AIBU to think I am utterly crap

[TheSnowFairy]

at baking?

Not inspired by GBBO (much) but more that DD (7) has shown an interest in baking.

Yesterday we made flapjacks, followed the recipe to the letter but firstly the amount we ended up with was so much less than the picture. Then when cooled they were rock hard.

Today I caved in and bought a packet mix to make biscuits .

The mix was too dry so I added water - then it was too wet. The cooking time said 10-12 mins. Checked it after 10, needed more. Checked a couple of mins later, needed more. Another couple of mins - and they were burnt!

I am notoriously uncrafty but for goodness sake, AIBU to think there MUST be a recipe I can manage? Please come and share with me...

TIA

These are delicious, they stay soft inside, like a cross between a cookie and a brownie

100 grams soft butter
150 grams soft light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
150 grams plain flour
35 grams cocoa powder
½ teaspoon baking powder
200 grams dark chocolate chips

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4.
Cream the butter and brown sugar (I use a freestanding mixer for ease), then beat in the vanilla extract and the egg.
Mix the flour, cocoa and baking powder in a bowl and gradually beat in to the creamed mixture. Finally, fold in the chocolate chips.
Using a rounded 15ml-tablespoon measure, spoon out scoops of cookie dough and place on a lined baking sheet, leaving a little space in between each one.
Bake in the oven for 12 minutes and then let them sit on the baking sheet for a couple of minutes before moving them to a cooling rack

Costa will try the fairy cakes first, thank you. Purple the boiled fruit cake looks delicious!

You can ice the fairy cakes (just icing sugar and water, be careful though, you only need a tiny splash of water) and cover in sprinkles, jelly sweets, choc buttons, whatever you fancy, or scoop out the middle and put some buttercream inside and pop the top back on. I also make a variant where I put a spoonful of mixture in the cake case, then a spoonful of jam or Nutella, then cover with more mixture. Only fill the cake cases about 2/3 full so they have space to rise

Good luck!

Costa you are making me hungry! DH has just made me a cuppa and could do with something to go with it...

this time tomorrow night you probably will, and you can enjoy it while watching bake off!

And IIRC, tomorrow is biscuit week! How appropriate

With flapjacks don't let the syrup mix boil - this is what ends up making them hard and not chewy. Also take them out when just golden but still soft and they will firm up as they cool.

dora how do you do that (not let it boil) when you're supposed to melt the sugar?

Definitely sounds like I am overcooking - need more of a gentle touch...

I used to be like you. Burnt/overcooked everything, nothing was ever edible. Now, I make novelty cakes and biscuits for a living, and really enjoy it

For the first few goes, follow the recipe exactly. If it says the biscuits need 10 minutes, take them out after 10 minutes even if they look underdone. Once they've cooled, they'll crisp up. If they're underdone, you'll know to add a couple of minutes the next time

After a few attempts it becomes instinctive. For the boiling syrup issue, use a low light and just keep stirring. If you think about it, sugar dissolves in a hot cup of tea, so warm syrup will be fine

Thank you slim. I feel a bit like I'm learning to dance - I'm concentrating on getting the steps right but with no instinctive awareness at all of whether or not it's right!

Not looking to set up in business but just making my DD more able than I am was would be a start

Here's my flapjack recipe:
225g oats
150g Self raising flour
100g sugar
150g syrup
1/2tsp baking powder.

Mix the oats, sugar, baking powder and flour in a large bowl.
Melt the butter and syrup together v gently till butter just melted - don't let the syrup boil.
Mix the wet mix into the dry then press the dough into a baking tray with your hands.
Bake at 180c for 12-15mins - it should be golden and puffed up - but still softish - it will firm up as it cools.

Flapjacks with flour?!

Baking is, essentially, chemistry. Most recipes, if followed to the letter (i.e. correct weight, ingredients, oven temp, etc) should work. Don't be tempted to add additional ingredients, especially fluids, unless you really know the recipe.

Having said all that, some recipes just don't work. The Hummingbird Bakery's first book being a good example although they did issue revisions.

Costa how many biscuits does your choc chip recipe make? I'm in the market for a good cooke - I've tried a few recipes but haven't found one i'm in love with yet?

I get quite a few out of that recipe, I do teaspoon size pieces of dough and must get about 16-20? Never really counted, and I often double up the quantities to give away to friends and family - they always go down well, just be careful not to over bake them. I think it was a nigella recipe originally!!

Thanks - will give them a go. I have a good housekeeping recipe which I kind of like, and a recipe that I can't remember where I got it that I'm less keen on. I'll give yours a whirl and test it out on work tomorrow - I like the cocoa aspect.

Are they very rich?

And I'll be careful not to overbake - so ridiculously easy to do with biscuits....."no they're not quite done......(two seconds later).....oops" Annoying.

They are quite rich, so you don't feel like eating too many - win win!!

These need to be cooked on the surface but still soft if you press them, they solidify a bit as they cool, but do stay soft and chewy inside

that jam or nutella inside fairy cakes is a genius idea

If you're using a fan oven turn the temp down by 20 degrees, if it doesn't give a specific temp for fan ovens

4 oz butter
4 oz self raising flour
3 oz porridge oats (jumbo are fine)
3 oz sugar
Half a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
Half a tablespoon of golden syrup
Pinch of salt

Throw it all in a food processor and give it a good whizz. The mixture will be a bit dry and crumbly but you can shape it into walnut sized balls - slightly flatten and place on a baking sheet. Cook at 180 (160 fan) for about 15 mins. Basically till the biscuits have browned slightly. They will be soft when you take them out. Leave them in the sheet for a few minutes to harden slightly then onto a wire rack to cool. Ta dah!

I forgot to say the biscuits spread a lot during baking so space them out on the baking sheet, you might need to do it in two batches.

When you made the flapjacks did you let the syrup boil? I'd wager that you did. If you boil the syrup when you heat the wet ingredients you'll have rock hard flapjacks. When I make them now I tend to melt the butter and then stir in the syrup - the heat from the liquid butter is normally enough to melt the syrup enough for them to combine properly before stirring into the dry ingredients. They should also be quite loose when they come out of the oven, really wobbly in the middle still - you'll end up with lovely chewy flapjacks!

For idiot proof baking can I recommend the Hummingbird Bakery brownies - they really can't go wrong - if you under-bake them they're fudgy and yummy, if you over-bake they're cakey and yummy.

Thanks visions