bakingwithelliott

4th of July Cake

Happy Independence Day/4th of July!

However you may be celebrating today – do it with cake! Whenever there is a celebration, what is it without cake? Boring.

I may not be celebrating as a Brit but thought I’d jump on and share this cake I made just in time for the 4th of July.

This is a pretty simple cake, incorporating the red, white and blue colours, not forgetting the stars,

Anyway, lets get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

Cake:

375g butter, at room temperature.

375g granulated sugar.

6 eggs.

375g self raising flour.

2 tsp vanilla extract.

Red food colouring.

Blue food colouring.

Italian Meringue Buttercream:

250g granulated sugar.

62ml water.

70g egg yolks.

500g butter, at room temperature.

Vanilla extract.

Red food colouring.

Blue food colouring.

Simple Syrup:

150g granulated sugar.

150ml water.

1 tsp vanilla extract.

Filling and decoration:

Raspberry jam (homemade or store bought).

Blueberry jam (homemade or store bought).

White sprinkles (I used the Halo brand).

White chocolate spread, melted (for the drip).

Method:

Before you get started on the cake, you’ll want to do some prep work. I like to start by weighing up all of my ingredients, line my 3×6 inch cake tins, grab any equipment I need and preheat the oven to 180˚c/350˚f.

Start the recipe by placing the butter and sugar into a mixing bowl and beat together until they are lighter and fluffier in colour and consistency – this usually takes around 7-10 minutes is the perfect but it all depends on the climate that you’re in.

Once you’ve achieved the right consistency, add in your eggs, one at a time, beating well in-between each addition. Once all of your eggs have been added, add in the vanilla extract and beat until fully incorporated.

Give the bowl a scraping down, this is just to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully worked in from earlier on.

Add in your dry ingredients and mix on a low speed to start with, working your way up to a medium-high speed, just until a clear batter has formed. You’re not looking to take it any further than that as otherwise you may overwork the gluten and make the cake have a tough texture.

Divide the cake batter 3 ways, keeping one plain vanilla (this will be the white layer) and colour, one blue and another red. Split the cake batter between the 3 cake tins. I like to use digital scales to get a more accurate result but this is something that you eyeball, if you’re confident enough.

Place the cake tins into your preheated oven and bake off for around 25 minutes or until a tester comes out clean when inserted into the centre.

While the cakes are baking in the oven, make your buttercream.

My super easy Italian meringue buttercream is easy, quick and rich but not as sweet. I have a recipe for this – which you can find here. When it comes to colouring the buttercream, I recommend keeping some back, just to use as filling in the cake – the adds colour. Then divide the rest and colour it red and blue.

I like to make a vanilla simple syrup, which is simply water, sugar and vanilla into a pan, bring to a boil and allow to cool. Remove from the heat, allowing to cool before tranferring into a container and placing into the fridge.

Once you have your cakes baked, cooled, levelled and halved (yes, halved. In total, you should have 6 layers of cake), the buttercream made and simple syrup is cool – you’re ready to finish the cake. Make sure you brush all of the cakes over with a generous amount of the simple syrup – this will help keep the cake moist, especially if being stored in the fridge.

To start the assembly, simple take your plate/board/stand and smear a small blog of buttercream on it – this will act as the glue that keeps this cake in place. Then place your first layer and press it down to secure it in place. Top this layer of cake with buttercream and strawberry, then top with your second layer of cake and top that with a layer of buttercream and blueberry jam. Repeat the alternative layers until you have used up all of your cake. It may not look the best now but once sliced into – trust the process.

Now coat the entire cake with a generous layer of buttercream, spread and level it as much as you may need. It may take a few attempts to get an end result your happy result with.

Apply the white chocolate drip by simply warming up some white chocolate spread, then drip it down the cake – space the drips as much or as little as you’d like! Chill in the fridge for a short while, just to allow the drip to firm up.

Place the rippled buttercream mixed with a piping tip of your choice. Pipe around the edges until you’re happy and top then top each of the rosettes with sprinkles and a meringue kiss.

That’s all for today guys, I hope you enjoyed. If you did, don’t forget to share this recipe with your family and friends and enjoy it. I’ll be back soon with another blog post and YouTube video, so join me then. In the meanwhile, don’t forget to check out my other social’s – Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. The YouTube tutorial will be linked down below.

Bourbon Biscuit Brownies

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When it comes to biscuits, everybody has a top 3, even if bourbon biscuits aren’t on your list – they may be about to be added to that.

When it comes to brownies, adding more chocolate is only ever a good thing, right? Well these chocolate biscuits with a chocolate creme filling will only make the brownies even better – trust me.

This is my classic brownie batter, simply with a twist. So, if you like the biscuit barrel classic, the is certainly one for you to make.

For those wondering, no these biscuits don’t contain any actual bourbon.

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

210g butter, melted.

340g granulated sugar.

3 eggs.

1.5 tsp vanilla extract.

65g cocoa powder.

150g plain flour.

100g milk chocolate chips.

100g bourbon biscuits, roughly broken.

80g Bourbon biscuit spread (or just chocolate spread).

Extra Bourbon biscuits for the top.

Method:

Before you start making anything, you’ll want to do some prep work. Start by weighing up your ingredients, preheating your oven to 180˚c/350˚f and getting any equipment you need ready such as a mixing bowl and a whisk. Don’t forget to line your 9 inch baking pan with parchment paper.

To start on the brownie batter, you’ll want to add your melted butter and cocoa powder sugar into large mixing bowl and whisk the two together until well combined.

Then go ahead and add in the granulated sugar and mix it in until it’s fully incorporated. Give the bowl a good scrape down, this is just to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully worked in.

Add your eggs and mix until they are fully incorporated. As the eggs are incorporated, the mixture will become smoother and glossier. You will also want to add in the vanilla extract in at this stage.

After that you can add in the plain flour, chocolate chips and Bourbon biscuits and fold those in using a spatula, this will lower the chances of over mixing the brownie batter. Once your brownie batter is ‘clear’ from any single ingredient, stop mixing.

Go ahead and grab your lined baking tray and transfer the brownie batter directly into it. Spread and level it out as you need, place on top as many or as few bourbon biscuits as you’d like, then place in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, it should be a little more baked around the edges and a little softer in the centre.

Once the brownies are baked, leave them in the tin and let them cool fully. Then place in the fridge overnight, this helps to make the brownies extra dense and easier to cut up – this isn’t essential but really helps.

When you’re ready to slice the brownies up, you can cut them up into however many pieces you wish. I cut mine into squares, that way you get the most out of each brownie – the dense, fudgey and biscuity goodness. The more sweet treats the better – don’t even try to disagree.

Rainbow Fudge

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Although it may be last few days of June – you still have time to celebrate pride month with this rainbow fudge.

Keeping things simple with a very easy 5 ingredient fudge, although out may be vanilla flavoured – this doesn’t make it boring, trust me on this one. It’s brightly coloured and will stand out a mile off, making it the perfect statement piece to make.

Just because I’m making it for pride month, doesn’t mean you have to. I made this in response to someone being heavily homophobic, so enjoy! You can always make it for themed parties or events – the choice is yours.

If you’re looking for another rainbow recipe, I have this rainbow cake – check it out.

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

1kg white chocolate, roughly broken.

750ml condensed milk.

Salt.

3 tsp vanilla extract.

Rainbow food colours (red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. Pastes are more concentrated but gels will work).

Method:

To get started, I recommend weighing up the ingredients – separating the white chocolate and condensed milk into 6 equal portions, using digital scales for accuracy. Into the condensed milk, you can add in the vanilla extract.

Before you get started on the recipe, don’t forget to prepare your baking tin. Take some tin foil and press it into place, brushing it all over with some flavourless oil – set aside until needed later on.

Place a small-medium saucepan on the hob over a medium-high heat, it should be at a gentle simmer. ensure the pan has been filled with enough water in, so it doesn’t boil dry nor touch the bottom of the bowl.

into a heatproof bowl, place in the white chocolate, condensed milk, vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. Give a brief mix together, then place over the heat and stir continuously until the chocolate has melted and everything has come together – this doesn’t take too long but keep your eye on it. It will go from the elements to a thick but spreadable consistency – this is what you’re looking for.

Remove from the heat, mixing well, then add in the food colouring of choice. I recommend starting with the purple, so the layers are accurate but you can do them in whichever order you’d like.

Into your prepared tin, add your first layer. I found it a little difficult to spread, due to adding a little too much oil. Once you have out spread out and as level as can be, you can place into the fridge and allow to chill for at least 30 minutes.

Repeat the process with the remaining layers. At first, you may think the layers are too thin and won’t show – don’t worry. They show well in the centre, if done properly. Once you get to the final layer, which should be red, I added a generous dashing of rainbow sprinkles on top, this was just to further add rainbow to the end result. I like to then leave it for at least 3 hours to chill in the fridge but overnight will be fine.

When you come to slicing everything up, take a knife and place in boiling water first, then wipe in-between use, placing back into the water to make it easier to slice up.

Enjoy as soon as possible but if stored in an airtight container, keep in the fridge and the fudge should last for about 1 month.

Anyway, thats how easy it is to make fudge and this rainbow fudge is even better! So, don’t forget to give it a try soon!

Trifle Cake

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I’ve tried to reinvent the wheel but making this trifle cake… It’s different but in a good way.

When I made this cake, I tried to take the elements from traditional trifle but reinvent the parts that couldn’t be transferred into cake form. So, I started with 2 layers of custard cake, filled and coated with freshly whipped cream – filled with a creme patisserie and strawberry jam filling, sounds alright, doesn’t it!

This wasn’t one of those last minute creations I made while trying to make something for the Queens Platinum Jubilee, unfortunately this was made all the way back in January this year and somehow, I forgot all about it until just days before the event and I didn’t have time to edit a video and make a blog post but now I do.

Although a little late for the Queens celebrations, its in time for whenever you need to make a trifle inspired cake.

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

Cake:

250g butter, at room temp.

250g granulated sugar.

4 eggs.

250g plain flour.

1.5 tsp baking powder.

Pinch of salt.

30g custard powder (plus enough milk to combine everything well).

1-2 tsp vanilla extract.

Custard filling:

250ml whole milk.

1 tsp vanilla extract.

60g egg yolk.

50g granulated sugar.

30g plain flour.

Fresh Cream Coating:

600ml double cream.

50-100g icing sugar.

1-2 tsp vanilla extract.

Decoration:

Custard filling.

Strawberry jam.

Rainbow sprinkles.

Method:

Cake:

To get started on the cake, get all of your equipment ready, including a stand mixer and spatula. Don’t forget to weigh up all of your ingredients, along with preheating the oven to 180˚c/350˚f.

To start, take the mixing bowl and place in the butter and sugar, beating them together until they are lighter and fluffier in colour and consistency. This usually takes me about 7-10 minutes, depending on how warm the atmosphere is.

Once they have achieved the right consistency, add in the eggs, one at time, beating well to incorporate the egg before adding another.

Then you can give the bowl a good scraping down, this is just to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully worked in from earlier on.

Now add in the custard powder mixture and vanilla extract and mix until its been fully incorporated into the mixture. If you find the mixture has split or curdled a little – this is normal, due to the amount of moisture being added at once.

Add the dry ingredients, passing them through a sieve first to remove any lumps that may be in the dry mix. Start to incorporate them on a low speed, working your way up to a medium-high speed just until everything has been fully worked in and you have a smooth cake batter.

Transfer the mixture into your cake tins, splitting it equally using a pair of digital scales. This is the most accurate way of weighing it but feel free to do it by eye – smooth and level the batter off as best you can, then place into your preheated oven and bake off for 30-35 minutes (or until a tester comes out clean, when inserted into the centre).

Custard Filling:

While your cakes are in the oven baking, you can make the custard filling.

Into the saucepan, pour in the milk and add in the vanilla extract/bean paste and whisk the two together until they are combined.

Place the milk mixture on the hob over a medium heat and start working on the next element of the recipe.

Into a separate bowl, place the egg yolks and sugar, then whisk together until they are fully combined. You will know the mixture is ready when the colour has changed from quite a bright and becomes a milk yellow-ish colour. You can then go ahead and add in the flour, just whisk it in until its fully incorporated.

Once the milk mixture almost reaches a boil, remove from the heat and pour around 1/3 of the mixture – this is just to help the mixture adjust to the change in temperature and influx of liquid. Whisk that 1/3 in until it’s full incorporated.

Then go ahead and steadily pour in the remaining milk, while constantly whisking the mixture – this is to ensure nothing catches and burns. After a short while, you will notice the mixture thinking – this will happen quickly, just be aware.

While hot, transfer onto a baking tray or a bowl, covering the surface with clingfilm (this prevents a skin from forming on top of the custard), ensure the clingfilm is in contact with the custard at all times.

Allow to cool fully before attempting to use the mixture.

Fresh Cream Coating:

To make the cream coating for the filling, coating and finishing of the cake is really simple. Ensure your cream is cold, straight from the fridge.

Take a mixing bowl and place in the double cream, icing sugar and vanilla extract. Using the whisk attachment, whisk everything together until the mixture reaches stiff peak – don’t take it too far, as you might find the cream over whisks and develops a nasty mouthfeel.

Once you’ve achieved the right consistency, place some into a piping bag for the rosettes on top of the cake.

Use the remainder of the cream for the filling and coating.

Decoration:

To finish the cake, grab all of the elements you have made previous.

Start by grabbing a place, board or stand and place a small dollop of cream into the centre of it – this is the ‘glue’ that will secure the first layer of cake in place. On top of the dollop of cream, place your first layer of cake, pressing down to secure it in place. Top this with a boarder of cream, then a thin layer inside that boarder. Fill the hole with a generous amount of the home-made custard filling and some strawberry jam. Place the second layer of cake on top and press in place.

Taking a piping bag filled with cream, pipe the cream all around the outside and on top of the cake, giving a rough coating. This doesn’t need to be perfect due to smoothing it later on.

Take a scraper and smooth it out as best you can – this is made much easier if you’re using a turntable. Repeat the process of going round until you’re happy with the level of smoothness, filling in any gaps with extra cream.

This is optional, I used some rainbow sprinkles and created a boarder around the edges of the cake, this is just to enhance the colour element of this cake and of course, no trifle is complete without sprinkles.

Pipe as many or as few rosettes on to the cake as possible, the generously scatter over some rainbow sprinkles.

Fill the create with a small amount of the custard filling and jam.

Then chill in the fridge for 30 minutes and enjoy within 24 hours due to the cream coating being haughtily perishable.

Coconut Cream Pie

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Are you looking for something that requires minimal baking but filled with flavour? Look no further – this coconut cream pie is the only thing you’ll need this summer, trust me.

It all starts with the perfectly flaky pastry case, filled with a rich and decadent coconut filling, topped with freshly whipped cream and finished with toasted coconut – perfectly seasonal and make a change form your usual heavy pies.

So, whether you’re looking for something lighter during the warmer weather or expanding your culinary offerings, this is one of those recipes you must try. It’s rich and indulgent without being too much all at once.

If coconut isn’t your vibe, why don’t you check out some of these other tarts; including strawberry tart, chocolate ganache tartlets, pineapple cream tarts, chocolate almond tart or pear and almond tart.

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

ingredients:

Base:

Half my shortcrust pastry recipe, find it here.

Filling:

175g golden caster sugar.

75g cornflour.

220ml whole milk.

300ml double cream.

3 eggs yolks.

175g desiccated coconut.

1 tsp vanilla extract.

Decoration:

300ml double cream.

25-50g icing sugar.

1 tsp vanilla extract

30-50g toasted coconut flakes.

Method:

After chilling the pie case in the fridge for around 30 minutes, you can place in the parchment paper and baking beans (or rice) into the centre and bake in your preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, remove the baking beans and parchment and bake for a further 5-10 minutes or until the pastry doesn’t look so raw – it should be fully baked as this is the only bake the pie needs.

To make the filling, take a medium-large saucepan (not a small like I used) and place in the sugar, cornflour, milk and double cream, giving it a good mix together and place on the hob over a medium-high heat. You will want to whisk this constantly, as the mixture will thicken and this will happen fairly quickly, plus you don’t want it to catch on the bottom of the pan and ruin the mixture.

Once the mixture has thickened well, remove the mixture from the heat and add in the 3 egg yolks, whisking until they are fully incorporated. Then you can go ahead and add the vanilla extract and mix in until it has been fully mixed into the recipe, then you can follow with the desiccated, agin mixing until its fully incorporated into the mixture.

Place the saucepan back onto the hob over a medium heat, stirring/whisking until the egg yolks have been cooked out and the mixture has reached a safe temperature. If you don’t stir the mixture enough, it will catch on the bottom and burn – not ideal as you will have to start over.

Now you can grab the pastry case you made earlier on and pour the thick filling into it, level it out as consistently as you can possible do. Allow to cool enough to place into the fridge and allow the filling to fully firm up (this is needed for the finishing decoration, as well as making it easier to slice up later on).

When your tart has cooled or you’re ready to serve, you’ll want to finish up the tart. Start by placing some flaked coconut pieces into the oven on a lined baking tray and toasting them until they are golden brown – this will add coconut flavour and crunch to the tart. Around 3-5 minutes should work, keep your eyes peeled.

Into a mixing bowl, place the double cream, icing sugar and vanilla extract. whisk together on a high speed until you reach stiff peaks (try your best not to over whip the cream, other wise it will be granular and not have a pleasant mouthfeel. Top the pie with the cream, ensuring even coverage all over and then scatter over the toasted coconut and enjoy – this is best enjoyed within 24 hours of the cream being added on top due to it being highly perishable.

I slice my tart into 8 portions but you can make that more or less to suit yourself or the occasion.

Strawberry and White Chocolate Blondies

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Spring has truly sprung but summer is just around the corner, so why not bake something that represents that with a batch of these strawberry and white chocolate blondies? I promise you that they’re good and you won’t regret making them.

These blondies are quick, easy and perfectly seasonal. Using the best strawberries will only enhance the flavour you get from each bite – trust me when I say use fresh strawberries. Normally for something thats baked, I wouldn’t recommend using fresh fruit, mostly because it doesn’t stand well against the heat but in this recipe thats alright as it makes the flavour so much more intense.

It’s a play on my classic blondie recipe, just made slightly more summery. If you like strawberry and white chocolate, this is a must bake this week at some point.

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

200g White chocolate.

130g Butter.

160g Granulated sugar.

190g Plain flour.

1/2 tsp Salt.

3 Eggs.

1 tsp Vanilla extract.

100-150g White chocolate spread.

50g white chocolate chips (plus extra for on top).

50g fresh strawberries, chopped (plus, some halves for on top).

Method:

Before you get into making the blondies, you’ll want to do some prep work. Start by weighing up all of your ingredients, line your 8 inch square tin and preheat your oven to 180˚c/350˚f and get any equipment you intend on using. I recommend colouring your white chocolate spread now, to save time and get the job done.

Into a heatproof bowl, place your butter and white chocolate and melt them over a bain-marie (which is over a medium heat), try your best not to get the mixture too hot. If this happens, the mixture may split.

Once the butter and chocolate are melted, add in your sugar and straight away whisk it in, until it has been fully incorporated.

Now you can add in all of your eggs and vanilla extract and whisk until everything is smooth and the consistency has become looser in consistency.

Next you can add in the plain flour and salt, passing them through a sieve first, just to remove any lumps that may be in the dry mix. Mix until the dry ingredients have been fully incorporated, try your best not to over mix.

This is also the ideal time to add in the white chocolate chips and chopped strawberries.

Take your lined cake tin and pour your blondie batter into the tin and level it out as best you can.

Grab your your white chocolate spread and warm it in the microwave to make it a little more fluid. Then take dollops and place on top of the blondie batter and just swirl it around until you have a marble effect.

Before you place the tray into the preheated oven and bake, you can place on your strawberry halves (roughly one per portion) and scatter over some white chocolate chips, then bake for about 25-30 minutes or until the edges are slightly more baked and a tester comes out clean when inserted into the centre.

Once they are fully baked, allow them to cool down fully before you try and remove them from the tin. Once completely cooled down, place the tin into the fridge (this is to help them be as dense and fudgy as possible) overnight or until the following day.

Then you can cut them up into slices, I went with 9 generous slices.

That’s all for today guys, I hope you enjoyed. If you did, don’t forget to share this recipe with your family and friends and enjoy it. I’ll be back soon with another blog post and YouTube video, so join me then. In the meanwhile, don’t forget to check out my Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. The YouTube video will be linked down below.

Coffee Marble Loaf

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Like coffee? This loaf cake is the one you need!

This coffee marble loaf cake is so quick and easy to make, it’s two flavours of cake in one pan. For this loaf, I went with vanilla and coffee – the two flavours work really well together and the colours are just perfect.

I won’t lie, the cake would be good on its own BUT to enhance the flavour and marble effect to the cake, I added a layer of marble buttercream. As you can guess, its coffee and vanilla. To get the perfect flavour, I used Javy coffee concentrate – I was kindly gifted the bottle of coffee concentrate to use, so thought of using it in a cake rather than in a drink and it works really well.

If you have been around for a while, you might remember I made a vanilla and chocolate marble loaf cake back some time ago – check it out if you’re interested.

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

Cake:

220g butter, at room temp.

220g granulated sugar.

4 eggs.

1-2 tsp vanilla extract.

1 tbsp Javy coffee concentrate (or 2 tsp instant coffee + 2-3 tsp boiling water).

220g plain flour.

1 1/2 tsp baking powder.

Pinch of salt

Buttercream:

125g granulated sugar.

31ml water.

35g egg yolk.

250g butter.

2 tsp vanilla extract.

2 tsp Javy coffee concentrate (or 2 tsp instant coffee + 1-2 tsp boiling water, allowed to cool).

Decoration:

Sprinkle mix, I used a Dr Oetker sprinkle mix.

Method:

Before you get sarge don the recipe, you’ll want to do some prep. I like to start by weighing up all of your ingredients, lining your cake tins with parchment and getting any equipment you may need, such as a stand mixer and paddle attachment. Preheat your oven to 180˚ç/350˚f, don’t forget to line your 2lb loaf pan with parchment paper/case.

To start on the cake, take a mixing bowl and place in the butter and sugar. Beat them together until they are light and fluffier in colour and consistency – for me this is about 7 minutes but it will vary depending on the climate.

Once you’ve achieved the right consistency, give the bowl a quick scraping down, just to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully worked in.

Now start adding your eggs in, one at a time, beating well in-between each addition. Once all of the eggs have been added, add in your vanilla extract and mix that until its fully worked in.

Go ahead and give the bowl another good scraping down, just to incorporate any bits thats may not have been fully worked in from earlier on.

Add in the dry ingredients, passing through a sieve, if needed. Then mix on a medium speed, just until the flour has been incorporated,

Divide the batter in half, keeping half vanilla and into the other half add the coffee and mix until fully incorporated, being careful not to over-mix.

Add dollops of the mixture into the lined loaf pan, ensuring there is splodges of each flavour batter, then swirl around a little, to get that marble effect.

Place into your preheated oven and bake for around 45-55 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean, when inserted into the centre. I find the middle shelf of the oven the best.

While your cake is baking in the oven, its the perfect time to make the buttercream. For this buttercream, I have used my Italian meringue buttercream recipe as its may favourite type. I take half the buttercream and flavour it vanilla and the other half with coffee. Set aside until needed.

Once the cake has baked and cooled, you can go ahead and decorate. Simple take dollops of each buttercream and randomly place them on top of the loaf, spread and swirl it around until you’re happy and finish with a scattering of sprinkles – then, you’re done!

New York Cheesecake | Baked Cheesecake

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Well… The time has come to finally make a cheesecake but not just any cheesecake, it’s not even a no-bake – it’s a baked version.

Rich, creamy and indulgent, this cheesecake is the perfect treat to make for a special occasion or just for when you fancy a sweet treat. It’s not overly sweet, it’s sweet, tangy and rich all at once.

If you have tried a baked cheesecake from somewhere before, you will know how good it tastes but it always seems a lot of effort but actually, it’s not. It only requires simple ingredients and some time and you’ll have this delicious homemade baked cheesecake – better than what you can buy in the supermarkets and some bakeries (let’s be honest).

Anyway, lets get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

Base:

250g digestive biscuits.

100g melted butter.

Cheesecake Filling:

500g soft cheese, at room temperature.

150g granulated sugar.

50g plain flour.

175g sour cream.

2-3 tsp vanilla extract.

3 eggs.

Method:

So, before you get started on the recipe, you’ll want to do some prep work. I like to start by weighing up all of my ingredients, lining my 8 inch round cake tin with parchment on the base and sides and getting any equipment I may need ready, such as a food processor, mixing bowl and whisk. Don’t forget to preheat your oven to 160˚c.

To start, you’ll need to make the base (which is really easy). Into a food processor or food plastic bag place the digestive biscuits and blitz/smash the biscuits down into a crumb – which should look similar to sand. Once achieved, you can then go ahead and add in the melted butter and mix until everything is fully combined – the mixture will look more like wet sad, this is what you’re looking for.

Transfer the biscuit mixture into the base of your lined 8 inch round cake tin, which is sat in a bigger tin (incase of any leakages) and compress the mixture into the tin. You’re looking for a level and consistent layer, then place into your preheated oven and bake for around 10-15 minutes.

While the base is baking in the oven, its the ideal time to make the cheesecake filling. Into a mixing bowl, simply place all of your ingredients and whisk together until smooth and combined – being careful not to over-mix, this is due to the flour thats in the mixture. Once you have a smooth and clear mixture, you’re good to stop mixing.

Take the baked base from the oven and pour the cheesecake filling directly on top of it (you don’t need to allow the base to cool before using it). Then Cover the top of the cake tin with foil and bake in the preheated oven for 60 minutes. While its baking in the oven, try not to open the door as this will; cause the cheesecake to sink in the centre and not appear the best once fully baked.

After the 60 minutes baking time, you can go ahead and remove the foil, the cheesecake should have a little jiggle but nothing major. Allow to cool fully before you intend on slicing up – this will soon get messy if you’re trying to cut this warm.

I like to play my in there fridge overnight, this helps to firm up the filling and make it easier to slice up when it comes to it.

Whenever you’re ready, cut into 8 generous portions (or as many as you’d like) and enjoy. I ate mine plain but you could add fruit, sauces or spreads on the top for even more indulgence.

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

Although Easter has come and passed, that doesn’t mean we have to stop enjoying the Easter chocolates we have stored. Today I’m making use of my chocolate stash and making a batch of these creme egg doughnuts.

These doughnuts are better than anything you can buy at stores, imagine those independent bakeries/doughnuttery type places, its up there. A light and fluffy doughnut base, which without fail works treats (especially if you’re wanting to keep things simple and don’t want to fill them), now to make them even better – fill them generously with a homemade chocolate ganache. If that’s not enough for you, finish with half of a creme egg… Maybe one for he sweet tooth among us but hey, you deserve a treat.

If you’re catching up with friends and family or even have a small business, these will be popular with plenty of people, these always go well and people always ask for more!

This is the perfect recipe to make if you’re looking for something relatively easy and tasty to make – this is for you! Get a batch made asap – you won’t regret!

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

Doughnuts:

450g Strong white bread flour (not plain flour).

1 tsp Salt.

7g Dried yeast.

60g Butter.

1 Egg.

60g Granulated sugar.

150ml Milk, slightly warmed.

100ml Water, slightly warmed.

Ganache Filling:

120g Dark Chocolate Chips.

80g Milk Chocolate Chips.

200ml Double Cream.

Decoration:

Granulated sugar, to coat.

Half a creme egg per doughnut.

Method:

Before you get into making your doughnuts, you’ll want to do some prep work. Weigh up all your ingredients, get your deep fryer ready and get any equipment you intend on using ready.

To start on the doughnuts, you’ll want to get yourself a mixing bowl (I’m using my stand mixer, but you can use whatever you’d like to). Into the bowl, you’ll want to place the flour and salt, then give it all a good mix until its incorporated.

After that you can add the remailing ingredients, which are; dried yeast, butter, egg, granulated sugar, milk and water, then give it a good mix on a low speed. Once a dough starts to form, you’ll notice the dough is quite soft and may be a little sticky to the touch (this is okay, it’s an enriched dough).

Briefly knead the dough on a floured surface until its smooth and elasticated (this is a good sign that the gluten is working).

Place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, I used vegetable oil but you can use any flavourless oil you have. Cover the bowl with cling film and allow to sit for around an hour or until its doubled in size (this is the first proof, allowing the yeast to do its thing and for the gluten to relax).

Once the dough has doubled in size, remove it from the bowl and knock it back on a lightly floured surface. The process of knocking the dough back is where you remove the gases that have built up in the dough while it was proving the first time around.

Weigh your dough and divide that amount by 10, this was you get a more accurate measurement per doughnut. You can eyeball it, but I prefer to be more accurate, so use digital scales if possible.

Round off your balls of dough and set them on individual pieces of greaseproof paper (which can go in the fryer), it makes them easier to move around later on. Place the dough balls onto a baking tray and loosely cover with cling film, you can then leave these for 30 -45 minutes or until they have gotten a little bigger (this is the second proof).

Now would be the ideal time to make your custard filling and have a clean down.

While you wait for the doughnut to proof, preheat your oil to 180˚c/350˚f. I recommend using a thermometer to ensure that the oil temperature is correct.

Once the doughnuts have proved and are ready, take two doughnuts and place them into the oil and fry off for around 60 seconds each side or until they are golden brown and fried through. Once removed from the fryer, place on kitchen roll to absorb some of the excess oil. Repeat the process

To make the ganache, take a bowl and place in the chocolate chips and pour over the cream. Place into the microwave and heat in 20 second increments, stirring until melted and smooth.

When you’re ready, poke a hole almost the whole way through the doughnuts, leaving a little at the bottom, ensuring the hole isn’t all the way through.

Roll each of the doughnuts in granulated sugar, ensuring even coverage and

Fill the holes with ganache, piping a little extra on top – then top with half a cream egg.

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Brioche Loaf

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

Today I’ll be showing you how to make a loaf of simple yet flavourful brioche bread!

Ingredients:

500g White bread flour.

8g Salt.

50g Fresh yeast.

125g Butter.

50g Granulated sugar.

250ml Egg.

75ml Milk.

Method:

Before you get into the baking, you’re best to do some preparations. Start by weighing up all your ingredients, oiling a large bowl and getting any equipment you may need ready, such as a large mixing bowl or spatula.

To start, take your mixing bowl and add in the white bread flour along with the salt and whisk until they are well combined.

You can then go ahead and add the remaining ingredients.

Start the mixer on a low speed to start and mix until a dough has formed. When the dough is completely mixed, it will have a softer consistency compared to a standard dough, this is due to the dough being enriched.

Generously flour your countertop, then give the dough a knead until it is smooth and elastic. Bring it into a ball shape, using your hands to round it off, then you can place it into a lightly oiled bowl and cover with clingfilm.

Allow the dough to proof for around an hour or until the dough has doubled in size (the time will vary depending on the climate of where you’re leaving the dough to proof – try not to exceed 35/36˚c).

Once you’re cleaned down and the dough has proofed up, you can then go ahead and flour your surface and place the dough directly onto it. Now you’ll want to knock the dough back, this is simply the process of removing the gases that built up in the dough during the first proof.

Bring the dough back into a ball shape and then roll it slightly into a more oval shape, one that would fit into a standard 2lb loaf pan.

Cover loosely with clingfilm and leave somewhere warm for roughly 30-45 minutes or until well risen

As mentioned earlier, the proofing time will really depend on how warm it it where you are or where you’re placing the dough, for me, I just keep mine on the countertop in the kitchen but you may need to find somewhere warmer or cooler. I also recommend preheating your oven to 200˚c/390˚f at this point.

Now that the buns have risen well, you’ll want to remove the clingfilm from on top and brush over a small amount of egg wash, ensuring even coverage all over. Transfer into the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes on 200˚c/390˚f (To test if a loaf is baked, simply remove from the tin and tap the bottom, if it sounds hollow you’re good to go!).

So, there you go. My recipe for brioche bread, now all you need is to make some French toast!

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