Contents page for the 'baking' category
- Caramel Peach Upside Down Cake
- Date Loaf
- Rock Cakes
- Little Adult Chocolate Cakes
- Quick Apple Crumble
- Banana and Yoghurt Bread
- Zucchini Bread
- French Lemon Tart
- Easy Shortcrust Pastry
- Easy Bread Making Update
22
Feb
This scrummy cake is a little different to the usual butter cake with icing. Use fresh peaches if they are available, or tinned. If you’re using tinned, keep the syrup to add to the cake.
I created this cake by taking a basic vanilla cake recipe, making some adjustments, and incorporating some ideas from a few other recipes.
I’ve always read that you have to be absolutely precise when baking, but I haven’t found this to be the case yet. If the mix doesn’t seem right, I add a little extra moisture or a little extra flour.
1
Feb
This is a quick and easy loaf recipe that has a whole heap of flavour from the malt in the Weetbix. Vita Brits don’t have the added malt, so won’t give as good a flavour. I like to serve this with a scraping of butter, but it tastes just as good plain.![]()
7
Dec
This is an old fashioned recipe that I cooked for the first time in school when I was 8 years old. It became a favourite and has been diligently written in my personal recipe book, but one I had forgotten about until the other day.
It’s not a very sweet recipe, so not one of DH’s favourites, but a lot of the flavour comes from the warm cinnamon goodness and juicy sultanas. If I remember correctly, the original recipe had mixed dried fruit and peel, but sultanas are just enough for me. They’re not glamorous looking, but nice with a morning cuppa.
30
Nov
This is a good recipe if you’re trying to use up leftover cream or sour cream. If you don’t have sour cream, substitute it with yoghurt or just milk.
Use the batter to make a single cake and cook it for around 40-50 minutes. Ice with a chocolate ganache for a real indulgence. Leave out the shot of liqueur for a kid friendly version.
Is it any cheaper to make your own cake than buying a packet cake or store bought cake? Sometimes, but not always. On the other hand, you know what’s in it. There is no egg substitute, preservatives, artificial colours, flavours and sweeteners, sodium, thickeners, stabilisers, soy products, or anti-caking agents (stops the dry mix from clumping up in store).
19
Oct
I threw this quick apple crumble together the other night while I was cooking dinner, had it in the oven in 10 minutes and it was ready just after we had finished dinner. Cooking from scratch doesn’t need to take a long time or be complicated. And of course it tastes better and is healthier than the store bought alternative.
The measurements are given as a guideline but I didn’t measure as I cooked this so taste as you go and adjust to suit how you enjoy your crumble. You may need to adjust the sugar level with the apples anyway depending on what variety of apples you have and how naturally sweet they are. If you don’t have lemon leave it out, it adds an extra dimension to the flavour, but isn’t necessary, substitute the cinnamon for nutmeg or cardamom or allspice if you prefer.
Ingredients
1 apple per person
sugar to taste
a small squeeze of lemon juice
a pinch or two of cinnamon
about 1/4 cup of flour per apple
about 1/8 cup of brown sugar
about 25g of butter per apple (enough to make a ‘breadcrumb’ like consistency)
cinnamon to taste
Method
Variations
14
Sep
This is a very moist cake. My husband, who doesn’t like bananas, loves this cakes. Mix it by hand or throw it all in the food processor. If you don’t have yoghurt try sour cream.
Ingredients
125g butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup mashed banana
3 eggs
3/4 cup plain yoghurt
1 3/4 cup self raising flour, sifted
Method
7
Sep
I was going to take a photo – but it’s all gone! I tried this recipe recently and loved it. I made a few necessary adjustments: I only had 2 eggs so I subbed a banana and an extra 1/2 tsp baking soda. I didn’t have all spice so I added some nutmeg and cardamom. I thought the cinnamon was a little overpowering so I’ll use less next time. I used macadamia nut oil instead of vegetable oil, which has a lovely flavour. A lot of the moisture in the mix comes from the zucchini.
Ingredients
2 cups of plain flour
1 cup wholemeal flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarb soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp all spice
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup of vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla essence
2 cups of grated zucchini
Method
Serve with butter if desired.
28
Jun
Ingredients
1 quantity of shortcrust pastry
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup castor sugar
80mls thickened or double cream
1/2 cup lemon juice
zest from 1 lemon
Method
The bigger the tart tin, the thinner the filling, but it is a very rich and ‘tart’ tart so a little goes a long way. Using a store bought pastry case will mean that this dish will take less than 5 minutes to prepare.
28
Jun
Ingredients
180g unsalted butter
240g plain flour
pinch salt
1/4 cup water
Method
Makes 1 quantity of dough for a large dish. I usually just use salted butter. For a sweet crust, add a tablespoon of caster sugar.
23
Jun
Last week I wrote about an easy bread making recipe and method that I had found at Cheap Like Me blog. If you’re interested, you can get the recipe here.
Inspired, I had a go at baking bread again myself. Here are the results.
Measuring and mixing the batter took about 2 minutes. I used 1 cup of wholemeal flour with the plain. I didn’t use special bread flour, just what I had in the cupboard. I mixed it in a Tupperware container and kept in on the bench overnight rather than in the fridge.
The next morning I shaped it into a ball, this took about 30 seconds. I still had time to photo it before the kettle boiled! I left it to rise for about 3 hours.
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