Some good recipes for traybakes where you melt the sugar rather than beat into butter

[soupfiend]

Im not a natural baker but would like to start making some tray bake/easy type cakes, particularly brownies or sponge type things

There are things I need to use up in the cupboards so just looking for simplicity

I am really rubbish at beating butter and sugar together, either by hand or with an electric mixer, just cant seem to get it right

So some recipes Ive been doing recently have called for the sugar to be mixed with melted butter or for the sugar to be melted in a pan with the butter or on its own and mixed with things, this I find much easier

Do you have any tray bake type recipes that use that method rather than beating butter and sugar together first? I dont mind beating together melted butter and sugar, a recipe I did at the weekend called for that and I found it easier.

My favourite parkin recipe would work:

Parkin

• 6 oz butter
• 1 lb golden syrup
• ½ pint of milk
• 8 oz medium oatmeal
• 8 oz self raising flour
• 1 tspn baking powder
• 2 tspn ground ginger
• 1 tbspn sugar

Melt the butter, sugar and golden syrup together in a saucepan.

Add the milk.

Mix oatmeal, flour, baking powder, and ginger in a bowl.

Add the melted ingredients to the dry and mix Will be a very liquid batter!

Bake in a 9” x 12” greased & lined tin in a low oven (150 degrees C) for about an hour, or until golden brown.

I always put a bit more ginger in than it says. I'm never quite sure why you need just 1 tablespoon of sugar when there is so much golden syrup in there, but I'm scared to leave it out in case it does something, chemically speaking!

This recipe is traditionally for biscuits, but I found a tray bake version.
https://bakeplaysmile.com/anzac-slice/ You could drizzle melted chocolate over the top once baked to add extra yumminess.

I've made this many times. Instead of lemon you could also use lime or orange. I replace granita biscuits with any plain UK biscuit- digestive, rich tea, nice all work well. https://www.taste.com.au/recipes/lemon-slice/060db05a-dae6-49a6-b6f5-fab60b2c9471

God that Parkin sounds lovely

and Im very tempted but,,, but, Im trying to clear out the cupboards and sugar is one of the things Im wanting to use up. This recipe would mean not using much sugar and having to buy some golden syrup

God I love syrup though

I cant really eat cake so these bakes arent even for me, I would be even more jealous of the recipients with this one!!

Would you put fresh ginger in that? I think I would. Perhaps some all spice?

Those anzac biscuits look great

These are hands down the best brownies ever - just be brave and take them out when you think they still need a bit more cooking.

I have been making these for years, to local, national and international approval.

https://www.nigella.com/recipes/brownies

This looks amazing

'International acclaim', that is a high bar!!

😁 I took some to family in France and they loved them. I’m sticking with international acclaim, it’s good for my self esteem!

Totally agree, and when I hand them out I will also say this is from an internationally acclaimed recipe!!!

Love Nigella, she can do no wrong in my eyes

I often make chocolate cake with oil instead of butter when I need to make mass cakes for an event. This recipe is great and foolproof

What size baking tray or tray bake tray would accommodate that amount do you think?

Im very keen on using oil for cakes, I do find it makes them really moist

I melt the butter and sugar for pretty much all my recipes, despite the instructions for beating soft butter and sugar. My butter is always fraught from the fridge.
Recipes always turn out well.

Make sure you let it cool before you add the eggs though! Otherwise you'll get scrambled eggs

Fraught butter, amen to that 😁

Another question, I made a cake recently which called for yoghurt and olive oil instead of butter. I found it too moist and wasnt sure of the flavour of the yoghurt, bit tart even though I used really creamy greek yoghurt

Should I replace the yoghurt and oil with butter to the same weight?

I'd like to try it again

@Candleabra I do love autocorrect

I find softening butter in the microwave first makes it easily beatable.

I bake muffin recipes in trays then cut into fingers or squares, most of them use either oil or melted butter so no creaming.
I find them foolproof and I also use light Olive oil which is better for DHs cholesterol levels than classic sponges or brownies. Easy to decorate by drizzling icing randomly before cutting.

This is the sort of maverick approach I like

I don't think your yogurt cake would work swapping in butter
You don't actually have to cream the butter and sugar in a sponge recipe, Google "all in one sponge" method. Delia Smith championed it. You basically add a teaspoon of baking powder to the classic ingredients and just beat all the ingredients together at once until free of lumps. You do need to make sure your butter is nice and soft for it to work.

What about if I just swap the oil for the butter and leave the yoghurt in?

I bake a lot and I also find the creaming butter/sugar annoying, specially as you have to remember to leave the butter out. I realised I wasn't leaving it out long enough - much easier when it's left out for at least 12hrs (eg night before).

I've actually been tinkering with (healthy-ish) cakes that can be made in a blender! I've made a v good chocolate cake which is all made in a blender, with oil instead of butter. It happens to have black beans, which sounds weird, but works really well. If you have a blender / food processor I can post the recipe : )

Yes please!

Things i make without creaming:
Brownies
Flapjack
Muffins (I have one with melted butter, others request oil)
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/ultimate-chocolate-cake uses melted butter and masses of sugar.
Tiffin (won't use up sugar tho)

@soupfiend I adjust recipes a lot and always use less sugar and oil a recipe states. Not by much but recipes with oil are almost always ....oily. Using a bit less gives less greasy moisture. And less sugar makes it more palatable for me.
Which might not always be a good thing as it does make it easier to go for seconds.

I think where I am not a natural baker Im not confident to swap things in and out.