. I always start by mixing my citrus zest into my sugar. I zest my fruit over the sugar, so it catches any oils from the fruit while it’s being zested. Then I intensify the flavour by massaging the zest into the sugar crystals. The sharp sugar helps to release the extra intense flavour citrus oil whilst soaking it up and distributing it around the whole mix.

This cake is literally a game of 2 halves – dry and wet. Mix the dry ingredients together. Whisk the wet ingredients together. Combine the 2 until they are barely mixed. The light touch of the dry once mixed with the wet, along with the acid in the yoghurt, will help create a tender, light cake.

You may think, when pouring this cake into the tin, that it seems claggy, thick and dry. Don’t let it fool you. The creaminess from the yoghurt and the natural oils in the almonds, ensures this cake is super moist when baked.

There are ingredient notes, FAQs and printable PDF after the recipe.

Lemon and Orange Yoghurt Cake

Makes 1 x 9” round cake or equivalent. Can be doubled for a layer cake

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It is, however, a delicious cake and sold out very quickly when I put it in The Cake Shed. And it inspired last weeks post on how to use soft fruits in baking without you baking turning to a mushy, mouldy mess.

There are ingredient notes and substitutions after the recipe below.

What you may have missed on the Baker’s Bulletin

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Raspberry and Pistachio Cake Recipe

Make a 7” x 11” traybake or 2 x 8” round layers. (Use my Cake Tin Conversion Chart to work out the best sized recipe for you).

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But when it comes to summer seasonal flavours you’re going to need to know how to crack the problem!

When I talk about soft fruits I’m talking Strawberries, Raspberries, Blackberries, Cherries etc

Soft fruits, by their very nature contain a high percentage of moisture, which is essentially just water with very little flavour. Adding moisture is a delicate balance when baking, adding it to get little flavour back is where things become really complicated.

And yes, you can use ‘flavourings’. However, adding artificial flavourings can very often make your bake taste artificial.

So, soft fruits, what are the problems? And what are the solutions.

First, I’ll run through the problems, and then later I’ll tell you the solutions and ways I’ve used to add soft fruit flavours into cakes without coming head long into the problems.

The Problems of adding Soft Fruits to Cakes

#1 – Sinking

Adding a whole berry can often seem like a great idea. But while your cake bakes the berry can silently and secretly sink to the bottom of the cake.

There is an old wife’s tale that tells you to coat the berries in flour or cornflour and your berries will hang beautifully suspended in your cake. Rubbish – utter codswallop! If your cake is a light, fluffy, or one made with a high moisture content, a coating of flour will not stop the berry sinking through the batter to the bottom of the cake.

Berries, soft fruits and for that matter dried fruits will only remain suspended in the batter if it is a thicker, more robust cake mix. A Madeira Cake with a higher proportion of flour will sometimes hold the fruit, but don’t rely on it.

If you are prepared for the sinking, you won’t be so disappointed if, and when it happens. Is there a solution? Not that I have found. However, I have in the past tried to combat the problem by baking more layers and sandwiching them with filling. If there are essentially many bottoms of cakes where the fruit has sunk to, stacked on top of one another the fruit will be better distributed throughout the layered cake.

#2 – Too much moisture

Because soft fruits are largely water they can, and often will, alter the texture of your cake. You have to compensate for this by either reducing other moisture or adding extra flour. It really is a bit of a balancing act.

If you just try to just dump fruit into an existing recipe, or try mushing it up and adding it you are in danger of your cake sinking, never quite baking or being really soggy.

#3 – Colour Bleeding or Changing

Have you ever added raspberries to you cake batter. The batter is beautifully bright and pink – a summery ice-cream colour delight.

You then take your cake from the oven, cut it open and that beautiful pink has gone grey. This happens because of a chemical reaction between the raspberries and your raising agent. Raspberries and baking soda just don’t like one another.

You could try using baking powder as it has a different chemical make up, but again we’re talking about jiggling around with your recipe.

#4 – Turning to Mush

I’m going to say it again – I know I sound like a record with a needle stuck (wow, that phrase is really showing my age) – soft fruits are largely water. There is very little holding the water together. The soft fruits will very quickly break down and turn to mush if fiddled with too much, or if they are heated up. A nice plump strawberry, once baked, will be a smushy wet area in your cake.

You can use frozen fruit in your batter. Because the fruit is frozen it will be less likely to break down during the mixing process. But it won’t save it from the heat of the oven.

I find if I add berries to a cake I end up with little pockets of unrecognisable mush throughout the cake. They no longer resemble berries in any way.

#5 – Cakes just don’t last as long

Real fruit has a short shelf life due to the high moisture content. That shelf life is usually shortened further when it’s cooked as the fruit will break down.

Moisture increases bacteria growth and mould. In a cake this can reduce a shelf life from 5 or 6 days at room temperature to tragically less. In fact, cooked fruit should be refrigerated after just 2 hours to slow the growth of bacteria. Sure, you can put your cake in a fridge to help lengthen the shelf life, but no-one likes cold, hard cake straight from the fridge. And there are other scientific reasons to not put you cake in a fridge. It will increase the staling process – a story for another time perhaps.

You’ve heard the problems but you still want the summer flavours. How do you do it?

Firstly, lets talk about options when you still want to use fresh fruit. Please be aware any of these options may still result in problem #5. Your cakes will need to be refrigerated to reduce bacteria growth and mould.

Upside Down Cakes

Why fight the fruit sinking when you can just put it straight into the bottom of the tin to start with? I love an upside-down cake. When turned the other way up they look pretty and are a great centrepiece for the table.

Of course, the most famous upside-down cake is the 70’s favourite of pineapple. But honestly, you can place any fruit in the bottom of your cake tin, cover with cake batter, bake and turn up the right way.

I would highly recommend lining the base of your cake tin with a well-greased piece of baking parchment. This is so when your cake is turned upside down you will have a piece of paper you can carefully peel off the fruit without it being stuck to the bottom of your tin.

I also advise you leave your cake to cool for at least 10 minutes before turning out. This allows the sugars in the cake and the fruit to set a little. Sugar is liquid when hot, so just allow it to calm down a little before fiddling with it.

Top Tip: I have also made a fair few jam upside down cakes. Line your cake tin with well-greased baking parchment, drizzle or spread the jam on the bottom of the tin and pour your cake batter on top. When baked and turned out you will have a cross between a jam sponge pudding and an upside-down cake.

Frozen Fruit

I mentioned this above. If you are frustrated with the fruit breaking apart and turning to mush when you start to mix it, frozen may be your solution.

Frozen fruit is great all year round. I always have frozen raspberries and blueberries in stock. The problem with summer fruits, is that they are very seasonal and at their very best in the summer – obviously really!

Anyway, if you try to buy fresh berries not in the summer you will often find them to be flavourless. Fruits need sun to develop their sugars and flavours. In the winter if you are buying summer fruits you are either buying them when they’re not in season, or you are buying them from the other side of the world, where they have been picked too early in order to get them to you as fresh as possible.

Therefore, buying frozen fruit out of season is always the better option. Frozen fruit is picked at its optimum ripeness and frozen as soon as possible. What you are getting is a well ripened, easy to use fruit. I usually use frozen berries when making jams and curds to get the best flavour.

Roasting

Roasting your fruit will intensify the flavour and reduce the moisture. Lay your fruit out in the bottom of a roasting dish and pop it in the oven on 170°c fan for 20-30 minutes. Once roasted smush it down, and strain the pips for an amazing intense fruit sauce.

Roasting fruit starts the cell walls in the fruit to break down releasing the moisture inside. The moisture then evaporates leaving the sugars and intensified flavours behind. Adding to the joy is the Maillard Effect, where the high temperature starts to brown and char the sugars creating extra rich flavour profiles

Top Tip: Roasted in season strawberries are amazing poured straight onto ice-cream. No need to make posh purees when strawberries taste this amazing!

Stable at Ambient Temperature

Now, here are three options that I use in my cakes to keep get fruit flavours into the finished product whilst keeping them stable at ambient temperatures. The only real way to keep fruit stable at room temperature is to remove the moisture. The moisture is where the bacteria likes to grow and the mould begins to form.

Freeze-dried

This is my go-to if I am wanting to include fruit flavour inside a cake. Freeze dried fruit has the moisture removed so there is little to no chance of extra bacteria and mould developing. I have recently discovered Honeyberry International (#affiliate) and there are very few fruits they haven’t got available as a freeze-dried option. Some supermarkets will also stock freeze-dried fruits in the baking aisle.

I have in my cupboard Raspberry Pieces (my most used freeze-dried ingredient), Blueberry Pieces, Banana Powder (great to increase the flavour in banana bread), Lemon Zest Powder (amazing boost for lemon drizzle cake), and Passion Fruit Pieces, amongst many others.

The joy of freeze-dried fruit is that you are using the actual fruit, not an artificially produced flavour. It has all the moisture removed leaving a powerful fruit taste behind. Therefore, the flavour is real and tastes real.

If adding to the cake batter I recommend rehydrating the freeze-dried fruit pieces for 5 minutes before use. For example I often do this by adding it to a little milk and letting it sit while I’m weighing and mixing the rest of the ingredients. When it comes to adding it to my cake, I put the whole lot in, milk included! The milk is like a very intense milk shake with lots of plump fruit pieces in it. Adding the milk will infuse the flavour around the whole cake.

I have also added it to my eggs for 5 minutes before adding them to the mix. A small amount of moisture will start to plump the fruit and infuse the eggs with the flavour.

Freeze-dried is also really pretty as a decoration, or if ground into powder can be used as a natural food colouring and flavour in your frosting or fillings.

Jams and curds

I use a lot of jams and curds. I buy shop bought and I make my own.

Jams and Curds are great for getting that fruity flavour into the finished cake. I use them as fillings – for example jam in a Victoria sandwich will give the cake a fruity taste. I add a spoon or 2 to buttercream to give it a fruity flavour and pretty colour. I also swirl and bake jam into the top of brownies and blondies, giving each bite a fruity flavour. Lastly, I strain any pips or lumps out and drizzle over the top of cakes as decoration with a fruity flavour.

Jams and curds have already been cooked with a large amount of sugar, which reduces the moisture in the fruit whilst the sugar acts as a preservative. They are therefore much more stable at ambient temperatures. Although, once opened it is advised to keep the jars in the fridge to prolong the shelf life.

Note: fruit curd has a shorter shelf life than jam as it contains fresh eggs and butter. Only keep curd out of the fridge for a few hours unless baked into a cake. If baked into a cake, it will last up to 2 days at ambient temperatures.

Frostings and Fillings

Other than Jams and curds, you can add fruit flavour to a cake by flavouring the fillings and frostings. This can be done with purees, reduced down juices, freeze-dried powders and jams.

Removing the moisture from the fruit and adding it to a frosting high in sugar will change the ratio which makes it safer at room temperature.

Whilst this isn’t infusing the actual cake with the flavour, if you consider the whole cake as the sponge and the frosting you’re on your way to success.

Raspberry and Pistachio Cake recipe coming next

In my next post for paying subscribers, I will be sharing a Raspberry and Pistachio Cake Recipe. It has freeze-dried raspberry pieces in the sponge and a homemade raspberry curd as decoration on top. The pistachio flavour comes from roasted chopped pistachios through the cake and pistachio crème mixed through the buttercream.

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These Chocolate Stuffed Cookies are a way to elevate the humble chocolate chip cookie. Filled with oozy Nutella they are super simple but very decadent.

What do you do with a spare jar of Nutella?

These Chocolate Stuffed, Chocolate Chip, Cookies are ridiculously easy to make, but are such a great idea to add to things like treat boxes, or onto a market or fair stall.

Do you ever have a good old clear out of your Kitchen Cupboards?......no me either, well not very often anyway. BUT yesterday I couldn’t squeeze anything else in my baking cupboard. I’d been shopping to restock the basics; sugar, flour, baking powder, that kind of thing, and they just wouldn’t fit!!

So time for an impromptu clear out. I pulled everything out and found some real little ingredient gems that I’d totally forgotten. It was like Christmas had come early - like pulling an old handbag from your wardrobe and finding a fiver in the bottom. I just love it when that happens, which sadly isn’t very often.

Anyway, at the back of my cupboard, amongst the dates, raisins, chocolate chips, vanilla essence etc, was a jar of Chocolate Spread.......unopened!!!!!! Seriously? Who has unopened chocolate spread in their cupboard? Me, apparently.

After having a 1 or 2 (or 4) crumpets with it slathered over, I set about baking.

Stuffed Cookies Technique

Before you start pop your chocolate spread in the fridge or the freezer.

Then make your chocolate stuffed cookies like you would make any normal chocolate chip cookies. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and mix through. Add the dry ingredients and mix to a stiff dough. Lastly, mix through the chocolate chips.

Then scoop your dough into balls. I use an ice-cream scoop to get regular and consistent sized cookies. Chill the dough balls for a couple of hours.

Take a dough ball and flatten it out a little, making a kind of cup. Then spoon no more than a teaspoon of chocolate spread into the centre. If you put too much chocolate spread into the cookie you won’t be able to wrap it all up (or it’ll escape like lava out of a volcano when you bake them).

Wrap the cookie dough around the chocolate spread to make sure it is fully encased. Roll back into a ball and again pop in the fridge to chill, this time overnight (or up to 72 hours).

Space them well apart on a cold baking sheet and bake in a moderate/hot oven for 10-15 minutes, or until golden drown and crispy around the edges. I usually only fit 4 per baking sheet.

Once baked remove the chocolate stuffed cookies from the oven and allow to cool fully before trying to take them off of the baking sheet. The chocolate spread will turn to liquid when it is warm, and if the cookie is too warm when you try to move them they will literally fall apart.

Chilling is the Key

Chilling in the fridge is the key to making good chocolate stuffed cookies. Firstly, chill your chocolate spread. Pop the jar in the fridge for at least 2 hours. You could even put it in the freezer.

Hard chocolate spread is so much easier to work with!

Secondly, chill your cookie dough!

Once I have mixed all my cookie dough I scoop it into balls and chill the balls for a few hours, or even overnight. Chilling cookie dough helps in a couple of ways. It hardens all the fat in the dough, which means when you bake them they don’t melt and spread too far before being baked. It also allows the dry ingredients to absorb the wet making the cookie softer and chewier.

Also, when stuffing cookies, it’ll also help you get less sticky and covered in dough. But if you have them, I recommend wearing disposable rubber gloves for this task.

Revive Your Chocolate Stuffed Cookies the next day

These cookies will last in an airtight container for a few days, but if you want to make them extra special you can revive the chocolate spread inside. Just pop them in the microwave for 10 seconds and the chocolate spread will warm through and become all gooey again.

What else can I stuff my cookie with?

Pretty much an spread - cookie butter (Biscoff spread), Peanut Butter, the many different branded chocolate spreads etc. They will all work the same way.

Just make sure you chill the spread before trying to fill your cookie.

Pro Tip - Storage

As with any cookies, the Chocolate Stuffed Cookies can be kept in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
The dough, can be frozen, unbaked for up to 3 months. I would advise making them into dough balls, and freezing them individually. That way if you have an order for just 4, you can get 4 out of the freezer, defrost them, fill them with whatever the order needs and bake them, leaving the others in the freezer for another order.

Or alternatively, stuff the cookies and then freeze them. You can bake them straight from the freezer, just add an extra 5 minutes baking time.

There ingredient notes after the recipe below

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Stuffed Cookies Recipe

Makes 8 to 10 Cookies

Ingredients

100gms Block Butter at room temperature
75gms Light Brown Sugar
100gms Caster Sugar
1 UK Medium Egg
1tspn Vanilla Extract
250gms Plain Flour
0.5tspn Bicarbonate of Soda
0.5tspn Salt
100gms Chocolate Chips
0.25 Jar Chocolate Spread or Peanut Butter

Instructions

1. Chill your jar of chocolate spread in the fridge for a couple of hours.

2. In a bowl cream together the butter and both types of sugar, until thick and creamy

3. Add the egg and vanilla and mix through until fully combined

4. Sift together the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt, and add to the other ingredients.

5. Mix together, I found a wooden spoon best, until you have a thick dough.

6. Mix through the chocolate chips

7. Divide the dough into 8 to 10 balls and roll into a ball. Place the balls onto a lined baking sheet and cover with cling film.

8. Chill for at least an hour

9. Flatten the dough ball in the palm of your hand and put a teaspoon of Chocolate Spread in the middle.

10. Bring up the sides of the ball until the Chocolate Spread is covered, and again roll into a ball.

11. Pop all the balls on a baking sheet and refrigerate overnight (or up to 72 hours).

12. Pre-heat your oven to 160c fan, 170c, 350f or gas Mark 4

13. Lay your cookie dough balls onto 2 baking sheet, making sure there is at least 2 inches between them as they will Spread when they bake

14. Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until the sides just start to turn golden

15. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes. Don’t try to move them straight away as they need time to firm up

16. Transfer to a cooling rack, or into your waiting mouth.

Chocolate Stuffed Cookie Ingredient Notes/Substitutes

Butter

Use real block butter for cookies. Don’t try to make them with a baking spread as there is too much moisture and they will spread in the oven and end up in a sloppy mess. Use room temperature butter as it’ll mix easier.

Sugar

I use 2 types of sugar in this recipe. Light Brown gives a great caramel flavour and the molasses will add a chewy texture. The white sugar will help the outside of the cookie have a crispy, crunchy crust. I use white granulated but you can use caster if that’s what you have.

Egg

I use just one UKmedium egg in the mix. You can use a large egg if that’s what you have.

Flour and Bicarbonate of Soda

I use regular plain (all purpose) flour, with just a little amount Bicarbonate of Soda to help give a fluffy chewy texture. I have never tried cookies with a Gluten Free flour, but that’s not to say they wouldn’t work.

Salt

Always season your bakes.

Chocolate Chips

Use whichever is your preference. I like Milk or Dark, or a combination of both. If you buy chocolate chips from the baking aisle they will usually be ‘bake stable’ and retain their shape in the bake. If you can’t get those you can use chopped up chocolate, which may spread a little when baking, giving a slightly different, but by no means worse, texture.

Chocolate Spread

Any chocolate spread will work in these cookies. I used Nutella, however you can find all kinds of spreads in the supermarkets nowadays. There is a delicious white chocolate hazelnut spread available, or even Biscoff or cookies and cream would work.

Dairy Free Stuffed Cookies

Making these Dairy Free is very easy with the right ingredients. You can use a plant based block butter, or a dairy free block margarine. Make sure they are block alternatives. Spreads or butters in tubs just have too much moisture.

Dairy Free Chocolate can be cut into chunks and used as chocolate chips.

Biscoff Spread is Dairy Free and can be used instead of Nutella. Place in the fridge to chill in exactly the same way. When baked you’ll have a gooey Biscoff centre.

Stuffed Cookies - FAQ’s

Can Stuffed Cookies be frozen?
Yes, they will freeze for a couple of months if well wrapped. The dough can also be frozen for up to 3 months before baking. You can even stuff the cookies and then freeze them ready to go. They can be baked from frozen, allow an extra 5 minutes in the oven.

How long will these stuffed cookies last?
They should last 3 to 4 days in an airtight container. Or the dough can be frozen for up to 3 months before you have baked it. If you want to revive them after a couple of days, pop them in the microwave for 10 seconds and the centres will become all gooey again.

I have, for many years resisted making blondies. I tried a couple of times and they were a disaster, so I just thought they weren’t for me.

I realise now the blondies I was trying to make were actually white chocolate brownies, and not really blondies. And that was where I was going wrong. White chocolate doesn’t melt and react the same as dark chocolate, so white chocolate brownies were never really going to work. Also, even though I have a very sweet tooth, even I struggled to eat them.

I have since realised that real blondies don’t necessarily have any chocolate in them at all, except for inclusions such as chocolate chips. Blondies have a similar texture to Brownies, but the texture comes from the way the melted butter and sugar is mixed together. They have a distinct butterscotch flavour from the brown sugar. They have a crunchy top from the white sugar. They should be barely mixed to get the best texture. I found, from trial and error it’s all in the technique.

It’s all in the technique

Don’t let me scare you. Blondies are not difficult. But they are not a bung it all in a bowl and hope for the best type bake either. There are processes that need to happen to get the best from your Blondie.

Firstly, the butter must be melted. Not hot, but liquid. If it’s too hot the fat starts to separate and your blondie may go greasy. But it needs to be liquid in order for the next step to happen.

Next, you need to fully mix your sugar and melted butter together. I use a whisk to get the best results. Mixing the sugar into the butter will help the sugar to dissolve more fully into the fat. Which will create that gooey texture and shiny, crunchy surface to develop.

You then need to thoroughly mix in the eggs. This will all help the fat emulsify and hang in the mixture. The first blondies I made, when I was trialling these, were greasy on the bottom. I didn’t mix the wet ingredients well enough.

Lastly, the dry ingredients need to be barely mixed through. You are trying to create a thick, chewy, gooey texture. Mixing the flour in too much will start to develop the gluten. You do not want a cakey texture, which will start to happen if you mix the batter past the ‘just combined’ stage.

Baking temperature and time is key

The last thing you want with either Blondies or Brownies is to overbake them. But, there is also a fine line with these between raw and just right.

I find the best way to test a Blondie or a Brownie is to use a probe into the centre. I like my Blondies to hit 100°c. This for me, means they are baked but not over baked. The are cooked through but are not cakey. They are on the perfect side of gooey.

If you don’t have a probe, you can test yours by sticking a skewer in the centre. I find they are done when the skewer comes out wet but not covered in batter, but with maybe a few crumbs on the end.

I bake at 150°c, which is not so hot that you lose control of the bake too quickly. I generally bake for 28 to 30 minutes. However, every oven is different, and you need to test your own. When I first started baking blondies I would start to check them at 20 minutes, and then at 2 minute intervals to make sure I had it just right.

Let them cool!

Make sure you let them cool fully before you even try to get them out of the baking tin. Blondies have a lot of hot, molten sugar in them. If you try to move them before they’re ready, they will very likely fall apart.

Once they’re cooled, I like to pop them in the fridge for an extra 30 minutes to an hour to make sure they’re fully set. That way you can cut nice clean slices

Lemon and Raspberry Blondie Recipe below, with a printable Recipe PDF, Ingredient Notes and FAQs

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Lemon and Raspberry Blondies

Makes an 11” x 7” Traybake or equivalent

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As a Home Bakery and Cake Shed owner, I like to keep the flavours of my bakes fresh and exciting. But it sometimes gets hard to constantly come up with new ideas for flavours. So I often try to think laterally – taking existing ideas and swapping out how they’re usually baked.

For example: Banana Bread with Dark Chocolate Chips. It’s a perfect flavour combination. Soft, sweet banana paired with rich, dark chocolate. It’s a firm favourite in the Cake Shed which always sells out. But what if that’s not the only thing you can make with Banana and Dark Chocolate Chips. What if you can make cookies or a blondie?

You don’t have to reinvent the wheel to keep thing exciting

Lateral thinking in baking means taking the familiar and making something new with it. Using a recipe as a starting point and swapping it into something different.

Many bakers look at the various bakes; cakes, cookies, brownie, blondies etc, and go for the classic flavours of each. But it doesn’t have to be that way. A classic cake flavour can be turned into a cookie, then a brownie or a blondie. One classic idea can evolve into a whole wealth of possibilities.

It’s not about reinventing the wheel every time, it’s about taking what you know, flavours that sell and making something new with it. For example, do you have a favourite breakfast? How about a dessert you can never resist? Or something savoury that with a small change can become a delicious sweet?

We have preconceived ideas about what flavours should be used where. Tiramisu is a dessert, Carrot goes in cake, chocolate chips go in cookies, cinnamon goes in pastry swirls. But none of that has to be that way. Thinking laterally, you could have Tiramisu Brownies, Carrot Cake Cookies, Chocolate Chip Pastry Swirls, Cinnamon Swirl Blondies.

Take your favourites and make something new

Of course there is a certain amount of baking know-how and knowledge needed to change a banana bread into a banana cookie. Banana bread is built on moisture. Cookies need much less. Banana bread is made in a loaf; cookies are individual portions. You need to know how to adjust your basic recipes to incorporate the flavours and textures to get the best effect.

In the next few weeks, I will be sharing my base recipes. The ones I use to start the process. I have base recipes for sponge cake, chocolate cakes, cookies, brownies, blondies, swiss rolls and pastries. I then adapt these basic recipes to create new and exciting flavours. I remove moisture if I need to. Add or adjust the sweetness and sugar type. Alter the fat I use etc. Sometimes it takes a couple of goes to get it right. But I haven’t yet met 2 recipes that can’t be integrated and laterally formed into a new delicious option.

Relying on your own intuition

This way of baking has helped me learn to rely on my own intuition when baking. When things maybe don’t go right I have figured out how and why that has been.

Disasters I have had include too much sugar in cookies creating a gooey molten mess, too much oil creating a slimy bottom cakes, too much baking powder surprisingly creating cakes that have sunk to incredible lows. The mistakes have made me learn. They have taught me how to adapt. It’s been fun!

But now I pick up a cookbook and I don’t see a list of bakes in the Index. I pick up a cookbook and see a list of possibilities. A recipe in a book isn’t the end point, it’s the start.

Banana Bread and Dark Chocolate Chip Cookie

I make at least 6 Banana and Dark Chocolate Loaves every week. I have a wholesale customer who literally can’t get enough of this one particular flavour. It suits their needs because it stays moist, it’s sweet but not overly, and their customers love it.

I decided, as I always have all the ingredients, what about making this well-rounded loaf cake into something else. So, I’m starting with cookies. Maybe I’ll try blondies next – what do you think?

I had to adjust my usual cookie recipe by removing some of the moisture to accommodate the banana I was putting in it. As cookies don’t start with much moisture I had to be careful to not make it too sloppy. I targeted the egg and used just the egg yolk. I also took out some of the butter. I didn’t want to add any extra flour, as I find cookies with too much flour become dry and difficult to eat.

I also added some Freeze Dried Banana Powder to intensify the flavour without making it taste artificial. But if you can’t get hold of any you can easily leave it out. You just won’t have the punch of extra banana flavour.

Printable Recipe PDF, Ingredient Notes and FAQs follow the recipe below.

This post includes affiliate links.

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Banana Bread and Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes 7 to 8 Cookies

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Today is my birthday. Today I am the grand old 54 years old. I could chat a lot about what life is like as a middle aged, perimenopausal woman – but I won’t. It’s a happy week that includes my wedding anniversary and my birthday, so why bring the vibe down. (In all seriousness I love being middle aged! The existence of HRT – what a time to be alive!)

Instead, I’m going to talk flavours and why I chose Lemon and Blueberry Layer Cake for my birthday cake.

Baking seasonally appropriate flavours

I personally prefer to bake seasonally whenever I can. And when I say seasonally, I don’t just mean fruits that are in season. I mean flavours that actually suit the mood you find yourself in seasonally.

So, for example, cosy, warming flavours in the autumn and winter. Traditional Christmas flavours that get you in a festive spirit in December, fresh, light flavours in spring etc.

My birthday is in April. Therefore, I was on a quest to find light, bright flavours that welcome in the lighter evenings and brighter weather that we get in April. This year I have chosen Lemon and Blueberry. But why those particular flavours?

Lemon

For me lemon is the ultimate bright flavour. It’s zingy, its fresh and has vibrant tones that get the taste buds working.

I have an amazing lemon cake recipe. I usually make at least 4 lemon drizzle loaves every week for a wholesale customer, so believe me when I say I have perfected this recipe to within an inch of its life.

I use the zest and the juice of the lemon. The zest is where most of the flavour can be found. The oils in the skin of a lemon are released to give you the most intense flavour.

Top Tip: Please use unwaxed, clean lemons. If you are going to zest a lemon, you want that peel to be clean from anything.

I add the zest to the sugar first. I mix the sugar with the zest as the coarse sharp sugar crystals will rub against the zest releasing as much of the flavour bomb oils as possible.

I then pour the juice of the lemon over the cake as soon as it comes out of the oven, while it’s piping hot. The juice will add a fresh moisture to the cake, but as the cake is so hot it will evaporate off any excess liquid. Leaving your cake moist but not soggy.

Blueberry

I chose Blueberry for 2 reasons. Firstly, flavour. It is a great flavour pairing with lemon. The light, bright acidic lemon pairs so well with the sweet, subtle blueberry. The

two flavours together intensify each other.

Secondly, I wanted the bright pinky purple colour that you only get with blueberries. Cakes are generally beige. But as this is my birthday cake I wanted some fun colour. I didn’t want to add any artificial colouring, so adding the colour of blueberries was perfect.

I used frozen blueberries, as they are fairly inexpensive, and always picked at their optimum ripeness for the best flavour. And I made them into a jam which I used directly as a filling, and also mixed in with the buttercream.

You can make the jam ahead and keep it covered in the fridge until you are ready to use it. If you don’t fancy the hassle of making blueberry jam, shop bought will work just as well.

I decided, on this occasion, to not add the blueberries into the cake mixture. To be honest I was looking for the path of least resistance on this cake. So not adding blueberries into the batter meant I didn’t have to worry about them making the batter muddy colour. And I couldn’t be bothered with worrying if they’d sink. It just means you have to have a bit of everything in one mouthful to get the full experience. It’s a tough job but, ya know!!

Below the full recipe is a Printable PDF and ingredient notes, and FAQs

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Lemon and Blueberry Cake Recipe

Makes 2 x 8” layer cake. Cut how you want but I would expect this to give 8 to 12 healthy portions.

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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.

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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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