Spring Bakes
Spring has officially sprung!!! (Although it doesn't feel like it with the state of the weather...)
Our latest online challenge was the 'Spring Bakes' Challenge -- Niamh's adorable Springtime Sugar Cookies won us over!
Here are some of our bakers' recipes:
Niamh's Springtime Sugar Cookies
Makes around 24 cookies, depending on size
Ingredients
For the Cookies
480g all purpose flour
57g corn starch
1tsp salt
227g unsalted butter, room temperature
200g granulated sugar
2 eggs
1tbsp vanilla extract
For the Icing
4tsp meringue powder (I use Meriwhite)
4tbsp warm water, plus more for thinning icing
500g icing sugar
1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
Method
For the Cookies
1. Mix together in a large bowl the flour, corn starch and salt.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment (or use an electric whisk) cream together the butter and sugar until combined.
3. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing in between additions, scraping down the bowl when needed.
4. Add vanilla extract and mix until combined.
5. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture until a soft dough forms. It should come away from the sides and not too sticky or wet to the touch.
6. Split dough into two discs and chill for 30 minutes before rolling.
7. Preheat the oven to 180ºC fan.
8. Roll out the dough to the desired thickness (I like an 8mm (5/8") thickness!)
9. Cut out your shapes with cookie cutters or by hand using a craft knife.
Tip! → Don't feel like you need to buy a tonne of different cutters for every design, you can use any cookie cutters you have to hand - for the flower design I actually used a snowflake cutter, and I hand-cut the birds.
10. Bake for 8-12 minutes depending on the size of your cookie. Be careful not to over bake, you want them to be cooked through but not too brown on the edges!
For the Icing
1. In a small bowl, mix meringue powder with 1/2 tbsp water until a smooth thick paste forms.
2. Add another 1/2 tbsp water and mix again. This ensures no lumps in the royal icing
3. Add the remaining 3tbsp water and mix. Leave to sit for 10 minutes.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add all of the icing sugar and pour in the meringue mixture.
5. Add vanilla extract.
6. Starting slowly then increasing the speed, mix until combined. If the mixture is too stiff, this is where you can add extra water - but be careful to add it very little at a time!
7. Whip for around 5 minutes until the icing is smooth and shiny and at stiff peaks.
8. Divide the icing and colour with gel food colouring if desired. Use drops of water to get the icing to your desired decorating consistency.
9. Have fun decorating your cookies and creating fun designs!
10. Once decorated, ideally leave the cookies overnight in a well ventilated spot for the icing to set (if they last that long!)
Jodie's Carrot Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the Cakes
100g light brown sugar
100g oil
2 large eggs
140g carrots, coarsely grate (about 2-3 carrots)
100g walnuts, chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
100g self-raising flour (gf)
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground mixed spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
For the Frosting
100g butter
150g icing sugar
150g cream cheese
20g walnuts, to decorate
Method
Preheat the oven to 170ºC fan. Fill a 12-hole cupcake tin with cupcake cases.
For the Cupcakes
Whisk together the sugar, oil and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Add in the carrots, walnuts and vanilla. Then sieve over the flour, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon, mixed spice and salt. Fold this all through until combined.
Fill the cake moulds or muffin cases about two thirds full. Bake for 15 minutes or until a skewer comes away clean. Leave to cool.
For the Frosting
Beat the butter until smooth and light. Add the icing sugar in 3 batches, beating for 2 minutes after each addition. Add the cream cheese in three 50g portions, mixing through until just combined after each addition.
Pipe or spread the frosting over the cooled cakes and top with a walnut half.
Kavita's Honey Bear Doughnuts
Ingredients
For the doughnuts
2 cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
¾ cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon shortening
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons hot water
½ teaspoon almond extract
For the Decoration
Icing sugar
Water
Gel food colouring
Lemon
White Chocolate Chips
Method
1.Preheat oven to 150ºC fan. Lightly grease a doughnut pan.
In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt. Stir in milk, eggs, vanilla and shortening. Beat together until well blended.
Fill each doughnut cup approximately 3/4 full. Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until doughnuts spring back when touched. Allow to cool slightly before removing from pan.
To make glaze, blend confectioners' sugar, hot water and almond extract in a small bowl. Dip doughnuts in the glaze when serving.
For the Glaze & Icing
Mix together icing sugar, water and lemon juice until you reach a runny consistency.
For the decoration, mix icing sugar, water, and food colouring. The icing should be quite thick -- not too runny, otherwise it won't hold its shape! I made three colours -- A baby pink, a white/cream, and a grey-ish brown.
Decorate however you like -- I used white chocolate chips for the ears!
Julia's Fastlagsbullar (semlor)
A type of bun eaten on Shrove Tuesday in the Nordic countries and Estonia. This recipe is based on the Swedish and Finnish version of the bun. “Fastlagsbullar” is the name used for the buns in the Swedish speaking parts of Finland, but in Sweden they are commonly known as “semlor”. Traditionally, the buns are usually filled with jam or almond paste, however, this recipe use vanilla custard as filling instead.
Ingredients
For the Buns
25g fresh yeast (or rough equivalent in dry yeast)
2 dl milk
½ sugar
1 tsp cardamon
A pinch of salt
1 egg
~5 ½ dl flour
75g butter, room temperature
1 egg, for egg wash
For the Filling
1 ½ dl milk
1 ½ dl cream
3 tbsp sugar
2 egg yolks
2 tbsp corn starch
2 tsp vanilla extract
For the Topping
4 dl whipped cream
Powdered sugar
Method
For the Buns
Crumble the yeast into a bowl. Pour in the milk (heated to approximately 37 degrees Celsius) and stir the yeast out. (If using dry yeast, add the yeast later.)
Add sugar, cardamon, salt, and the egg while stirring.
Add approximately half of the flour and all of the butter. (If using dry yeast, add the yeast to the flour now). Mix well so the butter is evenly distributed in the mixture, and add the rest of the flour.
Knead the dough for approximately 10 minutes. Cover and let rise for an hour.
Sprinkle out some flour on a flat surface, uncover the dough and knead. Divide the dough into 12 pieces, and roll them into round buns.
Move the buns to a baking tray covered in baking paper, cover with a clean towel, and let rise for an hour.
Preheat the oven to 225 degrees Celsius.
Brush the buns with a whisked egg.
Bake for 10 minutes.
For the Filling
Mix milk, cream, sugar, and egg yolks in a saucepan. Mix in the corn starch and vanilla extract.
Let simmer on low heat while stirring until the mixture has thickened.
Let cool and transfer the filling to a piping bag.
Cut off the top of each bun. Put the tops aside. Make a hole in the centre of each bun and pipe the filling into the hole.
For the Topping
Whip the cream. Pipe the cream onto the buns (or just use a spoon to put the cream on). Take the top of the buns and put them on top of the cream.
Sift some powdered sugar on top pf the buns.
Sam's Floral Swiss Roll
Ingredients
You will need a 15x10” swiss roll tin.
For the decorative paste
50g butter (1/4 cup)
50g icing sugar (1/2 cup minus a tablespoon)
2 medium egg whites
50g plain flour (or use gluten free flour plus 1/4tsp xantham gum) (1/3 cup)
Food dyes (I used light green, dark green, pink and black)
For the cake
4 medium eggs
125g caster sugar (1/2cup plus a teaspoon)
125g self raising flour (can also be made using gluten free flour, plus a teaspoon of baking powder and 1/2tsp xantham gum) (2/3 cup plus 1/4 cup)
For the Filling
4-6tbsp raspberry jam
200g double cream (3/4 cup plus a tablespoon)
1tsp vanilla bean paste (optional)
Method
Bake for 10 mins at 180C/350F (fan)
Tip: Make sure you roll the swiss roll whilst it is still warm, as it will ‘remember’ its shape so that it won’t crack once rolled with the filling. Use a damp tea towel as this will keep the sponge moist - it is very light and has no fat so is prone to drying out! Don’t forget to trim all the edges first, as these will be a little firmer than the rest of the cake, and may cause it to crack.