Fruit

Iced Fruit Cake Slices

It’s bakemas 2020!

If it’s your first bakemas here, welcome. It is my annual mini-series in which I show you how to make a various Christmas themed baked goods – perfect if you want to impress your family and/or friends or if you’re hosting a festive get together.

Today’s recipe is for a really simple iced fruit cake slice – this way you’re having the element of a fruit cake without having a whole fruit cake this is the perfect treat to make and give to friends and family wrapped up as a present or just to share with them, as it tis the season to share.

Even the people who don’t like fruit cake will like this you have a semi traditional fruit cake which is topped with a thin layer of marzipan, which is then topped with a thin layer of icing sugar and finished with a sugar paste holly leaf.

Like most people are feeling right now, it doesn’t feel very festive at all. 2020 has been the weirdest year of my life (as it has for many others), however you’re celebrating Christmas it wouldn’t quite be Christmas time without some form of fruit cake and that’s why I’m sharing my recipe today. It’s a little different he’s not a traditional it’s more of a twist on a traditional so I hope you don’t mind that.

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

Cake:

150g butter.

150g light brown sugar.

3 eggs.

125g plain flour.

50g ground almonds.

1 tsp ground cinnamon.

½ tsp ground mixed spice.

A dash of ground ginger, cloves, all spice and nutmeg.

450g mixed dried fruit.

Decoration:

150g marzipan.

150g white sugar paste.

25g green sugar paste.

apricot glaze.

water.

Method:

Before you get started on the recipe, you’ll want to do some prep work. Start by weighing up all of the ingredients, lining an 8×8 inch square cake tin with parchment and grabbing any equipment you may need, such as a stand mixer and spatula. Don’t forget to preheat the oven to 150˚c/300˚f.

To start on the cake, grab a bowl and place in the butter and light brown sugar – beat the two together until they are combined. You’re not looking for he mixture to be light and fluffy, just well combined.

You can then add in your eggs, one at a time, beating well in between each addition. Don’t worry if the mixture curdles a little, we’ll correct it now.

Over a sieve, add your plain flour, ground spices and ground almonds and sift that into the mixture. You can then go ahead and add in the fruit.

Mix everything together until everything is incorporated – try your best not to over-mix the cake batter, otherwise the end result will be tough.

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

Then transfer the cake batter into your lined cake tin and spread/level the cake better out until its smooth and level, them place into your preheated oven and bake for 60-90 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.

Once baked, remove from the oven and allow to cool fully (while still in the tin).

Whenever the cake has cooled and you’re ready to decorate – you can remove the cake from the tin.

Dust your work surface with a small amount of icing sugar and place on the marzipan and roll it out until its big enough for the top of the cake. I eyeballed this but feel free measure and be more accurate.

Take a small amount and apricot jam and melt it in the microwave/on the hob until smooth and spreadable. Brush this generously on top of the cake and then place the rolled out marzipan on top – set the cake aside while you prepare the final layer.

Dust your work surface with some icing sugar and roll out the sugar paste to be big enough for the top of the cake. To secure the sugar paste in place, brush over a small amount of water and then place the rolled out sugar paste on top.

Roll out the green sugar paste and cut out holly leaves and dampen the back, then secure to the top of the cake .

The you can slice them up into 16 generous portions and enjoy, this is the perfect recipe to make and share with friends and/or family.

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.

Fresh Cream Cake

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

It’s bakemas 2020!

That’s why today, I’m sharing another super easy cake recipe with you – here’s my take on a fresh cream cake.

It’s nothing super fancy, just two layers of soft vanilla sponge cake, filled with winterberry jam. Filled and coated with freshly whipped sweetened cream, finished with a desiccated coconut coating, a few rosettes top and they’re topped with some raspberries (feel free to use other berries).

If you’re looking for a cake to make to share with those you’re celebrating the holidays with, this may be the perfect addition at your celebration this year.

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

Cake:

250g Butter.

250g Granulated sugar.

4 Eggs.

1-2 tsp Vanilla extract.

250g Plain flour.

1 1/2 tsp Baking powder.

Pinch of salt.

Milk (optional – only use if needed).

Filling:

Jam or spread of choice (I used winterberry jam, any filling is optional).

Finishing:

Whipped cream:

600ml Double cream.

50g Icing sugar.

1-2 tsp Vanilla extract.

Approx 200-250g desiccated coconut.

Optional – raspberries (or other berries) to finish.

Method:

Before you get started on the recipe, you’ll want to do some prep work. Start by weighing up all of your ingredient, grab 2x 6 inch round cake tins and lined them with parchment or butter and flour them, then you can go ahead and grab any equipment you may need, such as a stand mixer and mixing bowl or hand mixer and a mixing bowl – spatulas will be essential during this recipe, so grab at least one of them. Don’t forget to preheat your oven to 180˚c/350˚f.

To start on the cake, 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 – around 7-10 minutes over a medium-high speed.

Once you’ve achieved the perfect consistency, give the bowl a good scraping down just to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully incorporated previously.

Now you can add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well in between each addition. As you add in the eggs, you will notice the consistency change and become looser, this is normal, don’t worry.

Add in the vanilla extract and mix it in until its fully incorporated.

Now you can give the bowl another good scraping down, just to incorporate any bits that may not have been incorporated earlier on.

Grab a sieve and pass though the flour, baking powder and salt. Sifting the dry ingredients ensures you have no lumps in your cake batter – lumps in your batter are the last thing you need.

Place the mixing bowl back onto the mixer and start to incorporate the dry ingredients over a low speed to start with, working your way up to a medium-high until everything is combined and fully incorporated.

If you find the cake batter is a little stiff to work with, don’t worry. Use a little milk, roughly a tablespoon at a time until you achieve the perfect consistency.

Finally, give your bowl a good scraping down. Just to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully worked in from earlier on.

Now you can grab your prepared cake tins and divide the cake batter between them, trying to get it as equal as possible if you’re eyeballing it like I was. Smooth and level it out, then place into your preheated oven and bake for 30-35 minutes (or until a tester comes out clean).

While your cakes are baking, it’s the perfect time to clean up and start on the cream filling and coating.

To make the cream filling and coating, take a clean mixing bowl and place in the double cream, icing sugar and vanilla extract, then beat over a medium-high speed until your cream has almost reached stiff peaks. It should easily hold its shape and be the perfect spreadable consistency.

Keep that refrigerated until needed later on or if you’re not decorating the cake that day, save whipping the cream until you need it.

Once the cakes are baked, remove from the oven and allow to cool fully, when you can, remove from the cake tins and leave on a cooling rack to cool fully.

Later on, once you’re ready to finish the cake, make sure you have levelled the top of the cakes. This just helps to keep everything level and consistent when finishing the cake off.

To start the assembly, grab your plate/stand/board and smear a small blob of fresh cream into the centre of it and place the first layer of cake onto it, pressing down to secure it in place.

On top of the first layer of cake, dollop and spread a good amount of cream and spread it out until its level, then optionally add some jam (I use winterberry but use your preference). Place the second layer of cake on top, then press down just to secure it in place.

You can then go ahead and give the cake a generous coating of the whipped cream, you will only be applying the one coat so be fairly generous.

Once you have a generous coat of cream, you can then go ahead and coat the cake with a layer of desiccated coconut, ensuring the cake has a good coating.

Pipe on the rosettes of cream, they may not stay in place due to you piping on top of the coconut but don’t worry. Then you can top them with your choice of berry, I chose raspberry.

Place in the fridge to firm up for about 45-60 minutes, then enjoy!

Apple Crumble Cake

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

Today I’m sharing my take on an apple crumble layer cake – this is the perfect cake to make and enjoy during the long autumnal days/nights.

This cake came to be after experimenting with flavours and preventing waste, plus why not combine a classic apple crumble with cake to make this perfectly seasonal apple crumble cake. Try not to get this cake confused with a crumble topped apple cake, which is equally as delicious.

I’ll be honest with you, this cake was an accidental creation. I had been making a apple crumble no-bake cheesecake and apple crumble cupcakes and had left over ingredients. So, to prevent food waste, I made this delicious cake. If you like sponge cake and apple crumble – you’ll love this cake.

The cake is made up of 2 layers of apple cake (made with fresh and dried apple), filled and coated with a cinnamon buttercream and finished with a crumble topping as decoration – it’s my take on a combination of an apple crumble and cake.

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

Cake:

200g Butter.

200g Brown sugar (you can use either light or dark, whichever you prefer or have available).

3 Eggs.

1 tsp Vanilla extract.

200g Plain flour.

1 tsp Baking powder.

Pinch of salt.

75g Cooking apple (peeled, cored and chopped).

10g Dried apple.

Buttercream:

250g Butter.

500g Icing sugar.

1 tsp Vanilla extract.

Ground cinnamon (flavour to your preference).

Crumble:

35g Granulated sugar.

35g Dark brown sugar.

30g Oats.

50g Plain flour.

60g Butter.

Simple syrup:

100ml Water.

100g Granulated sugar.

1 tsp Vanilla extract.

Apple Filling:

1 Large cooking apple, chopped into small cubes.

30-50g Granulated sugar (use the amount of sugar that suits you best).

15-30ml Water.

Method:

Before you get started on any element of this recipe, you’ll want to do some prep work. I recommend starting by weighing up all of your ingredients, getting any equipment you may need ready, such as a stand mixer, mixing bowls and spatulas. You will also want to preheat your oven to 180˚f/350˚f and line your 6 inch cake tins with butter and parchment paper.

Cake:

To start on the recipe, you’ll want to start on the cake. Grab your mixing bowl and place in the butter and light brown sugar and beat the two together until they are lighter and fluffier in colour and consistency – this takes around 7-10 minutes on a medium-high speed.

You now start adding your eggs, one at a time, beating well in-between each addition. If you add your eggs too quickly, you may split the mixture and this sin’t ideal. You will also want to add in the vanilla extract, mix until it has been fully incorporated into the mix.

Don’t forget to give your bowl a good scraping down, this is just to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully worked in from earlier on.

Then you can add in the dry ingredients, passing them through a sieve first. This will help remove any lumps that may be in the dry mixture, meaning you won’t have any lumps of raw flour in your finished cake.

Mix all of the dry ingredients in on a low speed to start with, working your way up to a medium-high speed until the flour has been fully incorporated. Once the flour has been almost fully incorporated, you can add in the apple and mix on a medium speed until they are fairly distributed through out the cake batter.

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

Divide the cake batter between your two cake tins and level it out as best you can using a small cranked or offset palette knife. You can then place them into the preheated oven and bake off for 30-35 minutes (or until a tester comes out clean).

Misc:

While your cakes are in the oven baking, you can make the buttercream and apple filling.

For the buttercream, grab your clean mixing bowl and place in the butter and beat for 5-7 minutes or until it has become lighter and fluffier in colour and consistency.

You can then go ahead and add in the first half of your icing sugar and beat on a low speed to start with, working your way up to a medium-high until the icing sugar has been fully incorporated. Repeat this stage with the remixing icing sugar.

Now you will want to add in the vanilla extract and mix until it has been fully incorporated. 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 some ground cinnamon and mix until you have the desired flavour. The amount of cinnamon is up to you, I like quite a lot as I want to be able to taste the cinnamon.

To make the apple filling, take a large cooking apple and peel, core and cube. Then place into a medium-large saucepan and add in the sugar and water, heat over a medium-high heat and just cook until the apples have soften and the sugar/water have made a thickened syrupy consistency.

Transfer the apple filling into a jar until it’s needed, later on.

Now may also be the ideal time to make the simple syrup, which is probably the easiest thing to make in this recipe. Place the water, sugar and vanilla extract into a saucepan and mix together until they are combined. Place on the hob over a medium-high heat and allow to come to a boil, then simmer until the mixture has reduced and thickened slightly. Allow to cool fully before you intend on using it.

To start on the crumble, you’ll want to place the plain flour, granulated sugar and dark brown sugar into a bowl and mix them together.

Once they are combined, you can then add the butter, which is in small pieces. Once all the butter has been added, you can rub it together until the butter has been incorporated and the mixture has become crumblier looking – now you can add in the oats, stir until they have been incorporated.

Remove the crumble from the bowl and place onto a lined baking tray. If your crumble has lumps that are large, use a silicon spatula to break them down into smaller bits. Bake the crumble in the oven until it’s well coloured – around 10-12 minutes.

Assembly:

Now you have every element of the cake made, you can assemble it. To start, level your cakes – I remove the un-level top of the cakes and generously brush the layers of cake with the vanilla simple syrup I made earlier on.

Then grab the plate/board/stand you intend on using to serve the cake on and onto the centre of it, place a small blob of buttercream and smear it out and place the first layer of cake onto it, pressing down to secure it in place. This step acts as the glue, ensuring the cake is secure and won’t move around while you’re working with it.

Place a decent amount of buttercream onto the first layer or cake and spread out, leaving a slight lip on the outer edge, then add in the apple filling and place the second layer of cake on top, pressing down to secure it in place a bit better.

You can then go ahead and add a generous layer of buttercream to the entire cake, encasing the cake in the cinnamon buttercream. Usually, I’d suggest doing a crumb coat but this cake didn’t really need one as I wasn’t looking for a perfect finish. If you are looking for a more perfect finish, you can go ahead and do a crumb coat before applying the final layer of buttercream. If you do a crumb coat, chill in the fridge for around 45-60 minutes before applying the final layer.

Make sure you keep the sides smooth and have a little more buttercream on top of the cake, so you can use a small cranked/offset palette knife to make a swirl on top of the cake. This is probably the simplest and easiest way to decorate a cake – well I think so anyway. Feel free to decorate however you like!

To finish the cake off, I use the crumble mix around the outer edge of the cake just to add some decoration, colour and texture. You can incorporate the crumble a different way, if the way I mentioned doesn’t suit you.

That’s it. You can eat the cake straight away or chill in the fridge for a short while before you enjoy it.

Apple Pie

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

This weeks recipe is for a simple apple pie – nothing fancy about the recipe, just a standard but tasty recipe for you try during the autumn period or any time of year.

I know that apple pie isn’t the most autumnal pie but when else can you enjoy pies? September-November is honestly pie season for me (even more so than pumpkin spice, fight me…).

For this recipe, I’ll be using my basic shortcrust pastry recipe. It’s a sturdy and reliable recipe that has never failed me – nor should it fail you (trust me on that, it’s one of recipe must haves). Inside of the pastry, you’ll have the apple filling (duh), which is simply apple, sugar and spices – the key to a good apple pie is keeping it simple! This way the apple won’t be completely mushy, they’ll be perfectly cooked, with a slight crunch!

I won’t lie, this recipe was made back in August of 2020 while I was having a baking session where I also made a red velvet cake, banana bundt cake and salted caramel gingerbread traybake amongst other bits – check out the recipes, you might find something you like!

The key for this weeks recipes, keeping it simple. Sometimes making things super complex doesn’t do anything but muddy the water…

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

Pastry –

Don’t forget to check out my shortcrust pastry recipe.

Apple filling:

750g Apples.

125g Light or dark brown sugar (whichever you prefer).

1 tsp Ground cinnamon.

1-2 tbsp Water (optional, only if needed).

Additional bits :

1 Egg, for egg wash.

Brown sugar, to sprinkle on top the pastry

Method:

Before you get started on any part of this recipe, you’ll want to do some prep work. I recommend starting with making the pastry (this can be done 1-2 days in advanced), weighing up all of your ingredients and grabbing any equipment you need, such as a mixing bowl and a sharp paring knife.

As mentioned above, you will want to make the pastry, which can be made in advanced, saving you precious time and effort on the day you want to make the apple pie. I won’t be sharing how to make the pastry as I have recipe which has more detail on there, which I’ll link here.

Once the pastry has been made and chilled, you can go ahead and work with it. Onto your work surface, sprinkle a small amount of flour, then you can go ahead and place the dough onto it. You’ll then want to roll the dough out to be around the same thickness as a pound coin, which is perfect for this recipe as you’ll need to roll the pastry out to be bigger than the tin and if you use a 10 inch pie tin like me, it all falls into place perfectly.

You can then drape the pastry over the pie tin, I find rolling the pastry onto a rolling pin the easiest and safest way to work with the dough but you do it however you need to.

Press the pastry into the grooves of the pie tin, be gentle as the pastry may be delicate to work with (but don’t worry if you tear the pastry, you can patch it up easily). Then using the sharp paring knife, you can then go ahead and trim away the excess from around the edge of the tin – make sure you bring it back into a ball shape, wrap in clingfilm and place in the fridge – we’ll use this up later.

Don’t forget to dock the bottom of the pastry case and place into the fridge to chill while you make the apple filling (which only take a few minutes, so chill the pastry case for 30 minutes, then work on the filling).

To make the apple filling, its super straightforward. Grab a large bowl and place in the brown sugar and cinnamon (you can also add other spices, if you’d like to) and give the two a good mix until well incorporated.

You can then go ahead and add in the apple slices, ensuring that they all get fairly coated in the brown sugar mixture then you can add them all in to the chilled pastry case – it may look a lot and bulge up, don’t worry, they’ll shrink as they cook.

Place it back in the fridge for short while, just while you make the top.

For the top of the apple pie, you can do it however you like, leave it plain, a lattice or just a plain top, like I’m doing. Roll the pastry out to be the same thickness as the pastry case and then drape it on top, crimping the edge, so the lid is secured to the case – just use a fork. Don’t forget to slice 2 slits in the middle of the pie, to release any steam that will occur while baking.

To use up the last of the pastry, feel free to give the edge and centre a more decorative finish. I went with some oak leaves to go around the edge of the pie, as well as a few in the centre but this is completely optional.

Give the whole pie a good egg wash, ensuring a good coating is applied – then you can go ahead and sprinkle on some sugar, I like to use brown sugar but use whatever you want to.

Bake in your preheated oven for 45-50 minutes – It should be well coloured and smell great, once ready.

Once the apple pie has baked, I recommenced leaving the pie to cool fully. It can be reheated later on and served with cream or custard.

Apple Crumble No-Bake Cheesecake

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

I’m taking two of my favourite desserts and combining them into one! Today I’ll be sharing my recipe for a super easy apple crumble no bake cheesecake!

This cheesecake is like all of my other no-bake cheesecakes, super easy to make and takes next to no time to make it. The only downside to this style of no-bake cheesecake is that they need time in the fridge (6-8 hours is best), this is to help it firm up as it doest contain gelatine!

I wanted to combine apple crumble and cheesecake and thought about which way may be the best to achieve that, so that’s how this apple crumble no-bake cheesecake came to be. It starts with a simple but tasty buttery biscuit base, which is then topped with creamy and tangy apple cheesecake filling, which is finished with a spiced crumble mix, whipped cream and some stewed apples.

I know that Autumn is usually heaving with recipes containing pumpkin and spices but I’ve decided against that this year as there is only so much pumpkin you can handle, right?

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

Base:

125g Digestive biscuits.

50g Butter, melted.

Cheesecake:

300g Soft cheese.

75g Icing sugar.

1 tsp Vanilla extract.

200ml Double cream.

150g Cooked/stewed apples.

Topping:

200ml Double cream.

1tsp Vanilla extract.

25g Icing sugar.

Crumble Topping

25g Light brown sugar.

25g Granulated sugar.

20g Oats.

35g Plain flour.

40g Butter.

1/2 tsp Ground cinnamon

Pinch of mixed spice.

Methods:

Before you get into any element of the recipe, you’ll want to do some prep work. Start by weighing up all of the ingredients, preparing your cake tin with a circle of parchment paper (this is optional) and get any equipment you may use ready.

To start on the recipe, you’ll want to work on the base first.

Take your digestive biscuits and place them into a food safe bag, then take a rolling pin and gently press it into the biscuits until they break down using a rolling pin until a crumb or sandy looking consistency is apparent. If you’re doing this by hand, its okay to have a few big chunks in the mixture, don’t worry too much.

Transfer the biscuits crumbs into a small/medium bowl and then go ahead and melt the butter, either in a saucepan on the hob or in a microwave safe bowl, in the microwave. Add the butter directly into the biscuit crumbs and mix the two together until fully combined – it will resemble wet sand.

Take your 6 inch round cake tin and pour the mixture straight into it, then compress it down using a small cup measurement or the back of a spoon, until its compressed and level, then place into the fridge to chill while you make the cheesecake filling.

Start by taking a large mixing bowl and placing the soft cheese, icing sugar and vanilla extract and whisking them all together until they are fully combined. The mixture should be thick enough to hold its shape and not be too loose.

Now you can go ahead and add in the apple and whisk it in until its fully incorporated. Then you can add in the double cream and whisk until the cream has been worked in and the mixture has thickened – it should be able to hold its shape well.

Remove the cheesecake base from the fridge and add the cheesecake filling directly on top of the base, then spread it out to get it smooth and level as possible. I find a small cranked/offset spatula or the back of a spoon works best.

Place into the fridge and chill for a minimum of 6-8 hours but feel free to leave it for longer.

While your cheesecake chills in the fridge, you can go ahead and make the crumble.

The crumble is super easy. To start, grab a food processor and place in the flour, granulated sugar and light brown sugar – blitz everything together until combined.

Now you can add the butter into food processor and blitz until the butter has been worked in, transfer into a bowl and add in the oats, stir until everything has been combined.

Place the crumble onto a lined baking tray and place into a preheated oven and bake until its well coloured. Allow to cool down fully before you intend on using it.

Whenever you’re ready to finish the cheesecake off, you’ll want to decorate the cheesecake however you like. I went with something a little different, I added a layer/border of crumble around the edge, then a piped whipped cream around the centre, covering the edge of the inner circle and filled the centre with cooked apple but you do it however you like!

Apple & Blackberry Loaf

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

This weeks bread recipe is for something a little bit different – today I’ll be sharing my recipe for a blackberry and apple loaf!

When I say this recipe is a little different, it’s because the bread is naturally coloured purple and this is through the use of blackberries (which are still in season, I think). Normally when you add additional ingredients which may colour or tint the dough don’t add that much colour, this isn’t the case with blackberries.

This bread is made with an enriched dough, which means it’s going to taste good (the addition of butter and eggs) – this recipe also features fresh blackberries and dried apple. I like to use dried apple as it allows you to have the flavour but not the moisture of fresh apples – when you add too much moisture into a recipe, you have to balance the amounts out and it can get confusing very quickly. To make a long story short, use dried apples instead of fresh for this recipe.

I know that this flavour combination is a little out there and you may associate it with more sweet dishes like a apple and blackberry crumble, it’s very well balanced and tastes amazing once baked – you’ll have to trust me on that one!

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

500g Strong white bread flour.

50g Fresh yeast.

75g Butter.

75g Granulated sugar.

15g Milk powder.

1 Egg.

150ml Water (Luke warm).

100g Fresh blackberries.

20-30g Freeze dried apples (I use Liobites).

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 loaf 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 minutes 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.

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.

You can then go ahead and bring the dough into a ball shape, then roll it into a fat sausage shape or a loaf shape, just big enough to fit into a standard loaf pan.

Cover loosely with clingfilm and place somewhere warm to proof for a second time. The dough should only need about 45-60 minutes but depends on the climate where you live – if you live somewhere warmer, the dough will proof quicker.

Preheat your oven to 180˚c/350˚f, around 15 minutes before you intend to use the oven.

After the dough has proofed, it should be well risen and ready for the oven. Just before you place it into the oven, sprinkle over some oats and then go ahead place it into your preheated oven and bake for 35-40 minutes.

Remove the bread from the oven and empty straight onto a cooling rack and tap the bottom of the loaf – if it sounds hollow, thats a good sign and shows the bread is baked.

Allow to cool until fully cooled down, then you can slice it up and enjoy it however you like. I like it toasted with butter but you can use it however you like!

Cherry Bakewell Flapjacks

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

For this weeks recipe, I took two treats and combined them to make a super easy and tasty treat for you to enjoy. Today I’m sharing my recipe for a batch of cherry Bakewell flapjacks.

If you like the plain traditional flapjack recipe, then you should like these. It’s the original chewy and gooey flapjack with elements of a cherry bakewell incorporated… It’s honestly a winning combination.

I use some ground almonds in the dry mix, this helps to add to the flavour and texture of the bake but I also use almond extract to get the most flavour into this bake.

When it comes to the jam, I used cherry to further add to the cherry flavour, however, traditionally in a Bakewell you’re more likely to find a plum jam but you can use whichever jam you like (homemade is better but shop bought works well).

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

175g Butter.

175g Light brown sugar.

175g Golden syrup.

1/4 tsp Almond extract

350g Oats.

50g Ground almonds

50g Cocktail or glace cherries, halved.

(up to) 200g Cherry jam.

Method:

Before you get started on the recipe, you’ll want to do some prep work. I like to start by weighing up all of my ingredients, lining my 8×8 inch cake tin with parchment paper and grab any other equipment you may need such as a mixing bowl, spatula and saucepan. You may also want to preheat your oven to 180˚c/350˚f.

To start on the recipe, you’ll want to grab a medium saucepan and place in the butter, golden syrup and light brown sugar and place the saucepan on the hob over a medium-high heat and just leave it for around 60 seconds, then you can start to stir it constantly until everything has melted together and become smooth. The mixture should be clear, meaning you can see a single trace of a single ingredient.

Set the mixture aside for a moment while you prepare the next step.

Into a large mixing bowl, you can g ahead and add in all of your oats, the the ground almond and just mix the two together until they are fairly well combined.

Now you can go ahead and pour the melted mix over the oats and almond mixture, giving it all a very good mix. You want all of the oats to be coated in the melted mixture, this will only help to make them taste as yummy as possible.

Just before you’re finished with mixing the dry and wet mix together, you can go ahead and add in some cherries (cocktail cherries or glace cherries work well), fold them into the mixture until they have been fairly distributed throughout the mixture.

Grab your lined cake tin from earlier on and add around half of the flapjack mixture. Spread it out and level it out as best you possibly can – I found using a small cranked palette knife works really well.

Directly on top of the bottom layer of flapjack mixture, you can add the cherry jam and spread it out to get it as level as possible – then you can place the remaining oats on top of the jam layer and spread it out to achieve a consistent level. If you can still see some jam under the flapjacks, don’t worry it’s not the end of the world.

Place the tray into your preheated oven and bake for 25-35 minutes or until a nice golden brown colour all over with darker edges.

Once out of the oven allow to cool down fully before you attempt to finish them off.

This is optional but on a cherry Bakewell you get a thin layer of icing, so to add that element into the flapjacks, I’ll be making a glace icing to drizzle over the cooled traybake.

Simple drizzle over the icing in whichever pattern you’d like and place in the fridge for 20 minuets just to allow the icing to firm up.

Whenever you’re ready, you can slice them up. How you do this is completely up to you – I went with 16 bitesize pieces of flapjack but you could always half that and yield 8 more than generous portions but its up to you.

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.

Fruit Loaf

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

Today I’ll be showing you how to make a super simple, light and fluffy fruit loaf.

If you have never tried a fruit load, you are missing out – trust me when I say that. The closest thing to this version of a fruit loaf is perhaps a hot cross bun, just bigger and without the ground spices.

The bread itself is lighter and fluffier than you’d expect and with the addition of dried fruit into the bread, it all ties together very well. You may also have noticed that I glazed the top of the bread, which isn’t a usual task but for this loaf it provides a sweetness/stickiness as well as a way to preserve the bread for a bit longer.

The dough is enriched, so tastes fairly richer than a standard bread but as a treat, it’s acceptable. I enjoy mine thickly cut, toasted and well buttered – trust me when I say its a winning combination.

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

500g Strong white bread flour.

5g Salt.

50g Fresh yeast.

75g Butter.

75g Granulated sugar.

15g Milk powder.

1 Egg.

175ml Water, warmed.

200g Mixed fruit.

Simple syrup:

100g Water.

100g Granulated sugar.

Method:

Before you get started on the bread, you’ll want to do some prep work. I like to start by weighing up all my ingredients, lining a loaf tin with a piece of parchment, oiling a bowl with flavourless oil and getting any equipment you may need such as a stand mixer and a silicon spatula.

Into a mixing bowl, place the flour and salt, giving it a brief mix just to incorporate the two.

Then you can go ahead and place in the yeast, butter, sugar, milk powder, egg and water. Mix on a low speed for 2 minutes, followed by 4 minutes on a high speed. You should have noticed that the dough has come together and holds it’s shape well – it will be softer due to the addition of egg and butter.

Stop the mixer and place the dried fruit into the bowl and mix on a low speed, just until the dried fruit has been incorporated – try your best not to overmix the dough at his stage.

Flour your work surface with some bread flour and place the dough onto it, giving it a knead until some of the flour has been incorporated. Bring back into a ball shape and place into your lightly oiled bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave somewhere warm to prove for 45-60 minutes.

After the first proof, you can flour your work surface with a small amount of bread flour, then place the dough onto it, knocking it back. The process of knocking the dough back is where you remove the gases that have built up in the dough during the first proof.

You will then want to bring it back into a ball shape, before rolling it a little and turning it into a fat sausage shape.

Place the dough into you lined loaf tin, pressing down a little and the loosely covering the dough with some clingfilm for around 45-60 minutes or until the loaf has risen well, should be visible above the edge of the loaf pan and be domed towards the centre – this is normal and what you’re looking for.

Now that the end of the second proof is almost over, go ahead and preheat your oven to 230˚c/445˚f.

Once the dough has proved, you can then go ahead and place into the preheated oven and bake for 20-22 minutes.

While the loaf is baking, you can go ahead and make the simple syrup for the glaze. Into a small saucepan, place the water and sugar, giving a good mix, then placing it on the hob over a medium heat, allowing it to reach a boil before you taking it off the heat. Allow to cool down a bit before use.

After your loaf has baked in the oven, remove from the oven and the loaf tin and place the bread on to something like a cooling rack or similar. Take a brush and brush over the simple syrup, giving the loaf a good coating.

Now simply allow the bread to cool down fully before you enjoy the loaf.

My favourite way is to cut it quite thick, toast it and slather with butter – trust me its a good combo!

3 Ingredient Strawberry Jam

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

If you’re looking for a quick and easy strawberry jam recipe, look no further. Today’s recipe is for my 3 ingredient strawberry jam – you read that right, only 3 ingredients.

Ever since I started my YouTube channel and blog, I have asked multiple times whether people would be interested in a recipe for my jam and only now have I finally got around to sharing it with you.

When it comes to jam making, people assume its hard to do or you need more ingredients but this really isn’t the case. You need three simple ingredients; strawberries, sugar and water – that’s it. Making jam is seriously easy and doesn’t take too long either – this is the ideal recipe to make while you’re staying in. You can use other fruits, I recommend sticking to berries (I’ve used raspberries, blueberries and strawberries previously).

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

350g Fresh strawberries, hulled and chopped.

200g Granulated sugar (any sort of white sugar will work well here).

Water (just splash to help the consistency).

Method:

Before you get into making the jam, you’ll want to do some prep work. Weigh up all your ingredients, grab a medium/large saucepan and wooden spoon and a sterilised jar (I used a Kilner jar but feel free to use whatever jar you have, as long as its clean and has been sterilised).

Take your saucepan and place the strawberries and sugar into it.

Give the two a good mix until they are fully combined, it will look syrupy but this is completely normal.

Before you place it on the hob, you’ll want to add some water to the strawberry and sugar mixture. When it comes to how much water you will need, that really depends on how ripe your fruit is, so start with a little and add more if it’s needed – don’t worry if you add too much water, it will evaporate from the jam as it thickens on the hob (it may take a little longer if you add a lot of water).

Now that all the ingredients have been combined, you can place the saucepan on the hob over a medium-high heat.

It may look like the jam isn’t thickening to start but give it some time. As you notice the mixture starts to get hot and bubbles, keep giving it the occasional stir, just to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the saucepan.

Once it comes to almost a boil, lower the heat and leave it to simmer over a medium-low heat, until the mixture thickens. Make sure you don’t let the mixture sit for too long as it may catch the bottom of the pan and burn – this will ruin the jam (just be careful).

Now the jam is getting there, you will notice that the mixture has gone from quite a runny consistency to a much thicker one – this is what you’re looking for. Once it becomes a more ‘gloopy’ consistency or falls more chunky from the spoon, you’re done. Remove from the heat.

Go ahead and grab your sterilised jar and pour the jam directly into it (try your best not to get the jam onto your skin, it’s extremely hot and will burn you. Also, try and get it all into the jar the first time, not like me haha).

Place the lid on the jar and allow the jam to cool down completely before you place it into the fridge and use within 4-6 weeks.

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

Fruit

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