Baking with Elliott

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Cream Tart Recipe

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If you’ve come looking for a recipe on how to make these interesting biscuit tarts, look no further, I certainly have you covered.

After seeing these all over Instagram, I thought I’d jump on the bandwagon and make one. When I was researching what exactly these were and to be honest I didn’t get very far. I could’t find the exact name or a basic recipe for them, normally when something like this trends you can find the name and a recipe pretty easily, but I had my work cut out for me on this one. After about 3/4 day’s on Instagram I found the most common name/tag was ‘cream tart/s’ and I was amazed at how artistic some of the people had got with these.

The best thing about making these is that they don’t require a lot of time or ingredients and can be fully customisable to suit you and your occasion. You can decorate them using just one thing like chocolate or mix it up by using

After seeing all the creative and over the top varieties online, so I opted to keep mine simple. I decided that a linzer biscuit would be ideal for this recipe, it’s a simple biscuit but it has a great taste and a softer crumb than most other biscuits. For the filling, I went with what was most common but with a little twist. In place of the standard whipped cream I opted for a sweetened version instead, I know for sure that this would compliment the biscuit and fruit very well. For the decoration I kept it simple, just fruit, I chose with strawberries, blueberries, kiwi and lime.

 

Before you get into making the biscuits, make sure you have all your ingredients weighed up in advance and preheat your oven to 180˚c/350˚f. To make the biscuit part of the tart, you’ll want to place the butter and icing sugar into your mixing bowl and beat the two together over a medium-high speed until they are well combined. Once combined, scrape down the bowl and add in the egg and vanilla and mix them in on a medium-high speed until well incorporated, then scrape down the sides and bottom of your bowl again to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully worked in. Sift your flour into the mixing bowl and mix on a low-medium speed until a clear dough has formed. *Be careful not to over mix at this stage, otherwise your biscuits will be tougher in texture.

Seeing as the dough doesn’t require chilling before use, split the dough in half and roll it out until it’s about 1cm thick and cut out the shape, I opted for a 6 inch/15cm round. To get the shape, I used the base of a cake tin and used a small, sharp knife to cut around it. I repeat that stage one more time and then transfer the cut outs onto a line baking tray and bake in your preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before finishing. Talking of finishing these tarts, you’ll want to prepare your filling, which is a sweetened whipped cream. Place the double cream, icing sugar and vanilla into a bowl and whip it up until you achieve stiff peaks, then place into a piping bag with a 1cm plain tip nozzle and keep it in the fridge if you don’t intend on using it straight away.

Finally, depending on what you’ve chose to decorate with, you’ll want to get it prepped and ready to use once you’ve piped your cream on. This is best eaten on the same day as it’s made or the following day.

Biscuit Layers: 
• 300g Plain flour.
• 200g Butter.
• 100g Icing sugar.
• 1 Egg yolk.
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla bean paste/extract.

Filling:
• 300ml Double cream.
• 100g Icing sugar.
• 1 tsp Vanilla bean paste/extract.

Decoration:
Feel free to use whatever you’d like whether it be fresh fruit, flowers, chocolate or macarons. Feel free to mix it up and use a variety of different bits and pieces

Method:

Biscuit:

  • Before you get into making, you’ll want to do some prep. Weigh up all of your ingredients, preheat your oven to 180˚c/350˚f and line your baking tray.
  • To start the biscuit dough, place the butter and icing sugar into your mixing bowl of choice and beat them together for around 2-3 minutes over a medium-high speed until it comes together and is well combined.
  • Scrape down the sides and bottom of your bowl, to incorporate any bits that wasn’t fully worked in.
  • You will then like to add the egg and vanilla, incorporate them over a medium-high speed just until they are incorporated.
  • Scrape down the sides and bottom of your bowl again, just to incorporate any bits that wasn’t fully worked in.
  • Next you’ll want to add in the flour, making sure that you’ve sifted it first. Add all the flour in and mix over a low-medium speed until a clear dough has formed. *Don’t over mix your dough at this stage*.
  • Seeing as there is no need to chill the dough, cut the dough in half and roll it out on a floured surface until the dough is roughly 1cm thick.
  • Once your dough is rolled out, you’ll want to cut out the shapes. To make your cut outs, place a 6 inch/15cm circle shape on top and cut around it, I used the base of a cake tin and cut around it with a small sharp knife.
  • Move the cutouts onto your lined baking tray and use a smaller cutter to removed a hole in the middle of each cutout.
  • Then place the baking tray in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes (or until they start to colour around the edges).
  • Once baked, remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before using.

Filling:

  • To make the sweetened whipped cream, place the double cream, icing sugar and vanilla into a bowl of your choice and whip it until stiff peaks form.
  • Transfer the whipped cream into a piping bag which has a 1cm plain tip nozzle. Place in the fridge if you aren’t using it straight away.

Decoration:

Depending on what you have chosen for your topping, you may need to prepare it. If you have decided to use fruit, feel free to cut/shape it however you like. These can be fully customised to suit your occasion or the person who’ll be receiving this.

Then place whatever you’re using on top, either following a pattern or making it look decorative, whichever you choose. Whatever you do use on top can add a lot of colour to these.

If you do use flowers, please make sure you’re using flowers that are safe for human consumption, double check that they won’t have any harm to yours to others health.

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

Trifle Cheesecake

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Today’s recipe is for another no-bake cheesecake, it could be considered two desserts in one. Who doesn’t want more dessert?

This recipe is perfect if you’re currently experiencing the warmer weather, its no bake, so you won’t be getting hot in the kitchen while you make this. You can get this cheesecake made in under 60 minutes and seeing as it doesn’t require baking, you only need to chill it in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight for the best results.

I’m not going to lie, this was a random accidental creation. I saw the trifle kits in the supermarket and was buying the ingredients for a cheesecake and thought about doing a combination of the two a trifle x cheesecake but wasn’t sure how I was going to make it work. I got home and spent sometime working out how I could incorporate the different elements to make this combination work, not long after I had got the idea of how to make it work.

So, working from the bottom up, it would compromise of a traditional buttery biscuit base, topped with a vanilla crème pâtissière/pastry cream cheesecake filling, which is topped with a strawberry jelly topping and finished with freshly whipped cream and sprinkles. It’s a completely different flavour to what I’d normally do but thought why not try a combination?

Before you can consider making the cheesecake, there is some prep work to be done so that everything can be made in order. You’ll want to make your crème pâtissière/pastry cream in advance so it has time to cool, this is pretty simple to make and doesn’t require many ingredients. Start by placing your milk and vanilla extract/bean paste into a saucepan, giving it a whisk together, then allowing to come to a boil. While you wait for your milk to come to a boil, place your egg yolks and sugar into a bowl and whisk them together until lighter in colour and thicker in consistency then add in the flour and whisk until well combined. Once your milk has reached a boil, add between a 1/3 and 1/2 the milk, whisking constantly, this is to temper the egg yolks and prevent them from curdling. Add the other half of the milk giving it a good whisk, then return the milk mixture onto the heat, lowering the temperature a little and constantly stirring the mixture until it thickens. Take the time to stir this as you don’t want it to catch on the bottom of the pan, this will ruin your pastry creme. Remove from the heat and transfer to a bowl or to a baking tray, covering the pastry cream with cling film (so it doesn’t form a skin) and allow to cool completely before using it (the thinner you can spread it out, the quicker it will cool). Don’t forget to line the sides of your cake tin, regardless of the type of tin you’re using.

For the cheesecake part, it’s just like any of my other cheesecakes. You’ll want to make the base first, followed by the filling and then the topping, pretty simple right?

The base is made up of 2 simple ingredients, digestive biscuits and butter. You will want to break the biscuits down until its become a crumb or sand like consistency, either using a food processor or a plastic food bag and rolling pin. Next you’ll want to melt the butter. You can do this 2 ways, either placing the butter in the microwave and microwaving until its melted or you can melt it in a small saucepan over a medium heat and stir it to help it melt, regardless of which method you use, allow it to cool down slightly before you intend to use it. Add the melted butter into your biscuit crumbs and mix the two together until they are well combined, it will look like wet sand. Place the buttery biscuit mixture into the base of your 8″ cake tin and press it down using a cup measurement to get it compressed but feel free to use a spatula or spoon. Place in the fridge while you make your filling.

To make the filling, you’ll want to place the soft cheese, pastry cream, icing sugar and vanilla into your bowl and beat them together over a medium/high speed until it’s well combined, seeing as the custard powder you’d get in the trifle mixes would come out a yellow-ish colour so I added enough yellow food gel to get a brighter yellow colour but feel free to leave this out if you don’t want to include it. Scrape down the sides and bottom of your bow to fully incorporate any bits that wasn’t from earlier on. Add in all of your double cream and whisk together over a medium-high speed until the mixture has become thicker in consistency. Scrape down the sides and bottom of your bowl again, then remove your base from the fridge and place the cheesecake filling on top of the base, levelling it off as best you can using a small offset spatula, spoon or spatula and then set in the fridge while you make the jelly topping.

This is probably the easiest step to do. get yourself a strawberry jelly from the supermarket, I found mine in the dessert section in the supermarket. I just followed the instructions on the back of the package which was just to dissolve the jelly in boiling water, stirring then adding cold water and stirring again, it’s really that simple. I then pour this mixture on top of the cheesecake and chill for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight for the best results.

The following day I removed the cheesecake from the fridge and removed it from the tin. I then place the cheesecake onto a plate of choice and then you can finish it using a small amount of freshly whipped cream and some 100s and 1000s. Then slice yourself a portion and enjoy it!

Ingredients & Methods:

Pastry Cream:

250ml Whole milk.

1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste.

60g Egg yolks.

50g Granulated sugar.

30g Plain flour.

Pastry Cream Method:

  • Place the milk, vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste into a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high speed.
  • While you wait for the milk to come to a boil, you can whisk the egg yolks and sugar in a separate bowl until they have become thicker in consistency and lighter in colour. Once you’ve achieved that, add in your flour and mix until smooth.
  • Once your milk has reached a boil, pour in between 1/3 and 1/2 and whisk the milk and egg mixture together, this is to ultimately ‘temper’ the eggs then add the remaining milk to the mixture, whisking well. Then transfer the mixture back to your saucepan and return to the heat, lowering the temperature slightly.
  • Once you’ve got your saucepan back on the heat, constantly stir it using a silicon spatula or a whisk until the mixture has become thicker, then remove from the heat.
  • Off the heat, you’ll want to transfer your pastry cream to a bowl or baking tray (the thinner you spread it out, the quicker it’ll cool down) and allow cool completely. Don’t forget to cover the pastry cream with cling film to prevent a skin from forming.

Cheesecake Base & Filling:

250g Digestive biscuits.

100g Butter, melted

 

600g Soft cheese.

The pastry cream you made.

100g Icing sugar.

1 tsp Vanilla extract/vanilla bean paste.

Yellow food gel/paste. (optional)

300ml Double cream.

Cheesecake Base & Filling Method:

  • Line the sides of cake tin and melt the butter either in the microwave or on the hob, set aside to cool slightly.
  • Crush your digestive biscuits down until they reach a crumb/sand consistency, using either a food processor or a plastic food bag and a rolling pin, then add the melted butter and mix until it resembles wet sand.
  • Place the mixture in to the bottom of your prepared cake tin, compressing it down using a cup measurement or something similar. Set in the fridge while you make your cheesecake filling.

 

  • To start on the cheesecake filling, place the soft cheese, pastry cream, icing sugar and vanilla into your mixing bowl and beat them together on a medium-high speed until they are all well combined. It’s here that’ll you want to add your yellow colouring, if you’re using it.
  • Scrape down the sides and bottom of your bowl, to incorporate any parts that may not have been fully worked in.
  • Pour in all of your double cream and incorporate this by whisking it on a medium-high speed until the mixture has become thicker in consistency.
  • Scrape down the side and bottom of your bowl again, then transfer the filling into your cake tin, on top of your buttery biscuit base. Level/smooth off as best as possible using a small offset spatula or spoon.
  • Set in the fridge while you make the jelly topping.

Jelly Topping & Finishing:

1 package of strawberry jelly (follow package instructions for the best setting results).

A couple of sponge fingers, chopped.

 

150ml Double cream.

100s and 1000s (or your choice of sprinkles).

Jelly Topping & Finishing Method:

  • Make your jelly but following the instructions on the back of the package, this will achieve the best results.
  • Pour this mixture on top of your cheesecake and place a few bits of the chopped sponge fingers into the jelly, pushing them down into the cheesecake so they’ll stay in place.
  • Place in the fridge and chill for a minimum of 4 hours but I recommend leaving it overnight or for around 8 hours for the best results.

 

  • Once you’ve removed your cheesecake from the fridge, remove from the tin and discard the parchment/greaseproof and place onto your place or stand of choice.
  • The finishing of the cheesecake is completely up to you, I piped small amounts of freshly whipped cream onto the cheesecake but feel free to spread an amount of it on top instead, if you wanted to get a more authentic trifle looking finish. I then sprinkle on some 100s and 1000s and I’m done.
  • Cut yourself a slice and enjoy.

This recipe doesn’t require a lot in all honesty, its just the time it takes to set which is the major downfall, however its all worth it.

 

Black Forest Cake

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If you are looking for a different take on a black forest gateau, I have you covered. This recipe is perfect for sharing with your friends and family.

This cake was for a family members birthday and whenever I ask them which cake they’d like, its always a black forest gateau. However, I thought I’d play around with the idea and see what I could do. Instead of the cake being the traditional round shape, I chose a rectangle. You may not like the idea of a rectangle cake but it works surprisingly well, plus you can cut the cake to make generous portions regardless of how big or small you cut it.

Anyway, less about that and more about the cake itself. The cake is made up of 3 layers of chocolate sponge cake (that can be brushed with simple syrup, I did one layer with simple syrup but forgot to do the rest… Oops!) which are layered with sweetened whipped cream and home made cherry jam, then coated in the same sweetened whipped cream, which is the crumb coat. Then its given a generous coating of the whipped cream and coated with the chocolate (I used grated but feel free to use your preference), I then normally set it in the fridge to firm up a bit before I finish it off. Once the cake has been in the fridge or around 30-45 minutes, I remove it from the fridge and pipe some rosettes on top and top each rosette with a maraschino cherry (feel free to use whichever cherries you can get your hands on).

Making this cake isn’t that hard, the hardest part is probably making and baking the cake, let me be honest with you. To start the cake you’ll want to make sure you’ve got all of your ingredients weighed up in advance, your oven is preheated and your tray prepared (you can do this 2 ways, either lining the bases with greaseproof/parchement paper or generously buttering and flouring your tins, just make sure you’ve tapped out a majority of the excess flour). Once you’ve done all of your prep work you can start on your cake batter. Start by placing your butter and sugar into your mixing bowl of choice and beating the two together until they are well combined, they’ll be lighter and fluffier in consistency and colour. Once you’ve got your butter and sugar well combined, you can then start adding the egg. You’ll want to do this gradually so you don’t curdle the mixture, a little at a time will help you from doing this.

In a separate bowl, add in your dry ingredients and give them a good mix before adding into your mixture. Add all of your flour into your mixture but pass it through a sieve first to remove any lumps. Mix the dry ingredients in over a low/medium speed, to loosen the mixture slightly I added slightly cooled down boiled water and add it in a tablespoon at a time but feel free to use milk if that what you’d prefer (I will leave all weights and measurements down below). Mix in all your water and make sure there are no traces of any single ingredients.

Once you’ve got your cake batter made, you’ll want to place it all into your prepared tray and spread it until its one consistent level. I used a small cranked/offset spatula to do this but feel free to use whichever utensil you like, a large cranked/offset spatula or silicon spatula will work very well also. Place the baking tray into your preheated oven and allow to bake for around 30-35 minutes (time will vary depending on your oven). Once fully baked, remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before removing from the tray and cutting it up for the three slices that you’ll need.

Once the cake is cooled, you can cut it up into 3 layers and set aside. It’s at this point you’ll want to simple syrup the layers if you’re deciding to do it. In your mixing bowl, pour your double cream, icing sugar and vanilla and whip them together until they have reached a stiff peaks stage, be-careful not to over whip at this point. If you decide to make your own cherry jam, it’s really simple to make, place the cherries, sugar and water into a saucepan and place over a medium heat and leave it for 12-15 minutes until thicker in consistency, if the fruit is still quite large, quickly blitz it in a food processor to break it down a bit, allow to cool before using.

To assemble the cake, get your board or plate of choice, I went with a placemat I’ve never used as it was the perfect size for my cake, but use whatever you have and works well. Spread a small amount of the whipped cream on the base and place your first layer of cake on top of it and press it down a little just to secure it in place, then you’ll want to spread a generous amount of the whipped cream on top of the cake layer, followed by the cherry jam and repeat the process with the next layer of cake. leave the top clear for now, as you’ll want to do a thin layer of the cream to act as a crumb coat and chill in the fridge for 30-45 minutes. Once its firmed up after about 30-45 minutes, you’ll then want to spread a generous amount of the whipped cream onto the top and sides, then coat with a copious amount of chocolate, I used grated as that’s what I prefer but use whatever you can get or prefer. Then you can finish the cake.

Place some of the whipped cream into a piping bag which has a open star tip nozzle at the end and pipe on your rosettes, I went for 8 but feel free to add more if you’d like, its completely up to yourself. To finish the cake completely, add a maraschino cherry on top of each rosette you’ve piped out.

Ingredients:

Cake:

280g Butter.

360g Granulated sugar.

6 Eggs.

360g Plain flour.

50g Cocoa powder.

3 tsp Baking powder.

4-5 tbsp Boiling water/milk (whichever you prefer, either works well).

Decoration: 

500ml Double cream, whipped.

 

Method:

  • Start by weighing up all your ingredients, preheating your oven to 180˚c/350˚f, preparing your tray and making your cherry jam if you’re making it.
  • To make the cherry jam, place the cherries, water and sugar into a medium saucepan over a medium heat and leave for 12-15 minutes until thicker in consistency. If it’s still quite chunky, blitz it in the food processor. Set aside and allow to cool completely before using.
  • To start on the cake batter, place your butter and sugar into your mixing bowl of choice and beat them together until they are lighter and fluffier in consistency and colour. This normally takes about 7-10 minutes depending on the speed you’re using.
  • Scrape down the sides and bottom of your bowl and start adding your egg. Add a little at a time, this is the best way as it prevents scrambling of the mixture. Beat your eggs all together before you intend on adding them, this will allow you to add smaller amounts, rather than a whole egg each time. Repeat this step until all of your eggs have been added.
  • Scrape down the sides and bottom of your bowl, the sis just to incorporate any bits from earlier on that may not have been from earlier on.
  • Place all your dry ingredients into a bowl and mix them together, then pass the through a sieve just to make sure there aren’t any lumps. I sieve my dry ingredients directly into the mixture bowl, feel free to do the same.
  • Mix the dry ingredients in over a low-medium speed. While the flour is incorporating, you’ll want to gradually add the water/milk, make sure it incorporates fully before adding more liquid. Once you can see the flour and liquid are fully incorporated, you can then turn the mixer off and scrape down the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl.
  • Transfer the cake batter into your prepare tin and spread it out as evenly as possible. I used a small cranked/offset spatula to get it as level and smooth as possible but use whichever utensil may work best for you.
  • Place the tray into your preheated oven and bake for around 30-35 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. The time will depend on your oven, so the time may need to be adjusted.
  • Once fully baked, allow to cool completely then slice up into your equal layers, you’l want to make 3 equal layers. Set aside until needed.
  • Whip up a batch of the whipped cream, placing the whipped cream, icing sugar and vanilla into your mixing bowl and whip until it reaches a stiff peak. Try not to over mix at this stage as it will ruin the cream. If you’re making a batch of the cherry jam, place the cherries, sugar and water into a spacepan and place it over a medium heat and leave for 12-15 minutes until its thicker in consistency, you may need to pulse this in a food processor if its still quite chunky. Allow to cool completely before using.
  • Take your board/plate and spread a small amount of the whipped cream onto it and gently press a layer of the cake on top of it. Repeat this stage with the next layer of cake but for the final layer keep it plain.
  • Next you’ll want to do a crumb coat using a small amount of the whipped cream. This is to lock in those pesky crumbs that now won’t ruin your final coat of whipped cream. Once coated, place in the fridge for 30-45 minutes until firm.
  • Once it’s firmed slightly, apply a generous final coat, here is the perfect time to use a majority of the whipped cream.
  • You’ll want to coat the outside of the cake with the grated chocolate (use whatever you have or prefer). Make sure you use a good amount of the chocolate on the finishing. Once fully coated, place in the fridge for 30-45 minutes.
  • To finish the cake you’ll want to pipe out rosettes on top, I did 8 but you could pipe more on there easily. Top each of the rosettes with a maraschino cherry and enjoy.

This cake is best enjoyed on the day its made but can also be enjoyed the day after.

Viennese Whirls

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I have the the best and most straightforward recipe for viennese whirls you could possibly need.

If you’re from the UK then you probably recognise these from a well known cake brand, which is available in in most supermarkets. Forget about those, once you make a batch of these up for yourself, you will not look back!

The biscuits themselves only require 4 ingredients, so they are cheap, quick and easy to make. They can be enjoyed on their own or with the vanilla buttercream and strawberry jam fillings, which compliment the biscuits pretty nicely and the other thing to know about theses that they are fairly bigger than the ones you’d get in the box from the supermarket (I’m a greedy git), so feel free to lower the amount of filling compared to what I used.

The mixing process is easy, it doesn’t matter if you’re using a wooden spoon, electric hand mixer or a stand mixer. It’s the piping that can be a bit difficult and this is because of the amount of flour which is used in these biscuits, it’s a lot. The dough can easily be handled with your hands but to get the signature piped look on top you need to use a piping bag and star tip nozzle, I recommend using a open/wide star tip as to a closed star. If you find your dough hard to pipe out, use the warmth from your hands to warm the dough through the bag (if you try and pipe the dough while it’s too stiff then you will be pushing too much pressure towards the bottom of the bag and it will more than likely split open plop a good amount of the dough out of the bag).

So to get started, you’ll always want to prepare your baking tray, I drew around a circle cutter so my biscuits would be roughly accurate in size to one another, this is ideal if you’re not sure on sizing them. Also, don’t forget to weigh up your ingredients and preheat the oven to  190˚c/375˚f. Now you can start by placing the butter and icing sugar into your mixing bowl of choice and beat the two together until well combined. Then add in your first weight of flour and mix that until well combined, scrape down the sides and bottom of your bowl, then add in the second weight of flour and mix it in until well combined and thats the dough done. Place a open star nozzle into a piping bag and add around about a handful or so of the biscuit dough. If the dough isn’t piping well, use the heat of your hands to warm it up just enough to pipe out your rosettes. These don’t really spread in the open so feel free to pip quite a few onto one tray and place them in your preheated oven and bake for around 18-20 minutes (or until they start to colour around the edge.

As for the filling, I have recommended using vanilla buttercream and strawberry jam but feel free to replace those if you don’t like my choice.  Make your buttercream while your biscuits are baking, start by placing the butter into a bowl and beating until lighter in colour and consistency. Scrape down the sides and bottom of your bowl and place roughly half the amount of icing sugar and beat until fully incorporated, repeat this stage with the remaining icing sugar. Once all the icing sugar is fully incorporated, add in the vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste an mix until well combined, if your buttercream is a little too thick, add a splash of milk just to get it to a more spreadable consistency. As for the jam, feel free to use whatever you’ve got, homemade or shop bought will work well here.

For the assembly of these biscuits, pair your biscuits up and onto one half of them, pipe on a good amount (or a generous amount if you have a sweet tooth) and then pipe on a small amount of jam in the centre of the buttercream and gently place the other biscuit on top of the filling, sandwiching them together. Just before you tuck into one, you’ll want to give them a justing of icing sugar to finish them off, now sit back and enjoy one of these.

Ingredients:

Biscuits:
225g Butter.
45g Icing sugar.
115g Plain flour (1).
145g Plain flour (2).

Bake them in your preheated 190˚c/375˚f for 18-20 minutes.

Filling:

Buttercream:
150g Butter.
300g Icing sugar.
1 tsp Vanilla extract/bean paste.
(optional – milk).

Strawberry jam (but feel free to switch this to a jam or spread you might prefer).

Method:

Biscuits:

  • Weigh up all of your ingredients, preheat your oven to 190˚c/375˚f and line your baking trays with greaseproof/parchment paper.
  • Start the biscuits by placing the butter and icing sugar into your mixing bowl of choice and beat them together until well combined and lighter in colour.
  • Scrape down the sides and bottom of your bowl, to incorporate any bits from earlier on. Then add in your first weight of flour in and mix that in until just combined.
  • Scrape down the bowl again to incorporate any bits that have worked up the bowl. Add in the second weight of flour and just mix that in until its just combined.
  • Prepare a piping bag by placing a 12mm open star nozzle at the end and place a good amount of the dough into the piping bag.
  • Pipe out the dough onto your lined tray (draw some templates if you want to get your biscuits more uniform), these don’t spread very much while in the oven so leave a small space in-between each biscuit. Place the tray in your preheated oven and bake for 18-20 minutes (or until they start to colour around the edges).
  • Once fully baked, remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes on the baking tray, then transfer them over to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Buttercream:

  • Weigh up your ingredients in advance.
  • Place the butter into a mixing bowl an beat it over a medium-high speed until lighter in colour and consistency.
  • Once lighter, you’ll want to add in around half of your icing sugar (make sure you’ve sifted it first, to remove any big lumps) and beat that on a low speed working it up to a high speed, scrape down the bowl and repeat this stage for the other half of the icing sugar.
  • Add in the vanilla (and milk if the buttercream is too stiff, this will help loosen the buttercream down) and mix until well incorporated.
  • Place the buttercream into a piping bag with a 12mm star nozzle and set aside until its needed.

Assembly:Pair your biscuits up with

Chocolate Chip Cookies

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If you’re looking for a chocolate chip cookie recipe that won’t disappoint, you have come to the right place.

This recipe is super simple to make and best of all doesn’t take too long to make either, you’ll be able to have a batch of these made up in under an hour. What’s not to like about these?!

As I mentioned above, these cookies are quick and easy but are also budget friendly. Another great thing about this recipe is that it freezes really well, you can make the dough and get your scoopfuls done and freeze them and whenever you want to pull them out the freezer you simply place them onto a baking tray and bake in your preheated oven (a great idea around the holiday season or for school bake sales, it’ll save you time when you haven’t got it!). The other way is to bake the cookies off and then freeze them if you don’t intend on eating them right away (best to place them into a freezer bag) and whenever you want them, you take them out and defrost them. That way you can have your cookies whenever you like!

Just like the minimal ingredients, then method if the same. Just a few simple steps and you’re done!

Before you get into making these, you’ll want to do a bit of prep work. Preheat your oven to  180˚c/350˚f, prepare your baking tray by either lining it with greaseproof/parchment paper or generously buttering the tray and the final bit of prep is to weight up all your ingredients (this eliminates the chances of getting the measurements wrong and save you faffing around while making the dough.

Into your mixing bowl of choice, place the butter and both sugars and beat on a low-medium speed until they have become well combined. Once combined, you can then add in your egg and vanilla and mix that again on a low-medium speed until its well combined. Next you’ll want to add in your dry ingredients but before you go dumping them into the bowl, you’ll want to sieve them. Sieve them directly into the bowl and then fold them in using a spatula until almost fully incorporated, this is where you’ll want to add your chocolate chips in and mix until you have a clear dough. (by a clear dough, I mean there are no traces of any of the ingredients, they are fully incorporated.

Now that you’ve got your dough, you’ll want to use a cookie or (small) ice-cream scoop, (these are readily available online for pretty cheap) and scoop up the mixture filling the scoop all the way. Remove the dough from the scoop and round it up using your hands, then flattening into a disc shape. If you want to get even more chocolate into these, add a few more chocolate chips on top, pressing them down lightly (here is where you could freeze them to bake off at a later date). Place onto your prepped baking tray, I used a standard size one and got 12 onto it. You can then place the tray into the oven and allow to bake for 10-12 minutes (I found that around 11-12 minutes was perfect for me).

Remove your cookies from the oven (add some more chocolate chips on top, pushing them into the cookies while they are warm, maximise the amount of chocolate) and allow to cool on the tray for 4-5 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack so they can cool completely. You can enjoy them slightly warm or completely cool. These will be best eaten on the day they’re made but will last for up to 3 days in a airtight container (at this stage you can freeze them.

Ingredients:

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.

Method:

  • 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.

Chocolate Layer Cake

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If you’ve made it to this page, welcome. I assume you came looking for a chocolate cake recipe, if so, your lucks in, I have you covered.

The cake is a pretty basic sponge cake (which tastes very nice, even on its own) but what really brings this together is the chocolate buttercream. It isn’t your standard buttercream (which is butter, icing sugar and flavouring and/or colours), this is my recipe for Italian meringue buttercream. It’s a indulgently rich and smooth alternative to other buttercreams, but feel free to use whatever buttercream you’d like.

As mentioned previously, this cake is so simple to make. The mixing process you’ll use for this cake is called the creaming method, this is where you beat the butter and sugar together until they are well combined, then gradually add in the eggs and flavourings, then sift in your dry ingredients and mix them into the mixture until a clear cake batter forms (be careful not to over mix at this stage, otherwise your cake will have a tough texture). You can then divide the cake batter between your cake tins and bake in your preheated oven. It’s even easier than it sounds!

So to start, you’ll want to do some prep work which will help you in the process. Weigh up all of your ingredients, this saves you faffing about (and saves you making mistakes), preheat your oven to 180˚c/350˚f and prepare your cake tins, you can do it two ways. Either generously butter and flour each tin (spread a generous amount of butter on the base and around the sides, then add a small amount of flour and move it around the tin until there is good coating of flour. In place of the flour, feel free to use cocoa powder for chocolate cakes) or line the bottom of the tin with parchment/greaseproof paper.

Once you get all your prep done, you can start to make your cake batter. Place the butter and sugar into your bowl of choice, (I used my KitchenAid mixer stand bowl) and beat the two together until they are well combined. Once they have been beating for around 5-7 minutes, you will notice the mixture will become more pale in colour and lighter in consistency. You can then start to gradually add your eggs, add them 1 at a time or if you beat all your eggs together, incorporate the eggs roughly one at a time. Repeat this stage until your eggs are all fully incorporated. If you notice that your mixture has curdled, add a small amount of your weighed flour to prevent this from happening.

So the final stage of mixing the cake is to incorporate the dry ingredients. So, you’ll want to sift your dry ingredients in around 3 additions, in-between each addition of flour you’ll want to mix in the milk (I opted for whole milk but feel free to use your preference). This method produces the best cake, it’s light, fluffy and perfect for a layer cake.

Once you’ve got your cake batter made, you’ll want to divide it between the 4x 8 inch/20cm tins. You can do this by eye or for a more precise measurement you can weigh out the total amount of cake batter, using scales and divide it to get the exact amount you’ll need for each tin, for me this amount was 625g per tin. Level and smooth out the cake batter in each tin and place in your preheated oven and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Once baked, allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes then remove from the tins and allow to cool on cooling racks until fully cool.

When it comes to making the buttercream, I would recommend making it while your cakes are baking in the oven as you’ll be able to whip up a batch in that time easily. Start by placing the water and sugar into the saucepan and allowing them to bubble on a medium heat until they reach 121˚c/250˚f. While you wait for sugar and water mixture to come to the temperature, place the egg yolks and whole egg into a mixing bowl and beat them together until they are very well combined (they will also change colour, becoming noticeable paler and the volume will roughly quadruple). Once your sugar and water mixture has reached the required temperature, gradually add the liquid mixture to your mixing bowl (over a low speed) and once it’s all been added crank the speed up to high to help the mixture cool down.

Once you can touch the bottom of your bowl, you can start adding your butter. Add the butter in small chunks, add it at a steadily pace, but don’t worry if the consistency becomes loose, once the butter is fully incorporated and it has been in the fridge it will firm up. Add in your melted chocolate and allow to beat in until its well combined. If you place it in the fridge, give it a quick mix before you use it.

Once you’ve got all your cakes are fully cooled down, you’ll want to trim them down, just to remove the outer layer of caramelisation. I use my cake leveller to make them nice and level, (but feel free to use a rule and a knife) I repeat this for all my cakes and then simple syrup them all, the simple syrup is optional but I like to flavour it with vanilla extract so you get a hint of vanilla. I then get my cake layers and start to stack my cake, spread a small amount of your buttercream onto the board (or plate) of choice, then place your first layer of cake on top, give a generous layer of buttercream and place the second layer of cake on top of that. I think you can see where I am going with this, just repeat this stage until all of your cake layers have been used, then you’ll want to add a crumb coat of buttercream to the cake (this just locks in all the crumbs, so your final coat buttercream won’t have any crumbs in it). Place in the fridge for around 30-45 minutes and then apply the final layer of buttercream.

You can then finish the cake however you’d like but I fancied taking this one step further, adding a chocolate drip. The drip I intended on adding wouldn’t be a ganache one, it would be a Nutella one instead. Finish the top of the cake however you like, I piped small rosettes on top and places some sprinkles on those and in the centre of the cake, I finished with a generous amount of grated chocolate.

 

Ingredients :

Chocolate cake:

550g Butter, at room temperature.

700g Granulated sugar.

12 Eggs.

750g Plain flour.

65g Cocoa powder.

30g Baking powder.

A generous pinch of salt.

Chocolate Italian buttercream:

375g Granulated sugar.

95g Water.

105g Egg yolks.

1 Egg.

750g Butter, at room temperature.

200g Dark chocolate, melted and allowed to cool before using.

Simple syrup:

200g Granulated sugar.

200g Water.

1 tsp Vanilla extract.

Method: (I know this is quite a long post, so I’ve given you the method in a quicker to read format down below).

Cake :

  • Before you get started on making the cake and/or buttercream, make sure you have all your ingredients weighed up, your oven is preheated to 180˚c/350˚f and you’ve prepared all of your cake tins
  • To start the cake, place your butter and sugar into your mixing bowl of choice and beat them together until they are well combined (they will become paler in colour and fluffier in consistency).
  • You will then want to gradually add your eggs into the butter mix, roughly 1 egg at a time, beating well in-between each addition. Repeat this step until all your eggs are incorporated, remember if your mixture curdles add a small amount of your weighed out flour.
  • Scrape down the sides and bottom of your bowl, then sift in 1/3 of your dry ingredients and allow that to mix in, then add a small amount of milk. Repeat this stage for the remaining dry ingredients and milk.
  • Once you’ve got your cake batter, divide it between your prepared pans. Either measure by eye or using scales for a more accurate measurement. 
  • Spread and level out your cake batter in the tins, then place in your preheated oven and bake for 30-35 minutes (or until a tester comes out clean).

Chocolate Italian buttercream:

  • Place your sugar and water into a medium saucepan and stir together, place the saucepan over a medium heat and allow to come up to 121˚c/250˚f.
  • While you wait for the sugar and water mixture to come up to temperature, into a mixing bowl of choice, place all of the egg yolks and whole egg and whisk them together over a medium-high speed. You will notice that the mixture will quadruple in size and become much paler, don’t worry this is completely normal.
  • Once your mixture has reached 121˚c/250˚f, you will then want to add it to the egg mixture. Lower the speed and steadily pour it into the mixture. Once its all added, you can then crank the speed back up to a medium-high and allow to cool down.
  • When you can touch the bottom of your bowl, you can start adding your butter in at a steady pace. Don’t add it too quickly or you’ll make it too liquid and won’t be able to save it. If you notice that the mixture is loose, don’t worry. Once all of the butter is incorporated it will thicken up. Place in the fridge for a bit before you intend to use it.

 

  • The assembly of the cake is really simple, spread a small amount of buttercream onto the board or plate you intend on using, then place your first layer of cake on, top that with a generous layer of icing and repeat for the rest of your cake layers. Once you’ve done all your cake layers, give the cake a generous crumb coat and set in the fridge for 30-45 minutes.
  • Remove from the fridge and give the cake its final layer of buttercream. You can then finish the cake however you like, I opted for a Nutella drip in place of the traditional ganache drip. On top of the cake I piped rosettes and used sprinkles and seeing as the centre was blank, I added a generous amount of grated chocolate. What more does a chocolate cake need? More chocolate of course.

This is certainly the right cake for someone who is a chocolate lover, it has chocolate in all aspects of it… Perfect! This cake was being sent into an office for a women who is a fan of chocolate cake and this went down well, I was assured of it!

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

Chocolate Hedgehogs

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If you remember these chocolatey cornflake mounds from school, this recipe is going to give you a throwback!I have seen people call these ‘chocolate hedgehogs’ and ‘Chocolate cracknell’ but I have always known them as chocolate hedgehogs.

I have seen these chocolate hedgehogs and other old school bakes rise in popularity, especially over on social media. People have been posting asking for recipes and I’ve even seen people start making these from home and selling them, which is great but some of them are a bit hit and miss, if I’m honest. If you remember these, this will sure take you back to your school days.

Anyway, if you’re not sure exactly what these are, I’ll tell you. They are a really simple, no bake dessert that use to be served in schools in and around England. As always with these old school recipes, I’m never sure if they are local or national, I know they can have several names for the same bake. So basically they are cornflakes coated with a chocolatey syrupy mixture which is then scooped up into a large ice cream scoop, compressed, then placed in the fridge to chill for a short while, easy enough right? This is the perfect recipe if you’re looking for something chocolatey, crunch and sweet this might just hit the spot.

There isn’t really a whole lot to do when making these, so these would be ideal to make with kids. Anyway, melt the butter and syrup together, either in a microwave or in a saucepan over a medium heat. Once melted, allow to cool for a few minutes while you mix together your cornflakes, sugar and cocoa powder, then pour over your liquid mixture on top of the cornflake mixture and mix very well until its all well combined. You will notice a change in the colour of the cornflakes, this is due to the cocoa powder. Once it’s all well combined, get your ice cream scooped scoop up a good amount and then compress them down using either a spoon or a smaller cup measurement, either will work well.You will then want to transfer each your compressed mounds of the chocolate cornflakes onto a lined baking tray and once you’ve filled your tray, place in the fridge for around 30-45 minutes, then enjoy. These are quick and easy and best of all are no-bake and don’t require any baking (which is ideal as the UK is currently experiencing a heatwave and just the thought of being in a warm kitchen makes me not want to bake). These are best enjoyed on the day you make them but can be enjoyed the following day if you have left overs or are making them in advance.

 

Ingredients:

180g Cornflakes.

65g Granulated sugar.

25g Cocoa powder.

128g Butter.

110g Golden syrup.

Method:

  • Start by weighing up all your ingredients and lining your baking tray with grease proof/parchment.
  • Melt your butter and golden syrup together, you can do this one of two ways. Either in the microwave in 30 second intervals until melted or in the saucepan over a medium heat, stirring until melted. Allow to cool slightly before using it.
  • Place your cornflakes, sugar and cocoa powder into a large mixing bowl and stir them until well combined.
  • Next you’ll want to pour over the syrup mixture and give it a really good mix, you’ll want all of the cornflakes to be coated roughly the same, take your time and get them well covered.
  • Once it’s all well combined, using your ice cream scoop you’ll want to scoop up a generous amount and then compress that using either the back of a spoon or a smaller cup measurement will work well. Apply enough pressure so it holds its shape once out of the ice cream scoop.
  • Transfer the mounds onto your prepared baking tray and once you’ve got a tray full, place it into the fridge and allow them to chill until they are firm. I find that around 30-45 minute works perfectly but remember yours may need more or less time, it all depends on your fridge.
  • After they’ve done chilling in the fridge, remove them and enjoy them on their own. They are perfect chocolatey, crispy and can be made in under an hour… What’s not to like about these?

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

Cornflake Tart Recipe

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If you’re looking for the perfect recipe for a cornflake tart, look no further, I’ve got your back.

Now I’m not sure if this is a local thing or national but if you went to school in the UK, you might recognise this. This recipe has been around for quite some time, a lot of people who went to school in the 70s, 80s, 90s or 00s should remember this! It’s super simple to make and doesn’t take that long either – what’s not to like?

This recipe is my take on the traditional version of a cornflake tart, it’s a really quick, easy and cheap recipe to make and will go down well with many who get to try it. If you’re not sure what a cornflake tart is, I’ll give you a quick run down of what exactly it is. It’s a pastry case which is topped with jam (I opted for strawberry, which is what i remember but feel free to use any berry jam) and then topped with cornflakes that have a sugary sweet syrup stirred throughout them. So, it’s 3 simple layers of shortcrust pastry, jam and sweetened cornflakes, you might even have the stuff in to make it!

If you haven’t made your own pastry before, don’t worry. I have a great recipe for my own shortcrust pastry that I use for all of my pie and tart crusts, it’s yet to fail me! Don’t be intimidated by the thought of making pastry, it’s simpler than you’d think. Here is a link to my recipe, it’s got all the information you need to know, along with tips and tricks on how to make this turn out perfect for you each and every time!

Once you’ve made your pastry and allowed it to chill in the fridge, you’ll want to take roughly about half of it and roll it out until it’s about an inch bigger than the tin you’re using, I opted for a disposable 6 inch/15cm tray but feel free to use whatever you have. Once the pastry is rolled out, I then place it in the tray and press it down so it’s in place and then trim away the excess from around the edge, then dock the bottom of the pastry using a fork, this is just to stop the pastry from having air pockets while baking. The final stage before we bake this is to place it in the fridge for around 1 hour, then bake it off at the required temperature. *I only chilled mine for a short period, so the longer you chill it for, the less it will shrink*.

While your pastry case is baking in the oven, it’s best to make the filling. Place the all the ingredients (except for the cornflakes and jam) into a small saucepan and melt them together over a medium heat, stirring well. Once it’s all melted and well combined, the mixture will be a deep orange colour. Pour this mixture over your cornflakes and stir the two together until they are well coat, it doesn’t take very long at all.

Once the pastry case is out the oven, spread a good amount of your jam on top of it, then spoon on your cornflake mixture. I like to add mine gradually so I don’t make a mess, but feel free to do it your own way. once you’ve added all the cornflakes on top of the jam, I like to gently push them down a little, so its more compact. Pop this back in the oven for a few more minutes, just so the cornflakes become more golden brown, remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before enjoying.

Ingredients:

Cornflake Filling :
115g Golden syrup.
55g Butter.
20g Granulated sugar.
20g Demerara sugar.
A pinch of salt.
85g Cornflakes.
100-150g Jam (I used strawberry but feel free to use any red berry jam).

Method:

  • Make your pastry (using my recipe, if you’d like) and allow that to chill in the fridge for 1 hour before use.
  • After 1 hour, roll out half of the pastry, just until its about 1 inch/2.5cm bigger than the 6 inch tin/tray you’re using.
  • Press down the pastry into the tin and trim away the excess from the sides. (If your pastry has ripped or torn, fix it at this stage).
  • Dock the bottom of the pastry, using a fork.  This prevents pockets of air forming while the pastry is baking.
  • Chill in the fridge for around an hour, then bake in your preheated oven at 200˚c/400˚f for 15-20 minutes.
  • While the pastry is baking, make your cornflake filling. Place the golden syrup, butter, granulated sugar, demerara sugar and a pinch of salt into a small saucepan and place that over a medium heat until everything has melted and come together, stirring well.
  • Remove the liquid mix from the heat and pour over the cornflakes, stirring well until the cornflakes are all well coated in the syrup mixture.
  • Once the pastry case has been removed from the oven, spread over a generous amount of jam (I opted for strawberry but feel free to use your preferred flavour) and then spoon on your cornflake mix, pressing it down slightly once all the mix is in the case. Place back in the oven for a following 5-7 minutes (or until the cornflakes are starting to turn a golden brown colour).
  • Allow to cool completely before you enjoy it, to serve enjoy it on its own or with custard, cream or ice cream.

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

Chocolate Concrete

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If you’re looking for a nostalgic recipe for chocolate concrete, you have come to the right place. I have the recipe that’ll hit the spot!

As mentioned above, this recipe is another recipe that has been around for many years and enjoyed by many people. If you were at school any time between the 1970s and the 2000s, then you should remember this being served at lunch times every now and again. If you remember this, do you remember pink custard? Chocolate concrete and pink custard are a match made in heaven.

I’m not sure if this is a local or national thing, people from (and around) the West Midlands know it as chocolate concrete and others know it as chocolate crunch, whichever you know it as, here is the perfect recipe for you to make at home. If you’re not sure exactly what it is, well… It’s a traybake biscuit x cake, it’s not one or the other, it is it’s own thing. You can enjoy it on it’s own or with a serving of pink custard.

This is probably one of the simplest things to make, like ever. It only requires a few ingredients, minimal mixing and a short time in the oven… Why don’t you make a batch? So, to make the chocolate concrete dough, place all of your ingredients into the mixing bowl and mix until a clear dough has formed. That’s it, seriously it’s that simple. You place that into your 8 inch/20cm square cake tin, bake in the oven at 175˚c/350˚f for 25-30 minutes. While your concrete is cooling down, you can make your custard. It doesn’t take that long to make, you will want to make it just before you intend to serve it. I’ll leave the full method down below, if you’re interested in making them.

Once fully baked and out the oven, you’ll want to scatter a generous amount of sugar on top and allow it to cool completely before you serve it. This is best served either on it’s own or with a generous serving of the pink custard.

Ingredients – 

Chocolate Concrete:

445g Plain flour.
1 tsp Baking powder.
50g Cocoa powder.
250g Granulated sugar.
370g Butter.
1 Egg.

Bake at 175˚c/350˚f for 25-30 minutes.

Pink Custard:

200ml Whole milk.
2 Egg yolks.
20-30g Granulated sugar.
1 tsp Vanilla extract/bean paste.
1 tsp Plain flour.
Food gel (to colour).

 

Method: 

Chocolate concrete:

  • Start by weighing up all of your ingredients, preheating your oven to 175˚c/350˚f and preparing your 8 inch/20cm square tin with greaseproof paper/parchment paper.
  • Place the flour, baking powder, cocoa powder, sugar, butter and egg into your mixing bowl and mix them all together until a clear dough forms.
  • Once your dough is ready, transfer it from your mixing bowl to your lined tin and press it into all the corners and try and get it as level as possible by pressing it down using a spatula or cup measurement.
  • Place the tin in your preheated oven and bake for 25-30 minutes.
  • Remove from the oven and scatter over some granulated sugar and allow to cool completely before cutting.

Pink Custard: 

  • Start by weighing up all the ingredients you will be using to make the custard.
  • Pour the milk into a medium saucepan and place it onto the hob over a medium heat until it reaches a boil.
  • In a medium sized bowl, place the egg yolks, sugar, vanilla extract/bean paste and flour and mix until it’s well combined and become one consistent colour.
  • Once your milk has come to a boil, add a small amount of the milk to your egg mixture and whisk constantly. This is to temper the egg mixture so it doesn’t scramble when you add the remaining milk.
  • Add the remaining milk and whisk to combine. Once combined transfer the mixture back to the sauce pan.
  • Add a small amount of colour paste and whisk that in until combined, then return to the heat and stir is with a spatula constantly until the mixture thickens. *please note the custard doesn’t thicken very much, this is because it’s a pouring custard*.

Serving:

  • Slice your chocolate concrete up into squares or rectangles and enjoy it either on it’s own or with a generous amount of the freshly made pink custard on top and tuck in straight away.

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

Strawberry and White Chocolate No-Bake Cheesecake

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If you are looking for a summery recipe that doesn’t require any baking, I have the perfect recipe for you. I’m showing you how to make a strawberry and white chocolate no-bake cheesecake – even better there is no gelatine in this recipe. What’s not to love?

As mentioned above, this recipe is perfect for the summer season. It’s bursting with flavour, the combination of fresh strawberries and white chocolate is always a winner but even more so with this cheesecake. Don’t worry about adding fresh strawberries into this cheesecake, it won’t change the consistency at all – it just enhances the natural flavours, meaning you don’t have to add any artificial flavourings. Now isn’t that great?

This cheesecake doesn’t require many ingredients or a lot of time to make it, the only drawback is it takes time to set. I find that cheesecakes set in 4-5 hours but leaving them overnight will yield you the best results – thats the best advice I could give you when it comes to making any no-bake cheesecake!

Anyway, this cheesecake has the most basic but iconic base in the history of no-bake cheesecakes, the buttery digestive biscuit base. It sure isn’t anything fancy but when you partner this with the creamy cheesecake, it’s a sure winner with almost all cheesecakes. On top of this buttery biscuit base lays the best and most flavourful cheesecake ever. It’s a simple recipe that doesn’t require many ingredients or for you to be a culinary expert to make it, just a little time and effort and you can knock one of these out!

What makes these cheesecakes even better is you don’t need a stand mixer, a simple mixing bowl and whisk will make this, it just requires a little more elbow grease. Granted, I opted for a stand mixer on this occasion as I wanted to make something but wanted it to be quick and easy so this fitted the bill so well. I believe that most of the ingredients I use are available around the world, but if not feel free to leave me a comment and I may be able to help you!

When I was coming up with the idea of this, I was thinking what I could partner with the strawberries. It hit me after about 3-4 hours, strawberry and white chocolate, they partner well together so why not try them in cheesecake form. To start the cheesecake you’ll want to make the base. Blitz your biscuits either in a food processor until it reaches a sandy/breadcrumb consistency, then add in the butter and mix until it looks like wet sand. If you’re doing this stage by hand, place the biscuits into a plastic food bag and bash the biscuits using a rolling pin and follow the same method as the food processor from here. Push the biscuit base down so its compact in the base of your 8 inch/20cm cake tin and set in the fridge while you make the cheesecake filling.

To make the cheesecake filling, place the soft cheese, icing sugar and vanilla into your mixing bowl of choice and mix until it’s well combined, then scrape down the sides and bottom of your bowl. Add in all of the cream and whisk this on a medium high speed until its become much thicker in consistency, once that’s been achieved you can add the strawberries and white chocolate and fold that in using a spatula until well combined and the fruit is fairly distributed. Feel free to add a small amount of food paste in at this stage, I thought mine would turn out pinker but adding a small amount of colour paste helped me achieve this. Place this mixture on top of the biscuit base and smooth it off as best you can, then place in the fridge for a minimum of 4-5 hours or preferably overnight.

To finish the cheesecake, remove it from the tin and place onto a plate or cake stand. You can then pipe on small amounts of freshly whipped cream, top half of them with fresh strawberries and the other half with grated white chocolate. Then slice and enjoy – its fresh, fruit and creamy all in one mouthful. The perfect addition to any summer day.

Ingredients:

Biscuit Base:

  • 250g Digestive biscuits.
  • 100g Butter (melted).

Cheesecake Filling:

  • 400g Soft cheese.
  • 100g Icing sugar.
  • 1 tsp Vanilla bean paste/extract.
  • 200ml Double cream.
  • 150g Strawberries, roughly chopped.
  • 100g White chocolate, roughly chopped.

Decoration:

  • Whipped cream.
  • Strawberries (as many as you wish to use).
  • White chocolate (I opted for grated but feel free to use it however you like.

There is no baking required, however this cheesecake does require chilling time. Over night (8+ hours in the fridge) or for 6-8 hours before removing from the tin and slicing.

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