Summer Bake Recipes!

These deliciously chocolatey mini muffins are a fun recipe to make with the family. Perfect for small hands to test out their baking skills.

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 12 minutes

Makes 24 mini muffins

INGREDIENTS

For the muffins:

  • 150g unsalted butter, soft

  • 150g golden caster sugar

  • 150g self-raising flour

  • 15g cacao or cocoa powder

  • 3 large eggs

  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract

For the icing:

  • 100g dark or milk chocolate

  • 80g icing sugar

  • 50g unsalted butter

  • 1 tbsp. hot water

  • Edible Easter decorations

METHOD

  1. Heat oven to 180°C.

  2. Line a 24-hole mini muffin tray with paper mini muffin cake cases.

  3. In a large mixing bowl sift the self-raising flour and add the golden caster sugar and cacao powder and stir together. Then add the soft unsalted butter, eggs, vanilla extract and beat together to create a smooth cake batter.

  4. Spoon cake mix evenly between the muffin cases and place in the middle of the oven and bake for 12 minutes, until risen and just firm to the touch. Place the tray on a wire cooling rack and remove the muffins once cool enough to do so.

  5. Leave to cool completely before making the icing.

To make the icing:

  1. Chop the chocolate and place in small saucepan along with the butter and gently heat, until the chocolate has melted. Stir the chocolate and butter together.

  2. Remove from the heat and stir in the icing sugar until it is smooth, you may need to add a tablespoon or 2 of water to thin the icing mix slightly. Stir this in thoroughly.

  3. Spoon the icing into a piping bag, with your choice of nozzle and pipe over the tops of the muffins, then finish with your edible decorations.

Store in an air tight container and eat within 3 days.

Chocolate Dipped Raspberry Shortbread

An indulgent Chocolate Dipped Shortbread from @jessie.bakes.cakes

Cooking Time: 12 mins

Serves:10 -12

 INGREDIENTS

  • 150g plain flour

  • 100g unsalted butter, at room temperature

  • 50g caster sugar

  • 50g milk chocolate

  • 50g white chocolate

  • Freeze dried raspberries

METHOD

  1.  Line a large baking tray with greaseproof paper.

  2.  Beat the butter and sugar together until light and smooth. Add the flour and use your hands to bring the mixture together into a dough.

  3. Lightly dust a worktop and rolling pin with a little flour. Tip the dough onto the worktop and roll it out until it’s roughly 0.5cm thick.

  4. Use a 6cm round cookie cutter to stamp out the biscuits and place them on the baking tray. You’ll need to bring the dough together and roll it out again to get 10-12 biscuits.

  5. Sprinkle the biscuits with a little caster sugar and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to chill.

  6. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 180°C / 160°C fan / 350°F.

  7. Bake the biscuits for 10-12 minutes until pale golden brown. Leave to cool.

  8. Melt the two chocolates in separate bowls in the microwave for 30-40 seconds until smooth.

  9. Dip half of the biscuits in milk chocolate and the other half in white chocolate, placing them back on the baking tray. Sprinkle the freeze dried raspberries on top and place in the fridge for10 minutes to help the chocolate set.

  10. When you’re ready to serve the biscuits, arrange them on a pretty plate and enjoy with a lovely cup of tea!

Cookie Sandwiches


These chocolate chip cookie sandwiches from @healthy_twists are such a fun recipe to make with kids. Quick, easy and made extra special with a buttercream icing filling.

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 8-10 minutes

Makes: 24

INGREDIENTS

For the cookies

  • 110g unsalted butter, softened

  • 60g light brown soft sugar

  • 60g golden caster sugar

  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

  • 1 large egg, lightly whisked

  • 190g gluten free plain flour

  • ½ tsp bicarbonate soda

  • 50g white chocolate, roughly chopped

  • 50g dark chocolate, roughly chopped

For the buttercream

  • 300g butter, softened

  • 600g icing sugar

  • 1-2 drops pink food colouring

  • 1-2 drops yellow food colouring

  • 2 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

Decoration

  • Rainbow sprinkles

METHOD

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 190°C and line 2 large baking trays with baking paper

  2. In a large mixing bowl, add the softened butter and both sugars and beat together until light and fluffy.  Add the lightly whisked egg and vanilla extract and stir together. Sift in the flour and bicarbonate of soda and mix together until all combined.

  3. Roughly chop the white and dark chocolate and add to the cookie dough mix and stir through

  4. Using a tablespoon as a measuring scoop – fill a level tablespoon with cookie dough and place on the lined baking tray. Ensure to space the cookies evenly on the baking tray, as the cookies will spread a little during baking. The dough will make about 24 cookies

  5. Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 8-10 minutes until the cookies are just turning golden brown

  6. Remove the cookies trays from the oven and place on a wire cooling rack. After 5 minutes carefully transfer the cookies to the wire rack to cool completely

To make the buttercream

  1. Beat the sifted icing sugar and softened butter together either by hand or in a mixer until smooth.

  2. Divide the buttercream equally into 3 bowls and add the pink food colouring to one bowl and yellow food colouring to another to create 3 different colour buttercreams.

  3. Fill a piping bag with a star nozzle and add the palest buttercream first. Pipe onto the underside of one cookie and sandwich another cookie onto the top. Repeat until you have finished all 3 buttercreams.

  4. Store in an airtight container and eat within 3 days.

Jo Leigh