Playful yummy bakes for modern home bakers
Themed bakes for special occasions, much like costume parties, always get my vote. I just love the theatricality and fun you can have with baking like this and halloween cupcakes are a brilliant way to get in the ghoulish party spirit. The Matcha Mash Halloween …
Jammie Dodger cupcakes are such a playful and stylish little bake. A nostalgic throwback to the childhood biscuits we loved to eat growing up. A simple recipe for vanilla cupcakes with sweet tangy raspberry jam is a winning combination and a crowdpleaser of a dessert. …
What are some of your favourite healthy and satisfying foods? Sometimes it feels like those words never sit happily together, so it is amazing when you find a healthy combo that you really enjoy eating.
I love baked fruit; it’s great for a healthy breakfast or dessert, it makes me feel good knowing that I’m upping my 5 a day and it’s the best way to breathe new life into hard, out of season fruit, recreating that summer feeling whenever you fancy.
This is less of a recipe than it is an assembly job, a set of principles to get the best out of fruit that you might have at home that needs using up. This one uses peaches and nectarines and I baked them with cardamom, vanilla and oranges to bring out all of their gorgeous flavours. Blueberries, nuts, yoghurt and mint make this a gorgeous breakfast and you can always add some granola if you want to make it more substantial.
5 peaches
5 nectarines
Zest and juice of 2 oranges
Handful of blueberries
1 tsp vanilla
5 cardamom pods (crushed)
Honey (to taste) – you can also add different sweeteners if you want to make this vegan
Greek yoghurt
Mint leaves (decoration)
Makes enough for 3-4 servings depending on appetite
Preheat the oven to 190°C, GM5.
Halve the fruit and safely remove stones.
Cut side up, add the fruit to a roasting tin. Add the orange zest, juice, vanilla and crushed cardamom to the fruit and mix to combine. Drizzle over honey to taste.
Bake in the middle shelf of the oven for about 30 minutes, turning the pan halfway through to help the fruit cook evenly. The fruit is done when it is soft to the touch and the orange juice and honey have reduced to form a thick glaze.
Portion off the fruit and spoon over the blueberries, nuts, mint and yoghurt.
The fruit can be eaten hot, cold or room temperature. The fruit will keep for up to a week in the fridge.
Fancy trying some more simple breakfast and brunch ideas? Try my Cinnamon, oat and banana pancakes with spiced plums or maybe Mango, coconut and lime porridge – a touch of sunshine to start the day
Looking for brunch locations near you? Time Out will have some fab recommendations for sure.
Quality Street chocolate cupcakes are definitely the sort of cake you could make and eat all year round but there is just something very comfortingly and joyously Christmassy about these with the addition of the Quality Street decorations. Any sweets in jewel bright wrappers have …
These vegan chocolate peanut butter scones are so decadent, loud and over the top they’d make the classic afternoon tea scone blush and run for cover. Richly filled and topped with chocolate and peanut butter, these scones are the perfect party food and great for sharing. …
Banana bread is such a classic and comforting recipe and something that definitely became a lockdown staple recently. My version is a Chai Banana Bread, filled with chai tea to enhance the subtle warmth of the spices in the cake and also adds in lots of nuts and seeds for a tasty crunch. The maple syrup and orange icing is a gorgeous addition and really brings out all the rich banana flavours in the cake. One to try.
I am a huge fan of bananas in baking, they are brilliant versatile and add so much moisture to cakes. That means this cake will last in a tin much longer than other sponges, making them a great weekend bake to eat whenever you get a craving during the long work week.
Looking for other comforting classics to try? Why not have a go of my Lemon and ginger carrot cake cupcakes, they are scrumptious! Or maybe, Jam doughnut muffins – beautifully indulgent but minus the fuss and healthier than regular doughnuts.
175g softened butter
175g self rising flour
100g caster sugar
75g light brown sugar
2 eggs
½ tsp salt
3 medium sized bananas (mashed)
3 chai tea sachets
1 tsp ground cinnamon
50g chopped pecan nuts
50g chopped walnuts
50g pumpkin seeds
50g sunflower seeds
1 tsp vanilla extract
200-230g icing sugar (sifted)
Zest of 1 orange and 2 tbsp orange juice
1 tbsp maple syrup
Mixture of banana chips, chopped nuts and seeds for decoration
Makes 1 1lb loaf cake
Preheat the oven to 170°C, GM3.
Grease and line a 1lb loaf tin and line the bottom with a piece of parchment paper.
In a bowl add in the flour, salt and cinnamon. Sift together. Then open the chai tea sachets and add to the sifted ingredients.
In a separate bowl mash the bananas with a fork and leave to one side.
Using a food mixer or a free standing mixer, combine the butter, caster sugar and light brown sugar until light and fluffy. This will take a few minutes.
Then add the eggs one by one, leaving enough time for the eggs to be fully combined, this helps avoid curdling. (It isn’t the end of the world if the mixture curdles a bit at this stage but it might just stop the batter rising as much in the oven).
Add the flour and mix until just combined. (Do not over mix at this stage, otherwise it could make the cake tough).
With a rubber spatula, fold in the mashed banana, vanilla extract and the chopped nuts and seeds.
Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin.
Cook for about 50 minutes in the middle of the oven, covering with greaseproof parchment half way through if needed to stop the cake browning too quickly on the top.
To test if the cake is ready, add in a skewer to the middle of the cake and if it is clean when it comes out without any sticky batter on it, then it is ready. The cake will also spring back when touched.
Remove from the tin and leave to cool completely on the wire rack before icing.
To make the icing, sift the icing sugar. Zest the orange and then leave to one side for decoration.
Add the maple syrup and juice of the orange to the icing sugar. The icing should be a thick, pourable consistency, so that it can drizzle down the cake but thick enough so that it won’t all run off so you might have to add a little more icing sugar or orange juice or maple syrup to get to your preferred consistency.
Add the icing to the middle of the cake, encouraging the icing to fall down the cake as much as you like. Add the banana chips, nuts and seeds along the middle of the cake to decorate.
Enjoy with friends and a lovely cup of tea. The cake will last well in an airtight container for about 3 days.
On the look out for other banana recipes? Why not try BBC good food for more ideas. I also have a Strawberry and banana sunrise porridge which is lovely if you’re looking for more ways to use up those brown bananas.
Apple pie muffins. A playful respect for the classics has resulted in one of the most luscious mashups I’ve made, so far. I love fruity desserts and I always find a crumble, pie or cobbler hard to resist; really anything with custard makes the best pud. …
Carrot cake is such a comforting classic. When you think how simple it is to make, no fancy mixers required, the happy delusions it inspires in us, getting our veggies and eating cake too, and the gorgeous contrast between the spiced cake and sweet cream …
For me, the delicate flavours of rose and orange blossom water alongside citrus go perfectly with a vanilla no churn ice cream base and that is where the idea for this Turkish Delight ice cream came from.
It’s a no churn ice cream, so no need for fancy equipment and all you need to do is whip up all the ingredients together and freeze. Very laid back, a brilliant no stress pud to make when people come round. Serve with rose petals and crushed pistachios to make it extra special.
300ml double cream
½ tin condensed milk (of a 397g tin)
¼ tsp salt
3 tsp rose water
2 tsp orange blossom water
1 tsp liquid glucose
1 tbsp cointreau
1 tbsp limoncello
1 vanilla pod (or 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract)
Zest 1 lemon
Zest 1 orange
Add the double cream, condensed milk, salt, rose water, orange blossom water, the liqueurs and vanilla pod to a food mixer and begin to whisk.
When the cream begins to form soft peaks after a few minutes and you can see the whisk indentations in the cream add in the liquid glucose.
When the cream is whipped enough that it holds a peak when you lift the whisk out, add the orange and lemon zest and fold gently to combine. The cream mixture whips very quickly using a food mixer, maybe 3 minutes on fast speed, so keep an eye on it or you’ll come back to butter. Not what you want.
Pour the ice cream mixture into your air-tight container. Put the lid on and place the container into a sealable bag. This will help prevent ice crystals forming in your ice cream while it is in the freezer.
Leave to freeze for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.
Once frozen this will last about 2 months in the freezer to have whenever you fancy.
Looking for other simple ice cream recipes? Why not try my White chocolate sparkle ice cream or my No churn and instant blackberry ice creams – Bramble beauties – they’re both incredibly easy. Whip them up in no time and then store in the freezer whenever you want them.
Looking for Turkish Delight gift ideas? Why not try these artisan goodies.
Mini egg ice cream – can you get a more joyful Easter treat? Mini eggs are some of my favourite springtime sweets; you know Easter is around the corner when they start to fill the shelves. I find that now more than ever the weather …