Baking is no easy feat to master, and it can be a little bit daunting when you look at a complex pastry recipe. They aren’t all tricky, though, if the recipe is thorough and, most of all, simple. If you’re keen to bake then there are a few dishes that should be part of any new chef’s repertoire. These four simple recipes are perfect for a newcomer or someone who wants to impress their friends or colleagues.
Millionaire Shortbread – This is the classic recipe that involves three brilliant things – chocolate, caramel and shortbread biscuit. Buy some shortbread biscuts and crush them up. Add these to some melted butter and layer this in a tray and leave it to set. From here create caramel by heating up condensed milk with sugar and more butter. Once it thickens pour it on the base and let it cool again. Once this is done you simply need to melt chocolate and pour it over the top. Once it has all set you can simply cut it into squares that are ready to serve to your friends or colleagues. It always goes down so well, but beware — it is extremely sweet and rich.
Chocolate Lollipops – these are great fun to make and are not strictly baking products. Simply buy a silicon lollipop mould which you can buy from many home stores. Melt chocolate and mix it with your favourite treats. You can add crumbled up biscuits or honeycomb, or be slightly more adventurous with chilli flakes or ginger for something a bit quirky. Once it has melted you can pour the mixture into the mould and add the stick. Leave it in the fridge to cool and then pop it out of the mould for a perfectly shaped chocolate lollipop.
Red Velvet Cupcakes – These cupcakes are made with the normal egg milks, butter, sugar and flour recipe, but you simply need to add a little bit of coco powder and half a small bottle of red food dye. Red velvet cakes have become extremely popular lately, and it is easy to see why based on their unique appearance and amazing taste. They taste of both chocolate and vanilla and the rich red colour is very appetising. Finish the cakes off with a cream cheese frosting as this perfectly complements the flavour. After all, cream cheese is a lot healthier too.
Victoria Sponge – This is a classic cake, and a real simple one at that. Just think 3 eggs, 200g of sugar, 200g of butter and 200g of flour. Mix these together with some vanilla and bake. It is really that simple and once the cake is cooked you can layer it with indulgent butter cream made from unsalted butter and icing sugar. Layer this with jam between the layers and finish with a sprinkling of icing sugar. Once you do this you will have the perfect cake!
(Guest Blogs) Steve loves baking although when it comes to ordering food, he often just goes for a Lewisham delivery or Chinese takeaway delivery Hackney as these are local to his place in London.
