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Simnel Cake

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Happy Easter! I thought by this point, you might be sick of chocolate eggs and fancy something a little bit more traditional. Before this year, I had never tried, let alone made, a Simnel Cake. But my Mum and I made my Grandma one for Mothers Day, as traditionally it was made by young girls in service in large houses to take home to their mothers on Mothering Sunday. It is decorated with balls of marzipan to represent the 11 disciples and is eaten at Easter.  Ingredients: 225g plain flour 1 + 1/2 tsp baking powder pinch of salt 100g glace cherries 350g mixed fruit 175g unsalted butter, softened  175g light brown sugar zest of 1 lemon 4 eggs 50g ground almonds 2 tbsp milk 500g marzipan 2 tbsp apricot jam Method: 1. Grease and line a 20.5cm round deep cake tin. Preheat your oven to 160 fan. 2. Put the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and set to one side. Wash the cherries with warm water to remove their sticky syrup. Halve and put them into a bowl with the dried fruit and 1 tbsp o

Mini Egg Cookies

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Happy Easter! Well... almost! I have seen these cookies all over Instagram lately so I thought I had to give them a go. The original recipe is by Jane's Patisserie  and they are absolutely delicious! Ingredients: 125g unsalted butter 100g soft brown sugar 75g granulated sugar 1 egg 1 tsp vanilla extract 300g plain flour  1 + 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda 1/2 tsp salt 100g dairy milk, finely chopped 200g mini eggs, chopped 50g (16) mini eggs, whole  Method: 1. Cream the unsalted butter, soft brown sugar and granulated sugar together using an electric whisk or standing mixer. Add the egg and vanilla and mix again. 2. Add the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt and mix together to form a cookie dough. 3. Add the dairy milk and the chopped mini eggs and mix again.  4. Weigh the cookie dough into 8 balls, they should weigh 115g each.  5. Once they are rolled into balls, add the whole mini eggs to the top, place on a plate and pop in the freezer for 30

Soda Bread

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Happy St Patricks Day! I thought today was the perfect day to share my favourite Soda Bread recipe!  Ingredients: 250g plain flour 1 tsp salt 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda 2 tsp soft brown sugar  225ml buttermilk  Method: 1. Preheat the oven to 210 fan. Grease a baking tray with a little olive oil.  2. Put the flour, salt, bicarbonate of soda and sugar into a large bowl.  3. Add the buttermilk and, using a wooden spoon, bring it all together into a doughy mass. Knead the dough lightly in the bowl into a smooth ball.  4. Place it onto the greased baking tray. Slash a deep cross on the top of the dough.  5. Bake for 12 minutes, then turn the oven down to 180 fan. Bake for a further 15-20 minutes until the base sounds hollow when you tap it. 6. Leave to cool for 15 minutes, then serve with lots of salty butter. 

Cinnamon Bun Cake

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  I first shared this recipe back in 2014  after seeing it on Audra Fullerton's blog . I decided to give it another go this weekend as I wanted to make something really special for brunch after a rubbish week.  I have converted all the cup measurements into grams for any fellow British bakers who want to give this one a go. I am so happy with how it turned out and I hope you enjoy the video I made, showing you how to make it over on my Instagram .  Ingredients for the dough: 175ml milk 55g butter 450g strong white bread flour 7g yeast 50g caster sugar 1/2 tsp salt 60ml water  1 egg  For the filling: 125g dark brown sugar 1 tbsp cinnamon 55g butter  1 tsp vanilla extract For the frosting: 60g butter, softened  125g icing sugar  1 tsp vanilla extract  a splash of milk  Method: 1. To make the dough, warm the milk and butter in a small saucepan until all the butter has melted and leave to one side. 2. Put 2/3rds of the flour into a large bowl. Add the yeast to one side and the sugar an

The Bumper Pancake Post!

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Well, the best day of the year is finally upon us... Pancake Day! I asked on Instagram  which pancake recipes you would like to see, but we ALL KNOW I was always going to share all three! So here are my ultimate Vegan Pancakes, Crepes and American Pancakes recipes. Enjoy! 3 Ingredient Vegan Pancakes These pancakes are Vegan! They are also egg, gluten and dairy free! Win win!  Ingredients: 100g oats 2 bananas, mashed 100ml dairy-free milk of your choice (I used oat) Method: 1. Grease your pan well and heat.  2. Blitz all your ingredients together in a blender/food processor.  3. Pour ladles of batter onto the greased pan. 4. As soon as the pancakes are cooked enough that you can get a pancake flipper underneath without breaking the pancakes, flip and cook an additional minute. Serve with maple syrup and fresh fruit.  Crepes As much as I love American Pancakes for breakfast on a Sunday morning, on Pancake Day, I have to have Crepes with lemon and sugar. It's just classic and what we

Bakewell Muffins

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This is a BakingBo original recipe! This recipe is dedicated to the wonderful Sarah Powell . I've followed Sarah for years and always been a fan of the Jules and Sarah Podcast . But last year, she hosted her first Granny Supper Club, which I was lucky enough to attend. Since then she's gone on to create a wonderful online community of like minded people through her LIIIIVE Elevenses chats and her wonderful Parlour membership.  Sarah has been a huge cheerleader for me this last year. I sent her some of my Bakewell Blondies last summer and she was kind enough to mention them on a recent Nibble podcast episode !  Today is her birthday so I thought I would create these muffins, especially for her! They are inspired by her love of all things Bakewell. Happy Birthday Sarah! These muffins are super light, have that classic almond flavour, with a good dollop of jam inside! This recipe makes about 6/7 large muffins (as pictured) or 12 smaller muffins.  Ingredients: 300g self raising fl

Valentines Day Cupcakes

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Normally, I'm not a big fan of Valentines Day. But this year, I am finding any excuse to celebrate ANYTHING, big or small. I found these gorgeous pink and red heart shaped cupcake cases in my cupboard and knew I had to use them! These are just a really simple cupcake recipe so feel free to jazz them up in any way you see fit! This recipe makes 12 cakes!  Ingredients for the cakes: 125g butter  125g caster sugar  125g self raising flour  2 eggs 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 tbsp milk Ingredients for the icing: 100g butter, softened  icing sugar food colouring  Method: 1. Preheat the oven to 190/170 fan.  2. Combine all of the cake ingredients in a bowl using a hand whisk or a standing mixer.  3. Divide between 12 cupcake cases. Bake for 15 minutes until risen and golden brown. 4. Whilst the cakes are cooling, prepare the icing. Cream the butter in a bowl. Add icing sugar (gradually) until you have the desired consistency. Divide the icing in to two bowls. Colour half the icing red and hal