Need some ideas of what to bake? We've gathered some our favorite recipes to share with you.
Sophie’s Zesty Courgette Cake
For the cake
1 large courgette- 2 large eggs
- 125ml vegetable oil
- 150g caster sugar
- 225g plain flour
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
For the icing
- 200g icing sugar
- 140g cream cheese fridge cold
- 50g butter at room temperature
- Zest of one lemon
- 3 tablespoons lemon curd
Method
Grease and line 2 x 21cm sandwich tins and preheat oven to 180°C/gas mark 4.
Beat together the eggs, oil and sugar in a bowl until creamy. Sieve in the flour, bicarb and baking powder, and mix until well combined.
Grate in the courgette and mix until combined.
Divide the mixture evenly between the sandwich tins. Bake for 30 minutes until slightly browned and firm to the touch.
Leave in the tins on a rack for 5-10 minutes, then turn out onto the rack to cool completely.
To make the icing, sieve the icing sugar into a large bowl and add the butter and mix until well combined. Add the cream cheese and mix on a high setting for a minute, but be careful not to over mix as it could become too runny. Once the icing is thick and creamy, great in the zest of 2/3 of a lemon, leave around a tea spoon to finish the cake.
Ice the bottom layer of the cake with half of the icing. Then use a spoon to add the lemon curd and spread across the cake. Then add the top layer, and use the remaining icing for the top of the cake. Sprinkle the remaining lemon zest on the top to finish.
Antonia's Vegan & Gluten-Free Chocolate & Pistachio Bites
Makes 12
For the oat flour
- Weight out 85g of gluten-free oats and blend until ground.
For the shortbread
- 85g oat flour
- 38g coconut flour
- 4 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tbsp coconut oil, at room temperature
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
Add all ingredients into a mixing bowl and mix together with hands.
Transfer into a square baking tray and press down on the mix to make an even and firm base.
For the pistachio paste
- 150g toasted pistachios, shelled
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- 3 tbsp of water
- 1/8 tsp sea salt (or more to taste)
Remove shell from the pistachios.
Combine all ingredients and blend for 30 seconds then create a layer by spreading the paste evenly onto the base
For the chocolate ganache
- 1 Bar of dark 80% cacao chocolate choc broken into pieces
- Half a cup of almond milk (or until a thick consistency).
- Handful of berries
Heat the almond milk until steam starts to rise. Pour the hot almond milk over the dark chocolate and stir until thick.
Pour the chocolate ganache over the layer of pistachios.
Sprinkle berries on top.
Leave in fridge for a minimum of two hours and then slice.
Julia's Banana Cake
For the cake
110g margarine- 175g caster sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 (medium) mashed bananas
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 2 tbsp boiling milk
- 225g plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
For the Icing
- 300g icing sugar, sifted
- 50g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 125g cream cheese, cold
Method
Cream the butter and sugar, add eggs one at a time before adding the mashed banana. Next add the bicarbonate of soda dissolved in the boiling milk before lastly adding flour and baking powder previously mixed.
Bake in two greased sandwich tins for 20 minutes at 180°C, gas mark four.
While the cakes are in the oven, make the cream cheese icing.
Beat the icing sugar and butter together in an electric mixer on a medium-slow speed until the mixture comes together and there are no lumps.
Add the cream cheese and beat until it is completely incorporated. Turn the mixer up to medium-high speed. Continue beating until the icing is light and fluffy (at least 5 minutes).
Once the cakes are cooked and cooled, spread a layer of icing between them and another layer on top
