bakingwithelliott

Valentine’s Day Cake

February 7, 2019 by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

If you are in need of a cake to make for Valentine’s Day, look no further.

This layer cake is super simple to make and assemble. The cake is made-up of three layers of chocolate sponge cake, which are brushed with simple syrup, then filled and finished with the same Nutella Italian buttercream (which is a smoother and creamier buttercream, less sweet then basic buttercream). The cake is then finished with a white chocolate drip, meringue kisses, chocolate chips, edible glitter and sugar paste hearts.

Of course, you can personalise the cake to suit you or the person you’re giving this too, it’s really up to you. In place of the finishings I used, feel free to us chocolate, fresh fruit and/or flowers.

Before you get into the cake making, you’ll want to do some prep. Start by weighing up all of your ingredients, preheating your oven to 180˚c/350˚f and lining your tins, if you decide to.

Once all the prep is done, you can get on with making the cakes.

Place your butter and sugar into your mixing bowl of choice (I opted for my stand mixer, but feel free to use a bowl and a hand mixer) and then beat the two together until they are well combined and have become lighter and fluffier in colour and consistency. Then add in your eggs, one at a time, beating well in between each addition. If you notice your mixture is starting to scramble, don’t worry. You can fix this by adding a small amount of your weighed out flour.

Now that the eggs have been fully worked in, stop the mixer and give the bowl a good scrape down, this is just to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully worked in from earlier on. Then add in your dry ingredients, passing them through a sieve first to remove any lumpy ingredients (cocoa powder can be quite lumpy). Start to incorporate the dry ingredients on a low speed to start and as you see them beginning to incorporate, you can higher the speed from low to medium-high and adding the milk in increments, this is to help with the consistency of the batter (Try not to over-mix the cake batter once the flour is incorporated, otherwise this will result in a tough textured cake).

Divide the cake batter between your 6 inch cake tins, I weigh the cake batter and divide it as equally as I can using digital scales but if you don’t have these type of scales, feel free to eye ball it and roughly estimate the amount in each cake tin. Smooth off the tops of the cake batter in the tins then place on the middle shelf in your preheated oven and bake for 25-30 minutes (or until a tester comes out clean).

While your cakes are in the oven, you can go ahead and make your Italian buttercream. I personally like this buttercream more than your standard buttercream as it’s smoother, more buttery and less sugary/sweet.

To start the buttercream, get yourself a small saucepan and place in the water and granulated white sugar, then place onto the hob over a medium-high heat until it reaches 121˚c/250˚f. Make sure you keep an eye on the temperature, don’t allow it to go above or below the required. While your sugar and water comes up to heat, place your egg yolks and whole egg into a mixing bowl (if you’re using a stand mixer, use the whisk attachment for the best results) and whisk them together until they are very well combined, you will be able to tell one the volume has increased by 3 or 4 times what it was initially and it will be paler in colour.

Once the sugar and water has come up to temperature, you can then add it into the egg mixture. Turn the speed of your mixer down to low and slowly pour the hot sugar mixture in, try not to get it down the side of the bowl, if possible. Once all of the sugar mixture has been added, turn the speed back up to high and whisk for a few minutes until the mixture has cooled down. You’ll be able to tell when the mixture is cooled enough, by touching the bottom of the bowl with the back of your hand. If it isn’t too hot for you to handle, you can start adding your butter, if it’s too warm, continuing whisking for a couple of minutes. Once the mixture is cooled enough, add the butter a little at a time, whisking in between each addition. Make sure your butter is fully worked in before you stop the mixing process. Give the bowl a quick scrape down, then add in the Nutella and cocoa powder, give a good mix to incorporate. Once they’ve been fully worked in, give the bowl another good scrape down. You can then set the buttercream aside or place in the fridge until you need it later on.

I also recommend making your simple syrup at this stage, as it will give it time to cool completely before using. To make the simple syrup, you’ll want to place equal amounts of granulated white sugar and water into a saucepan and allow it to come to a boil, then remove from the heat and allow to cool before you intend on using it.

Once your cakes are fully baked, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool completely before you try to trim them. Now is the perfect time to wash up all your dishes and utensils that you’ve used.

Once everything has been made and is cool and read to use – you are now ready to assemble the cake. So get all the separate parts ready and grab yourself a cake stand or plate!

Start by getting your layers of cake and level the tops of them using a cake leveller (or a serrated knife works equally as well) and generously simple syrup each layer. Set the layers of cake aside while you prep the stand – to prep the stand you’ll want to get your cake stand/plate of choice, then place a small blob of buttercream and spread it out using a offset spatula and place your first layer on cake onto it and press it into place. Top the layer of cake with a good amount of the buttercream and repeat this with the remaining cake layers. Once all the layers have been sandwiched together, you can give the coat a crumb coat. A crumb coat is a thin coat of icing which locks in all the crumbs so they don’t appear in the final layer of buttercream – once you’ve applied the crumb coat you can then set it in the fridge for a short while, just until it firms up.

Apply the final layer of buttercream and get it as smooth and perfect looking as possible – using a palette knife to spread the icing on and a scraper to smooth and level out the icing (watch the video for a more detailed view on it). You can then make the white chocolate ganache, which will be used for the drips later on. So, the ganache is really easy. Place your double cream into a saucepan over a medium heat and bring almost to a boil, then pour over your white chocolate and allow it to sit for a minute. You can then start to stir it together using a teaspoon or a small spatula until its smooth and has come together, it will have changed colour to a yellow-ish tone but don’t worry, once you add the food paste it will change. I used Wilton christmas red and it came out the perfect tone of pink for my cake but feel free to use pink food paste.

Take a teaspoon of the white chocolate and drip between 1/4 and 1/2 of it down the cake, repeat this all around the cake. For a visual effect, alter the length of the drips by making some longer and other shorter but feel free to make it suit you and your occasion.

To finish the cake, I place a few meringue kisses on top, then pipe some of the remaining chocolate buttercream at the sides of the meringues, then around the remaining exposed edge, I generously sprinkle a mixture of milk and dark chocolate chips and finish those with a sprinkle of edible glitter and for the spaces on the top and side I add a few sugar paste heart cut outs. This is how I opted to finish my cake but feel free to make your cake suit you and your occasion.

I will leave all the ingredients below, for those interested in making this recipe .

Cake:

230g Butter.

300g Granulated white sugar .

1 tsp Vanilla extract.

5 Eggs.

300g Plain flour.

40g Cocoa powder.

2 1/2 tsp Baking powder.

70ml Whole milk.

Buttercream:

250g Granulated white sugar.

65g Water.

70g Egg yolk.

1 small Egg.

500g Butter.

200g Nutella.

25g Cocoa powder.

White chocolate ganache (drip):

100g White chocolate.

100ml Double cream.

Red or pink food colouring paste.

Decoration:

I used meringue kisses (recipe coming soon), chocolate chips, edible glitter and sugar paste hearts but you can use whatever you like.

Profiteroles Recipe

December 26, 2018 by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

Whether you’re looking for the perfect choux pastry recipe or how to make profiteroles from scratch, this recipe has you well and truly covered.

To make these profiteroles isn’t too hard, with a little time and effort you’ll have yourself a batch whipped up in no time. People can be put off making these when they realise they have to make the pastry from scratch, well not any more. The recipe I’m about to share with you will change your mind about making choux pastry forever.

If you’re not sure what a profiterole is, well… It’s a choux pastry bun (depending on where in the world you are depends on what you know this pastry as. The most common names are choux and pate a choux, it’s basically the same thing), which is filled with anything from a whipped cream through to a custard, pastry custard or ice cream and is finished with a chocolate topping. What’s not to love about these?

To make the pastry, you’ll want to start by placing the water, salt and butter over a medium heat until it’s melted. You can then take it off the heat and add in the flour, stir until its combined then return it to the heat, constantly stirring until the bottom of your saucepan has a coating of flour. You can then transfer the pastry to a stand mixer or mixing bowl of choice and stir that until its cool enough for your to add your eggs, you will know when you’ve achieved this stage as you will be able to touch the bottom of your bowl without it being too hot. You can then gradually add your eggs, a bit at a time as you may not require all of the egg (or you may require more, it all really depends), the best way to tell if your pastry is done is to get a good amount on the beater and see how long it takes it to fall from the beater back into the pastry, if its between 3 and 5 seconds, you’re good to go.

Place the choux pastry into a piping bag with a piping tip which is about 1cm in diameter, then start piping small amounts onto your lined baking tray (I was able to pipe around 14 on a standard sized baking tray, so I’d recommend lining at least another 2 so 3 in total), if you want to make less then then the amount I ended up with, feel free to half the recipe or double if you need more. Once you’ve got them piped onto your lined trays, don’t forget to get rid of any peaks on top of them by dabbing them down with a damp finger, then you can give them the egg wash which will help them colour. Bake them off in a preheated oven for 20 minutes, before you open the door and release any steam that was built up in the oven. Close the door and bake for a further 10 minutes, this will ensure that they are hollow inside and well coloured and crisp on the outside. Once removed from the oven, allow to cool briefly on the baking tray before transferring them to a cool rack to cool fully.

Whip up a batch of sweetened whipped cream or whatever you’d like to fill them with whatever you’d like to (custard, pastry cream or ice cream will also work well), transfer the whipped cream into a piping bag with a plain tip nozzle and place in the fridge if you don’t intend on using it straight away. Make sure you fill as many profiteroles as possible, the make a batch of the chocolate topping. To make the topping is easy, place all of the ingredients into a small saucepan an allow them to melt, keep stirring them together until it becomes smooth and glossy. Dip the tops of your choux buns into the topping and that’s it. Super simple and yummy recipe.

Ingredients :

Choux Pastry:

• 300ml Water.
• 125g Butter.
• 150g Plain flour.
• 4 Eggs.
• Pinch of salt.

Bake at 200˚c/390˚f for 30 minutes (20 minutes, release the steam from the oven and then bake for a further 10 minutes at the same temperature). Allow to cool before filling and finishing.

Filling –

300ml Double cream.
30g Icing sugar.
1 tsp Vanilla (bean paste or extract will work well).

Topping –

65g Butter.
30g Sugar.
65g Golden syrup.
125g Dark Chocolate

Methods:

Before you start the mixing process
To make the choux pastry, place the water, butter and salt into a medium saucepan and place over a medium heat until its melted, stirring them together well.
Remove from the heat and add in the flour, mixing in the flour in until its full incorporated. Return to the heat and continuously stir it to cook the flour out. You’ll know once the flour is cooked out as the bottom of your pan will have a layer of the flour/pastry there, once you’ve achieved this, take it off the heat and transfer to a mixing bowl.
Mix the choux pastry on a high speed to cool it down. This takes a couple of minutes to achieve.
Once you can touch the bottom of you bowl, start to add your eggs. A little at a time until you reach a stage where the pastry takes between 3-5 seconds to fall from the beater – the amount of egg you need may depend, you may need more or less.
Place the pastry into a piping bag with a 1cm plain tip nozzle and pipe out small amounts on the prepared baking tray, I got 14 but you should be able to get about 15 onto a standard tray. Press down any peaks using your finger which has been dipped into some water, then egg wash each of the choux buns to get a perfect golden brown on top.
Place in the oven at 200˚c/390˚f and bake for 20 minutes, then open the oven door to remove the steam that’s built up, then place back in the oven and bake for a further 10 minutes then remove from the oven.
Allow the choux buns to cool for a few minutes on the baking tray before transferring to a cooling rack to cool down completely.
Once your choux buns are cooled, you can fill them with your whipped cream and store them in the fridge until you are ready.
The chocolate topping is really simple to make. Place all of your ingredients into a medium sized saucepan and allow them to melt together but remember to keep stirring them together until it becomes smooth and glossy.
Dip the top of each profiterole into the chocolate topping and allow it to set before you serve and enjoy them.

Don’t forget, if you make anything using my recipes, feel free to share your creations with me over on Twitter and Instagram!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cupcakes

December 26, 2018 by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

Do you like chocolate chip cookies? Do you like cupcakes? Why not combine the two to make these super simple and delicious cupcakes?

These cupcakes are the perfect treat at any time of year but even better around Christmas, they are the perfect treat to leave out for Father Christmas on Christmas Eve (or scoffed down on Christmas day, I’m not judging!).

Anyway, you can make either the cookies or cupcakes first but I went with the cookies. These are the same cookies I have made in the past, they have a great flavour and are the perfect size to top the cupcakes with. By combining the two simple elements, you get a very tasty treat that isn’t too complex to make or in flavour.

Before you do any baking, you’ll want to do some prep work – this will save you time in the long run and stop you faffing about later on. Preheat your oven to 180˚c/350˚f, line your baking tray with some greaseproof/parchment paper, place the cupcake cases into your muffin pan and weigh up all your ingredients into suitable size bowls. Don’t forget to wipe down the counters and get your mixer ready.

I started by making the chocolate chip cookies but you can start with either, it doesn’t matter.

To start on the cookies, get yourself a large bowl and place the butter, granulated white sugar and light brown sugar into it. Mix the three together over a medium-high speed until they are well combined and you can’t see a trace of a single ingredient. Once they’ve become fully combined, give your bowl a good scraping down – this is to work in any bits that haven’t been fully worked in, then add in your eggs one at a time, beating well in-between each addition. Add in your vanilla and give a quick mix to combine it – the scrape down the sides and bottom of your bowl again to incorporate any bits that haven’t been fully worked in.

Sieve your dry ingredients into the same bowl, then add in your chocolate chips and mix on a low-medium speed until everything has combined, once its all come together it will be a dough that will hold it’s shape well. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl again, then start to scoop up the dough (granted this recipe will result in more cookies than you’ll need but you can scoop each ball of dough up, then wrap them up and freeze them, or bake them all off and have a few left over to enjoy). I only used one ball of dough for each cookie and flattened it slightly then baked in your preheated oven for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown around the edge.

Once out the oven, place a few additional chocolate chips on top of each cookie then allow to cool on the baking tray for a few minutes before transferring onto a cooling rack, to cool completely.

Now it’s time to make the cupcakes and buttercream…

Making the cupcakes is super simple, start by placing the butter and granted white sugar into a mixing bowl and beat the two together until they are lighter and fluffier in colour and consistency, this only takes a couple of minutes. Once you’ve achieved that, scrape down the sides and bottom of your bowl to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully worked in earlier on. Add in your eggs, one at a time, beating well to incorporate each one. Try not to scramble the mixture, but if this happens, don’t worry, you’ll be able to fix this by adding dry ingredients very soon. Once the eggs have been fully incorporated, add in the vanilla and just mix to combine – scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl again.

Add in the dry ingredients by passing them through a sieve first, this is to remove any lumps that may appear in the mix. Incorporate the dry ingredients into the buttery mixture over a low-medium speed to start with, working your way up to a medium speed and allow the mixture to come together until there isn’t a trace of a single ingredient to be seen, also at this point you’ll want to add in the chocolate chips- try not to over-mix the batter at this stage, otherwise your cupcakes will be tougher textured than they should be. Divide the batter between your lined cupcake cases (I used a piping bag but feel free to use two spoons). Bake the cupcakes in the preheated oven for 20-22 minutes.

While the cupcakes are in the oven baking, feel free to make the buttercream. This is so simple and it requires only 3 ingredients – what’s not to love? Place your butter into a bowl and beat it until its lighter and fluffier in consistency – this takes a couple of minutes but is totally worth the time invested. Once lighter, scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and add in half the icing sugar, then beat on a low speed to start, working your way up to a medium-high speed for a couple of minutes, then stopping the mixer, scraping it down and adding in the other half of the icing sugar and repeat the process. Once all of the icing sugar has been worked in, add in the vanilla and give a good mix to fully incorporate. That’s how simple buttercream is. Set aside while you’re not using or place into a piping bag fitted with your nozzle of choice.

So once you’ve got the cookies, cupcakes and buttercream made, you can assemble them all together. Start by getting your cupcake and piping on the buttercream, using your nozzle of choice. Then add a few chocolate chips around the edge of the buttercream, then top each cupcake with a cookie and enjoy!

Here are all the ingredients you’ll need and a shorter, more summarised method along with the video!

Cookies:

75g Butter.

75g Granulated sugar.

75g Light brown sugar.

1 Egg.

1 tsp Vanilla extract.

175g Plain flour.

1/2 tsp Baking powder.

1/8 tsp Salt.

150g Chocolate chips.

Cupcakes:

88g Butter.

88g Granulated white sugar.

1 Egg.

1 tsp Vanilla extract.

88g Plain flour.

1/2 tsp Baking powder.

1/4 tsp Salt.

50g Chocolate chips

Buttercream:

200g Butter.

400g Icing sugar.

1 tsp Vanilla extract

Chocolate chips (optional).

Methods –

Cookies:

Prepare by preheating your oven to 180˚c/350˚f, lining your tray with greaseproof or parchment paper or generously buttering the tray and weighing up your ingredients.
Place the butter, granulated sugar and light brown sugar into your mixing bowl of choice. Beat them all together over a low-medium speed until well combined. Feel free to use a wooden spoon, electric hand mixer or stand mixer.
Once well combined, add in your egg and vanilla extract and mix on a low-medium speed until well combined.
Scrape down the sides and bottom of your bowl, this is to incorporate any bits that haven’t been fully incorporated from earlier on.
Add in your plain flour, baking powder and salt. Pass them through a sieve to remove any lumps and then once all of the dry ingredients are in the bowl, fold/stir them in using a spatula just until the flour is almost fully incorporated. Add in your chocolate chips and stir/fold these in until the dough is clear.
Once you’ve got your dough, you can then use a cookie or (small) ice cream scoop to scoop up small amounts of the dough then round them up using your hands, then flatten them (they will spread a little but not a lot while baking, you can freeze at this stage if you like).
Bake them off in your preheated oven for 10-12 minutes (I found 11-12 minutes was perfect for me).
Remove the tray from the oven and allow the cookies to cool on the tray for 4-5 minutes then transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely. This recipe makes 24 cookies.

Cupcakes:

Do some prep work before you start by weighing up all the ingredients needed, check your oven has been preheated to 180˚c/350˚f and line your muffin tray with some muffin/cupcake cases.
Place the butter and granulated white sugar into your mixing bowl of choice and beat them together for a couple of minutes until they are well combined.
Scrape down the sides and bottom of your bowl, then add in your egg and beat it over a medium speed until its fully incorporated. Add in the vanilla and mix to incorporate.
Give your bowl another scrape down then add in dry ingredients but passing them through a sieve first to remove any lumps that may be in the mix and in the chocolate chips . Incorporate the dry ingredients in over a slow-medium speed to start, then a medium-high speed until fully incorporated – try not to over-mix, this causes the cakes to be tougher textured.
Split the cake batter between your pre-lined muffin pan, I find using a piping bag works the best but using two spoons works equally as well. Use whichever method works best for you.
Bake in your preheat oven for around 18-20 minutes (or until a tester comes out clean).
Once fully baked, remove from the oven and allow the cupcakes to cool for a short while in the muffin pan, then transfer onto a cooling tray and allow to cool completely.
Make you buttercream.
Finish the cupcakes however you like but I piped on a good amount of buttercream, added a few chocolate chips onto the sides of the piped out buttercream, then placed a cookie onto each cupcake. Serve and enjoy!

Buttercream:

The buttercream is really quick and easy to make, to start, place the butter into a bowl and beat it for around 4-6 minutes or until it’s lighter in colour and consistency.
Once you’ve achieved that, add in roughly around half your icing sugar and mix that on a low speed to start, working your way up to a medium-high once the icing sugar is incorporated and beat or a short while until fully incorporated. Repeat this stage with he remaining half of icing sugar.
Give the bowl a good scraping down and add in the vanilla then mix on a medium speed and mix to incorporate.
Place the buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a nozzle of choice or place in a airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 3 days. This buttercream can also be frozen if you don’t intend on using it straight away.

Thank you all so much for checking out the blog post (and video if you watched it)!

Homemade Mince Pies

December 19, 2018 by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

Whether you like them or not, its mince pie season, regardless.

These tasty little treats are sweet, spicy and fruity all in one bite. Which can be overwhelming or downright confusing, especially if you haven’t them before.

If you’re from somewhere in the world that doesn’t have these easily accessible, don’t worry. Despite the name, the mincemeat is sweet (made most of dried fruit, sugar, spices and alcohol) and doesn’t contain a single gram of meat. Many years ago they would have been meat based but they have evolved to become what we know and love today.

I thought that mincemeat was available around the world, but it isn’t. Don’t worry I have already uploaded a recipe on how to make mincemeat here (which is actually super easy, it just needs some time to mature).

Some prep work won’t go amiss here. Preheat your oven to 180˚c/350˚f, weigh up your ingredients and get any equipment you may need ready.

The pastry isn’t exactly hard to make, all you need to do is beat the sugar and egg together, then set it aside until later on. Into a bowl or food processor place the flour, salt and butter then combine them together by either rubbing the butter into the flour or pulsing them together in a food processor (I went with the food processor method on this occasion. Mostly because I as short on time and my hands are warm and often heat up the butter, which isn’t what you want while making pastry).

Once they are combined, add in the egg/sugar mix and work it into the flour/butter mixture. This will bind the dough together, work them together until almost fully combined then tip out onto a floured surface to knead the pastry together. You’re looking for a clear dough, with no traces of a single ingredient. Wrap in clingfilm/plastic wrap then chill in the fridge for around an hour, this is to allow the butter to firm up and the gluten to relax.

After the hour in the fridge, take your dough out of the fridge and chop it roughly in half, keeping half out and rewrapping the other half and placing back in the fridge until you need it later on. Roll out your dough until you’ve achieved 5mm in thickness, once achieved, cut out your circles of pastry for each pie. Use a 3 inch cookie cutter, this gets your the perfect shape/amount for each cup on the cupcake pan. I only made 6 but you could easily make around 8-10.

Once you’ve got your pastry cases in the cupcake tin, you’ll then want to fill them with a generous amount of the homemade mincemeat, you can go as far as just a few millimetres below the top of the case (the more the better I say, but go with your preference). You can then work on the ‘lids’ which is a smaller circle cut out (around 1.5 – 2 inches), then place on top of each mince pie and secure in place by crimping the side of the pastry case and the pastry lid together with a fork, repeat for all your mince pies. You’ll want to egg wash your pastry (this helps to make your pastry bake a better golden brown colour), to make the egg wash, crack an egg into a small bowl and beat until its all combined. Use your pastry brush and give the tops of the mince pies a generous coating with the egg wash.

Just before you use the last of the pastry, stab a hole into the centre of each mince pie, this is to release any steam that may build up while they bake. You can then partially cover the hole with small cut out pastry decoration, I used a small plunger cutter do this but its completely optional. Egg wash the little cut out, then place into your preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the pastry is a nice golden brown.

Ingredients:

Pastry:

1 Egg.

90g Granulated sugar.

225g Butter.

375g Plain Flour.

A pinch of salt.w

Mince meat recipe here

Method:

Start by doing some prep work by preheating your oven to 180˚c/350˚f, weighing up your ingredients into small bowls and prepare any equipment you’ll need to use.
Start the recipe by making your pastry. Crack an egg into a small bowl then add the sugar and mix the two together until the sugar has dissolved in the egg, set aside until later on.
Into a large bowl or food processor, place the flour, salt and butter then combine them by rubbing the butter into the dry ingredients or pulsing them together.
Once they are fully combined, add in the egg/sugar mix from earlier on. Mix in or pulse together until they are almost fully combined, then turn out onto a floured surface and knead until a clear dough forms. Once you’ve got a clear dough, wrap the flattened ball of dough in clingfilm/plastic wrap and place in the fridge for an hour to chill. This give the gluten in the dough time to relax and for the butter to firm up.
After about an hour, take your pastry out of the fridge and cut in half. Keep one half out and wrap the other back up and place in the fridge until you need it later on.
Roll out the pastry on a floured surface until its about 5mm in thickness (this is the ideal thickness). Take a 3 inch cookie cutter and cut out your circles. I made 6 mince pies but with this amount of pastry you could easily make 8-10.
Take your pastry circles and place them into the cupcake tin. Work and manipulate the dough to fit into the shape of the cupcake tray, repeat until you’ve got all your pastry cases done.
Fill each mince pie almost to the top with the homemade mincemeat. Repeat this for each mince pie.
With the remaining pastry, roll it out until slightly thinner than 5mm then cut out some more circles but this time they are smaller, around 1.5-2 inches (whichever fits just right on top of the mince pies).
Crimp the pastry case and the lid together using fork. This secures the lid on top and stops it from popping off while baking. Once the lids are on, egg wash the top of each mince pie (the egg wash is just a beaten egg in a small bowl).
Stab a hole in the centre of the mince pie, this is to allow the steam to escape. Then partially cover the hole with a small pastry cut out that has been made with a small plunger cutter. This is optional but adds a homemade touch to the mince pies. Egg wash the cut outs if you use them.
Bake the mince pies in your preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until the pastry is a nice golden brown colour.
Once baked and cooled, just before serving you can give them a dusting with icing sugar and enjoy on there own OR serve with some cream or ice cream.

Terry’s Chocolate Orange Brownies

December 17, 2018 by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

Have you got a spare Terry’s chocolate orange or two? Why not make a batch of these brownies? I can guarantee that these will go down a treat with whoever gets one!

I know that Terry’s chocolate oranges are available all year round, so not all that festive, I know.

The combination of chocolate and orange will always be a winner, that’s a fact. So partnering the Terry’s chocolate orange with the brownies was a great idea (especially if you like the combination). It’s not secret, I like chocolate, so who wouldn’t want to put more chocolate into the brownies?!

Anyway, these brownies don’t take too long to make and will go down a treat, so let’s get into how to make these brownies.

As with all my recipes, I recommend doing some prep work before you actually get into the recipe. Doing these few extra steps can save you time and prevent you from mistakes later on, nothing worse then wasting ingredients is there? Preheat your oven to 180˚c/350˚f, weigh up all your ingredients into small bowls and line your 9×13 inch baking tray. These small additional steps can save you making major mistakes and faffing around.

To start on the brownies, you’ll want melt your butter. You can do this two ways, either in a small saucepan over a medium heat or place into a microwavable bowl, either method works. Transfer the mixture into a bowl, if needed then add in the cocoa powder and give a good mix until the two are fully incorporated, using a whisk is the best thing to use at this point. Allow the mixture to cool for around 10 minutes before continuing.

After the 10 minutes, you’ll want to add in granulated sugar and give it a good mix until they have come together and are well combined. You will notice a change in the consistency but don’t worry it will change as you incorporate the eggs. Add in your eggs, one at a time, beating well in-between each addition. Once you’ve got all of your eggs fully incorporated you’ll notice that the consistency of the batter has changes and become much runnier and smoother, don’t worry, this is what you’re looking for.

Add in your flour but pass it through a sieve first to remove any lumps that may be within the flour, then give it a brief mix, then add in the chopped Terry’s chocolate orange and mix until the flour and chocolate is fully incorporated. Don’t mix the batter anymore than you need to, otherwise you’ll over-mix the batter and result in a tougher textured brownie (which nobody wants, seriously).

Once the brownie batter is complete, you can then transfer it to your lined 9×13 baking tray, getting as much as the batter in there as possible. Use a silicone spatula to scrape the bowl down, then level the batter out as best you can using a small offset/cranked palette knife or even the back of a spoon will work well. Get it to one level layer of batter, then add the 9 pieces of Terry’s chocolate orange on top (alter the amount if you’re cutting these smaller to serve at a party or something, add more if wanted. The portions I offered were large).

Place the baking tray into your preheated oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or when a tester comes out with just a few crumbs on it. One thing to remember is that all ovens are different, so check at the 25 minute mark and then determine whether you need more time or not.

Once the brownies are fully baked, remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for a short time before removing to cool completely on a cooling rack. Once they are fully cooled down, you can then cut them into portions and enjoy. They are great served on there own, they don’t need any accompaniment.

Anyway, here is a (slightly) condensed version of the instructions and ingredients.

Ingredients

280g Butter, melted.
450g Granulated white sugar.
4 eggs.
180g Plain flour.
2 tsp Vanilla extract.
90g Cocoa powder.
100g Terry’s Chocolate Orange, roughy chopped.

Instructions

Start by doing some prep. Weigh up your ingredients into small bowls, preheat your oven to 180˚c/350˚f and line your 9×13 inch baking tray with some parchment/greaseproof paper.
Start your brownies by melting your butter either in a small saucepan over a low/medium heat or in the microwave until its fully melted, either method will work well.
Into the saucepan/bowl melted butter, add the cocoa powder and mix it all together until it’s well combined and smooth in consistency. Transfer the mixture to a bowl if needed – allow to cool for 10-15 minutes.
Once the mixture has cooled down, add in all of the granulated sugar and mix until they are combined. The texture will change, becoming more granular but this will change later in the recipe.
Add in your eggs, one at a time, beating well in-between each addition. As you incorporate the eggs, the consistency will change to become more liquid-like. Once the eggs have been fully incorporated, add in your vanilla and mix to incorporate.
Into the bowl, add in flour but pass it through a sieve to remove any lumps that may be in the flour. Then give a brief mix and add in the chopped Terry’s chocolate and mix them together until everything is well combined and you can’t see a trace of a single ingredient.
Transfer the brownie batter into your lined 9×13 baking tray and level it out as best you can using a small cranked/offset palette knife (or the back of a spoon will work just as well). Once level, add 9 pieces of Terry’s chocolate orange onto the top of the brownie batter, then place into the preheated oven and bake for 25-30 minutes (depending on your oven, seeing as all ovens are different to one another.
Once fully baked, allow to cool down in the baking tray for a while, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Once cooled down, cut your brownies into rectangles and enjoy!

Fruit Cake Recipe (2 Methods)

December 14, 2018 by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

If you’re here looking for a simple fruit cake recipe for whichever celebration, don’t worry I’ve got you more than covered. Today I’m sharing the 2 must have fruit cake recipes with you guys.

As soon as December comes around, everybody starts going Christmas mad (whether its food or decorations) and normally people start getting their holiday baking started, often with a fruit cake of some sort. If you wanted to make it a more traditional ‘Christmas cake’, you’d actually bake it in July and feed the cake with alcohol until you intend on serving it, however, if you’re like most people you’ll just make one in the nick of time and that’s fine.

The cakes doesn’t have to contain alcohol, so if you can’t or don’t want to use it – leave it out and feel free to make your cake closer to the occasion. If you do use the alcohol, it’s best to stick to darker coloured spirits like dark rum, brandy, whiskey or sherry.

Either of these cake recipes can be made for Christmas cakes, Simnel cake or for birthday/wedding cakes.

Anyway, here is method one –

Ingredients:

225g Currants.

70g Sultanas.

70g Raisins.

85g Glace cherries, halved or quartered.

70g Mixed peel.

50g Almonds (ground, nibbed or flaked will work well).

175g Plain flour.

3 tsp Ground cinnamon.

2 tsp Ground mixed spice.

1/2 tsp Ground ginger.

1/2 tsp Ground nutmeg.

1/2 tsp Ground allspice.

1/2 tsp Ground cloves.

150g Butter.

150g Light brown sugar.

2 Eggs.

5g Black treacle.

Method:

Do some prep work ahead of starting. Weigh up all your ingredients into bowls (there are a few different bits here’s helps save confusion later on, plus it eliminates the chances of making a measuring mistake), preheating your oven to 150˚c/300˚f and lining your cake tins with some parchment paper – set them aside until later on.
To start your cake, place the butter, light brown sugar and black treacle into your mixing bowl and beat them together until they are well combines. You are not looking for light and fluffy with this mix.

Add in your eggs, one at a time beating well in-between each addition.

Once the eggs have been fully incorporated, give your bowl a good scraping down. This is to help incorporate any bits that may not have been fully worked in from earlier on.
Sieve in your flour and spices together, straight into the bowl. combine the butter mixture with the dry ingredients just until they are combined.

Scrape down the sides and bottom of your bowl again.
Add the currants, sultana’s, raisins, glacé cherries, mixed peel and almonds and mix to incorporate – just mix until the fruit is equally distributed throughout the cake batter.

Scrape down the bowl again, just to work those last few bits in.
Divide the cake batter between the two 6 inch cake tins that you prepared earlier on.

Place the cake tins into the preheated oven and bake for 50-55 minutes (your oven may require more or less time, all ovens are different).
Once the cakes are fully baked and out the oven, allow them to cool in the tins for a short while before transferring them to cooling racks where they can cool completely.

Once fully cooled, feel free to pour over a small amount of alcohol (up to 45ml) then wrap the cakes in clingfilm/plastic wrap and feed once a week with the same amount of alcohol until you serve it.

This is much more similar to a traditional fruit cake recipe you’d see round Christmas time, it’s not exactly traditional but hey, who’ll notice?

Here is method two –

Method two is completely different, it doesn’t require you to use the creaming method (where you beat together the butter and sugar, then incorporate the eggs).

Ingredients:

300ml water.

110g Butter.

140g Light brown sugar.

170g Sultana’s.

170g Currants.

3 tsp Ground mixed spice.

2 tsp Ground cinnamon.

1/2 tsp Ground ginger.

1/4 tsp Ground cloves.

Method:

Do some prep work to save faffing around later. Weigh up all your ingredients into small bowls, preheat your oven to 150˚c/300˚f and line two 6 inch cake tins with parchment paper.
To start on the cake, you’ll want to get yourself a medium saucepan and place the water, butter, light brown sugar, fruit and the spices into it.

Place the saucepan on the hob over a medium-high heat, until everything is melted and has come together. Stir continuously once everything starts to melt. Once melted, take off the heat and allow to cool for around 10 minutes.
Once the mixture has cooled down, add in your flour and bicarbonate of soda, passing it through a sieve first. Then mix until they are fully worked in.

Then add in your egg, mix that in until it’s fully worked in.
Divide the cake batter between your lined cake tins, you can do this by weighing the cake batter out, then dividing it by two. This method is much more accurate, as long as you’re using digital scales. The other method is to simply eye ball the amount you’re putting into each tin, if you’re feeling more confident.

Place in the preheated oven and bake for around 40-45 (but check yours anytime after 40 as they may need more or less time).
Once out the oven and fully baked, allow to cool in the cake tin for a short while, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Once cooled, you can pour over a small amount of alcohol (up to 45ml) then wrap them up in clingfilm/plastic wrap and feed once a week with the same amount of alcohol until you intend on using the cake.

So, I hope you have enjoyed this blog post, I will leave the video tutorial down below, if you’re interested checking it out!

Chocolate Rolo Cookies

December 12, 2018 by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

Do you have some of those tubes of mini rolo’s? Why not use them in a batch of these cookies, they will go down a treat with whoever you share them with.

Christmas is just around the corner and that means that all the festive goodies are out. One of the best things for baking are those tubes of sweets and chocolate that you can get for around £1/£1.50 – the mini rolo’s are perfect. I don’t think that these are available any other time of year either (I’m probably wrong so don’t take that as fact).

Anyway, these cookies are the perfect treat to share with your friends and family at this time of year. They are quick and easy to make and don’t require a whole lot of ingredients, what’s not to love?

To start making these cookies, you’ll want to do some prep work. Preheat your oven to 180˚c/350˚f and line your baking trays. Get yourself a mixing bowl and place in your room temperature butter, granulated sugar and light brown sugar, then beat them together on a medium-high speed until they have all come together and are well combined. This is normally achieved in a couple of minutes. You can then add in your eggs, one at a time, beating well in-between each addition. Give the bowl a good scrape down, this is to work in any ingredients that haven’t been fully worked in from earlier on.

Add in your plain flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder but pass them through a sieve first to remove any lumps from the mixture (cocoa powder is quite commonly lumpy). Once you’ve sieved the dry ingredient into your bowl, incorporate them by mixing them on a low-medium speed. Once the dry ingredients are fully incorporated, stop mixing and add in the mini rolo’s and milk chocolate chips and mix just until they are well distributed in the cookie dough.

For each cookie, you’ll want scoop up two balls of cookie dough. Take the two balls of cookie dough and roll them between your hands until it’s come together to form one ball – transfer it to a lined baking tray and repeat until you have around 6 on a baking tray (depending on the size of your baking sheet of course). Use as many baking sheets as you require and if you don’t want to bake them off right now, feel free to freeze them and bake them off another time (within 4 months). Place into your preheated oven for 10-12 minutes (check them, they might need more time, depending on your oven).

Once the cookies are fully baked and straight from the oven, you’ll want to finish these cookies by adding a few additional rolo’s and chocolate chips. This is purely to add more chocolate and make it look nicer, so a double winner then?

Ingredients:

150g Butter.

150g Granulated sugar.

150g Light brown sugar

2 Eggs.

320g Plain flour.

1 tsp Baking powder.

30g Cocoa Powder.

1/4 tsp Salt.

Method:

Do some prep work and preheat your oven to 180˚c/350˚f, line your baking trays and weigh up all your ingredients.
To start on the cookies, place your butter, granulated sugar and light brown sugar into your mixing bowl of choice and beat them all together fully combined/well incorporated. Give your bowl a quick scrape down.
Add in your eggs, one at a time, beating well in-between each addition. Don’t worry too much if the mixture splits a little, you’ll be able to correct it when you add in the dry ingredients. Don’t forget to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
Add in your dry ingredients, passing them through a sieve first to remove any lumps (cocoa powder can be quite lumpy).
Incorporate the dry ingredients on a low-medium speed, just until a almost clear dough has formed, then add in your mini rolo’s and chocolate chips and mix until they are well distributed within the dough.
The dough doesn’t require chilling before use, so feel free to use it straight away. For each cookie, scoop up two balls of cookie dough and roll them together into one ball of dough and place on your lined baking tray (I could place around 6 onto a medium sized baking tray, but you may be able to get more or less onto your baking tray, it all depends on the size of the tray and how much space you give them to spread).
Place them in the oven to bake for 10-12 minutes in your preheated oven (check them at 10 minutes as all ovens are different).
As soon as they are fully baked, remove them from the oven and finish them with a few mini rolo’s and chocolate chips, then allow them to fully cool before enjoying them.
After about 10-15 minutes, transfer the cookies onto a cooling rack and allow the cookies to cool fully (unless you enjoy warm cookies, who doesn’t?!)

Thank you for checking out the blog post, I hope you enjoyed the recipe. Don’t forget to check out the rest of my recipes and make something!

Mince Pie No-Bake Cheesecake

December 11, 2018 by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

Are you looking for a no-bake cheesecake with a difference this holiday period?

Look no further, I have you covered. This mincemeat cheesecake is both festive and weird because why not?

If you know me and my baking (or no baking) habits, you’ll know that no-bake cheesecakes are one of my favourite things to make and eat, simply because of how easy they are to make and simple they are to make.

Today’s cheesecake is well… possibly the weirdest flavour combination possible. Mincemeat is somewhat like marmite, you love it or hate it – most people hate it. I like mincemeat and cheesecake so why not have a crossover between the two? Have I taken it too far?

As with all cheesecakes, it’s all about the base. I used a spiced digestive biscuit base, I’m not sure these exist but it’s just a combination of ground spices and digestive biscuits. As usual, you blitz the two together, then add the melted butter and blitz again to combine. You can do this using a food processor or place the biscuits and spices into a food zip bag and use a rolling pin to crush the biscuits, transferring the biscuit crumb into a small bowl, adding in the melted butter and giving it a mix with a spoon or silicon spatula. Use whichever method works best for you.

Transfer the buttery biscuit base into a deep sided 8-inch cake tin, you can line the base if you’d like too. Once all the buttery biscuits are in the tin, you’ll want to press them down as best you can using either a cup measurement or the back of a spoon until its tightly packed into the base of the tin. Place in the fridge and allow to chill in there while you make the cheesecake filling.

To make the cheesecake filling is super easy, into a large bowl place your soft cheese, mincemeat and spices and mix them all together using a whisk. Keep whisking it together until it’s all come together and is well combined, then you can add in your double cream and whisk it into the mixture until it’s become thicker in consistency and can hold it’s own shape.

Place the cheesecake filling on-top of the biscuit base, once it’s all in the tin, try and level it off as best you possibly can using a small offset palette knife or the back of a spoon, once level, set in the fridge and allow to chill for around 6-8 hours (or overnight).

The next day, remove the cheesecake from the tin and place it onto your plate or cake stand of choice, now it’s time to finish/decorate the cheesecake. I kept it simple by piping rosettes of fresh cream all the way around the edge of the cheesecake and place a good amount of mincemeat in the centre but feel free to finish the cheesecake however you like, it’s yours to customisable.

Ingredients:

600g Soft cheese (full fat).

300g Mincemeat.

2 tsp Ground cinnamon.

½ Ground mixed spice.

½ tsp Ground cloves.

300ml double cream

Additional mincemeat.

Methods:

Weigh up all your ingredients and line your tin with parchment paper (if you choose to use it).
To start on your cheesecake, you’ll want to start on the base. Crush your biscuits into crumbs using either a food processor or a rolling pin and a food zip bag.
Melt some butter in a saucepan over a low-medium heat or in the microwave, then add to the biscuit crumbs and mix them together until they are fully worked together.
Transfer the biscuit mixture into the cake tin and press it down using a cup measure or the back of a spoons will work equally as well. Press down the mixture compressing it well.
Start on the cheesecake filling by placing the soft cheese, mincemeat and spices into your mixing bowl of choice and whisk them all together until they are fully incorporated.
Add in all of your double cream and whisk until the mixture is thicker in consistency, if you’re doing this by hand, you’ll notice that the mixture becomes “heavier” to mix.
Once you’ve got the filling thickened, place it on top of the biscuit base and level it off as best you can using a small offset palette knife or the back of a spoon should work as well.
Set the cheesecake in the fridge and allow it to chill there for around 6-8 hours.
The following day, I removed the cheesecake from the cake tin and set it on my plate (feel free to use a cake stand or board, if you’d prefer.
To finish the cheesecake, I pipe rosettes around the edge and fill the centre with mincemeat – this is fully customisable so feel free to make it work for you.

Thank you for checking out my recipe for this (weird) chreesecake recipe – I hope you get to make it soon.

Cadbury Dairy Milk Cookies

December 5, 2018 by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

I know these aren’t exactly the most festive recipe, however, who doesn’t buy or receive a bar of this at Christmas? Instead of scoffing it down, why not use them to make a batch of these cookies… I promise that you won’t be disappointed.

Who doesn’t like cookies? I mean they are so easy and tasty to make. These are perfect for using up the extra chocolate you’ve received over the Christmas period.

Short on time? Don’t worry, you can make a batch of these up in 30 minutes. The cookie dough doesn’t require chilling before being baked off, so you are free to scoop these up and bake them off straight away.

Anyway, you don’t need any special ingredients or equipment to make these cookies, which is always good news. A little prep work goes a long way – weigh up all the ingredients, preheating your oven to 180˚c/350˚f, line your baking trays with greaseproof/parchment and chopping the chocolate bar up. I used my stand mixer but feel free to use a hand mixer and a large mixing bowl and place your butter, granulated white sugar and light brown sugar and beat them all together until they are well combined.

Once the butter and sugars have come together, give the bowl a quick scrape down, then add in your eggs (one at a time, beating well in-between each addition).

Give the bowl another quick scrape down, this helps to incorporate any bits that haven’t been fully worked in. Then add in your dry ingredients by passing them through a sieve, this helps to remove any lumps from getting into the dough. Mix the dry ingredients and the chopped-up chocolate in on a low-medium speed until they are just incorporated.

Once the cookie dough has formed, take two scoops of dough and scrape a teaspoon of Cadbury’s chocolate spread onto one of the dough balls and place the second dough ball on top and squish them together and roll them until they are one single ball. Then place them onto a baking tray, lining it with greaseproof/parchment is up to yourself. Leave a space in between each dough ball as they will spread while they bake. Bake for around 18 minutes in your preheated oven (or until they are golden brown around the edge, remove from the oven and optionally, place a few additional pieces of dairy milk on to each cookie and allow to cool slightly before moving them to a cooling rack.

Once the baking tray isn’t so hot, transfer the cookies from the baking tray onto a cooling rack and allow to cool fully (if you can resist).

Ingredients:

150g Butter.

150g Granulated sugar.

150g Light brown sugar

2 Eggs.

1 tsp Vanilla extract.

350g Plain flour.

1 tsp Baking powder.

1/4 tsp Salt.

100g (1 bar) Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate bar, chopped small.

1 small jar of Cadbury chocolate spread.

Additional bar of Dairy milk for the finishing.

Method:

Do some prep work. Preheat your oven to 180˚c/350˚f , weigh up all your ingredients and line your baking trays with greaseproof/parchment paper.
To start the cookies, place your butter, granulated sugar and light brown sugar into your mixing bowl and beat them together, just until they are combined.
Add your eggs into the bowl, one at a time beating well in-between each addition. Repeat with your second egg.
Once your eggs are fully incorporated, you’ll want to add your dry ingredients in but first, you’ll want to pass them through a sieve. Into your sieve add in your plain flour, baking powder and salt, this helps to sort out any big lumps that wouldn’t pass through.
Once all the dry ingredients and the chopped bar of chocolate have been added, incorporate them by mixing them in over a low-medium speed just until a dough has formed, try not to over-mix.
Take your cookie scoop and scoop up 2 balls of dough per cookie. Adding a teaspoon of Cadbury chocolate spread onto one dough ball, squishing the two balls together then roll the dough between your hands to round it off and place it on your lined baking tray – I got 6 onto a standard baking tray but work with what trays you have. Leave a space in-between each cookie as they do spread while baking.
You can bake these cookies straight from making them, there is no need to chill the dough first.
Place the baking tray into the oven and bake for 18 minutes (remove one they look more baked around the edges, so check after the 13-15 minute mark and see. All ovens are different and will vary with baking times so keep an eye on them.
Once fresh out the oven, place a few pieces of dairy milk onto the top of each cookie just to add some more chocolate, because why not? (do you really need a reason to add more chocolate into chocolate cookies?).
Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely before enjoying (although they are amazing while slightly warm).

If you have made it this far, thank you for checking out the recipe – I hope you enjoy it. These cookies will be a fantastic treat to share with your family and friends.

Homemade (sweet) Mincemeat

December 3, 2018 by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

We have made it all the way to December already… That mean’s 2 things, Christmas is around the corner and bakemas is here.

Today I’m showing you how to make mincemeat, let’s get started shall we?

If you’re new around here, bakemas is my annual series where I uploaded various festive (and some not so festive) recipes, which will help you make and bake the best bits and pieces for your table, regardless of how you celebrate around Christmas time, there is something for everyone.

Something that most of you will have heard of is mincemeat and yes, it does sound like ground pork or beef but it’s evolved from that (in the past it has been a meat based filling) and become a fruity, sweet and spiced variety (which is much preferred by many). This is the perfect filling for mince pies or mincemeat streusel and the best thing about it? You can make it up to 6 months in advance as it matures and keeps getting better – YUM!

I recommend making this earlier than December but as long as it has about a week to mature a little, you’ll be as right as rain. When it comes to using the ground spices, feel free to change the amount of each used, that’s if you don’t like using a lot but you can’t really tell once it’s all combined, it works pretty well.

Seeing as this recipe is part of bakemas, I’ll keep the write up short and sweet as nobody has spare time around the Christmas period.

Ingredients:

185g Currants.

185g Raisins.

185g Sultanas.

95g Candied mixed peel.

35g Stem ginger, chopped.

150g Bramley apple, chopped.

125g Vegetable suet.

125g Demerara sugar.

35g Dark brown sugar.

1 tsp Ground cinnamon.

1 tsp Ground mixed spice.

1/4 tsp Ground nutmeg.

1/8 tsp Ground cloves.

165ml Brandy/whiskey (either works well).

Method:

Weigh up all of your ingredients into small bowls, this will save you from faffing around later on and prevent you from making mistakes with the amounts.
Get yourself a large mixing bowl and place all of ingredients into the bowl.
Give all the ingredients a good mix together until they are well combined.
Once you’ve got your mincemeat made, divide it between 4 sterilised jars, filling almost to the top.
Add a small circle of greaseproof/parchment paper on-top of the mincemeat in each jar, then secure the lid on and store.
You’re best to store the made mincemeat in somewhere cool and dark, ideally in a normal food cupboard or in a pantry would work well also. Feel free to make this up to 6 months ahead of time, the alcohol in the mixture helps preserve the mixture. It will mature the longer you leave it, meaning it will develop a better taste.

bakingwithelliott

Ingredients

Instructions

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