what have you baked today?

[Zosherooney]

Besides my savoury suet roll, I made an apple and cinnamon polenta cake which turned out well. This was yesterday.

[StokeySue]

On Saturday we had a bake sale for the Refugee Women's AidI didn't have a lot of time so I downloaded two Mary Berry all in one recipes
One for a spicy ginger tray bake
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/recipes/10711074/Mary-Berrys-ginger-and-treacle-spiced-traybake-recipe.html

70g icing sugar is not enough to cover as shown and a good squeeze of lemon would improve the icing; and it took less baking time than stated but otherwise

The other for lemon drizzle cupcakes - these were the first thing to go, seemed everyone wanted a cupcake with no butter cream! The only difference was I did use cupcake cases for ease of handling; these also took a shade less time
http://www.lakeland.co.uk/r80565/Mary-Berry's-Little-Lemon-Drizzle-Cakes

Dead easy with electronic scales, just add each ingredient in turn & tare
I've not got on well with all in one recipes in the past, but this time I bit the bullet and got spread (Pure), which does seem to be easer than butter in these recipes

[suffolk]

Yesterday made a batch of veg pasties a la Scully and yet another of the spiced courgette cakes

[Mamta]

Had too many pears in the garden, so made a pear Tarte Tatin (sp?). It was very nice with vanilla custard. I made it in a big hurry, so pastry is not very neat, but was delicious.

Sorry, unable to delete second photo

[PatsyMFagan]

...I didn't have a lot of time so I downloaded two Mary Berry all in one recipes
One for a spicy ginger tray bake
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/recipes/10711074/Mary-Berrys-ginger-and-treacle-spiced-traybake-recipe.html

70g icing sugar is not enough to cover as shown and a good squeeze of lemon would improve the icing; and it took less baking time than stated but otherwise

The other for lemon drizzle cupcakes - these were the first thing to go, seemed everyone wanted a cupcake with no butter cream! The only difference was I did use cupcake cases for ease of handling; these also took a shade less time
http://www.lakeland.co.uk/r80565/Mary-Berry's-Little-Lemon-Drizzle-Cakes

Dead easy with electronic scales, just add each ingredient in turn & tare
I've not got on well with all in one recipes in the past, but this time I bit the bullet and got spread (Pure), which does seem to be easer than butter in these recipes

I have saved both these recipes and tried the ginger one last night ... very easy and baked beautifully. I don't have big enough electronic scales to use as Sue did, but my old fashioned balance ones did the job just as well (with a bit of arithmetic )

[aero280]

Today I had a second go at the Swedish yoghurt bread recipe that I picked up from the owner of the B&B we stayed at on Lake Vattern in August. much better this time!

[StokeySue]

On Sunday I made the Yummy Scrummy Carrot Cake from BBC Good Food again, but this time I baked it in a ring (ordinary 21 cm springform ring mould_
Worked very well, brings the cooking time down from 40 - 45 to 30 - 35 min, no other change required, except that I cappe dit with icing rather than drizzling (let it run casually down the sides, as those ring moulds have a sort of plaited pattern on th top, and I though drizzling over it was unlikely to succeed

[suffolk]

Four pasties with a filling of leftover pot roasted pheasant, black pudding, apple, onion and carrot with a smidgeon of crab apple jelly (Mary's best) and a goodly amount of parsley and black pepper.

And a sausage, apple and onion plait

[Hope]

Your pastry looks great Suffs!

I made some GF yorkshire puddings yesterday - turned out pretty well! Now that I have two ovens, I can make them (because I can shut the door and leave them!)

[suffolk]

Don't know why the photos are upside down

The plait has nearly all gone ... OH said he needed plenty of proper fuel if he was going to cut both lawns

[Zosherooney]

A baking plan for tomorrow.... 3 minute spelt bread, something containing chestnut flour, I am in an inventive mood, two pork chops in the oven together with 4 huge chilli and garlic saus. from my mates small holding, some shortbread and a malt (none involved) loaf. Oh, and some roast veg...

[Hope]

Have made some banana and (half with) raisin muffins. Requested by boys, one wanted them with raisins, one without. I've made them with wheat flour, so I hope they like them!

And have some gluten free baguettes proving in the oven. I was hoping to have one for lunch, but it's getting a bit close now...

[Cheezy_Jazzy]

Cinder toffee honeycomb - absolutely delicious wish I had attempted it years ago.

[Zosherooney]

CJ that has been on my cook list for years, even thought about it y'day but have not done it today, busy time ! Will take another look at the recipe, Any tips ???

[Hope]

My GF baguettes were ready for dinner, but so crusty they hurt my teeth!

[Cheezy_Jazzy]

CJ that has been on my cook list for years, even thought about it y'day but have not done it today, busy time ! Will take another look at the recipe, Any tips ???

Use a big pan and make sure you have a large baking sheet. I managed to throw the equivalent of about half a teaspoon of bicarb on the hob. I think the mixture would have exploded more if I hadn't done that.

[Seatallan]

I used to make it when I was a child. It was probably seriously dangerous looking back on it!

Love cinder toffee.

[PatsyMFagan]

Yesterday I made a goodly portion of braised red cabbage in my Instant Pot (slow cooker) .. this came from a BBC recipe. The recipe calls for 1.5 Kg red cabbage - I only had a 500 gm chunk, so reduced the other ingredients accordingly (and they only just fitted in the pot !), then simmered it for a couple of hours. I am a bit disappointed as it doesn't have the flavour that I thought it would

[Rainbow]

Patsy, I don't know what recipe you used from the BBC (they have quite a few on the website!) - what did you flavour it with?
I cooked some in my SC recently and was quite pleased with the result. We have quite a few red cabbages in the garden at present so will probably do it again - it was a sort of mix of recipes I found, is it much different to your recipe?
I'll list (roughly!) what I added;

500g red cabbage
2 onions - chopped
1/4 tsp mixed spice (ours has cinnamon, nutmeg & allspice in it)
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1.5 tblsp brown sugar
2 tblsp balsamic vinegar
7g butter

The tablespoons are Aussie ones - 20mls. I think yours are 15ml?

[PatsyMFagan]

Rainbow, the main liquid was cider (100ml) plus tablespoon of cider vinegar .. it also had apples, onions, mixed spice, brown sugar and butter in. I think I was expecting it to be sharper (as in pickled red cabbage), so it is probably OK and I will be having some with my meal this evening

[Zosherooney]

I have been known to add black current cordial to my red cabbage and reduce the sugar. I also add a tad of garlic and some whole cloves, but not too many. Don't add cider but use grated apple and home made cider vinegar.

[aero280]

Today I had another go at Swedish Yogurt Bread. Better this time. Toasted the seeds. Changed the "syrop" from malt extract to a mix of malt extract and molasses.

[suffolk]

Yesterday I baked a batch of buttermilk scones

[earthmaiden]

They look lovely Suffs. I would love to taste one, when I tried your recipe it wasn't a great success - looked nice but the buttermilk and baking powder taste was overpowering. Must have done something horribly wrong as I'm sure they should be delicious!

[Seatallan]

They look wonderful Suffs!

EM, I wonder if there was a little too much baking powder perhaps? I use buttermilk in my scones (and in soda bread) and it always comes out fine (in fact, I'd go so far as to say buttermilk is essential).

[earthmaiden]

It was a cream of tartar/bicarb/buttermilk recipe. I know that buttermilk is traditional but did not expect to be able to taste it. I must have done something wrong as I know that Suffs wouldn't make anything that tasted nasty but I didn't think I did! The scones looked wonderful though.

[Seatallan]

Can't explain that. The buttermilk certainly has a flavour but it shouldn't be a nasty or overwhelming flavour. Odd.

[Hope]

Today I've made chestnut and marmalade muffins from RC Light and Easy (really yummy!) And also got four lasagnes in the oven for dinner. Everyone likes/needs theirs slightly different. Mine gluten free. Mr Hope's same as mine but with wheat lasagne. #1 son's with just cheese sauce and tomato sauce. #2 son's like his big brother's but with mushrooms. The adults have more veg. So they are all based on similar things.

[suffolk]

I've never noticed an unpleasant taste EM - even 'though I regularly use buttermilk that is past its 'sell by'. I much prefer the flavour of scones made using buttermilk with bicarb and cream of soda, rather than just using baking powder as I do find that I can taste the baking powder in the scones.

[Zosherooney]

Did my prepping y'day and have mince pies, a new zealand fruitcake, ckx & ham pie, a pastry case, butternut squash and leek, oh, and a baked spud going in the oven later on today.

The NZ cake and monks eyes will come with us to Poland - both Dad's favourites, hope he can eat them.

The Ckx & ham pie is for supper with the veg. I do love a good bake up !!!!

[Hope]

Not today, but last Friday I made a lime traybake (GF version of Mary Berry recipe - I wish I wrote down my changes). And then decided to add some icing, found a recipe, which ended up more like a drizzle. Very worried it'd end up far too soggy. But it's absolutely lovely!

[Hope]

Yesterday I made a cherry cake, based on my vic sandwich cake (but the cherry cake wasn't a sandwich), which is based on a recipe from (what seems to have become my go-to baking book) RC gluten free. It's very good, but I should have lowered the temperature as the top is just a tad too dark.

[Herbidacious]

Yesterday I baked stollen. Semi-successful. It/they taste nice, but the bottoms stuck. Probably would have been ok if I hadn't try to turn them over to see if they were ready when I did. One had it's bottom ripped off (ow!) They also perhaps have a tad too much lemon zest in them. But not too bad.

[Hope]

On Saturday (I think it was) I made an orange vicky sandwich, with orange zest in the sponge and marmalade inbetween the layers. Very very nice. (although slightly overdone and a bit crumbly)

I'll need to bake again tomorrow as there won't be any left. Not sure what, though. Need to dig out my gluten free christmas recipes! Quite fancy a stollen, now you mention it!

[Hope]

I'm part way through making a christmas mincemeat fangipane tart. Made the pastry yesterday. Rolled it out today and it's now chilling in the tin. Just mixed the mincemeat with some dried apple soaked in arrowroot and orange juice (which has gone very gloopy from heating in the microwave, hope it's ok.

Will make frangipane and bake it after lunch.

[Zosherooney]

I will be making a coffee and walnut drizzle cake again soon, I had forgotten I made one last year and thoroughly enjoyed it, only reminded myself when in Bath on Wed. and had coffee and walnut cake.

[Hope]

Managed to finish tart. It's looking nice. Boys and I might have a slice in a mo.

[Herbidacious]

Not baking per se, in fact, anti-baking, but I just made a lemon meringue fridge cake. ('cake') Won't be ready to consume until tomorrow.

[PatsyMFagan]

Not today, but yesterday made a dozen mince pies and some sausage rolls .. the mince pies are a triumph I think. The pastry has ground almonds, a couple of egg yolks and icing sugar to sweeten and the mince-meat was last years home made, gone a bit dry and revived with a pack of fresh cranberries, a couple of apples peeled and chopped, the zest and juice of an orange all simmered together before cooling and using. For the sausage rolls I added sweated onion and chopped smoked streaky bacon to some sausage meat and the pastry was 2/3rds lard, 1/3 marg for the sausage rolls ... It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas

[aero280]

Made some stollen. The Dan Lepard "tray bake" one and a trad one.

The traditional one was underbaked. I put it back in the oven for 20 mins on low to try and cook the middle a bit more. Wrapped in foil to stop the outside burning...

... then I fell asleep in front of the TV

I woke up after an hour. It's OK, but a "bit crisp" on the outside...

[Hope]

Oh dear Aero - this is why I always use a timer. (although I'm not right now and in danger of letting a pot boil over if I don't pay attention!)

I made a yule log yesterday. First one I've made successfully! Last year's was like rubber. I blame the GF flour! This years one was more roulade than swiss roll. very tasty. #1 son gave it 10/10.

[aero280]

I had a timer and slept through it!!

Today was a quick "instant" key lime pie. Just the cream and condensed milk beaten together and thickened with fresh lime juice.. Then I cheated by by using some Sainsburys tart bases....

But that was done which baking some Dan Lepard spicy Speculaas biscuits. They seems to have worked.

Tasted the overcooked stollen and it's cooked through now, but crisp on the outside. The other tray bake stollen was delicious!!

[aero280]

This is the Speculaas biscuit recipe

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyl ... kie-recipe

[Herbidacious]

Lemon drizzle - Konditor and Cook lemon sponge recipe.

[smitch]

Made a batch of mincemeat cupcakes, some stollen bites, two different types of rocky road (one with biscuit, marshmallows and cranberries, the other with biscuit, fudge and pretzels) and the batter for the melting middle chocolate puddings for tomorrow's dessert. Also made a trifle, but I cheated and used trifle sponges from Tesco

[aero280]

Just got some baguettes on the go. Not real French style, but an attempt with wholemeal flour. So bread rolls really!! But with steam.

[Hope]

I made a rather delicious boiled fruit cake on friday. It contains 11 different dried fruits (having a cupboard clearout!) But both my boys after initially saying it was delicious have decided they don't want to eat it again. I think they are both going through a fickle about food phase. Oh well, all the more for me!

[Zosherooney]

Oven went on about midday, (extra warmth for the house) ! Toad in the hole for supper tonight with small roasties (probably too brown ) 4 savoury scones (two for lunch) 9 mince pies, baked custard, 3 slices of squash for another meal. Meatballs from Lidl poached in stock, stock now has orzo pasta in it in the oven. Scrappulings of pastry rolled flat with spicy beans and odds and ends of bacon on top - Made a great lunch with salad and a mince pie and custard. Enough sorted now for a few days. With so much outside (very cold) work going on we find we are needing more to eat to keep warm.

[dennispc]

And this morning I produced a focaccia using overnight sponge method. Not done that before nor baking on a flat baking sheet. Next time happy to use sponge but will use a sided tin for the bread.

[suffolk]

Hazelnut & cranberry oat cookies