10 Simple Bakes To Try This Week

Line a square 20cm baking tin with parchment paper.

In a large heatproof bowl, melt the white chocolate, butter and Biscoff spread either in a microwave or over a pan of simmering water.

Chop the biscuits into small chunks and add these to the melted mixture along with the chopped popcorn and marshmallows.

Mix all the ingredients together and pour into the square tin.

Top with the broken biscuits and leave to chill in the fridge for 2-3 hours or overnight.

Remove from the tin and slice into squares before serving.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C Fan/Gas Mark 4. Line a small roasting pan or baking tin (approx. 30 x 20cm) with a reusable silicone baking sheet.

Melt the chocolate, butter and tahini in a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water.

Meanwhile, whisk the eggs, sugar and a pinch of salt together until light and fluffy. Fold in the mashed bananas, then the melted chocolate mix. You will notice the mixture starts to thicken a little. When everything is thoroughly mixed, carefully fold in the flour until fully incorporated.

Turn into the prepared tin and drizzle the remaining tablespoon of tahini all over the top. Then, sprinkle over the sesame seeds.

Bake for 25-30 minutes until the brownie is just set – it should still feel soft and moist. Leave the tin on a wire rack to cool for an hour or so.

Place the almonds, quinoa flakes, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, dried cranberries, puffed rice cereal, chocolate chips, and orange zest in a bowl. Mix well with a wooden spoon and set aside. Grease and line a 20cm x 25cm (8in x 10in) baking tin with baking parchment.

Heat the oil, honey, and sugar in a saucepan over a medium heat. Bring to the boil, stirring occasionally, then cook for about 3 minutes, or until the sugar has melted. Remove from the heat, add the chocolate drops, and stir until they have melted.

Pour the honey and chocolate mixture onto the dry ingredients. Stir using a wooden spoon until evenly mixed. Tip the mixture into the prepared tin. Press down firmly with the back of a metal spoon to make a firm, flat layer.

Place the baking tin in the fridge for at least 4 hours, to allow the mixture to firm up. Remove from the fridge, turn out onto a chopping board, and cut into 16 pieces.

Combine the flour, bicarbonate of soda, vanilla and salt in a bowl and set side.

Combine the sugars with the cooled, melted butter and stir until no lumps remain. Combine the egg, egg yolk and milk and mix with the sugar and butter until thoroughly combined.

Add the flour, bit by bit, mixing until everything is incorporated. Add the Daim pieces and mix to combine. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and place in the refrigerator to chill for a few hours.

Preheat the oven to 190°C/Gas Mark 5.

Form the dough into rough balls, each weighing about 40 g and place on the prepared baking sheets around 5 cm apart.

Bake in the preheated oven for 8-10 minutes or until just golden. Remove from the oven immediately and transfer to a cooling rack – the middle should still be slightly soft but they will harden up after a while. The cookies will be at their very best about half an hour after removing from the oven.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4. Grease a 1kg loaf tin and base line with baking parchment.

Using a wooden spoon, cream together the butter and sugar for about 4-5 minutes, or use an electric beater, until light and fluffy. Then beat in the eggs and lemon zest.

Add the flour and salt, stirring until the mixture is well combined, then add the milk.

Spoon into the prepared tin and place into the oven. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until risen, golden brown and an inserted skewer comes out clean.

Mix together the icing sugar with the elderflower cordial to form a runny icing. Drizzle over the hot cake, top with lemon zest and leave to cool completely before slicing.

Preheat the oven to 180°C and lightly grease two 20cm sandwich tins with sunflower oil. Line the bases with parchment paper.

Combine the flaxseed with the warm water to make your flax egg then set aside for 10 minutes to thicken.

In an electric stand mixer with a paddle attachment, combine the dry ingredients.

In a separate bowl, combine the wet ingredients including the flax egg. Then add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix for 2 minutes to ensure they are well incorporated.

Divide the cake mixture evenly between each prepared tin. Place them onto a baking tray. Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cakes comes out clean. Leave them to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before gently turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

For the buttercream frosting, drain and rinse the cashews, discarding the soaking water. Place them into the blender with all the other ingredients and blitz until the frosting is creamy and smooth.

Spread the frosting on top of the first cake, then place the second cake on top like a sandwich and cover the top with the remaining frosting.

Decorate your cake with the walnut halves dotted around the edge and orange zest liberally sprinkled over the top.

Line an 8in x 8in (20 cm x 20cm) pan with aluminium foil or parchment paper and set it aside.

In a medium bowl, mix the melted butter, graham cracker crumbs and powdered sugar. Stir in 250g of peanut butter, then press the mixture evenly into the prepared pan.

In a small bowl, melt the remaining 50g of peanut butter with the chopped chocolate in the microwave or on the hob. Stir until smooth. Spread evenly over the peanut butter layer.

Chill the bars in the refrigerator until completely firm, at least 2 hours. Allow them to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before cutting. Serve chilled.

Cover the leftover bars tightly and refrigerate for up to 1 week.

Preheat your oven to 200°C.

Roughly chop your raisins and place in a bowl of boiling water.

Mix the dry and wet batter ingredients separately before combining with a whisk. Grate the carrot and orange zest and fold in alongside the drained raisins.

Divide the batter between 12 muffin cases and place in the oven for 20 minutes or until the cakes are golden brown on top.

Heat a saucepan of water over a medium heat until simmering. Place a heatproof bowl over the saucepan, but don’t let the water touch the bottom of the bowl (this is a bain-marie).

Put the dark chocolate, butter and golden syrup in the bowl and melt slowly, stirring with a wooden spoon. Once melted, remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly.

Stir through the cornflakes. Break up the oat biscuits, then add them to the melted chocolate along with the remaining ingredients, except the chocolate caramel bars and white chocolate.

Gently fold through so everything is evenly coated in melted chocolate.

Line a 20cm x 20cm baking dish with greaseproof paper and scrape the mixture evenly into the tray. Gently spread it out but leave it jagged and lumpy.

Break or cut up the chocolate caramel bars and dot over the top.

Melt the white chocolate in a bain-marie or in 20-second bursts in a microwave. Drizzle the melted chocolate over the top of the rocky road, then transfer to the fridge to set for 20-30 minutes for a soft-set rocky road.

Put the butter and chocolate in a small pan and melt gently, stirring occasionally until the mixture is liquid. Set aside to cool.

Line the base and sides of a 20 x 30 x 5cm brownie tin with some baking paper so that it comes 1cm above the top of the tin, and lightly grease. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C Fan/Gas Mark 4.

Add the eggs, sugar and cooled coffee to a large mixing bowl and whisk until the mixture is light, thick and fluffy. This should take 5 minutes with an electric hand whisk. (Adding the coffee really enhances the flavour of the cocoa and you won’t even be able to taste the coffee itself.)

Mix the teaspoon of flour with the chocolate chips in a bowl before mixing them into the batter until they’re well dispersed – this trick will stop them sinking to the bottom when you bake the brownies. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and level off the top. Bake for 25 minutes.

While it is baking, toast the nuts in a large non-stick pan, stirring until they are a deep golden brown.

Put the dulce de leche in a bowl along with the toasted nuts and the salt, mix and set aside.

As soon as the brownies are baked, take them out of the oven and leave to cool completely in the tin. As soon as they have cooled, spread the sticky nut mixture over the top and pop the whole thing in the freezer for 30 minutes.

Adjust the oven to 170°C/150°C Fan/Gas Mark 3½.

Make the cheesecake top by mixing the cream cheese, sugar, egg, almond extract, orange zest and flour together really well.

Spoon and spread into an even layer over the nut mixture and pop into the oven for 30 minutes.

As soon as the cheesecake is set in the centre, allow to cool totally and leave in the fridge overnight. The wait will be worth it! Dust with the cocoa, take out of the tin and cut into squares.