Baking Bible
Red velvet cupcakes Method 1.Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Line two 12-cup muffin tins or silicone pans with cupcake liners. 2.Sift together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside. In a smaller bowl, mix food coloring and cocoa powder to form a thin paste without lumps and set aside 3.In a large bowl, using a hand mixer or electric mixer, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about three minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then beat in vanilla and the red cocoa paste, scraping down the bowl with a spatula as you go. Add one third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, beat well, then beat in half of the buttermilk. Beat in another third of flour mixture, then second half of buttermilk. End with the last third of the flour mixture, beat until well combined, making sure to scrape down the bowl with a spatula. 4.In a small bowl, mix vinegar and baking soda. Be careful as it will fizz so don’t do it in a shallow bowl. Add vinegar mixture to the cake batter and stir well to combine. Fill cupcake cups with cake batter until they are a little under 3/4 full. Place muffin tins in your preheated oven. Bake for approximately 20, rotating pans halfway through. The cupcakes are done when you are able to pat the tops and the cake springs back up. If it sinks down they are not yet complete. Or you can insert a toothpick into the center of a cupcake in the center of the tin and if it comes out clean they are done. 5.Cool the cupcakes in their tins on a wire rack for 10 minutes then remove and allow to cool completely before frosting. 6.Make sure all of your frosting ingrediets are at room temperature.
Chocolate chip cookies Method 1.Heat the oven to 190C/fan170C/gas 5 and line two baking sheets with nonstick baking paper. 2.Put 150g softened salted butter, 80g light brown muscovado sugar and 80g granulated sugar into a bowl and beat until creamy. 3.Beat in 2 tsp vanilla extract and 1 large egg. 4.Sift 225g plain flour, ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda and ¼ tsp salt into the bowl and mix it in with a wooden spoon. 5. Add 200g plain chocolate chips or chunks and stir well. 6.Use a teaspoon to make small scoops of the mixture, spacing them well apart on the baking trays. This mixture should make about 30 cookies. 7.Bake for 8–10 mins until they are light brown on the edges and still slightly soft in the centre if you press them. 8.Leave on the tray for a couple of mins to set and then lift onto a cooling rack.
Cinnamon rolls Ingredients 300g self-raising flour 2 tbsp caster sugar 1 tsp ground cinnamon 100g butter , melted, plus extra for greasing 2 egg yolks 200ml milk , plus extra for glazing For the filling 1 tsp ground cinnamon 55g light brown soft sugar 2 tbsp caster sugar 1 tbsp butter , melted For the icing 60g icing sugar 1 tbsp cream cheese, softened ½ tbsp butter , softened ½ tsp vanilla essence
Method 1.Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Grease a 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin and line the bottom with baking parchment. Mix the flour, caster sugar and cinnamon together with a pinch of salt in a bowl. Whisk the butter, egg yolks and milk together and combine with the dry ingredients to make a soft dough. Turn out onto a floured surface and roll out to a rectangle, about 30 x 25cm. 2.Mix the filling ingredients together. Spread evenly over the dough then roll it up lengthways, like a Swiss roll, to form a log. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into 8 even-sized slices and pack into the prepared tin. Brush gently with extra milk and bake for 30-35 mins or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 mins before removing from the tin. 3.Sift the icing sugar into a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Place the cream cheese and butter in the centre, pour over 2 tbsp boiling water, and stir to mix. Add a little more water until you have a drizzly consistency. Stir in the vanilla essence, then drizzle the icing over the rolls. Serve warm or cold.
Croissant Method 1.Put the flour, salt and sugar in a mixing bowl. Measure 300ml cold water into a jug, add the yeast and stir. Make a well in the flour and pour in the liquid. Mix, then knead on your work surface for 10 mins. Shape into a ball, put in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and chill for at least 2 hrs. 2. Put the butter between 2 sheets of baking parchment. Using a rolling pin, bash and roll it into a rectangle about 20 x 15cm. Leave wrapped in the baking parchment and chill. 3.Transfer the chilled dough to a floured surface and roll into a 40 x 20cm rectangle. Place the unwrapped slab of butter in the centre of the dough, so that it covers the middle third. 4.Fold one side of the dough up and halfway over the butter. 5.Fold the other side of the dough up and over the butter in the same way, so that the two edges of the dough meet in the centre of the butter. 6. Fold the dough in half so that the point where the ends of the dough meet becomes the seam. Wrap in cling film and chill for 30 mins. 7. Repeat the rolling, folding and chilling process (steps 3-6) twice more in exactly the same way – rolling the pastry while it’s still folded – without adding more butter. Wrap and chill overnight.
Brownies Method 1.Butter and line a 30cm x 21cm tin. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Break up the chocolate with the butter and melt in the microwave on medium for about 5 minutes, stirring halfway through. 2.Beat the sugar and eggs in a bowl. Stir in the melted chocolate, add the flour and beat well. Pour into the tin and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the top looks papery and feels slightly wobbly. Leave to cool in the tin. 3.If you’re making the topping, break up the chocolate with the butter and melt in the microwave on medium for about 1 minute. Stir until smooth then spread over the cake. Dust with icing sugar and cut into squares.
Jam Doughnuts Method 1.For the dough, place all ingredients into a large bowl holding back a quarter of the water. 2.Stir with your hands until a dough is formed. 3.Slowly add the remaining water and knead the dough in the bowl for four minutes. (Alternatively, you could mix with a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook). 4.Tip dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead well for 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic. 5.Place the dough into a clean bowl, cover with a damp tea towel and leave to rise for an hour. 6.Tip the dough out onto a very lightly floured surface, and knock it back by kneading it a few times. 7.Divide the dough into 10 equal portions and shape each portion into a ball. 8.Place all balls onto a floured baking tray and allow to rise for an hour. 9. Preheat a deep fat fryer, filled with sunflower oil, to 180C/350F. 10.Lower each doughnut into the fryer, cooking each side for about five minutes or until golden brown. Remove the doughnuts from the oil with a slotted spoon and immediately roll in caster sugar so that the hot fat makes the sugar stick to the sides.