Baking Bo

I have been baking these Cheese Straws for years! I first posted this recipe on the blog back in 2013 and thought I would share them again now. I made them to have alongside some homemade Leek and Potato soup. I will share the recipe for that down below in case you are interested! Cheese Straws: Ingredients: 200g self raising flour pinch of salt 1/2 tsp mustard powder 100g butter 150g mature cheddar cheese, grated 2 eggs Method: 1. Put the flour, salt & mustard powder in a bowl. Rub in the butter until it resembles breadcrumb. Add the grated cheese. 2. Use the egg to combine the mixture into a rough dough. 3. Roll out on a floured surface and cut into strips. Put on a baking tray, lined with greaseproof paper then sprinkle the extra cheese over the top. Bake at 160 for 20 minutes until golden brown. Leek and Potato Soup: Ingredients: 2 leeks, roughly chopped 4 medium potatoes, peeled and diced 1 onion, finely chopped 40g celeriac, peeled and finely diced 1/2 tsp ground white pepper...

Last week, I turned 28! Despite the lockdown, my wonderful parents and boyfriend ensured I had a wonderful birthday. This included receiving a surprise box of Creme Cookies ! It's been almost a year since my friend Steph and I attempted to get our hands on a Creme Cookie when we went to London. I was very excited to try them and my favourite flavour, by far, was White Chocolate and Miso. I had seen that Anna of The Anna Edit had posted this recipe a while ago so I thought I would give them a go today. I did a bit of an experiment with the chilling times as seen below. I would say that appearance wise, the cookie dough that was frozen looks the most like a Creme cookie! But they all tasted amazing! Just depends if you prefer a more spread, well done cookie or a thick gooey one!  Ingredients: 200g butter, cold and cut into cubes 200g light brown sugar 100g golden caster sugar 2 eggs 360g self raising flour 1 tsp cornflour 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda 1/2 tsp salt 2 tbsp white miso 25...

I was inspired by my lovely friend Barinder aka  The Baking Londoner  to make some Madeleines after she shared some Pistachio ones she had on her Instagram . I have adapted my old faithful Madeleine recipe, which is a Rick Stein one that I saw him make on his French Odyssey program when I was 12. Back in 2005, no one really knew what Madeleines were, so finding a tray was a bit of a mission. My Dad, who worked in London at the time, scoured the city to find one, and this is the one I still use to this day.  Ingredients: 3 eggs 100g caster sugar zest of 1/2 lemon 100g melted butter 100g plain flour 1 tsp baking powder 1 tbsp honey 120g white chocolate freeze dried raspberries Method: 1. Put the eggs and sugar together in a bowl and mix with an electric mixer until thick and mousse-like.  2. Add the lemon zest, flour and baking powder and fold in using a metal spoon. Add the melted butter and honey, then transfer the mixture to the fridge to thicken for 15 minutes....

As it's Burns Night tomorrow, I thought I would share this traditional Shortbread recipe for those who wish to celebrate!  Ingredients: 250g plain flour 75g caster sugar 175g butter Method: 1. Preheat the oven to 160/140 fan. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper. 2. Using a food processor, mix the flour, sugar and butter together until it forms a smooth dough-like-paste.  3. Roll the dough out into a rectangle and either cut into fingers and decorate with fork markings or use a cookie cutter to cut out your desired shape. Place onto the baking tray and bake for 20-25 minutes until pale and slightly golden. 

After seeing this recipe on Bake Off, I knew I wanted to give it a go. I had the luxury of time the day I made it, so I followed the recipe really carefully and took my time following each step meticulously. The recipe I used was Paul Hollywood's  and I was really pleased with the result. The bread is light and fluffy. The chocolate is sweet and the nuts add lovely texture.  Ingredients for the filling: 65g blanched hazelnuts 100g unsalted butter       150g caster sugar 80g dark chocolate 40g cocoa powder Ingredients for the dough: 275g plain flour 5g yeast 25g caster sugar 1/2 tsp salt 2 eggs, beaten 50ml milk 80g butter, cubed and softened  Ingredients for the syrup: 100g caster sugar 100ml water Method: 1. Preheat the oven to 200/180 fan.  2. Put the hazelnuts onto a baking tray and roast in the oven for 4-5 minutes until golden brown. Tip onto a chopping board, leave to cool, then roughly chop and set to one side. Turn off the oven.  3. To mak...

Happy Veganuary! I wanted to share a recipe for anyone taking part in Veganuary this month! This recipe was recommended to me by my wonderful friend Kitty. It's Pret's Vegan Dark Chocolate and Almond Cookie recipe . She and her lovely partner Henry  (who is very clever and has written a  book! ) made them a LOT during Lockdown 1.0. Her advice was to follow the recipe exactly as they don't work as well otherwise. I was surprised how precise the measurements were but when I tried them, they worked!  Ingredients: 43g caster sugar 112g soft light brown sugar  4g salt 40g flaked almonds, lightly smashed 112g vegan dark chocolate, in pieces 205g plain flour 20g cocoa powder 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda 65g coconut oil, melted  72g almond butter 100g golden syrup 40ml water Method: 1. Preheat the oven to 180 ° . Line two baking trays with greaseproof paper.  2. Put the caster sugar, light brown sugar, salt, almond pieces, chocolate pieces, flour, cocoa powder ...

So, this isn't really a recipe... It's more instructions on how to assemble something that other people have done all the hard work for and you get to take the credit!  Ingredients: 250g puff pastry  250g sausage meat 1 egg, beaten Method: 1. Preheat your oven to 200/180 fan. Line a baking tray with silver foil. 2. Lightly flour your surface and roll out the pastry unto a long narrow rectangle.  3. Shape your sausage meat into a log and place down the middle of your rectangle.  4. Brush the sides of the pastry with beaten egg and tightly fold over the sausage filling.  5. Once neatly rolled, cut into 4 and place on the prepared baking tray. Make little slashes on top of each sausage roll and brush with more egg. Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown.