Tag Archives: Home baking

Valentine Pop Hearts

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Makes 10

Ingredients

Pop Hearts

  • 1 box (400g) Ready-to-bake refrigerated pie crusts
  • ½ cup cherry pie filling, or strawberry jam

Frosting

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 Tbsp milk
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
  • Food Gel colouring, optional
  • Sprinkles, optional

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
  2. On a parchment-lined or lightly floured work surface, unroll one sheet of pie crust. Cut the pie crust into 10 hearts using a 3-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter. Place the hearts on the prepared baking sheet
  3. On the same work surface, unroll the other sheet of pie crust and cut it into 10 hearts using the same heart-shaped cookie cutter
  4. Spread 1/2 teaspoon filling, or jam, in the centre of each heart that is on the baking sheet, leaving about 1/4-inch around the edge
  5. Place another heart-shaped crust evenly on top of each jam-topped heart. Press the edges down with your fingers all around the heart and then use a fork to crimp and seal the edges
  6. Bake for 15 minutes or until light brown around the edges
  7. Meanwhile, make the frosting by combing the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla extract in a medium bowl. Stir until you have a spreadable consistency, adding a small amount of extra milk if required. The frosting can be left white, or coloured using gel colouring
  8. Remove the pop tarts from the oven and let cool on a rack before finishing
  9. Frost the centre of each pop tart with desired coloured frosting. Alternatively place the frosting in a piping bag, snip the end  off and drizzle over the cooled pop tarts
  10. If using finish with decorative sprinkles

Super Easy Red Velvet Cookies

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Makes 16

Ingredients

  • 15 oz box Red Velvet cake mix (or White Cake mix)
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup white chocolate chips
  • 1/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • Red food coloring gel (if using white cake mix)

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside until needed
  2. In a large bowl, combine cake mix, oil and eggs. Mix until well combined and uniform in color.The batter will be quite stiff.
  3. Stir in both types of chocolate chips
  4. Lightly spray a 1.5 – 2 Tbsp cookie scoop with cooking spray. Scoop batter onto prepared baking sheets, about 2-3 inches apart- they will spread out
  5. Bake 11-12 minutes. Cookies will look soft and be slightly underdone in the center when you take them out- they’ll keep cooking while on the baking sheet
  6. Let cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely

Baileys Irish Cream Deep ‘n’ Delicious Cake

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Makes 1, 9inch x 13inch sheet cake

Ingredients

Cake Layer

Swiss Meringue Buttercream topping

  • 6 egg whites, large, at room temp.
  • 1 Cup + 2 Tablespoons sugar
  • 1 ½ Cups + 4 Tablespoons butter cubed, room temperature
  • 6-10 Tablespoons Baileys Irish Cream, or similar, to your taste

Method

  1. Make the chocolate vinegar cake as per the recipe, omitting the ganache topping. Set aside and leave to cool while you make the swiss meringue buttercream
  2. In a heatproof bowl set over a pan with some water (making sure the bowl does not touch the water) combine the sugar and egg whites and heat, whisking until the mixture reaches about 150F or the sugar has dissolved and the texture has slightly thickened and its foamy. If you rub the mixture between your fingers you should not feel the sugar granules. This should take about 3-5 minutes depending on how warm your stove is
  3. Add the mixture to the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and whisk on medium speed until the mixture has cooled. It will look thick and glossy
  4. Add the butter chunks gradually while running the whisk at medium speed. Wait until previous batch has been incorprated before adding the next. During the course of adding the butter the mixture may look curdled and look like it’s split. Fear no, it all part of the process! Continue to whisk and it will come back together, becoming a lush smooth texture. (*If the butter looks like is separating and looks greasy- it could be because its too warm so place the bowl in the fridge for 10-15 minutes then start mixing again)
  5. Swap your paddle attachment for the whisk attachment and add in the Irish cream liqueur, to your taste preference. Beat on medium speed until fully incorporated
  6. Once fully cooled you can piping or spread the butter cream onto the chocolate layer cake. Dust with cocoa powder, slice and serve. *I pipe it on using an open star tip for that “authentic” look

Galette Des Rois

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Makes 1 x 9″ galette

Ingredients

Pastry

  • 1 portion rough puff pastry as per my Saskatoon Berry Pie recipe

Filling

  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed, at room temperature
  • 2 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons cherry brandy liqueur
  • 1 Tablespoon amaretto liqueur
  • 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch
  • 1 cup ground almonds (almond meal)
  • 3 Tablespoons warmed orange marmalade, sieved to remove the peel

To Finish

  • 1 egg beaten with
  • 1 teaspoon milk

Method

  1. Preheat your oven to 400F
  2. With the pastry divided into 2 as per original Saskatoon Berry Pie, roll to thickness 4mm thick. Using a 9″ plate or cake pan bottom, cut a disc shape from the pastry and place on a baking tray lined with baking parchment. Transfer to the refrigerator to chill, and repeat with the second portion of pastry on a separate lined baking sheet. You should now have 2 discs of pasty chilling in the refrigerator while you move on to making the filling
  3. In a medium bowl combine the sugar and softened butter. Beat with an electric whisk until pale and well combined
  4. Add the eggs, cherry brandy, amaretto, almond extract, cornstarch and whisk until well combined
  5. Add in the ground almonds and fold to combine well
  6. Once combined, cover and chill in the refrigerator
  7. Remove one disc of chilled pastry (still on lined baking tray) from the refrigerator and brush on the warmed marmalade, leaving a 1″ border to the pastry disc
  8. Transfer your almond mixture into a piping bag fitted with a round nozzle and pipe the filling mixture on top of the marmalade, keeping the 1″ border. Using a palette knife or spatula smooth the top of the filling for any major dips or bumps
  9. Liberally wet the border area with water
  10. Remove second disc of chilled pastry from your refrigerator and careful place on top of the first filled disc (I invert the second disc whilst on it’s baking parchment baking and then peel to remove the parchment). Press the edges over the wet area to seal the edge of the pastries
  11. Using a knife (or a chopstick) push into the galette edge to crimp/ scallop it
  12. Brush the top of the galette with the finishing egg mixture until fully covered and golden. Avoid brushing the side of the galette
  13. Using a sharp knife or bakers lame, cut a decorative pattern into the top of the pasty, careful not to go the full way through
  14. Transfer to your preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until the top is a golden brown (There may be some leakage of butter form the filling)
  15. Once baked remove from the oven and transfer to cooling rack to cool for at least 20 minutes before slicing

Amaretti Morbidi

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Makes 15

Ingredients

  • 2 1/4 cups finely ground almonds
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • pinch salt
  • 2 large egg whites
  • ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
  • ½ teaspoon almond extract
  • Confectioner’s sugar

Method

  • Preheat oven to 300°F. Line a large baking sheet or cookie tray with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat
  • In a large bowl, whisk together ground almond, sugar and salt until well combined
  • In a mixing bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk egg whites and cream of tartar until they hold soft peaks
  • Add beaten egg whites and almond extract to dry ingredients and stir until mixture forms a soft, sticky dough, kneading with your hands if necessary
  • Lightly dust your hands with powdered sugar. Use a small cookie scoop to portion dough into 1-inch balls. Roll into a smooth ball, then roll in powdered sugar. Arrange on your prepared baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch of space between cookies
  • Bake for 20-25 minutes until tops are cracked and bottoms are just barely golden. Remove from oven; let cool a few minutes on the baking trays, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely
  • Cookies will keep at room temperature in an airtight bag or container, for up to 5 days