Baking Bo

Yes, it's that time again and you know what that means... GINGERBREAD!! I went to visit my dear friend Fay for a spot of shopping in Portsmouth today and I took her a little treat. My recipe is unchanged (if it ain't broke, don't fix it) Original post found here:  http://bakingbo.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/iced-gingerbread-stars.html   Ingredients  350g plain flour 1 tbsp ground ginger 1 tsp ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp ground mixed spice pinch of salt 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda 175g unsalted butter 150g dark muscovado sugar 4 tbsp golden syrup Method 1. Sift the flour, ginger, cinnamon, mixed spice, salt and bicarb into a mixing bowl.  2. Put the butter, sugar and syrup into a saucepan. Melt until smooth then add to the flour mixture. Mix with a wooden spoon to form a dough. 3. Tip out onto a floured surface and knock into a ball. Wrap in cling film and chill for 20 minutes in the fridge.  4. Roll out and cut out star shapes. Re-roll and re-cut until you have used all the mixture.

After paying an extortionate amount for a slice of butterscotch cake in a cafe earlier this week and a lovely chat with my dear friend Kitty, I decided to make my own! The original recipe I used can be found here:  http://www.channel4.com/4food/recipes/baking/cakes/butterscotch-sponge-cake-with-cream-cheese-frosting-recipe  However, I have tweaked it slightly!  Ingredients for the cake 225g softened unsalted butter  125g light muscavado sugar 100g caster sugar 4 eggs 225g self raising flour 2 tsp vanilla extract 2 tbsp milk For the sauce and frosting 25g unsalted butter 37g light muscavado sugar 25g granulated sugar 75g runny honey 60ml double cream 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 200g cream cheese Method 1. Firstly, make the sauce. Put the butter, both sugars and honey in a small pan and melt over a low heat until smooth. Stir in the cream and vanilla. Leave to cool, ideally in the fridge, for a few hours or over night. 2. Add 8 spoonfuls of the sauce to the cream cheese

After watching the GBBO final and masterclass, I decided I wanted to attempt making pretzels. Of course, I did the appropriate research and tasted one bought from the Co-Op, then decided to make my own. I used Paul Hollywood's recipe, found here on the BBC:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/pretzels_71296 Ingredients for the dough 500g strong white bread flour 10g salt 7g yeast 40g softened butter 1 tbsp malt extract 280ml milk 21g bicarbonate of soda 7 litres boiling water For the topping s rock salt sesame seeds Method 1. Add the flour, salt, yeast and butter to a bowl. In a jug, mix the malt extract with the milk and stir to dissolve. Add the milk mixture gradually and mix until a dough forms. 2. Knead for 10 minutes until smooth and silky, although it is a very stiff dough.  Place the dough in a bowl and cover with cling film. Leave to prove for 1 hour minimum, the longer the better.  3. Preheat the oven to 180. 4. Once proved, turn the dough out and divide