Please share the baking recipes people BEG you to make

[Koili]

I’m trying my hand at baking for the first time. Have made a few amazing things but quite a lot of meh.

Please can I ask you to share any recipes you know work and are crowd favourites. I would love to be able to take something to a friend’s house which is actually good.

Thanks in advance.

I made the bbc good food’s banana bread quite successfully for anyone who is looking for a good banana bread recipe. It was a little greasy so maybe slightly reduce the butter (I later saw a few people made that suggestion in the comments)

This Mary Berry carrot cake. I don’t do the walnuts in it, just put them on top as we have some who like them and some who don’t. It’s also really easy to make a dairy/lactose free version with plant based cream cheese and spread in the icing, which I’ve done for a friend before.

https://www.lovefood.com/recipes/amp/59634/mary-berrys-carrot-and-walnut-cake-with-cream-cheese-icing-recipe

And these triple chocolate brownies, always a hit:

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/best-ever-chocolate-brownies-recipe

Anzac biscuits: https://www.recipetineats.com/anzac-biscuits-golden-oatmeal-cookies/

any Janes Patisserie recipe we’ve tried has been a great success , and my oven is perfect

My response is currently hidden, but it just has a recipe link in it - it’s entirely innocent ☺️.
edited to say - a recipe for Sachertorte - on the gentleman baker site - in case it never appears.
its delicious - and gluten free

Cherry and white chocolate scones. Use bbc good food scone recipe, add half a tub of glacé cherries (chopped) and half a packet of white chocolate chips to the dry scone mix.

Nigella's jaffa cake cake (whole jar of marmalade in it) and her chocolate brownies.

Plus a plain old coffee quick mix sponge with coffee buttercream and walnut chunks on top

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/yummy-scrummy-carrot-cake-recipe

I use butter instead of margarine, but this is my recipe for chocolate cake too. Its denser but I think tastes better.

Either half a pint of whipped cream and halved strawberries for a filling, or chocolate buttercream made with butter, icing sugar and cocoa.

It didn't quote the recipe, sorry!

It's on the first page of comments!

I am another that has had good success with Jane's Patisserie recipes. Her chocolate chip cookies are the best!

Chocolate fridge cake

Good quality ingredients is key

What a wholesome thread! I make these every Christmas - always a hit:

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/cinnamon-cookies

I love homemade biscuits, not keen on cake.

My absolute favourite is a recipe called "Twinks Hobnobs" that you can find via Google, it's posted in the Martin Lewis MSE forums.

Super quick, easy and really customisable if e.g you like chocolate, ginger, coconut type flavours you'll find someone who has already tried tweaking the recipe.

Been making this for years - it's a favourite.

https://www.thepinkwhisk.co.uk/2012/04/chocolate-chip-cookies.html

These are the cookies my family prefer over any others.

bbc good food chocolate and pear traybake. It can be prepared in advance so I do it often for dinner parties and it’s always a hit. I reduce the sugar by half 100g and use tinned pears sliced in half (so quarters)

Ok, I'm going to share my secret cookie recipe. It took me ages to perfect this.

It's in Oz. I apologise, but when I devised it 20 years ago that's what my scales said.

3 Oz butter. Creamed.
6oz Demerara sugar. Cream it in.
1 medium egg. Beat in thoroughly.

1 teaspoon vanilla. Proper expensive extract.
1 very large pinch of salt
almost a teaspoon.

Fold in 6oz sr flour. It will be very firm at this point.

Fold in 4oz chocolate chips. Thoughts are divided on this. My mum prefers 2 Oz. Galaxy or Lindt is best. Make your own chips.

Bake at 160-180c for 12-16 minutes. 1 tablespoon blobs spaced out on a greased baking tray. They should look Slightly uncooked in the middle and browning on the edges. You need to watch them like a hawk at this point.

Remove after a few minutes while still warm with a fish slice.

They are both soft and crisp and perfection.

Unless you are my daughter who cannot make them to save her life 🤷
Id say it makes 14-18 cookies. I often make the whole lot with an electric whisk as my arms get tired. It's a bit difficult to get the chocolate chips in without them flying around the room but I usually manage ok.

Nigella brownies are the only thing I make that my family ask for over and over.

Great thread!

Three ingredient peanut butter cookies. The cheaper the peanut butter the better these turn out. It makes 24 small cookies but you can adapt the size to suit yourself just adjust the baking time accordingly.
250g of peanut butter
250g of whatever sugar you have
1 large egg.

Mix together until just combined. Roll into balls. Place on lined baking tray. Press with a fork or your thumb. Bake for 10-12 minutes at 190°.

I sometimes add a sprinkle of sugar or salt before baking. I sometimes use my thumb to create indents that I add a half teaspoon of jam to. I sometimes add a chocolate button to the indent and drizzle white chocolate when cooled. These are quick, easy, customisable and absolutely delicious. The only time they turned out rubbish was when I used Pip and Nut peanut butter which has only salt as an added ingredient. I've used bog standard own brand PB ever since and they've been amazing

My mother and family loved my pancakes, only problem is my pancakes were literally dripping with oil and were incredibly sweet, so i stopped making them. I made them using alot of sunflower oil.

Thanks everyone, will be baking this weekend !

Ina Gartens carrot cake. I take out the walnuts as I find the bitter and use pecans which i chop and dry fry to toast them.

i also use this buttercream icing, not the one on the recipe, and it disappears in no time

600g sieved icing sugar
100g butter
250g Philly cheese
1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste

I second this. I've made it for years, it's the best carrot cake.

I would highly recommend buying any Mary Berry cookbook, she has written loads and her recipes always work, taste delicious and are straightforward.

On the other hand I succumbed to the hype and bought a Jane's Patisserie book, made 2 or 3 of the recipes none of which lived up to promise in terms of taste, I think they are style over substance.

Jumbles recipe. Kids love making them, I love dunking them in a cup of tea. Win win.

www.sainsburysmagazine.co.uk/recipes/baking/bosworth-jumbles