Courgette & Walnut Loaf (Vegan)

Vegan Courgette Loaf

The blog has taken a back seat since the turn of the year, and so has baking if I’m being honest. I’m not even going to apologise, I’ve just been busy and concentrating on other facets of my life. I’ve got a whole bunch of stuff planned in though, so do stick with me. First up is something we quickly put together after getting back from a long weekend in Bath. It was mid afternoon on a dreary Monday and we wanted something we could snack on in the evenings that would help satisfy a sweet craving without being too heavy. My girlfriend is also half way through a vegan month, so it had to be something dairy free. A while ago I tried making a courgette loaf that didn’t particularly hold up, but this one works much better.
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Sugar Doughnuts (Vegan)

Vegan Doughnuts
It’s 2018, and I’m not really sure how that’s happened. We’re half way through January too, which is another thing that I’m not entirely up to speed with. I’ve taken a few weeks away from the blog, and even instagram, to just have some time to myself, and I’m not expecting to get back to posting regularly until February. This doesn’t mean I’ve not been baking through, and over the weekend I tried my hand at something I’ve been putting off for years; homemade doughnuts. The type you fry, not the oven baked ones I’ve put up on the blog before, but the ones that for a long time actually terrified me. I’d given myself a mental block for anything deep fried, convincing myself that if I’d not burnt the house down then I’d just end up with a giant vat of oil to get rid of. Over the last year or so though I’ve been teaching myself to fry things on the hob, and it’s finally lead to this point. So here it is; a recipe for super quick, and vegan, doughnuts. Read more

Crack Pie

Crack Pie - Butter Tart

This is going to be my last post of 2017 and I feel like it’s a good one to sign out on. It’s actually been in the works from as far back as last August, when I went to New York. Whenever I’ve baked this recipe in that time the photos I’ve taken just haven’t been good enough, and for a recipe as good as this one, the photos need to do it justice. So lets rewind to August of 2016; after a day walking around Manhattan in the baking heat we sought out Milk Bar, part of the famed Momofuku group, to stock up on some bakes. Crack Pie had come recommended, and with such a ludicrous name, it sounded like something I needed to try. I didn’t realise that I was about to have one of the single most decadent desserts of my life. Crack Pie is essentially a butter tart, so think a dense layer of gooey, buttery filling sitting on top of a biscuit base.
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Brown Butter Cookies

Brown Butter Cookies

I’ve got an absolutely massive soft spot for cookies. You can probably tell from the number of cookie recipes I’ve done over the last few years since I started this blog. From your basic choc chip cookies through to caramel stuffed cookies or brownie crackle cookies. This does mean that I’m starting to reach a point where my core recipes are actually all fairly similar, but I just mix up the flavours and fillings. This one is slightly different though, and indulgent; Brown Butter Cookies. One of my favourite flavours of ice cream is London’s Chin Chin Lab’s ‘Burnt Butter Caramel’, which has its grounding in the same technique. Browning the butter gives it a more caramel-y edge, giving it hints of toffee. This makes it perfect to go with fillings like pecans, chocolate and salt.
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Overnight Cinnamon Buns

Overnight cinnamon rolls

As I already alluded to, I changed jobs recently. In my old job we had a meeting on every Monday morning to talk about the week ahead. Over the two or so years at that job, my colleagues at Talented Talkers badgered me constantly to bring in some cinnamon rolls. My main excuse for not doing it is that cinnamon buns are much, much, better fresh and on the day they are made. I’ve done cinnamon rolls overnight plenty of times, but doing it in the week was something I haven’t done. However, with it being my last week, and the last time I’d be in that early Monday meeting, I wanted to bring in a treat for the team. This meant that after sticking the dough in the fridge the night before, I was actually up super early on that last Monday (about 5.30) to take the dough out of the fridge to allow it to return to room temperature before I stuck it in the oven. Read more