Which is the tastiest Protestant traybake?

[FiddleFaddleDingDong]

NI Protestants are famed for their tray bakes but which is the best traybake of all?

I’m thinking something crunchy and chocolatey, a tiffin like thing. But are there unchocolatey traybakes that I just haven’t been exposed to? Are they keeping all the best recipes to themselves, strictly to be eaten behind closed doors?

And does it get a bit competitive? Does Annie cast aspersions on Doris’ traybaking abilities?

maybe because I’m atheist - what do atheists have?

Another atheist here, from an RC / protestant background (several generations who 'married out' or 'converted for him/her').

Cheesecake is my gift, that and shortbread but cheese cake is the one I'm asked to do again and again.

It goes down well with Muslim colleagues, atheist, believers of anything and everything. I shall rename it 'atheist cheesecake'

Atheist Cheesecake recipe

Ingredients

1 200g tub Philadelphia cheese (or supermarket own brand cream cheese, or mascarpone for a special occasion)

1 small tub (75 ml) double cream

½ packet digestive biscuits

½ pack butter

75g caster sugar (can use any sugar for taste but caster is smoother)

Flavouring – fruit syrup, lemon juice, cocoa powder, or pureed fruit

Utensils

Mixing bowl and whisk or a food processor

Loose bottom baking tin - it doesn't have to be but it makes it easier to serve

Plastic bag (freezer bags are good) and rolling pin

Microwavable bowl or small pan

1 desert spoon

Method

Put the biscuits in the bag and bash with the rolling pin until they are crumbs, put these in the tin. Melt the butter and pour over the crumb and then use the spoon to press the base in to the tin.

Put the cream in the bowl and whisk until stiff.

Add the sugar and cream cheese. You could also use artificial sweetener.

Add any flavouring and mix until you get a smooth mixture.

Pour (actually it is more of a dollop) on to the base and put in the fridge overnight

This thread is fantastic. I was killing time trying to find something to read to help me go back to sleep (awake since 1am). Instead I'm wide awake, laughing at this, trying not to wake DH.

Someone tell me more about apple and Mars bar sandwiches? Thinly sliced apple and thinly sliced Mars bar? With buttered bread?

I'm happy to give it a go to help me power through the day!

I have Indian (Catholic) heritage so sickly sweet is right up my street, bring on the traybakes!

I’ve been up for two hours feeding my baby, just got her back to sleep then woke her laughing out loud at the DUP receipe book!! 😂
I miss N.I
Tray bakes in St. George’s market are amazing! Although your Protestant granny would be appalled at the price

This has just reminded me of the night me and my teenage friends went out for one particular friends birthday. Friend was totally hungover and had to leave church the following day to vom Her mum came out to see what tje problem was amd shr told her that she'd eaten too many traybakes the previous evening

@Purpletigers Yes! The WI recipe books are amazing

There is a brethren church on the way to the airport ( international) .. I have no more detail. It has the most amazing selection of traybakes for mother and toddler mornings. I'm salivating just thinking about it. Sadly my dcs are too old for it now.

I hope yous are all making these traybakes in your own big bowl!

I’m a Protestant from down south. Now living in NI. And yes, the Protestant tray bakes here are great but ROI Protestant tray bakes are a well kept minority secret. Where NI ones are hearty and massive, with all favourite flavours rammed together, ROI ones are more delicate and carefully balanced. Smaller in size and more refined.

If that doesn’t start another war I don’t know what will.

Fiddle I will post it later, though I confess to having had to add weights to the recipe because I can't do it all by tablespoons and a good eye.

Also have a flapjack recipe that will give you tooth decay just looking at it.

We didn't have sugar sandwiches but sugar on toast is awesome. Hot toast, lots of butter spread on and melting then a liberal sprinkle of sugars on top - delish!

We do cinnamon toast. Brown one side under the grill, flip it over, butter it, sprinkle it with the cinnamon and sugar mix and put it back under the grill. So good.

Wow, never heard of this. I was born and raised Catholic, am I not allowed to eat them?

I told my mum about this thread and she produced this church traybake recipe book
It's got the recipe for pretty much every traybake mentioned on this thread!

A proper, good quality caramel square is not that easy to find actually. It should have a shortbread base that is nice and hard but also a bit crumbly (and not soggy or stale), a thick layer of chewy caramel, and a layer of hard, good quality dark chocolate on top.

I once had an amazing caramel square at a little bakery in Ballycastle, and I've had plenty since but that one has never been topped. I still think about that caramel square from time to time.

anyone for Wonder Bites, from my Granny's copy of the GB Queen's Silver Jubilee Cookbook?
4oz icing sugar
3oz coconut
2oz chopped walnuts (I'd leave these out)
2ozs butter
3 oz cherries (glace obviously as the real thing has not been spotten in NI in 1977)
6oz chocolate
1 tsp coffee essence (urgh, think you can leave that out)

cream butter and sugar, whiz in everything else except choc, make into balls, drop in melted choc, bob's your uncle

You DEFINITELY need the coffee in this! I always use 1tsp instant coffee mixed with a drop of boiling water. It's gorgeous, I sometimes use this mixture instead of buttercream to fill a sponge cake or to top fairy cakes (so leaving out the chocolate).

Yes! Sugar on toast, it's awesome!

But for further discussion on the bizarre combinations theme.

Carrot and orange 'salad'. Basically orange jelly with grated carrot in it.??? WTF,

my granny used to serve it along with ox tongue and iceberg lettuce which was to be dipped in a bowl of salt!

I have been lurking FOR YEARS, but this thread has finally inspired me to actually post something.
It's a shame I can't post any pics right away, as I've found my copy of the Norn Iron Dinnerladies cookbook

NI prod here, I thought EVERY house had a WI cookbook. How else do you know what to bring to a house after Great Aunt Edna dies?

@widgetbeana - yes, the NI Protestant salad - see also blackcurrant jelly with beetroot through it and the outstanding offering from my MIL which was a lime milk jelly shot through with celery

...

Oh wow @hanahsaunt celery in jelly that is a new low! I shall have to tell my mum and she how long it takes before it shows up at a local PWA gathering!!!

I do not have any shape or clue why you are titling your post so weird.. and it's still standing... How the holy fuck does making shit cake in a tray equal your religion

No such thing as shit cake.

Also, this atheist is absolutely fascinated by the thread and I only ever clicked because I thought it was weirdly named.

Having said that I recognise one of the recipes as what MIL's family call Aunt Dora's Viennese Bake, so am wondering whether they were all closet Protestants, or at least whether said Aunt Dora was.

Love this thread I’m a catholic in the north of Ireland and I didn’t really know what traybakes were until I made —proper— Protestant friends in my 20s! Now I’ve known them a while they’ve even shared a few recipes ! It really is such a thing was so surprised it wasn’t on derry girls!

A true Protestant salad has a slice of ham rolled into a tube shape, a pineapple ring, some beetroot from a jar, a tomato and some old fashioned lettuce, none of your fancy iceberg stuff. And it would be served on a Sunday evening, to offset the huge roast dinner that you would have eaten after church.

Fail with proper

DinosApple I can't tell you about the sandwiches because obviously I avoid them and head straight for the traybakes. Unless there's soup.

However, embrace the madness, do it and report back