My final blog post of the year is all about my favourite bakes which I have baked. I am not sure where this post is going to go so bear with me on this.
At the start of the year, I added my Viennese Whirls recipe which I have tried with different flavourings in them such as coffee and chocolate. As of yet, I have never made these as gluten free but I am sure these cookies would work really well and I will be adding them to my webshop soon.
In January 2017, I added my recipe for Cheese & Leek Scones which I loved as I ate most of them with some homemade Vegetable Broth. These were so easy to make and a great way to use up leftover leeks etc., or just to make something different. I have made gluten free scones before, so I could try with these cheese and leek scones as egg free scones. However, I still think the egg is needed in the recipe to help the structure of the scone but I am still looking into this idea.
My favourite recipes in February 2017 were Jammy Dodgers, Vanilla Genoise Sponge and Mini Cherry Bakewell Tarts. I made the Bakewell Tarts a lot when I had my market stall as my customers really loved them – perfect snack sized sweet treat to munch with a cup of coffee. My Jammy Dodgers recipe was added to my blog as it is one of my family’s favourite. At the market I would make these cookies with different fillings, ranging from chocolate spread to lemon curd and many different jams. Over the year, I haven’t changed the recipe until recently when I baked gluten free Jammy Dodgers which went down a storm and are now available in one farm shop local to myself. As I bake on demand for this farm shop I just have to keep an eye out for an email or listen for my phone ringing. This suits me as it means I am always prepared for the next order.
The Genoise Sponge is something that I haven’t made for a very long time and I certainly didn’t make these cakes for the market as the shelf life for these fatless sponges is very short. I think the last time I made these was when I was a school. Since adding this recipe I have only made these types of sponge for very special occasions.
In March 2017, I added a Berry Muffins recipe which my children love. I use the same standard muffin recipe but change it to suit whatever filling or flavouring which I want to add. With the Berry Muffins, I added frozen berries straight from the freezer and the muffins were perfect.
With April 2017 came Easter Treats with the addition of Garlic Doughballs and Coconut Slice. These recipes were made up and I don’t think that either recipe would be suitable for changing to gluten or egg free. I have never even given these two recipes much thought as to how to change these recipes so it is something to look into in the future.
For the month of May 2017, I shared my recipe for Baked Doughnuts and Chocolate Caramel Gateau ( a genoise sponge). Both of these recipes were a big hit in my house and ones which I haven’t baked since so this next year I need to make the effort and try these recipes again but change them too. I would love to make filled doughnuts with a twist, such as, filling them with Rolos MMmmmMMmmm!!
In June, it was a Father’s Day treat of an Angel Food Cake which my husband really enjoyed. It was a nice. light and airy sponge cake.
Once the summer came and July arrived I concentrated on berries and cherries and made a trio of sweet desserts and treats starting with Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake, Berry Pavlova and Cherry & White Chocolate Muffins. All equally delicious that I don’t have a favourite. However, the cheesecake was a recipe I decided to mess around with, as it reminded me of my university days, hence Oreo Cheesecake.
August 2017. included more sweet treats with my popular Marzipan Loaf, my popular Plum Crumble Cake and my trendy Icecream Sundae Cupcakes. All of these bakes were a delight to eat especially for my husband but the Icecream Sundae Cupcakes which were made for my daughter’s birthday proved to be very popular, so much so, that I had an order from one of the mothers of a guest at the party the following week.
September had the the children going back to school and with that the plans for Halloween started in earnest. My Spider Bun Cookies were a social hit on many of the sites which I use. I made up this recipe as I wanted to make a cookie which would have the characteristic dome shape which many of the similar spider cookies had but without the use of peanut butter as I have children who don’t like peanut butter. Combining my daughter’s favourite Jammy Bun with the addition of the spider elements to the cookie seemed the perfect combination and it worked.
In the winter months, I concentrated on tasty and rather decadent treats to make for “Thanksgiving” and “Christmas” such as the Chocolate Meringue Roulade recipe and my childrens’ fave Chocolate Sweetie Ring Cake recipe.
As you can see I have been very busy this last twelve months as these recipes are just a few examples of recipes which I have shared on my blog. There are many more on my blog if you search hard enough in the recipes.
Hopefully, you will stick with me in 2018 as I try different ideas out and share the results, both good and bad with you. Creating and developing recipes is my love and I know my need to bake will never stop as long as I have something to try. With time my webshop will develop too into a homebakers paradise and the wider pubic will try my homebaking goodies and maybe my favourite bakes will become yours too.
For now, may I wish you all a very “Happy New Year” with happiness and good health a plenty. Thank you for reading and see you in 2018. 🙂