Basic

Sour Starter

This week I’m showing you how to make a sour starter. Although this isn’t exactly a bread recipe, it’s a starter for all things sourdough.

If you don’t know about sourdough, I’ll give you a little rundown on it. Sourdough bread is a fermented bread that doesn’t contain added yeast, it replies purely on the naturally occurring lactobacilli and yeast. The bread does have a more ‘sour’ taste and that comes from the lactic acid that comes from lactobacilli.

This style of bread has become more popular over the years and during the lockdown that occurred in 2020, supplies were short in demand, so sourdough became a popular bread to make at home. This is mostly because you don’t need yeast and its super easy to make.

The starter is probably the most time consuming element of this bread, as it takes 6 days to make a starter that can be used… It sounds like a long time but it’s well worth it. All you need is a container, bread flour and water… It’s honestly so simple.

Every other day, you’ll be emptying about 70% of the mixture (which is called sour discard and can be used in other recipes such as pancakes and muffins), adding fresh flour and water and allowing it time to work. You’ll know it’s working as the starter will rise and bubble and start to smell more sour.

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

Day 1 –

500g Strong bread flour.

375ml Water.

Day 3 –

250g Strong bread flour.

188ml Water.

Day 5 –

250g Strong bread flour.

188ml Water.

Day 6 –

250g Strong bread flour.

188ml Water.

Method:

Before you get started on the sour starter, you’l want to do some prep work. You should start by weighing up all of your ingredients and grabbing any equipment you need such a container (feel free to use glass or plastic, glass works better for smaller amounts) and a silicon spatula.

This recipe takes almost a week to make but once you have a starter going, you’ll be well away to keep it going ultimately forever. This is perfect if you intend on making sourdough bread more often in the future.

To start on the sour starter, take your clean container and add in the bread flour, followed by the water and mix until a loose dough forms. Then you can place the lid on the container and leave somewhere at room temperature for 2 days.

You may not notice much difference on day 2 and this is completely normal but by day 3, you should see the mixture has grown a fair amount and has become fairly bubbly.

Now you’re on day 3, you can take the lid off the container and give the starter a good mixture, then into a jar (or bowl) pour out about 70% of it. This is known as sour discard and it can be used to enhance the flavour in many other baked goods such as muffins and brownies. Store the discard in a contain in the fridge and use within 2-3 days.

Into the starter, add day 3’s flour and water and mix until a loose dough has formed, place the lid back on container and leave again at room temperature for 2 days before you interact with it again.

On day 5, you will basically repeat what you did on day 3. Grab a jar or bowl and pour out about 70% of the starter (again, this is the sour discard). You can then go ahead and add in the flour and water and mix until a loose dough has formed – place the lid back on and cover for 24-48 hours.

If you are intending to make sourdough bread on day 6, you’ll only want to leave the starter for 24 hours. After the 24 hours, you can repeat the same steps as in previous days. Empty out about 70% of your starter into a jar or bowl and then go ahead and add in the flour and water then mix until a loose dough has formed.

Leave the starter for about 6-8 hours and then you can use it. This 6-8 hour window is what works for me, you may be able to be flexible either way.

That’s it for this weeks recipe, join me next week when I’ll be showing you how to make a simple sourdough loaf.

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.

Red Velvet Cake

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

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!

Banana Bundt Cake

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

This week I’m sharing my recipe for a basic banana bundt cake – this has become an essential bake in 2020.

It’s been a couple of years since I have made a bundt cake, mostly because I never usually have much luck with the pan… The cake breaks and gets stuck in the crevices. When I found my bundt pans again, I just knew I had to use them as they have been neglected in recent years.

Plus, when the coronavirus lockdown was implemented in the UK, it seemed like everybody and their mother were making banana bread… So, I’m jumping on the trend months too late.

Banana bread is always a winning idea, right? Who doesn’t enjoy a slice with a cup of tea or coffee.

The amount of batter this recipe yields the perfect amount for a standard bunt pan

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

200g Butter.

350g Granulated sugar.

4 Eggs.

4 Ripe bananas.

450g Plain flour.

2 tsp Baking powder.

1 tbsp Ground cinnamon.

Up to 4 tbsp Milk (only if needed).

Method:

Before you get started on the recipe, you’ll want to do some prep work. I recommend by starting with your ingredients and weighing them up in advance, greasing your bundt pan with some butter (or release spread, I found some on Pinterest), preheating your oven to 180˚c/350˚f and get any equipment you may need, such as a stand mixer and a silicon spatula.

To start on the recipe, take a large mixing bowl and place in the butter and granulated sugar and beat them together until they are lighter and fluffier in colour and consistency (around 7 or so minutes should work. Just keep your eye on it).

Once your have achieved lighter and fluffier, you can then go ahead and give the bowl a good scraping down, Thai is just to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully worked in earlier on.

Next you can start to add your eggs, one at a time, beating well in-between each addition. As you add the eggs into the mixture, you’ll notice it becomes looser in consistency and this is normal, if it looks a little split or curdled, don’t worry too much.

Then you can go ahead and add in all of the mashed banana and fold that in until its fully incorporated. Once the banana has been incorporated, you may noticed that the mixture has split and this is normal as the amount of moisture from the banana is too much but don’t worry – it will be corrected in the next stage.

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

Now you can take your plain flour, baking powder, salt and ground cinnamon and add them into the mix, passing through a sieve first o remove any lumps that may be in the mix.

Mix on a low speed to start, working your way up to a meidum speed and mix until almost all of the dry ingredients have been incorporated, then stop mixing. You don’t want to over work the gluten as that will result in a tougher texture cake.

If you find the cake mixture to be a bit too firm, feel free to add a small amount of milk to help loosen the consistency.

When you’re ready, you can then grab your prepared bundt pan and add the cake mixture into the bundt pan, then level it off as best you possibly can.

Now place the bundt tin into the oven and bake for around 50-55 minutes. A tester should come out clean when inserted into the centre of the baked cake. Allow to cool for around half and hour (or until you can handle the tin.

Once you’re ready to remove the cake from the tin, you can place a cooling rack on top of the tin and flip it around so the bundt pan is on top and the coming rack is underneath – you should have heard the cake move and fall (in one piece I hope) onto the cooling rack. Then you can cautiously remove the tin and see if your cake has come out in one piece or not.

This is normally the nerve wrecking stage for me, not any of the other stages just this one. It’s right at the end and can be really off putting if it doesn’t turn out correctly.

Anyway, you can let the cake cool fully and then enjoy it. I like a slice on its own but you can also enjoy it with some cream or ice cream, if you’d like!

Victoria Sponge Cake

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

Today I’ll be showing you how to make a Victoria sponge cake, it’s a classic. If you’ve baked any cake before, I can almost guarantee that you’ve attempted this at one point or another.

If you haven’t heard or tried this cake before, where have you been? I mean its such a simple and straightforward cake, yet its the perfect cake to make for most occasions – that’s for certain!

You can get one of these cakes made in next to no time at all, well if you follow my recipel. The method used to make this cake is the creaming method, this is where you mix the butter and sugar together until they become lighter and fluffier in consistency, then you add in the eggs and extract followed but your dry ingredients then bake your cakes and allow them to cool. Finish the cakes by sandwiching them together with freshly whipped cream (or buttercream) and your choice of jam – don’t forget the light dusting of icing sugar.

Sound like something you’d like, you’ve got this!

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients –

Cake –

200g Butter.

200g Granulated sugar.

1 tsp Vanilla bean paste/extract.

3 Eggs.

200g Plain flour.

1 tsp Baking powder.

Filling –

3-4 tbsp Jam (Strawberry or raspberry work well, but it’s your choice).

200-250ml Double cream, whipped (you can sweeten it with 1/2 – 1 tsp vanilla and 75-100g icing sugar).

Finish –

Icing sugar (to dust).

Method –

Before you start, you’ll want to do some prep work. I recommend starting by weighing up all your ingredients, preheat your oven to 180˚c/350˚f and prepare your 6 inch cake tins and get any equipment you may need such as a stand mixer and silicon spatula.

Place your butter and sugar into a mixing bowl of choice and beat them on a medium/high speed until they are well combined and the colour and consistency of the mixture has changed to become lighter and fluffier.

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

Then you can go ahead and add in your eggs, one at a time beating well in-between each addition. You’ll also want to add in the vanilla at this stage.

Once everything is combined, scrape down the sides and bottom of your bowl.

Sift in your dry ingredients and fold them in using a spatula (or mix on a low speed) being careful not to overmix the batter when incorporating the dry ingredients – otherwise your cakes won’t have a light and fluffy end result, instead they’ll be tough in texture.

Divide the batter between your two 6-inch cake tins and bake in your preheated oven for 25-30 minutes (or until a tester comes out clean).

When your cakes are baked, allow them to cool in the tins for 10 minutes then transfer them to a cooling rack.

Take your double cream and add in the vanilla extract and icing sugar and whisk on a high speed until you reach a stiff peak consistency, this is the ideal consistency. It’s firm enough to support the second layer of cake, without failing and making a mess.

Add your whipped cream onto the cake, I opted to use a piping bag and pipe the cream on but feel free to do it however works for you. Add your jam on top of the cream and sandwich the cakes together. Finish the cake with a light dusting of icing sugar and enjoy.

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.

Mini Black Forest Pavlovas

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

Today I’m sharing the recipe for a batch of these mini black forest pavlovas.

It’s now officially September, so we are on the tail end of summer and the start of autumn. This dessert is certainly on the summer feeling but hey, its perfect to enjoy on a mild afternoon.

The only thing that is different with these pavlovas is the size of them, you still get the cream filling and the fruit topping, just with with some chocolate. A surprise little twist on a classic treat – you can’t go wrong, right?

The fruit I used was a bag of frozen summer berries from a supermarket but feel free to use fresh berries if you can get them – that way you can pick and choose which fruit you have and how much of it.

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

Pavlovas:

3 Egg whites.

145g Granulated sugar.

1 tsp Cornflour.

1/2 tsp White vinegar.

Filling:

200ml Double cream.

30g Icing sugar.

1/2 tsp Vanilla extract.

Topping:

Summer berry mix (or whatever berries you choose to use).

Small amount of grated chocolate.

Milk chocolate spread, just a small amount.

Methods:

Before you get started on any element of the recipe, you’ll want to do some prep work. Make sure you weigh up all of your ingredients, line a baking tray with a piece of parchment, ensure that all of your equipment for the meringue is sparkling clean and grab any other equipment you may need such as a spatula and mixing bowl. I also recommend preheating your oven to 140˚c/285˚f.

To start, you’ll want to make the meringue. Grab yourself a small/medium mixing bowl and place in the granulated sugar and cornflour – give them a good mix together. Set aside until it’s needed later on.

Into your large mixing bowl, you’ll want to add the egg whites into it along with the white vinegar and whisk on a high speed just until the mixture has become frothy.

Once you have achieved a frothy consistency, you can go ahead add the sugar mix a table spoon at a time, beating well in-between each addition. Continue to add the sugar mix until it has all been fully incorporated.

Now the mixture should be done but to check and ensure you’ve got it perfect, you’ll want to do some quick checks. Take a little of the meringue mixture and rub it between your finger and thumb, if you don’t feel any granules of the sugar, thats perfect. The other check is to put the whisk attachment back into the meringue and pull it out, if the mixture is smooth, glossy and holds its shape – thats perfect.

Now you can process the meringue mixture. Take a large ice cream scoop and scoop directly onto your lined baking tray – onto a standard baking tray you should be able to fit them all on, just give each of them a little space to expand as they will a little while baking. You’ll also want to make an indentation using a spoon.

Take the tray and place into the preheated oven and bake for around 45-50 minutes (you should be able to remove the pavlova from the tray cleanly, laving behind no traces it was on the baking paper – if you can’t, then you may need to bake them for a little longer.

While the meringues are baking in the oven, its the perfect time to get the cream filling and fruit ready as well as cleaning down and getting tidied up.

For the whipped cream take a bowl and place in the double cream, icing sugar and vanilla extract. Whisk them all together until the mixture reaches a consistency where it holds its shape, once you have achieved that, you can place it all into a piping bag fitted with your nozzle of choice – place in the fridge until needed later on (use within 24 hours).

Once everything is ready, you can assemble the mini pavlovas. Take the meringue nest and pipe in the whipped cream, use as much or as little as you’d like, you’ll know when you have go the balance right. Then you can go ahead and place the fruit directly on top, in whichever formation you’d like. As an optional finish, I take some milk chocolate spread and drizzle it over the pavlova – then sprinkle over some grated chocolate, just to add to the chocolate element of the recipe.

There you go, that’s how you make a batch of mini black forest pavlovas. They are pretty quick and very easy to make, so why don’t you give them a try sometime soon – you won’t regret it. Remember, if you’re making these, they are best enjoyed within 24 hours of assembling them.

Brown Bloomer

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

I’m taking this weeks bread recipe back to basic with this brown bloomer.

If you have been around for a while, you may remember that at the start of 2020 I started this very bread series and started it with a white bloomer .

I don’t know why but when it comes to autumn, I automatically think about colder weather and enjoying all thinks comforting and it’s sometimes the simplest things, such as wholemeal bread or a simple brown bloomer. You can enjoy it however you like but I like to have mine thickly sliced with butter on a morning for breakfast or a few slices with a bowl of soup on an evening.

This bread is perfect for everybody to try, it’s only a few ingredients and a little time and you’ll have a perfect loaf of bread – its honestly so easy, once you make your own, you may never go back to shop bought bread again.

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

500g Brown flour.

8g Salt.

25g Fresh yeast.

30g White shortening.

10g Milk powder.

10g Granulated sugar.

310ml Water.

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 baking tray with parchment paper and getting any equipment you may need, such as a stand mixer and a scotch scraper.

To start, grab your mixing bowl and add in the bread flour and salt then give a brief mix, just to incorporate them together.

You can then go ahead and add in the fresh yeast, white shortening, milk powder, granulated sugar and water.

Then mix everything together on a low speed for 2 minutes, followed by 6 minutes on a high speed. The dough should be easy to work with and leave the bowl almost clean.

Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured surface and give it a brief knead, just until smooth and elastic. Once you’ve achieved that, you can go ahead and place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl and leave somewhere warm to proof for around 45-60 minutes or until it has doubled in size.

While your dough is proving, its the perfect time to get cleaned and tidied up.

Once the dough has proved, you can go ahead and knock the dough back (this is just the process of removing the gasses that have built up in the dough during the first proof).

You can then bring the ought back into a ball shape and the roll out into oblong shape and place onto your lined baking tray, covering loosely with clingfilm and allowing it to proof up for a second time – roughly about 30-45 minutes should be perfect. I recommend preheating your oven to 230˚c/445˚f. You’ll know the dough has done proving as you’ll be able to gentled press the dough and it’ll spring back.

After the second proof, you can remove the clingfilm from off of the dough and make score the dough. I think more traditionally its around 7 cuts but I went with 6 – if you’re making this for home, you can make as many or as few cuts as you’d like. Bake in the preheated oven for around 30-35 minutes.

To test if the bread is done, turn it upside own and tap the bottom – if it sounds hollow, thats a good sign and shows the bread is baked, remove from the oven and take off the baking tray and place onto a cooling rack to cool down fully.

Once cooled down, you can then go ahead and slice the bread to your desired thickness and enjoy it however you like!

Trifle Cupcakes

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

Why have only one treat when you can have 2in1… Today I’m sharing my recipe for a batch of trifle cupcakes, the ultimate combination of a trifle and cupcake.

These cupcakes came about after having some ingredients left over and wanting to prevent food waste – so you get cupcakes and save food from landfill, you can’t go wrong.

As always, these cupcakes are super simple and contain almost all the elements a traditional trifle would or slightly amended to work in cupcake form. It starts with a vanilla cupcake, which has the centre cored out and is filled with a homemade vanilla custard (or if you want to be post, creme pat) and strawberry jam. Topped with freshly whipped cream and finished with 100s and 1000s – what’s not to love?

If you’re looking for a simple cupcake recipe with an alternative topping to buttercream – you bets get your ingredients weighed up and your oven preheated as these will be the perfect cupcakes for you!

I only made 6 cupcakes, as that’s what I could make to use up the ingredients I had ready to use up but I will be sharing the measurements for a batch of 12 cupcakes, so you can work from there with the recipe.

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:

175g Butter.

175g Granulated sugar.

2 Eggs.

1 tsp Vanilla extract.

15-30ml Milk.

175g Plain flour.

1 tsp Baking powder.

Pastry cream:

125ml Milk.

1/2 tsp Vanilla extract.

30g Egg yolk.

25g Granulated sugar.

15g Plain flour.

Jam Filling:

Strawberry or raspberry jam for the filling.

Topping:

300ml Double cream.

1 tsp Vanilla extract.

50-100g Icing sugar (depend how sweet you like the cream).

100s and 1000s or rainbow sprinkles.

Method:

Before you get started on the recipe, you’ll want to do some prep. I recommend that you start by weighing up all of your ingredients, followed by preheating your oven to 180˚c/350˚f, lining a cupcake tray with cupcake cases and getting any equipment you may need, such as a stand mixer (or a hand mixer, whichever you have access to) and a spatula.

To start, I like to make the cupcakes. For the cupcakes I used the all in one method, this is simply where you place all of the ingredients into a bowl and beat them together until they combined. So, into your mixing bowl you can go ahead and add in the butter, granulated sugar and then add the plain flour, baking powder and salt in passing through a sieve first. Then you can add in the eggs and vanilla extract.

You can then start to mix the mixture on a medium high speed just until everything has been fully incorporated and a clear batter has formed, try your best not to over-mix the batter at this stage, otherwise the baked cupcakes may have a unpleasant tougher texture.

Once your cake batter is ready, give the bowl a quick scraping down, just to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully worked in from earlier on.

Then you can go ahead and add the cake batter into the cupcake cases, filling them around 2/3 or 3/4 of the way full (try and fill each of the cases as consistently as possible). You can then transfer the tray into the preheated oven and bake for about 20 minutes (or until a tester comes out clean when inserted into the centre).

While the cupcakes are in the oven, it’s the perfect time to make the custard filling.

To make the creme pat/custard, you’ll want to grab a small/medium saucepan and place in the milk and vanilla extract. You can then place that over a medium-high heat and allow to almost reach a boil.

While the milk is doing its thing, you can grab a medium bowl and add in the egg yolks and granulated sugar, then whisk the two together until they are lighter in colour and consistency, the mixture should be a pale yellow-ish colour at this stage.

Add in the flour and whisk until its been fully incorporated and then you can start to add in the milk mix. I recommend you go with around 1/4 of the amount of milk, then whisk until it has been fully incorporated (this helps to temper the mixture, so it shouldn’t scramble but if it does, start over). Continue to add the milk mix in small amounts until it has been fully incorporated.

You can then return the saucepan to the hob, over a medium heat, whisking constantly and after a short while you should notice that the mixture is thickening, this is what you’re looking for (it shows that the flour and eggs have been throughly cooked and the custard is safe to consume), make sure the mixture has thickened enough to hold its shape but still be spreadable.

Once you have achieved that, you can then transfer onto a clean baking tray or a bowl and cover with cling film and allow to cool fully. The cling film is used to prevent a skin from forming on the custard and the thinner you can spread it out, the quicker it will cool down.

Now you have made the custard and the cupcakes are baking, you can go ahead and clean up.

Just before you intend on serving these cupcakes, you can make the sweetened whipped cream topping (feel free to leave the icing sugar out if you don’t want sweetened cream).

To make the cream, simply grab a clean mixing bowl and add in the double cream, vanilla extract and icing sugar and then beat until you achieve stiff peaks with the cream – remember handling the cream will continue the mixing process, so keep that to a minimum. Once the cream has thickened and holds its shape, you can transfer into a piping bag with a nozzle of your choice (I went with a star nozzle).

Later on, once everything is made and ready to use, start by whisking the creme pat until its a smoother and more pip able consistency, place the jam into a piping bag and have your sprinkles to hand.

Take a cupcake corer or apple corer and core the centre out the cupcake out, fill with a generous amount of the creme pat and strawberry jam, then pipe on the whipped cream and finish with your choice of sprinkles. Serve and enjoy, best eaten within 24 hours!

Potato Bread

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

Today I’m sharing my take on potato bread – perfectly light, fluffy and easy to make. What more could you ask for?

I have shared a few basic bread recipes throughout the year but this is on another tier, trust me when I say that. I remember a while ago when I first made this loaf, I as amazed at how light and fluffy the bread was. I was expecting the end result to be a heavy and dense loaf but it really isn’t. Adding the potatoes in once the dough has done mixing certainly helps with keeping this loaf perfectly balanced.

This is the perfect bread to make if you have either some left over boiled potatoes or have some potatoes to use it, trust me. This is one of those breads, when you tell them what it has in, they’re intrigued and want to try it.

I’ve kept it very plain and simple but feel free to add other flavours like herbs and spices with other addtions like meat or cheese – it’s a really easy to customise. What would your combination be?

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

500g Strong bread flour.

5g Salt.

15g Fresh yeast.

30g White shortening.

10g Milk powder.

210ml Water.

250g Potatoes (peeled, boiled and fully cooled down).

Method:

Before you get into making this loaf, you’re best to do some prep work. I like to start by weighing up all of my ingredients, preparing the loaf pan with a slip of greaseproof paper and get any equipment you may need, such as a stand mixer and a spatula. Don’t forget to peel and boil your potatoes and allow them to cool down fully before you use them.

To start on the dough, take your mixing bowl and place in the bread flour and salt, giving them a good mix, just until they are incorporated.

You can then go ahead and add in the fresh yeast, shortening, milk powder and water – then mix on low speed to start with for around 2 minutes, followed by 6 minutes on a high speed. You will notice the dough isn’t as soft as usual, this is normal and will change.

Once the dough has been mixing for around 6-7 minutes, stop the mixer and place in all of the potatoes and mix on a low speed for around a minute, followed by 1-2 minutes on a high speed. By this time, you’ll notice the dough is looking a lot better, much lighter and fluffier.

Lightly flour your work surface with a small amount of flour, then place the dough onto it and give it a brief knead. You just want the dough to be smooth and elastic.

You can then transfer the dough into a bowl which has been lightly oiled with. flavourless and colourless oil. Place the dough into the bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave somewhere warm until the dough has doubled in size (which usually takes around 45-60 minutes, depending on the climate).

While the dough is proofing, it’s the perfect time to get cleaned down and ready for when the dough is proofed.

Once the dough is well proofed, you can then go ahead and flour your work surface with a small amount of flour, then you can go ahead and add the dough on to it and knock it back. Knocking the dough back is the process of removing the gases that have built up in the dough. Once the dough has been knocked back, you can bring it back into a ball shape, then roll out into a fat sausage shape and place into your lined loaf pan. Cover loosely with clingfilm and leave to proof for a further 30-45 minutes.

Now you can see your dough has risen well, you can preheat your oven to 230˚c/445˚f.

Remove the clingfilm from on-top of the dough and place into the preheated oven and baked for 15-20 minutes, it should be well coloured.

Once the baking time is done and the bread is baked, remove from the tin/tray and allow to cool fully before you slice it up. If you’re not sure your bread is full baked, turn the loaf upside down and tap the bottom – if it sounds hollow, its baked.

Slice and enjoy, once the loaf has cooled down fully. This is the perfect bread for sandwiches, toast and if you allow it to go stale, bread pudding.

Square Black Forest Gateau

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

This Black Forest gateau is sure to be the perfect addition to whatever celebration you have planned in the coming months.

If you have been following me for a while, you may be aware this isn’t my first ever Black Forest gateau. I’ve actually made this cake every year on my blog with a twist making it different every year and well, this year is no different. I thought I’d add this version, it’s a simple square cake, which won’t fail to impress at your next celebration.

If you haven’t had a Black Forest gateau before, you’re missing out. It starts with a layers of chocolate sponge, filled with freshly whipped cream and cherry jam, then finished with more of the cream, grated dark chocolate and cherries. The combination of the chocolate cake and cherry jam is amazing but chuck in the cream and it’s a dream – don’t believe me? Give it a try for yourself.

This cake was a slightly special cake as it was made for my moms birthday and she asks for this cake every year but to keep it interesting I’ve finally got around to making a square cake – something I haven’t really done before (is it me or are round cakes more popular?)

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

Cake:

470g Butter.

470g Granulated sugar.

6 Eggs.

410g Plain flour.

65g Cocoa powder

18g Baking powder.

Milk (optional, only use if needed).

Cream:

750ml Double cream.

125g Icing sugar.

1 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract.

Simple Syrup:

150ml Water.

150g Granulated sugar.

5ml Vanilla extract.

Coating & Finishing:

300-450g Dark chocolate, grated.

Maraschino cherries.

Cherry jam.

Methods:

Before you get into making this cake, y1ou’ll want to do some prep work. I personally like to start by weighing up all of the ingredients, lining the 8 inch square tin with some parchment paper, preheating the oven to 180˚c/350˚f and preparing any equipment such as a stand mixer with a paddle attachment and a spatula.

To start on the cake, you’ll want to grab your mixing bowl and place in the butter and granulated sugar. Beat the two together until they are lighter and fluffier in colour and consistency – this should take around 7-9 minutes but may take more time, depending on how you’re mixing them together.

You can then go ahead and 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 you can go ahead and add in the eggs, roughly one at a time, beating well in between each addition. You may notice as the egg is added, that the mixture starts to curdle slightly and this is normal (you will be able to fix it at the next stage).

Don’t forget to give the bowl another scraping down, again just to incorporate any bits that haven’t been fully incorporated.

You can now go ahead and add in the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder, passing them through a sieve first (this is to remove any lumps that may be in the mix).

Start the mixture on a medium-low speed, working your way up to a medium-high speed, just until the flour has been incorporated. You may need to add some milk to help with the consistency (I find a tablespoon at a time works really well).

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

You can then transfer the cake batter into your lined square 8 inch cake tin, spread and level it out and then place into the preheated oven and bake for 45-55 minutes or until a tester comes out clean when inserted into the centre.

While the cake is baking, its the perfect time to get cleaned up and prepare for the next stages. At this stage I recommend you also make the simple syrup.

To make the simple syrup, it’s honestly super easy. Simply place the water, sugar and vanilla extract into the saucepan and mix together. Then place over a high heat and bring it to a boil, then you can allow it to simmer for a minute or so, just until, the mixture is thicker than water. Allow to cool fully, then its ready to use – if you’re making this in advance, store in an airtight jar and refrigerate until needed.

I leave everything I have done for the cake so far and leave it until tomorrow but if you only have one day to do everything, don’t worry, just ignore me on leaving everything overnight.

I start by levelling the cake, so you have two layers and then generously brush over the simple syrup. Leave the cake layers on a cooling rack while you make the whipped cream.

For the whipped cream, grab a clean mixing bowl and pour in all of the double cream and then add the icing sugar and vanilla extract. Whisk over a medium-high speed until the cream changes in consistency – it should be thick enough to hold its shape but still spreadable. If you have over-whipped the double cream, simply start over – the grainy mouthfeel will ruin it.

Now you have all of the elements ready, you can finish the cake. Take the cake stand/plate/cake board you intend on using and use a small blob of the freshly whipped cream, then place a layer of cake on top, pressing down to secure in place. Then on top of the layer of cake, you can spread a good amount of the whipped cream, spreading out to the edge of the cake, then spread as much or as little cherry jam as you’d like then sandwich the second layer of cake on top. Pressing down slightly, just to secure in place.

Then you can go ahead and give the cake a good coating with the remaining cream, reserving a piping bags worth. Spread and level the cream all over the cake, ensuring a level amount all over the cake.

Take the cake and coat the sides and top with the grated chocolate, making sure you get a good coverage all over the cake. You may need to go over some patches a few times to ensure a good coverage.

Place into the fridge and allow everything to firm up.

After the cake has been in the fridge for a short while, you can then remove it from the fridge and finish the cake off. Place the cake on to a turntable and pipe rosettes all around the outer edge of the cake – you will then want to add the maraschino cherries, how many you add is up to you – I went with what looked right but you can add more or less – you’re the judge here!

Place the cake back into the fridge and allow to firm up, I recommend eating this cake with 24/36 hours.

Cut up and slice this cake however you like, unfortunately I don’t have any pictures of the inside as this was my moms birthday cake and we weren’t celebrating together, you know, with coronavirus and the other commitments I had going on in my life at that time.

Basic

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