Author: cozebakes

Butter Biscuits with Orange Cream Filling

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These delicious biscuits come from the kitchen of Vanessa Greenwood and they are full of a wonderful buttery flavour which is only enhanced by the fabulous orange cream centres.

They are really simple to make and other than 10 minutes in the fridge before baking, it’s very straightforward with only a few ingredients and just a mixer. Now Vanessa is a better woman than me as she used a wooden spoon, even though you need the butter to be very soft, I still opted for an easier way 😉

If you were having a kid’s party or a pretty Afternoon Tea, you could dye portions of the orange cream in different colours for a really striking display – pastel for the adults and bright and bold for the kids.

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Cherry Muffins

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This is a quick and easy recipe which results in gorgeous muffins with a lovely hint of almond flavour. It’s a combination that goes so well together. I love the fact you need nothing other than two bowls and spoon to make them.

Most muffin recipes are made the same way – you mix the dry ingredients in one bowl, the wet ingredients in another and gently mix. Muffins are very easy to make but notorious for turning out dense instead of light and fluffy. The main reason for this is over mixing so go gently!

There’s no butter in the recipe which is handy for different people; vegetable oil is used in it’s place. I’ve also reduced the sugar quantity so you do what works best for you. It’s just an option.

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Spiced Banana Bread

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We all regularly have bananas that no one will eat as they’ve gone black and soft and all sorts of faces are pulled when you suggest it’s taken! So the only thing to do is make Banana Bread. I’ve a few recipes here already including a great gluten free one : https://www.cozebakes.com/2017/02/03/gluten-free-dairy-free-healthy-banana-loaf/ 

but there are so many recipes out there that it’s great to find a new one to try and this originally came from Sarson’s (yes the vinegar people) and was published in the Baking Heaven magazine.  It has a very fancy frosting which this time I left off as I just wanted a tasty Banana Bread to have with a cup of tea; you know sometimes, you just want something not too sweet or full of icing at hand and this works beautifully for both. I’ll give the Frosting details at the end and if you want, it can be boozy (it keeps getting better) !

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Mixed Berries & Honey Cake

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This eye catching cake recipe is as beautiful inside as it is outside and I couldn’t wait to make it. Glad to say, it didn’t disappoint and it’s a real treat for the eyes.

If you want to lean on the healthy side, then serve with some crème fraiche and you’re already half way there as honey is used instead of sugar. The use of ginger and the zest of an orange just adds a beautiful edge to this very pretty cake and it’s perfect for serving after a meal, for a Coffee Morning or Afternoon Tea. It’s not a particularly sweet cake, it’s full of flavour but not very sweet so if you like a sweet touch, add a few extra tablespoons of honey to drizzle over the top.

Nothing complicated here, it’s simple to make with lovely results. I added a handful or two of pomegranate on top along with the berries and pistachios.

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Lemon & Coconut Muffins

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If you’re looking for a bake with a massive burst of lemon, then this is the one for you! It’s literally zinging all the way from the oven to your plate. Adding the coconut just gives it a fabulous edge and if you want to emphasise the coconut taste, then toast the coconut used for the topping.

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Giant M&M Chocolate Chip Cookies

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In honour of the 2018 Great British Bake Off season, I made these fantastically indulgent cookies for the first episode, Biscuit Week!

Not enough to have them full of chocolate chips, they are also full of delicious M&Ms for extra oomph! They are big cookies people ….. BIG cookies. There’s nothing delicate here. Just saying …

I reduced the sugar in them as you use two types of sugar and then you’re adding chocolate chips and M&M’s but wait, they have lots of wholesome oats in them so there’s the healthy ingredients 🙂

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Dulce de Leche Ice Cream

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I love that you can make ice cream without having to use any special equipment and that it still tastes totally delicious and if you check out the Desserts section here, you’ll find some really nice ice cream recipes. All tried, tested and very much given the thumbs up!

This recipe uses the Carnation Caramel tin from Nestle for the “dulce de leche” as it’s the quickest and easiest way to achieve the thick, rich caramel. You can of course boil the traditional Carnation Condensed Milk tin if you need to.

You can freeze for 6 hours or overnight which I prefer but it means that if you make this first thing in the morning, you could serve it that evening for dessert!

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Red Velvet Cake (Gluten Free option included)

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Lots of people relate a Red Velvet Cake to Valentine’s Day, an engagement or wedding but it’s a wonderful celebration cake any time of the year. It makes quite an entrance with it’s red and white contrast and there are lots of decorating options for you to choose.

White chocolate is always a favourite and any red berries work well. I had freeze dried raspberries which I felt would contrast well with the sweetness of the cream cheese frosting and I crumbled some Flake chocolate over this to complete the decoration.

As I made this recipe in two 8″ sandwich tins, I used the cream cheese frosting both for filling and covering. It’s a lovely light recipe and straightforward to put together.

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Coffee Cake with Cinnamon Streusel

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A coffee cake just always seems to grab everyone’s attention. It’s easy to see why. A well made, full of flavour coffee cake that’s not dry or over sweet is a wonderful thing. I love a bundt tin as I feel it turns every cake into a “something special” cake. Just when you see that circle of deliciousness, it’s really exciting. I’m not saying that the sight of a cake is not exciting, but a bundt just has that something extra but saying that, you can make this cake in any preferred tin or even in a traybake and cut into squares.

It lasts well too which is always a bonus in case you need a fix the next day or even the day after. I’ve added a cinnamon and brown sugar streusel type of topping to this particular cake but you don’t have to. Also I’m a big fan of a coffee icing more than a coffee buttercream icing so this recipe got the coffee icing drizzle but I do have another recipe which uses buttercream which you can see here: https://www.cozebakes.com/2016/02/23/coffee-cake-with-coffee-buttercream-icing/ 

It’s up to you which you use. Both will work equally well but if you choose the buttercream option, I wouldn’t add the streusel, it would be too much going on in the cake.

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Savoury Soda Bread Muffins

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This is a really versatile recipe using Soda Bread Muffins as the base, it’s like bread’s take on fast food but lighter and with lots of flavour!

Easy to make, baked very quickly in individual muffin tins, they are ideal for lunch boxes or to eat on the go.

There are endless variations of this recipe and it’s all down to personal taste and who you are making them for. I’m going to give you one variation in the recipe here and after that, your ideas will flow.

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Lemon Cookies with Lemon Glaze

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Some of you will know that Lemon is featured a lot at cozebakes HQ. We can’t help it. We love practically anything with lemon and when I saw this recipe from Martha Stewart (yes that Martha Stewart), I was always going to make them.

Once I converted them from US weights and cut the sugar in half, I think they are perfect. The great thing about this recipe is that there’s no chilling time in the fridge. They take 10 minutes to make and then it’s straight into the oven. They are what’s known as a “soft cookie” so there’s no crunch but I heard no complaints, no … not one 😉

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Red Velvet Cupcakes

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When you hear Red Velvet you always feel they are a little bit special and up a notch from your usual cupcake. Personally, they don’t rock my boat as much as other flavours do but they always receive a great reaction and visitors love them so for that reason, they are served at cozebakes. We’re all about pleasing people!

Made this particular recipe for the first time;  I’ve always found Red Velvet recipes seemed quite complicated for a simple cupcake but this one worked out well and wasn’t difficult. There are more ingredients in a red velvet than most other cupcakes but they are worth it for a special occasion. What I like about this recipe is that these cakes will keep for a few days in a cake tin or airtight container. You can also freeze them and then defrost and ice when you need them. Handy to get ahead 🙂

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