Liz Hinds 
You’ve baked a truly spectacular cake and it’s risen to perfection. What now? Most likely your friends and family are going to eat it in a couple of mouthfuls with a ‘that was nice, dear,’ – if you’re lucky. Are there times, now and again, when you feel that you …
Picture the scene. The table is laid with a crisp white linen cloth; the china is daintily-patterned; and the cutlery is sparkling. Taking pride of place is a perfect sponge, beautifully risen, and oozing strawberry jam and cream. Sounds like someone else’s house, doesn’t it? Well, while you may not …
When the Cake Baker team received a request for a Scottish Dumpling recipe we sprang into action! Cloutie Dumpling Traditionally served at New Year it has became popular throughout the winter or colder months of the year. Sometimes spelt “cloutie” it is named after the cloth or “clout” that it …
Grasmere is famous for its gingerbread; in Kendal it’s mint cake that the visitors queue to buy; in Bath it’s the buns and the Sally Lunns. Nearly every county in England has its own baked speciality although, in these health-conscious days, whether many people ask for farmhouse dripping cake when …
Cheesecake lovers tend to be divided into those who adore the rich creaminess of a calorie-laden baked cheesecake, and those who prefer the lighter, fresher-tasting chilled cheesecakes. We’ve three chilled cheesecakes for you to try, all light and fruity and making ideal summer desserts – or to follow a rich …
“Dost thou think, because thou art virtuous, there shall be no more cakes and ale?” Sir Toby Belch asks the question in Shakespeare’s comedy, Twelfth Night, suggesting that he, and Shakespeare himself, could not conceive of a life that didn’t include cake! Though Sir Toby isn’t too specific about what …
Meringues, those lighter-than-air delicacies that can fool us into thinking they’re calorie-free, were created in the early eighteenth century by a Swiss pastry-cook named Gasparini, and they’ve been popular ever since. Meringues can be made as Individual Confections or as part of larger desserts as we’ll show you. When whisking …
Doughnuts have been around in some shape or form for hundreds of years. In England, it’s said that thrifty bakers, unwilling to waste scrap dough, took to shaping it into dumplings as a filling addition to soup, while in Germany and Holland, they dropped the leftovers into hot oil to …
Traditional Russian cakes are homely and satisfying. When you’ve been out on a cold day, what better to come home to than a scrumptious apple cake? Or, on a more celebratory note, the sugar-coated nutty balls known as Russian tea cakes are very simple to make and moreish to eat. …
Tea bread is the name generally given to fruit breads that are served sliced and buttered. Simple homely cakes, they originally formed part of an early supper or tea-time meal. They may or may not use yeast as the raising agent, and only in some recipes will a pot of …