Baking with Elliott

Lemon Blueberry Blondies

The seasons are finally changing – it’s the perfect time for lighter and fruitier flavours. That’s why I’m bringing these lemon and blueberry blondies your way…

Seeing as the seasons have changed and the weather is finally picking up, meaning it’s sunnier and brighter! Bring on those spring flavours – they have been much awaited for.

I love lemon and blueberry, they just seem to work. You get the zestiness from the lemon and the fruity burst from the blueberries – what’s not to like?

If you like something a little different, why not give these a go? You won’ regret it! It’s a dense and mouthwatering treat, bursting with flavour!

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

200g White chocolate.

130g Butter.

160g Granulated sugar.

190g Plain flour.

1/2 tsp Salt.

3 Eggs.

1 tsp Vanilla extract.

100g White chocolate chips

3 lemons, zested.

100-150g blueberries, fresh or frozen (dusted in flour).

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 an 8×8 inch square cake tin with parchment paper, preheat your oven to 180˚c/350˚f and place a small/medium saucepan on the hob over a low/medium heat. Don’t forget to get any equipment you may need, such as a heat proof mixing bowl, whisk and silicon spatula.

Into a median sized heatproof bowl, place the butter and white chocolate, then place over the saucepan of simmering water and allow to melt a little. Once they start melting, continuously stir until its completely melted and smooth – it should also be well combined.

Remove the bowl from on top of the saucepan (be careful, it’ll be hot).

Add in the lemon zest and whisk until it’s fully incorporated.

Give the bowl a quick scraping down, then add in all of your eggs and the vanilla and whisk them in until they are fully incorporated. The mixture will be thick but spreadable and flow well.

Go ahead and add in the granulated sugar and whisk it all together until everything has been fully incorporated.

Then add in the flour, salt, white chocolate chips and blueberries, mixing until everything is incorporated – the batter will be thick but have some fluidity to it.

Place in the oven to bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden arrow the edges.

Once fully baked, allow to cool fully in the tin. Once completely cooled down, you can slice them up straight away or place in the fridge for around 6-8 hours – this will help make the blondies easier to slice up and make them extra dense… Which is perfect (as these are a white chocolate brownie, the only way to enjoy them is dense and fudgy, fight me!)

Whenever you’re ready to slice up the blondies, take a sharp knife and cut them up. You can do 8 very generous bars or 16 smaller bitesize pieces – whichever suits you or however you slice up.

These are perfect to make ahead of time and can be frozen, when wrapped well. Share these with your friends and family this year – it’s the year to show some love!

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.

Kinder Drip Cake

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

Kinder Bueno is always a good idea, right? This kinder bueno cake will certainly hot the sweet spot!

Sometimes cake is juts a good idea to make, right? Like you don’t really need a reason to celebrate, you can just have your cake and eat it (even though I’m not a big fan of cake, even my own).

The cake is made up of 4 layers of soft chocolate sponge cake, filled with a hazelnut chocolate buttercream and a generous splash of hazelnut chocolate spread. It’s then coated with the same hazelnut chocolate buttercream and finished with a chocolate chip border, white chocolate hazelnut and chocolate hazelnut drip, buttercream rosettes and topped with pieces of kinder bueno.

This is just how I make my version of a drip cake, you could leave out whichever elements you don’t like and put your own twist on things. If you’re looking for a simple cake to make for an event/celebration, this is the one for you – trust me!

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

Chocolate cake:

375g butter, room temperature.

375g granulated sugar.

7 eggs.

2 tsp vanilla extract.

335g plain flour.

40g coco powder

2 tsp baking powder.

1 tsp salt.

(milk, if needed).

Simple syrup:

200ml water.

200g granulated sugar.

30g cocoa nibs.

Chocolate hazelnut buttercream:

400g butter.

800g icing sugar.

20g cocoa powder.

80g hazelnut chocolate spread.

Decoration:

Milk chocolate chips (for the border).

Chocolate hazelnut spread (for the drip and filling on top).

White chocolate hazelnut spread (for the drip).

Hazelnuts, roasted (for on top).

Method:

Before you get started on the recipe, you’ll want to do some prep work. Start by preheating your oven to 180˚c/350˚f, weigh up all of your ingredients and line your 4 x 6 cake tins with parchment paper. You’ll also want to get any equipment you may need ready, like a stand mixer and spatula.

Start by making the cake – which is really easy. Simply grab your mixing bowl and place in the butter and sugar, then beat the two together until they are lighter and fluffier in colour and consistency. This usually takes around 5-7 minutes on a medium-high speed.

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

You can then add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well in-between each addition. If you add the egg too quickly, you’ll notice the mixture scrambled and it may ruin the cake batter. Once the eggs have been added, you can add in the vanilla extract and mix until thats been fully incorporated.

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

Now go ahead and add in the dry ingredients, ensuring they are passed through a sieve first, just to remove any lumps from within the dry mix.

Incorprate all of the dry ingredients over a low speed to start with, working your way up to a medium-high speed, just until a clear batter forms. If you notice the cake batter is a little too stiff, feel free to add a table spoon of milk at a time until you reach the perfect consistency.

Finally, give the bowl one final scraping down, just to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully incorporated.

Take the cake batter and divide it equally between your 4 x 6 inch cake tins. – you can eyeball it or weigh the same amount into each tin for more accuracy. Place the cake tins into the preheated and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a tester comes out clean when inserted into the centre of the cake.

Now while your cakes are in the oven, you can get cleaned down and get ahead with the recipe by making the buttercream and simple syrup.

To make the simple syrup, take a small-medium saucepan and place in the granulated sugar and water, giving them a brief stir, then add in the cocoa nibs and give it a quick stir before placing onto the hob and allowing to almost reach a boil. Set aside until cool enough to store in a container or use – keep stored in the fridge).

Starting on the buttercream, take a mixing bowl and place in the butter and beat on its own until its lighter and fluffier in colour and consistency – this takes around 7-10 minutes, give or take, deeding on how soft your butter was.

Then give the bowl a good scraping down, just to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully worked in from earlier on. Add in around half the icing sugar and the cocoa powder and incorporate over a low speed, mixing together until everything is fully incorporated. Repeat with the remaining icing sugar and add in the chocolate hazelnut spread – mix until everything is incorporated.

Once the cakes are cooled, you can start to assemble the cakes. Before you get started on the decoration process, you’ll want to trim and level the cakes as well as brushing them overly with a generous amount of simple syrup.

To start the assembly process, take your cake board/stand/plate and smear a small amount of buttercream in the centre, this will act like the glue that keeps everything in place and secure.

On top of that smear, place your first layer of cake, pressing down to secure it in place. You can then go ahead and top the layer of cake with the buttercream, leaving a small ridge around the edge, so you can pour in and spread around the chocolate hazelnut spread. Repeat the process with the remaining layers of cakes.

Once all of your cakes are stacked, you can go ahead and give the cake a crumb coat. This is a layer of icing, which will lock in the crumbs, ensuring your final layer of cake is clean and without any crumbs in the mixture. Chill this in the fridge for around 30-60 minutes or until the buttercream is firm to the touch.

This time you’re going to apply the second and final layer of buttercream – this is the coat you’ll want to try and get as smooth as possible but if it isn’t, don’t worry, it’s honestly not the end of the world.

Just before you finish the cake, I wanted to add some more chocolate and add something a little different by adding a milk chocolate chip boarder around the bottom of the cake – this is optional, you could simply allow the drip to continue all the way to the bottom.

Now that the second layer of cake has been applied, you can go ahead and chill in the fridge until it has firmed up a bit. I like to chill the cake before I do the drips, I find it makes it easier to work with the drips.

For my drips, I don’t use melted chocolate or a ganache – theres no need. You can simply use chocolate spreads, which work just as well, they melt fine and drip down the cake like a ganache and when refrigerated, they firm up perfectly – what’s not to like?

I melt a small amount of white chocolate hazelnut spread, as well as a chocolate hazelnut spread, ensuring it isn’t too hot. Place into piping bags, not fitted with a nozzle and use them straight away, otherwise the mixture will cool too much and it won’t drip properly.

I alternate the drips but started with the white chocolate hazelnut spread, leaving a space in-between each, allowing room for the milk chocolate spread drip. Complete the drip and allow the spread to firm up a bit before finishing the cake.

To finish the cake, pipe rosettes as tall or as short as you’d like on top of the cake, filling in any gaps with some buttercream as I filled the top with more hazelnut chocolate spread and further topped the spread with some roasted hazelnuts, just for added flavour and texture.

Then place the cake in the fridge and allow to firm up for a further 30-45 minutes, just to make the slicing process easier.

PB & J Brownies

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

Today I’m finally sharing my take on a batch of peanut butter and ‘jelly’ brownies… They might not sound too impressive but trust me on this occasion – they are spectacular.

These brownies start with a super simple classic brownie base, studded with dark chocolate and fresh strawberries and generously swirled with peanut butter and strawberry jam.

I have done something a little different, by using fresh strawberries. I thought about these and even in the testing process, they worked so well – like they added such an intense flavour and an amazing texture, plus when partnered with the dark chocolate *chefs kiss*.

For the best results, I used chocolate from the Cocoa Runners – they have a great selection of baking chocolate including unsweetened, dark, milk, cocoa powder, cocoa nibs and make your own chocolate bar. Not forgetting the deep roast peanut butter from the guys at Pip & Nut – if you haven’t tried their selection of nut butters, you’re missing out!

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

140g butter.

45g cocoa powder.

225g granulated sugar.

2 eggs.

1/2 tsp vanilla extract.

100g plain flour.

100g dark chocolate.

80g strawberry jam.

80g peanut butter, smooth.

100g fresh strawberries, quartered.

Method:

Before you start making anything, you’ll want to do some prep work. Start by weighing up your ingredients, preheating your oven to 180˚c/350˚f and getting any equipment you need ready such as a mixing bowl and a whisk. Don’t forget to line your 8 inch baking tray with parchment paper.

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

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

Add your eggs and mix until they are fully incorporated. As the eggs are incorporated, the mixture will become smoother and glossier. Don’t forget to add in the vanilla extract.

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

Add in the fresh strawberries and fold them in until they are fairly distributed through out the brownie batter.

Go ahead and grab your lined baking tray and transfer the brownie batter directly into it. Spread and level it out as you need to get it level and consistent.

On top of the batter, add spoonfuls of the smooth peanut butter and strawberry jam and then take a knife and swirl it around to spread and spread out the jam/peanut butter.

Place the brownies into the oven to bake for 20-25 minutes or until a tester comes out with minimal crumbs on it.

These brownies are dense, packed with flavour and sure to impress – thats a fact!

Chocolate Teacakes

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

Today I’m sharing my take on these chocolate teacakes – you may know the more well known brand version of Tunnock’s chocolate teacakes.

If you haven’t ever tried a chocolate teacake – you’re really missing out. It starts with a biscuit base, topped with a marshmallow filling and finished with a thin layer of milk chocolate – the three elements may not sound like they work together but trust me on this one, they do.

These delectable treats start with a linzer biscuit base, as this biscuit melts in the mouth and isn’t overly heavy or stodgy, that is then topped with a super light marshmallow (nothing will beat homemade marshmallow – its honestly so much better than the mass produced stuff) and to tie everything together, you have a thin layer of melted milk chocolate.

Of course, these may not be the iconic version wrapped in the red and silver foil but they are the perfect homemade version.

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

Linzer biscuit base:

300g plain flour.

200g butter.

100g icing sugar.

1 egg yolk.

Marshmallow filling:

175g granulated sugar.

75g liquid glucose.

4 leaves of gelatine.

125ml water.

1/2 tsp vanilla extract.

2 egg whites.

2g salt.

Chocolate coating:

300-400g milk chocolate, melted.

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 medium size saucepan. Don’t forget to preheat your oven to 180˚c

Start by placing the butter and icing sugar into a mixing bowl and beat them together until they are well combined.

Next add in the egg yolk and mix until it’s fully incorporated. You can then give the bowl a good scraping down, just to incorporate any bits that nay not have been worked in from earlier on.

Then go ahead and add in the flour and mix until its fully incorporated – try your best not to over-mix as this will make the biscuits tough in texture.

Bring your dough into a rounded disc shape, which is around 3-4cm thick. As this dough doesn’t need to be refrigerated before using it, you can process it straight away.

Roll the dough out until its around half a centimetre in thickness, then using a 9cm round cutter, cut as many rounds out as you possibly can (when it comes to re-rolling the dough, only do this once, as you don’t want to overwork the gluten). Then place the rounds onto a lined baking tray and place into your preheated oven and bake for 11-12 minutes or until they are slightly coloured around the edges – you’re not looking for them colour too much.

Once baked, allow to cool fully.

Now to make the marshmallow – it’s super easy and takes next to no time to make.

To start, place the sugar and glucose into a saucepan and stir well. Place on the hob over a medium-high heat and allow to come up to 118˚c (or better known as soft ball stage). As the mixture comes up to temperature, you don’t want to stir it as that may cause crystallisation – which will ruin your mix.

As soon as the sugar is boiling, prepare the other ingredients. Soak the gelatine leaves in water until softened. Squeeze out the excess water and then place the gelatine and 250ml water and place over a low heat, stir constantly until the gelatine has melted.

Transfer the mixture into a mixing bow and add in the egg whites. Whisk everything together over a medium-high speed until the egg whites reach a soft peak consistency.

When the sugar has come up to 118˚c, you can go ahead and lower the speed of the mixer and carefully pour the hot sugar mixture down the side of the bowl – don’t pour directly onto the whisk, as if this touches your skin, it will burn you. Once it has been added, turn up the speed to a medium speed and mix for 2 minutes before cranking the speed up to high and whisk for a further 10 minutes. By the end of the time, the marshmallow mixture should be fully and glossy.

Low the speed back dow and add in the vanilla and salt, whisk for a further 1 minute and then transfer the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a medium round piping tip.

Pipe the marshmallow on top of the linzer biscuit base, ensuring you have a little peak on top. Repeat for the remaining biscuits. Once you have piped the marshmallow, you will want to allow the mixture to skin over a little, so leave them for a short while until a skin forms. They will still be sticky and stretchy but won’t break when pressed.

Whenever you’re ready to finish them off, simply melt your milk chocolate, ensuring the chocolate doesn’t get too hot while you’re melting it down.

Then take the smooth melted chocolate and pour over your marshmallow and biscuits, ensuring they covered all over. Repeat until they have all been covered and allow the chocolate to firm up.

Whenever you’re ready, enjoy them with a cup of tea or coffee and enjoy!

Carrot Loaf Cake

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

Embracing a classic – the humble carrot cake. This simple classic has been slightly reimagined, just in the form of a loaf cake.

For me personally, carrot cake is one of the most spring orientated recipes there is. It’s not one of my favourite cakes but when Spring starts to bloom, it’s the ideal cake to enjoy.

Traditionally you’d use just light brown sugar but to add a little different flavour, I used half light and half dark brown sugar and skipped the walnuts (mostly because they’re not my favourite but you can add them in if you like them). I used raisins but like the walnuts, they can be skipped out of the recipe if you’d like.

On this occasion, I was making two loaves – sharing is caring at the end of the day, right? Seeing as cake helps to lift the mood while in lockdown.

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

Cake:

150g butter, at room temperature.

75g light brown sugar.

75g dark brown sugar.

3 eggs.

1 tsp baking powder.

100g raisins.

150g grated carrots.

Cream cheese icing:

150g icing sugar.

25g butter.

65g soft cheese

orange zest.

Method:

Before you get started on the recipe, you’ll want to do some prep. Start by weighing up all of your ingredients, line your loaf pan with parchment paper, preheat your oven to 180˚c/350˚f and get any equipment you may need such as a stand mixer and loaf pan.

To start on the recipe, grab a mixing bowl and place in the butter, light brown and dark sugar and beat them together until they are well combined. The mixture should be lighter and fluffier in colour and consistency.

You can then add in your eggs, roughly one at a time, beating well in-between each addition until all of your eggs have been added.

Then go ahead and add in the grated carrot and raisins and mix them in until they are fully incorporated. If you notice the mixture changes and becomes split/curdled, don’t worry – it’s expected due to the amount of moisture being added into the recipe.

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

You can now add in the dry ingredients and just mix them in until, they are fully incorporated. Try your best not to over work the cake batter, otherwise the end cake will take on a tough texture.

Take the bowl and give it a good scraping down, just to incorporate any bits of dry ingredients that haven’t fully worked in.

Transfer the cake batter into a lined loaf tin and place into the oven and bake for 50-60 minutes or until a tester comes out clean, when inserted into the centre.

While the cake is baking or cooling down, you can make the cream cheese icing.

The icing is really easy to make. start by grabbing a large mixing bowl and placing in the icing sugar, butter and orange zest – then mix these together until they are combined, they won’t come together fully as the mixture is too dry at this point. At this point, the mixture should be clumping together.

Add in the cream cheese and mix on a medium-high speed. At the start, the mixture may look very liquid – don’t worry, as you whisk it together, it thickens and becomes a much more stable icing to work with.

You’re looking for the perfect spreadable/pipable consistency, it should hold its shape but still be pliable enough to work with. Once you achieve this, you can transfer the icing into a piping bag fitted with your choice of nozzle and set aside until needed later on.

Once your cake is baked and cooled, you can place the icing on top of the cake and spread it out to ensure a roughly even layer is on top.

Chocolate Almond Tart

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

This chocolate almond tart is an accidental creation but trust me, it won’t be an accident to make it.

I was sat at home thinking about what recipe to make that I haven’t already made before and after a while, I came up with this chocolate almond tart.

It all starts with a chocolate pastry case, which is filled with a generous layer of dark chocolate sea salt almond butter and chocolate frangipane and once baked, it’s finished with a luscious dark chocolate ganache with a generous pinch of sea salt.

You may think that theres too much chocolate but trust me, the salty element really helps balance out the recipe. To make this recipe the best possible, I used the cocoa powder and dark chocolate from Cocoa Runners as well as the limited edition dark chocolate sea salt almond butter from Pip & Nut.

I haven’t really been a fan of almond butter until I tried this variety – its lovely! Don’t forget to try the dark chocolate sea salt almond butter. If you want to save 10% on any of your Cocoa Runners chocolate, click on the links and you’ll save 10%! Cocoa Runners offer unsweetened chocolate, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, cocoa powder, cocoa nibs and make your own chocolate bar!

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

Pastry:

1/2 egg.

45g granulated white sugar.

112g butter, chilled.

170g plain flour.

20g cocoa powder.

A pinch of salt.

Chocolate frangipane:

75g butter.

75g granulated sugar.

75g ground almonds.

10g cocoa powder.

10g plain flour.

1 egg.

Pip & Nut dark chocolate sea salt almond butter.

Dark chocolate ganache:

50g dark chocolate.

50g double cream.

Sea salt flakes.

Methods:

Before you get started on the recipe, you’ll want to do some prep work. I recommend starting by weighing up all of the ingredients, grabbing any equipment you may need, such as food processor, mixing bowl and whisk/spatula as well as a pie/tart dish. When the time comes, you’ll also want to preheat your oven to 180˚c/350˚f.

To start on the recipe, you’ll want to work on the pastry (as this requires time chilling in the fridge). Take a small bowl and place in the sugar and egg – whisk the two together until they are fully combined and the sugar has dissolved into the egg, set aside until needed later on.

Take a food processor and place in the flour, cocoa powder and salt, then pulse everything together until its combined.

You can then go ahead and add in the butter and pulse this in until its fully incorporated – the mixture shouldn’t come together but look more like wet sand.

Now go and add in the sugar/egg mixture and pulse until a dough starts to form – being careful not to overman the dough otherwise it will be tough textured once baked.

Lightly flour your work surface and place the dough on to it. Knead together until it’s smooth, bringing it into a fat round. Wrap in clingfilm and place in the fridge to chill for at least 45-60 minutes.

After the time in the fridge, you can flour your work surface again and place the dough on to it.You’ll want to roll it out using a rolling pin until its around 5mm in thickness.

Once you achieve the required thickness, drape the pastry over your rolling pin, then place the pastry over your tart/pie dish. Press it all into place, ensuring no cracks appear (if they do, use the excess pastry to fix it). Using a small knife, you can trim away the excess, then place into the fridge while you make the frangipane filling.

The frangipane is super easy to make – take a medium sized mixing bowl and place in the butter, granulated sugar, ground almonds, cocoa powder, plain flour and egg. Whisk everything together until all of the ingredients have become combined and you have a cake batter. Now is also the ideal time to preheat your oven to 180˚c/350˚f.

Now you can go ahead and remove the unbaked pastry case from the fridge. Take your jar of almond butter and give it a good stir, then add a generous amount into the base of the pastry case and spread it out until you have a pretty consistent layer.

Grab your frangipane and pour that on top of the almond butter and just spread it out until you have a level layer of frangipane. Place this into your preheated oven and bake for 22-25 minutes or until a tester comes out clean when inserted into the centre of the frangipane.

Once baked, you can remove from the oven and allow to cool fully before you move on to finish the tart.

Later on, once the tart has cooled down, you can make the ganache. Making this sort of ganache is super easy and takes no real effort, simply start by placing the dark chocolate into a small bowl, then set aside. In a small saucepan, place the double cream and allow to almost reach a boil, then remove from the heat and pour over the chocolate (ensuring the chocolate is covered by the hot cream), now allow it to sit for a minute and then give it all a good stir until you have a thick, smooth and glossy ganache.

Take your tart and pour the ganache on top, spread out until you reach the outer edge. You can spread it out however you like but I went with a rough choppy look but you could get it as smooth as you’d like – its really up to you!

An optional finish would be to sprinkle over some sea salt flakes, just while the ganache is still wet. This helps cut through the potential sweetness and compliments the dark chocolate wonderfully.

Marshmallow

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

Here’s something that’s super simple and takes next to no time to make – homemade marshmallow.

Forget the store bought version, they’re trash compared to homemade marshmallows. They’re light, fluffy and deliciously vanilla-ery flavoured, sounds boring but trust me, its far from that.

I honestly believe that once you give homemade marshmallows a try, you won’t look back. The recipe I’m sharing is similar to that of what you’d find independent marshmallow makers use, it’s super simple and takes next to no time and best of all, it can be customised to suit you when it comes to the flavour. I kept things super simple and just used vanilla but sometimes keeping it simple is the way forward.

I haven’t made my own marshmallow in many years, it’s been at least 5 years – I was still in college sat that point. However, even after all this time, its just as easy to make and even better to enjoy.

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

Coating:

35g icing sugar.

35g cornstarch.

Marshmallows:

240g granulated sugar.

150g liquid glucose.

90g water.

5 leaves gelatine.

180ml water.

30ml flavouring.

120g egg whites.

Method:

Before you get started, you’ll want to do some prep. I recommend getting started by weighing up all of your ingredients, double clingfilm lining an 8 inch square cake tin and getting any equipment you may need, such as a saucepan, food thermometer and stand mixer ready.

You’ll also want to make your coating, which is simply combining icing sugar and cornstarch and generously dust your lined cake tin (I made more of the coating as I was making another marshmallow recipe at the same time, which isn’t going to be shared).

To start on the recipe, grab a saucepan and place in the granulated sugar, liquid glucose and water – give them a mix, to roughly combine, then place on the hob over a medium-high heat and allow to come up to 120˚c/248˚ƒ.

While your mixture is coming up to temperature, whisk the egg whites until they reach a foam like consistency – this is before soft peaks just so you know.

Soften the gelatine but adding the 5 leaves of gelatine into the 180ml of water, ensuring they are fully covered and become much more ‘jelly’ like in consistency.

Once your egg whites have whisked up to a foam and the liquid mixture reaches 120˚c/248˚ƒ, you can combine the two.

Turn the speed of your mixer down to low/slow and carefully and steadily pour the boiling mixture over the egg whites until the two are fully added together, then crank the speed up to high and whisk for around 5 minutes, just until you’ve finished the gelatine mix.

Take the softened gelatine and add it into the 30ml of flavouring and gently heat the two together just until they are melted and combined, then you can Lowe the speed on the stand mixer and add in the vanilla gelatine mixture and mix that in over a medium-high speed until its fully incorporated.

Now that the marshmallow mixture is made, transfer the mixture into your lined and coated 8 inch cake pan. Spreading out to help level it all out if needed. Generously dust the top with some of the icing sugar/cornstarch mixture.

Set aside in the fridge or at room temperature for around 5-8 hours and allow to firm up.

Once you are ready to cut up the marshmallow, I recommend you heat the knives (place them into a jug of boiling water souring the blade of the knife is exposed to the water and not the handle). Then cut into the marshmallow, however you’d like – I kept it simple by cutting squares.

Chocolate Fudge Cake

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

This is one of the best classics you’ll ever make – a chocolate fudge cake.

I’ll be honest, this is one of the easiest cakes you’ll come across. It’s a classic and tea time favourite all at the same time, which is perfect – right?

You’ll know this cake as it’s one of the most popular box mixes available on the supermarket shelves, which is where most of use remember it from. I have been making a version of this cake for many years with my mom and nan – now I’m sharing with you to make memories as you make it with your friends and family.

If you’re looking for a simple cake that doesn’t take too long or too many ingredients, this is the one for you. Quick and easy to make and better shared with people you love.

To make this cake even better, I used the dark chocolate and cocoa powder from the lovely guys over at Cocoa Runners. They also offer milk chocolate, unsweetened chocolate and cocoa nibs. If you use my links, you’ll save 10% on your order – what’s not to like?!

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

Cake:

175g butter.

175g granulated sugar.

3 eggs.

45g golden syrup.

40g ground almonds.

175g plain flour.

1 tsp baking powder.

40g cocoa powder.

Icing:

225g dark chocolate.

55g dark brown sugar.

225g butter.

75ml evaporated milk.

1/2 tsp vanilla extract.

Decoration:

Any sort of sprinkles or chocolate chips you’d like.

Method:

Before you get started on the recipe, you’ll want to do some prep work. Start by weighing up your ingredients, lining a 8 inch round cake tin with parchment paper and get any equipment you may need, such as a stand mixer and spatula needed. Preheat your oven to 180˚c/350˚f.

To start on the recipe, make the icing first as it requires time to firm up in the fridge. Into a saucepan place the milk chocolate, dark brown sugar, butter, evaporated milk and vanilla, before placing over a medium-low heat.

Allow the ingredients to melt a little before you start to stir them all together – after a couple of minutes, the ingredients should have started to melt together and start to easily combine. You’re looking for the mixture to be smooth and glossy – transfer into a clean bowl and place in the fridge and allow to firm up to reach a spreadable consistency.

For the cake, take a mixing bowl and place in the butter and sugar, beating the two together until they are very well combine – reaching a lighter and fluffier colour and consistency.

You can then go ahead and add in the eggs, roughly one at time, beating well in-between each addition. Once all of the eggs have been added, give the bowl a good scraping down, just to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully worked in from earlier on.

Now add in the golden syrup and ground almonds, mixing them in just until they are fully incorporated – then give the bowl a good scraping down again.

Take the bowl and place a sieve on top of the bowl and pass through the dry ingredients – this helps to remove any lumps and keep the mixture as smooth as can be. You can use a little milk to help you achieve the perfect consistency, only if needed.

Transfer the cake batter into the lined cake tin and smooth/level it off as best you can. Then place the cake tin into your preheated oven and bake for 35-40 minutes (or until a tester comes out clean).

Once the cake is baked, allow to cool fully before you intend on finishing it off. Now is also the ideal time to remove the icing from the fridge, so it has time to become the perfectly smooth spreadable consistency.

When you’re ready to finish the cake off, you’ll want to level the cake, just to remove the dome on the top and then in half so you have two layers of cake – which is what you need. Take your cake stand/plate/board and smear a small amount of icing in the centre, then top that with the first layer of cake. Onto the first layer of cake, place a generous amount of the icing and spread out until level and consistent.

Top with the final layer of cake and use the remaining icing to coat the sides and top, finish it however you’d like. As optional finish, use sprinkles or chocolate chips.

Allow the cake to firm up a little, then slice it up and enjoy it on its own or with a hot beverage – whichever you like!

Banana Blondies

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

How do you feel about blondies? However you feel, these banana blondies may just be the best version I’ve made to date.

I love a good blondie as they are quick, easy and the perfect alternative to brownies. By adding the banana in to the blondie batter, you can use it as an egg replacement and it’s perfect for helping achieve that gorgeous dense and fudgy texture. The other big advantage is that the banana helps flavour the batter naturally – no need for that nasty artificial banana flavouring.

These are the perfect bake to make, especially considering the seasons have changed and the weather is finally warming up and you’re now able to meet with your friends and family – it would be rude to go empty handed, right?

When I made these, I made a double batch, as I had ingredients I needed to use up and thought ‘why not’ as these have been consistently brilliant when I was doing the practices – to help add to the banana flavour and texture, I used some banana chips on top (Lio Bites if you were wondering). I made this a while back, using up the odds and ends I had in the cupboards.

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

400g White chocolate.

230g Butter.

320g Granulated sugar.

380g Plain flour.

1/2 tsp Salt.

4 Eggs.

100g Banana, mashed (with some lumps).

200g White chocolate chips.

Methods:

Before you get started on the recipe, you’ll want to do some prep work. Start by weighing up all your ingredients, lining a 9×13 baking tray with parchment paper, preheat your oven to 180˚c/350˚f and don’t forget to get any equipment you may need, such as a heat proof bowl.

To start, place a large saucepan with a small amount of water on the hob – allowing the water to reach a rolling boil. Then into a large heat proof bowl, place in the butter and white chocolate, then place the bowl on top of the water and allow the ingredients to melt. Once they start to melt, stir until the mixture is completely melted and combined.

Remove from the heat and add in the granulated sugar and whisk it in until its fully incorporated.

Then you can go ahead and add in the plain flour and salt (sift is needed). Fold in the dry ingredients just until they are incorporated – this doesn’t take long and it gives you more control on how much you work the gluten.

Now add in your eggs, one at a time, whisking well in-between each addition. As you add in the eggs, you will notice the mixture’s consistency change – this is normal and shows that the recipe is going right.

Don’t forget to add in the banana and just whisk it into the mixture until its fully incorporated. You’ll also want to add in the white chocolate chips and just mix them in until they are fully incorporated.

Transfer the blondie batter into your lined 9×13 baking tray and level out the batter before baking in the oven for 25-30 minutes. After the 25-30 minutes, remove from the oven and top with the banana chips and bake for a further 5-10 minutes.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool fully, before you place them in the fridge overnight and allow them to become the densest and fudgiest blondies possible.

Whenever they have been in the fridge for more than a couple of hours, you can go ahead and remove them from the tray and slice them up to enjoy them however you like – I went with squares but you can choose whatever shape you like.

Chocolate Bread Pudding

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

Today I’m sharing my take on a batch of chocolate bread pudding – this is super simple and decadently chocolatey, what’s not to love?

You may not have seen my latest recipe, which was for a batch of triple chocolate hot cross buns – that’s what we need for today’s recipe. For the best results, use day old or slightly stale hot cross buns.

This may not be the traditional bread pudding but it’s an intensely chocolatey version – perfect for those who like a lot of chocolate – perfect for over easter, right?

I only made a small batch, seeing as this is very rich and a small portion is more than adequate. This may be the recipe you need to try, why not give it a try over easter and share with friend and family.

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

500g triple chocolate hot cross buns.

600ml whole milk.

30g cocoa powder.

100g white chocolate chips.

100g milk chocolate chips.

100g dark chocolate chips.

100g light brown sugar.

2 eggs.

Method:

Before you get started on the recipe, you’ll want to do some prep work. Weigh up all of your ingredients, preheat your oven to 180˚c/350˚f and line a deep sided 8 inch square cake tin.

To start on the recipe, take a large mixing bowl and place in all the roughly chopped bread and then pour over the milk. Combine the two by using your hands and rubbing them together, until the are combined enough that theres no large lumps. This may take about 5-7 minutes but you want to make sure the milk is fully incorporated into the bread as any bits that aren’t fully worked in will show and ruin the perfect texture in the end results. It should be a mushy consistency.

Next you can go ahead and add in the cocoa powder and chocolate chips, then mix these in until they are fully incorporated, just mix everything together using your hand.

Lastly, add in your eggs and light brown sugar and mix them in until its fully incorporated.

Go ahead and grab your lined cake tin and pour in the mixture – level it out to ensure a consistent bake. As an optional finish, sprinkle over a small amount fo light brown sugar.