Autumn

Red Velvet Cake

This American classic cake is a super simple and straightforward one to make. Today I’m sharing my take on a red velvet cake! I’m not going to try and claim this cake as a traditional version, as it isn’t – it’s my interpretation.

The cake is a staple in most bakeries, cafés and coffee shops. Almost all of them will have this for sale by the slice which is nice but why do that when you can make the cake at home and have fun while doing it?

You may know this cake for being a little different… It uses bicarbonate of soda as the raising agent and has both chocolate and vanilla flavours as well as a bright red cake finished with a thick and creamy cream cheese icing – the perfect combo!

If you like the tangy flavour of the brightly coloured cake partnered with the rich cream cheese icing, this is the cake for you!

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

Cake:

Red Food paste/gel.

20g Cocoa powder.

1 tsp Vanilla extract.

125g Butter.

300g Granulated sugar.

3 Eggs.

190g Plain flour.

1/4 tsp Salt.

125ml Buttermilk.

1/2 tsp Bicarbonate of soda.

1 1/2 tsp White vinegar.

Simple syrup (optional):

100g Granulated sugar.

100ml Water.

1/2 tsp Vanilla extract.

Cream cheese icing:

375g Icing sugar.

70g Butter.

105g Soft cheese.

Methods:

Before you get started on the recipe, you’ll want to do some prep. I recommend you start by weighing up all of the ingredients, lining the 6 inch round cake tins with some parchment paper (or butter and line them), preheat your oven to 180˚c/350˚f and grab any equipment you may need, such as a mixer, mixing bowl and silicon spatula.

To start on the cake, you’ll want to grab a small mixing bowl and place in the red food colouring gel/paste, vanilla extract and cocoa powder. Mix everything together until you have a dark red thick paste and set aside until you need it later on.

Then in another bowl place the butter and granulated sugar, then beat together until they are lighter and fluffier in colour and consistency.

You can then go ahead and give the bowl a good scraping down, just to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully worked in from earlier on.

Now you can take the red cocoa powder mixture you made earlier and add all of it into the mixing bowl and mix on a medium-high speed until the mixture has become a solid red colour.

Add in your eggs, one at a time, beating well in-between each addition. Once all of the eggs have been added and are incorporated, you will want to give the bowl a quick scraping down.

Then you can go ahead and add around a third of the flour, mixing that in until its fully incorporated then alternate with the buttermilk until you have none of either left over. One thing to note is that you should start with dry and end with dry.

Give the bowl a good scraping down, just to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully worked in.

Then you can go ahead and add in the bicarbonate of soda and directly on top add the white vinegar – this should fizzle and react (this is completely normal, it’s a chemical reaction. Fold those two into the cake batter until it’s been fully worked in.

Split the cake batter between your two lined cake tins and place into the preheated oven and bake for 30-35 minutes or until they are well risen (and a tester comes out clean when inserted into the centre).

While the cakes are in the oven, you can make your simple syrup. To do so, grab a small-medium saucepan and place the sugar, water and vanilla extract, giving them a good mix to combine.

Then place on the hob over a high heat and allow to come to a boil, then simmer for around 1 minute and then remove from the heat and transfer into another bowl/cup to cool down fully.

Now is also the perfect time to make your cream cheese icing!

To start on the cream cheese icing, grab a clean mixing bowl and place in the icing sugar and butter – mix the two together until they come together and the mixture is ‘crumbly’ looking.

Then you can go ahead and add in the soft cheese, start the mixer on a low-medium speed just to allow that cream cheese to incorporate. Once it has been incorporated, crank the speed up to high speed and mix for as long as needed to achieve the perfect consistency – which is when the icing holds its shape. If your cream cheese icing seems a little too thin, add a little more icing sugar and mixing helps to achieve the perfect consistency

Once your icing is made, you can then set that in the fridge until you need it later on.

Now that your cakes are made, you will want to allow them to cool fully before you do anything with them – this gives you time to get washed and cleaned, ready to ice and decorate the cake in a little while.

A couple of hours later, you should be more than ready to finish the cake off. You should start by removing the cakes from the tins and levelling them off but don’t forget to keep the bits you’ve cut off as we will need some of the crumbs later on.

Brush each of the cakes over with the simple syrup on a cooling rack and give them a few minutes.

Take your cake stand/plate/board and spread a small amount of cream cheese icing into the centre of it and place on top your first layer of cake (pressing down slightly to secure in place) and top that with a good amount of the cream cheese icing and then sandwich the second layer of cake on top.

Usually for cake Is like to do a crumb coat but I hardly ever do it with this cake, theres no real reason. I just take my icing and generously slather it on to the sides and top of the cake and roughly smooth it out – it doesn’t have to be perfect. You’ll want to make sure theres enough icing on top to do the swirl… This is commonly seen on a lot of bakery style cakes (its a simple and professional way of finishing the cake).

Then with some of the cake crumbs from earlier on, sprinkle them around the top edge of the cake, like a border of red velvet crumbs.

That’s how I make my red velvet cake – easy right? Why don’t you try it soon – its always a crowd pleaser whenever I make it!

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.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Rolls

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

This weeks bread recipe is for a batch of peanut butter and jelly rolls, its something a little different but the combination and balance make these rolls work really well.

These rolls were the accidental creation… I was trying to use up the odds and end I had in the cupboard and magically, I came up with these stunning rolls. I know they aren’t the best looking but trust me, they are super tasty!

If you like cinnamon rolls or Chelsea buns, then you might like these – seeing as they are the perfect alternative to either of them. They’re not the most seasonal baked treat, I’m aware but hey, they are packed with flavour and delicious – what more could you ask for really?

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

Bread:

500g Strong white bread flour.

50g Fresh yeast.

75g Butter.

75g Granulated sugar.

15g Milk powder.

1 Egg.

175ml Water (Luke warm).

Peanut Butter Filling:

150-200g Light brown sugar.

80g Butter.

20g Ground cinnamon.

Topping:

Strawberry Jam (the amount will vary on how much you’d like, I used a fair amount to balance out the ratio roughly compared to the peanut butter).

Method:

Before you get started on the recipe, you’ll want to do some prep work. Start by weighing up all of your ingredients, lining a 9×13 inch deep sided baking tin with parchment paper and get any equipment you may need ready, such as a stand mixer (or mixing bowl) and spatulas.

I like to start with the dough. To make the dough you’ll want to start with taking a mixing bowl and place in the bread flour and salt, giving them a brief mix just to combine the two.

Then place the remaining ingredients into the bowl and mix them all together on a low speed to start with (for 2 minted approx), working your way to a high speed (for 6 minutes) until a dough has formed. The dough should be soft, if it’s sticky, don’t worry too much, we should be able to fix this in a little bit.

Flour the work surface with a generous amount of bread flour and place the dough onto it. Knead the dough until the dough is smooth and elasticated. This may take some time, but the dough will become easier to work with as some of that flour is incorporated.

Place the dough into the lightly oiled bowl, cover the bowl with cling-film and allow to proof until the dough has doubled in size, for me this is usually about an hour but depending on the climate where you live this time may require adjusting.

While the dough is proving, you can make the peanut butter filling. Into a bowl, place the butter, light brown sugar, ground cinnamon and peanut butter into a mixing bowl.

Whisk all of the ingredients together until they are all well combined, they should come together and form a peanut butter coloured spreadable paste.

Once the dough has completed its first proof, you’ll want to generously flour your worktop and place the dough onto it. You can then knock the dough back, this is just the process of removing the gases that had built up during the first proof.

Now the dough has been knocked back, bring the dough into a ball shape and start to roll the dough out using a rolling pin. The dough may resist being rolled out, this is a sign that the gluten has formed, this is a good sign. You’ll want to roll the dough out to a rectangle with the rough dimensions of 25cm x 45cm.

Take the peanut butter filling and spread it all over the dough, until you have a generous and level amount spread on the dough.

Take the long side of dough (the one nearest you) and start to roll it up. Start by rolling around 2cm of the dough into the first roll and then just continue the rolling until you’ve fully rolled the dough. Make sure that you keep each roll of the dough tight (ensuring the seem is on the bottom of the dough.

Slice the dough at around 1 inch increments, they’ll be your individual

Place the rolls into a deep sided tray, I used my trusty Nordic Ware 9×13 baking tray (this is not an affiliate link, it’s a link to the exact one I have). Cover the tray with cling film and allow to double in size. Prove for around 30-45 minutes – these rolls will batch while baking, this is normal.

While the rolls are having the second proof, you can go ahead and preheat your oven to 180˚c/350˚f. Once your rolls have proofed up nicely, you can remove the clingfilm from on top of the dough and place into the preheated oven and bake for 30-35 minutes (they should be a golden brown colour).

Now that the peanut butter rolls are baked, remove from the oven and allow to cool down, almost fully before you finish them off.

Once they’re almost cooled down, you can the dollop the strawberry jam on top of each of the rolls and spread it all out until you have a good coverage of jam over the rolls.

Cinnamon Rolls

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

Today I’ll be showing you how to make cinnamon rolls, my personal favourite baked good!

October is my birthday month, so I thought I’d make a few of my favourite baked goods – starting with this week’s recipe for cinnamon rolls.

These are easily my favourite baked good, it starts with a fluffy bread dough which is filled a cinnamon brown sugar filling and once baked, topped with a cream cheese icing. If you think the store-bought ones were good, wait until you try these.

Let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

Bread:

500g Strong white bread flour.

8g Salt.

50g Fresh yeast.

75g Butter.

75g Granulated sugar.

15g Milk powder.

1 Egg,

175ml Water (Luke warm).

Cinnamon Filling:

250g Light brown sugar.

250g Butter.

25g Ground cinnamon.

Cream Cheese Icing:

85g Soft cheese.

60g Butter.

200g Icing sugar.

1 tsp Vanilla extract.

Methods:

Before you get into any baking, you’ll want to do some prep work first. Take the time to weigh up all the ingredients, lightly oil a bowl and get any equipment ready. When the time comes, preheat your oven to 180˚c/350˚f.

Bread:

To start on the bread dough, place the bread flour and salt into a bowl and give it a good mix to incorporate the two together.

Then place the remaining ingredients into the bowl, then mix them all together on a medium-low speed until a dough has formed. The dough should be soft, if it’s sticky, add a little flour.

Flour the work surface with a generous amount of bread flour and place the dough onto it. Knead the dough until the dough is smooth and elasticated. This takes around 5-7 minutes, depending on how well mixed it was in the first place.

Place the dough into the lightly oiled bowl, cover the bowl with cling-film and allow to proof/prove for around 60 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

While the dough is proving, you can make the cinnamon sugar filling. Into a bowl, place the butter, light brown sugar and cinnamon into a mixing bowl.

Beat all the ingredients together until they are all well combined, they should come together and form a cinnamony-brown coloured spreadable paste.

Once the dough has completed its first proof/prove, you’ll want to generously flour your worktop and place the dough onto it. You can then knock the dough back, this is just the process of removing the gases that had built up.

Now the dough has been knocked back, onto a floured worktop, bring the dough into a ball shape and start to roll the dough out using a rolling pin. The dough may resist being rolled out, this is a sign that the gluten has formed, this is a good sign. You’ll want to roll the dough out to roughly 40cm x 60cm.

Take the cinnamon sugar filling and spread it all over the dough, until you have a generous and level amount spread on the dough.

Slice the dough at around 1 inch for each roll. Do this for all your rolls.

Place the rolls into a deep sided tray, my first tray I got 6 into it but you may be able to get more-or-less depending on the size of your tray.

Cover the tray/s with cling film and allow to double in size. Prove for around 30-45 minutes – these will batch while baking, this is normal.

Bake in your preheated oven at 180˚c/350˚f for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

While your cinnamon rolls are baking in the oven, it’s the perfect time to make the cream cheese icing which will top the rolls.

Into your mixing bowl of choice, place the cream cheese, butter, icing sugar and vanilla extract. Beat together on a medium-high speed until all of the ingredients have become fully combined.

Once you have been mixing the cream cheese icing together for around 4-5 minutes, you should notice that the mixture goes from a yellowish colour to a lighter yellow but more white colour and should be much lighter and fluffier in consistency.

Set the cream cheese icing aside until its needed later.

Now that the cinnamon buns are baked, remove from the oven and allow to cool down, almost fully before you finish them off.

Once the cinnamon rolls are almost cooled down, you can start to add the cream cheese icing on to the buns. I start with a little on each and adding more as its needed – add as much as you’d like.

Then to finish the rolls, you’ll want to give them a light dusting of some ground cinnamon. This is optional but I really like cinnamon, so why not?

Well, that’s how you make cinnamon rolls my way. They are (fairly?) quick and easy to make, which makes them that bit more enjoyable. If you make too many, bake them off, then wrap them with some cling film and place into the freezer. You can keep the rolls in the freeze for up to 3 months, just make fresh cream cheese icing when you take them out.

That’s all for this week 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 next week with another blog post and YouTube video, so join me then. In the meanwhile, don’t forget to check out my Instagram and Twitter. The YouTube video will be linked down below.

Pumpkin Spice Meringue Pie

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

It’s now officially Autumn, so it’s officially time to have all things pumpkin spice. Starting with this pumpkin spice meringue pie, let’s get started, shall we?

Now that Autumn is in full swing, it’s acceptable to enjoy all things seasonal. Starting with autumnal food and drinks (including pumpkin spice latte), if you like pumpkin spice latte, this recipe is perfect for you.

Starting with a shortcrust pastry case, filled with a pumpkin spice pastry cream and topped with a meringue which is toasted. A perfectly seasonal recipe, believe me. The flavour combinations may not sound like they’ll work, but they do.

Let’s get start on the recipe, shall we?

Ingredients:

Pastry:

Here is how to make the pastry.

Pastry cream:

500ml Whole milk.

1 tsp Vanilla extract.

2 tsp Coffee granules.

2 tsp Pumpkin spice.

100g Pumpkin puree (homemade pumpkin puree recipe also available)

120g Egg yolks.

100g Granulated sugar.

60g Plain flour.

Meringue:

160g Egg whites.

320g Granulated sugar

1 tsp Vanilla extract.

Methods:

Before you get into making any element of the pumpkin meringue pie, you’ll want to do some prep work. Start by weighing up all your ingredients, preheating the oven (before its needed) and getting any equipment you may need ready, so it’s at hand.

Pastry:

Start by following my recipe on how to make the pastry.

You can then bake the 8-inch pie case off at 180˚c/350˚f for around 20 minutes, then remove the baking beans and egg wash, then bake for a further 10-15 minute until golden brown.

Once baked, remove from the oven and allow to cool fully, before you intend on using it.

Pastry Cream:

To start on the pastry cream, get yourself a medium or large saucepan and place in the whole milk and vanilla then whisk to combine. Then you can add the coffee granules, pumpkin spice and pumpkin puree, whisking well in-between each addition.

Place the saucepan onto the hob, over a medium-high heat, allow it to come to a boil. Then into a separate medium sized bowl, place the egg yolks and sugar and whisk together until they are well combined (the mixture should be smooth, not granular and paler in colour), then you can add in the plain flour and whisk to combine.

Once a boil has reached, remove from the heat and pour around a third of the hot milk mixture over the egg mixture and whisk the two together until they are fully combined. You can then steadily pour the remaining milk over egg mixture until the two separate mixtures are fully combined.

Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and place back on the hob over a medium-high heat, stirring continuously until the mixture has thickened (you’ll know when it’s ready when the whisk trails remain there after you’ve moved the whisk). You can take the mixture off the heat and pour onto a shallow sided baking tray and cover with cling film/plastic wrap making sure it touches the surface, preventing a skin from forming. You can then place this somewhere to cool down fully, before you either use it or place it in the fridge (never place anything hot/warm in the fridge).

Meringue:

To make the meringue topping, you’ll want to place the egg whites into your bowl and whisk them together until they are foamy/frothy.

At this stage, you can start adding your granulated sugar, roughly 1 tablespoon at a time. Whisking well in-between each addition, ensuring the previous amount of sugar has been fully incorporated. Repeat until all the sugar has been incorporated, it should be a smooth and glossy mixture.

Add in the vanilla extract and whisk until it’s been fully incorporated. Use immediately, only make the meringue before you intend on serving.

Assembly:

Take your pastry cream and scrape it from the shallow sided tray and place into a small-medium bowl and whisk it just until it’s a spreadable consistency. Add into the baked pastry case and smooth it out as best you can, using an offset/cranked palette knife, set in the fridge until it’s needed, later.

Make the meringue topping. Then you can place it on top of your chilled pie or feel free to do it the way I did mine, by placing the meringue mixture into piping bags and pipe different shapes on top.

Torch the meringue topping using a culinary blowtorch or place under the grill for a few minutes until toasted.

Serve and enjoy – best eaten on the day it’s made.

Sticky Toffee Pudding Tray Bake

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

Autumn is just around the corner, so why not prepare by making yourself a tray of this sticky toffee pudding tray bake?

This is the perfect recipe to make when you have a little extra time, not loads just enough to make dinner and cake, y’know? It’s a quick tray bake cake, packed with dates and sultanas, then topped with a pecan caramel sauce. You can enjoy this fresh from the oven or the day after, reheated. Either way, it’ll taste good!

The addition of pecans isn’t all that traditional or important but I like the taste and texture they add, so feel free to skip these if you don’t like or can’t have nuts.

Without any further ado, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

Sticky Toffee Pudding:

150g Sultanas.

300g Stoned dates, chopped small.

2 tsp Bicarbonate of soda.

50g Butter.

400g Light brown sugar.

4 Eggs.

400g Self raising flour.

Caramel Sauce:

50g Butter.

350ml Double cream.

400g Light brown sugar.

50-100g Pecans.

Method:

Before you get started on any element of the recipe, it’s best to do some prep work first. Start by preheating your oven to 180˚c/350˚f, line your 9×13 baking tray, boil the kettle and weigh up your ingredients.

Start by working on the sticky toffee pudding, place the chopped stoned dates, sultanas and bicarbonate of soda into a small/medium bowl, then pour enough boiling water in to cover the contents of the bowl (You place the fruit and bicarbonate into the water to help soften the skin, making it not so chewy and easier to digest, so it’s an important step. Don’t skip it).

Place the butter and light brown sugar into a mixing bowl and beat until they are combined. They won’t be light and fluffy; the ratios aren’t correct for this to work.

Once combined, add your eggs one at a time, beating well in-between each addition. You will notice that the consistency of the cake batter becomes much more liquid like, this is completely normal.

Next, it’s time to add the flour, but first you’ll want to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, this is to incorporate any bits that haven’t been fully worked in.

Now you can add the flour, passing through a sieve first. Mix in on medium-high speed.

Drain the water out of the fruit and then add the fruit into the mixture and fold/mix it in until its well distributed.

You can then take your cake batter and add it all to the prepared 9×13 cake tray, levelling it out using a small cranked/offset palette knife. Then place into your preheated oven and bake for 35-40 minutes (or until a tester comes out clean when inserted).

Once the cake has around 5-10 minutes baking remaining, it’s the perfect time to make the caramel sauce. To start on the sauce, you’ll want to get a small-medium saucepan and place in the butter, double cream, light brown sugar and pecans. Place it on the hob over a medium-high heat. Stirring occasionally until everything is melted and started to combine, then you can start stirring continuously until you have a smooth (and nutty sauce).

Once the cake is out the oven, pour over the hot caramel sauce. Spreading it out as best you can using a silicon spatula, you can enjoy this now while it’s warm or enjoy the following day either cold or reheated.

Autumn

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